Traditional Design and Practices for Building Chinese Wooden Arch Bridges
01 · Historical Records
The tied-beam wooden-arch covered bridge (bianliang mugong langqiao) originates from the special type of wooden-arch bridge known as the "Three-Beam Bridge" (San Tiao Qiao) of the Tang dynasty, possessing special historical research value and occupying an important place in the history of Chinese bridge-building. According to the Guangxu-era "Qingyuan County Gazetteer," since the Song dynasty more than 230 various wooden-arch covered bridges have been constructed within Qingyuan County, of which over 90 still survive—the most of any county in the nation. In September 2005, the Qingyuan Houkeng tied-beam wooden-arch covered bridge received the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation, Award of Excellence (first class). Among these wooden-arch covered bridges, the Xidong Bridge from the Longqing reign period of the Ming dynasty has the longest history.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Chinese bridge-building craftsmanship has a history of several thousand years. The laboring people of antiquity, relying on their own ingenuity and wisdom, created excellent bridge-building techniques. The craft of constructing tied-beam wooden-arch covered bridges is one such technique, now mainly transmitted in Zhejiang, Fujian, and other places. The Zhejiang–Fujian tied-beam wooden-arch covered bridges have a long history, rich forms, and great numbers, standing unrivaled among comparable covered-bridge structures in the country. Qingyuan County lies in the southwest of Zhejiang Province, with deep valleys and secluded ravines; its people long suffered from "impassable waterways," sighing at the chasms. Under these circumstances, the wooden-arch covered bridge arose in response to the need, becoming an indispensable transportation facility in the mountainous area.
The chief rope-hand as master builder
The chief rope-hand coordinates a bridge like a chief engineer; Huang Chuncai held that role at twenty and later learned to draw, uniting experience with plans.
Shangqian Bridge
Shangqian Bridge at Changqiao, built under Huang Chuncai's own direction when he was twenty, made him the youngest chief rope-hand in the area.
Jinzao Bridge
Built in 2005 under Huang Chuncai, Jinzao Bridge shows the division of labour that follows from setting out from drawings.
Shuanglong Bridge at Baishuiyang
Shuanglong Bridge, 66 metres long on two piers and three arches, was led by Huang Chuncai in 2006.
Two sons, provincial and municipal inheritors
A fourth-batch national inheritor and recipient of the second Transmission Award, Huang Chuncai has two sons who are provincial and municipal inheritors respectively.
The Pingnan timber covered bridge protection association
A county association takes on part of the work of guarding and passing on the craft, which matters in the rainy mountains of northeastern Fujian.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Bridge construction in Pingnan is most concentrated around the Changqiao area, where the valley is open and the water flows gently, leaving broad scope for bridge-site selection and making it easier to organize labor. The special feature of the Pingnan branch is the early involvement of design capability: at age twenty, Huang Chuncai independently built the Shangqian Bridge in Changqiao Town, becoming the youngest local "chief rope" (zhu sheng) bridge builder—in the trade the chief rope is regarded as the chief engineer of a building; he then entered the county's construction cooperative to study architectural drafting, becoming one of the few wooden-arch covered-bridge craftsmen who could draw their own design plans—able to design, calculate the drawings, and direct construction—and this set of skills advanced the long-standing oral transmission of the Zhejiang–Fujian covered bridges into a stage combining drawings with full-scale layout. Among the examples he presided over, the 2005 Jinzao Bridge and the 2006 Baishuiyang Shuanglong Bridge—66 meters long with two piers and three spans—stand as proof of the Pingnan line's move toward large spans. In transmission, he trained his two sons, who are now respectively provincial-level and municipal-level representative inheritors of intangible cultural heritage; Pingnan thus became a representative locale for familial transmission of the craft, and the Pingnan County Wooden-Arch Covered Bridge Protection Association undertakes day-to-day protection work.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Taishun County in Zhejiang Province also preserves a large number of tied-beam wooden-arch covered bridges, of which 15 have been listed as nationally protected cultural relic units. Huang Chuncai (from the official records of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in February 1936, a native of Pingnan County, Fujian Province. Representative inheritor of the fourth national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage for the traditional craft of building wooden-arch bridges. Artisan of traditional wooden-arch bridge construction. At age twenty he independently built the Shangqian Bridge in Changqiao Town, Pingnan County, Fujian Province, becoming the youngest local "chief rope" (zhu sheng) bridge builder (akin to a building's chief engineer). That same year he also entered the county's construction cooperative to study architectural drafting, becoming one of the few wooden-arch covered-bridge craftsmen able to draw design plans. He can both design wooden-arch bridges and calculate and draft drawings, as well as direct construction. In 2005 he was chief builder of the Pingnan County Jinzao Bridge, and in 2006 chief builder of the Pingnan County Baishuiyang Shuanglong Bridge, 66 meters long with two piers and three spans. Devoted to transmitting the craft, his two sons are now respectively provincial-level and municipal-level representative inheritors of intangible cultural heritage. He received the Second China Intangible Cultural Heritage Inheritor Xinyan (Transmission) Award, conferred by the Chinese Academy of Arts (China Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center).
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Dong Zhiji 03-1434
- Zheng Duojin 03-1435
- Huang Chuncai 04-1913
- Hu Miao 05-2870
- Cengjiakuai
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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