Architectural construction of self and sociality in Song China

Reflections upon self and society, to a remarkable degree, were manifested in the Neo-Confucianism movement of the Song and Ming dynasties in China. If the relationship of self and group is largely demonstrated in the spatial and mental distances kept between the individuals in a society, then the question arises as to how the Chinese, particularly those Neo-Confucian literati who embarked on self-cultivation far ahead of the rest of the population, drew the boundary between self and group through the built environment. Through comparing the physical structure and social meanings of halls and pavilions in the context of Neo-Confucian development, this paper attempts to provide a detailed account of how meaningful connection between people and architecture was sustained in traditional Chinese society; and how hall and pavilion, in their distinctive physical settings, assisted the Neo-Confucian literati in constructing and consolidating their social and individual realms.