The Ideology of Confucianism Zhu Xi: An Application in The Design of Huizhou Residential Buildings in China

Abstract

Huizhou is Zhu Xi's hometown; Zhu Xi's philosophy was the official philosophy of the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties in China. Xidi and Hongcun Village in the Huizhou area were listed in the World Cultural Heritage Protection list in 2000. Huizhou architecture is one of China's most regional architectural types. Huizhou people worshipped Zhu Xi's Confucianism and integrated their views on the layout, structure, interior decoration, hall layout, and other aspects into the architecture, making Huizhou architecture practical and rich cultural connotation. This study takes Chengzhi Tang in Hongcun, Huizhou, as a case study. The qualitative research method is adopted, the observation method is used for field investigation, and the folk architecture of Huizhou is explored through photography, drawing, and literature review to analyze the influence of Zhu Xi's ideology on Huizhou architecture. It is found that Zhu Xi's ideology of "five virtues" was developed during the whole process of space design of Huizhou residential buildings. Based on the data sources obtained, it shows that Benevolence/humaneness as Ren (仁)； Righteousness/appropriateness" as Yi (義)； Propriety / harmonious differentiation as Li (禮)； Wisdom/knowledge management as Zhi (智)； "Trustworthiness/integrity" as Xin (信), those five virtues are all reflected in the Huizhou architecture design.