Development Rationale - VandyVRC/tcadrt GitHub Wiki

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The tca drt is a tool designed to facilitate research into the pre-modern architecture of China. Traditional Chinese Architecture (TCA), buildings that include stylistic characteristics discoverable in the eleventh-century building manual, the Yingzao fashi 營造法式, dominates this dataset. Because the majority of extant TCA was constructed for the purposes of ritual, empirical evidence is largely associated with divinity worship. Palaces to shelter images of spirits, monumental worship halls were designed to project the identity and status of a particular divinity as well as to enhance the efficacy of specific ritual events. Donor names and dates of construction/restoration were often inscribed on stelae and elements of the building to ensure proper acknowledgement of patrons. Thus, careful study of the style, materials, and construction techniques employed to create these buildings, as well as epigraphic information on site concerning patronage, has the potential to enhance not only our understanding of the aesthetics of traditional Chinese architecture over time and space, but also our understanding of the trade networks, crafts traditions, and spiritual aspirations of people living in pre-modern China.

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