Dougong

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Chinese. (January 2022) Click [show] for important translation instructions. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 376 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Chinese Wikipedia article at [[:zh:斗栱]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|zh|斗栱}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Dougong (Chinese: 斗拱; pinyin: dǒugǒng; lit. 'cap [and] block') is a structural element of interlocking wooden brackets, important in traditional Chinese architecture for both its structural capacities and cultural implications.

The use of dougong first appeared in buildings of the late centuries BCE, with its earliest renditions emerging during the Western Zhou Dynasty,^[1] evolving over the centuries into a structural network which joined pillars and columns to the frame of the roof. Dougong were widely used by the ancient Chinese during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BCE) and developed into a complex set of interlocking parts by its peak in the Tang and Song periods. The pieces are fitted together by joinery alone without glue or fasteners, requiring precise carpentry.

After the Song dynasty, brackets and bracket sets used in palatial structures and important religious buildings became more ornamental than structural, moving away from the description of traditional dougong.