Dougong is the system of interlocking wooden brackets set atop a column to catch the weight of the roof beams above and step it inward and downward through a stack of mortise-and-tenon joints, cut with no nails or glue, until it lands on the column head. A block (dou) seats on the column and carries an arm (gong), which in turn carries the next block, so a single column can support a wide overhanging eave and the whole frame can flex under wind or earthquake load rather than crack. The density and tiering of a building's bracket sets was also a marker of rank, reserved by convention to imperial and the largest religious halls. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Element Kind First Used EraEarliest known use traced to the Western Zhou Dynasty (circa eleventh century to 771 BC), developing through the Spring and Autumn period into the deeply tiered interlocking sets standardized at the type's peak in the Tang and Song dynasties (seventh to thirteenth century AD). 1 Era
Era (category) Connections
Associated With
Source Dougong (Wikipedia)
Li Jie standardized and documented dougong joinery; the bracket system itself long predates him.
Source Yingzao Fashi (Wikipedia)
Seen In
Source Chinese Architecture (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Era Of Origin
Also in History Atlas: the era this subject comes from.
Sources
1. Dougong (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead and Structure sections
Dougong (Chinese: 斗拱; pinyin: dǒugǒng; lit. 'cap [and] block') is a structural element of interlocking wooden brackets, important in traditional Chinese architecture for both its structural capacities and cultural implications.
History section
It wasn't until the late Song Dynasty, a time of economic prosperity in much of China, that dougong began to take on its rich decorative characteristics.
English Wikipedia, Dougong, lead section, first sentence
is a structural element of interlocking wooden brackets, important in traditional Chinese architecture for both its structural capacities and cultural implications.
- Associated With: Ancient Chinese Architecture
View the Source Yingzao Fashi (Wikipedia)
Chinese Architecture (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationSeen In: The Forbidden City, ImperialQuote, Seen In: The Forbidden City, Imperial
The roofs are almost invariably supported by brackets ("dougong"), a feature shared only with the largest of religious buildings.
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