Human Dimensions of the Street: The Origin and Formation of the Traditional Chinese Street in the Tang-Song Period

Abstract

The Tang-Song period in China not only witnessed a drastic transformation of the urban fabric, but also registered the origin and formation of the traditional Chinese street, which continuously dominated the Chinese townscape until the urban upheaval of modern times. This paper examines how the medieval Chinese streetscape arose as a result of people's instinctive reaction to a variety of social, political and economic forces. In particular the paper focuses on random human factors as being a major driving force in the development of Chinese townscape defying precise measurement, standards and even guidelines. Rather than a product of wholly professional and political agendas, the successful street was a social product, experientially forged through the practice of daily life, in an optimum response to its context. The key to the success of the traditional Chinese street probably lies in its unique socio-physical nature, that is, a structured indeterminacy, in which social coherence and individual variety can coexist, and can be constantly defined and mutually refined.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to express sincere gratitude to his mentor Professor Xing Ruan for his constant support and inspiration. Thanks are also due to two anonymous reviewers for their much helpful comments, and Dr John Blair for his editorial assistance.