Was it true that it was illegal to build castles in ancient times?

To be honest, I don't know exactly whether it was illegal to build castles in ancient times, but I personally think that the reason why castles were not built in ancient times was more because it was unnecessary, rather than that it was illegal to break the law. Because in ancient times, it was basically a war era, and people built castles in order to survive, so it was of little significance to build castles, because castles were as strong as city walls, and ancient wars were between countries, and there were boundaries between countries, so building city walls was more suitable for ancient China than building castles.

China has always been based on group life, especially after Qin Shi Huang completed the great unification, the whole people have the concept of great unification, so the castle itself is not suitable for the Chinese people like European countries. Besides, the ancient people should not be able to build castles as they want, such as the luxurious castles in Europe, even if they are suitable for China, ordinary people can build them.

Then the main role of castles in Europe is actually used for defense, castles can have a good defensive effect in Europe, but not in China, because during the Western war, the scale of their wars is relatively small, such as China, tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of large scenes are very few, so they can build castles, but if the castle is built in China, it will not play a role at all.

Therefore, whether to build a castle or a city wall, in fact, is decided according to the entire social environment at that time, which is more beneficial to the people and the country, then which will be built, which is also the difference between the development of civilization in China and Western countries, but in ancient China, it is not that there are no castle buildings at all, but very few, after all, the practicality is not strong.

Because in ancient times, it was stipulated that no house could be built with more than three floors, otherwise it would be an illegal building, which would be demolished and punished.

Yes, for military purposes, the most common buildings in ancient China were castles, and the construction of castles also had the purpose of controlling the jurisdiction, residence, and commercial exchanges.

Yes, according to historical records, in ancient times, there were relevant laws that did not allow the construction of buildings that were too tall, which was illegal, let alone castles.

It's true, because the feudal society is hierarchical, and at the same time, the house is also limited to height, usually the private house can not exceed three floors, otherwise it is an illegal act and will be punished.

Yes, because for military purposes, the most common buildings in ancient China were cities, and Chinese cities were built for the purpose of controlling jurisdiction, residence, and commercial exchanges, and the function of cities was stronger than that of castles.

Yes, the houses built by the private sector cannot exceed three floors, otherwise it is illegal, and in ancient China, it was more inclined to cities, and personal castles like this were not allowed.

This is a difference in philosophy between different regions, Europeans pay attention to individualism, while Chinese are more inclined to collectivism, so in China, defense facilities to protect individuals are not allowed to be built.

The feudal society is strictly hierarchical, and it is not that you can build the house as much as you want, and you can build as high as you want. The height of the house is also limited, and usually the private house cannot exceed three floors.

Usually, a private house cannot exceed three floors, otherwise it is illegal. In the open Datang, a foreigner built a five-story house on the outskirts of Chang'an, but it became an illegal building because of its super height, and it was not only demolished and rebuilt, but also struck.

It is necessary to obtain an administrative license, that is, to go through the procedures for land use, to obtain a construction land planning permit, a construction project planning permit, a construction permit and other procedures, otherwise the house built is an illegal building.

Why didn't castles be built in ancient China? In the European Middle Ages, castles were primarily intended to protect a noble family from other families with their own armies. In European history, there have been many conflicts between families (these conflicts also exist in Japan, i.e. why Japan also has a lot of typical castle architecture), which led to the need for castles to be built by high-class people.

But this kind of family-to-family hatred is not common in Chinese history.

Chinese culture has been based more on collective society throughout history, and the notion of one person building his own sturdy defensive structure has upset others (or even seen as a symbol of rebellion). In most Chinese dynasties, China's social structure valued the family unit and society as a whole. Legalism is one of the most famous schools of thought in China, and the popularity of this thought may be the reason for the decrease in demand for castles.

Aerial photography of the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Therefore, in this respect, China's rule of law is fundamentally opposed to the European feudal system.

After the Han Dynasty, Legalism was a rare school of thought in the field of Chinese philosophy. But it is still very important and has been combined with Confucianism throughout Chinese history as one of the cornerstones of Chinese philosophy and politics. In contrast to medieval Europe, Legalism emphasized a strict bureaucracy from a very early period and formed this idea into the ideology of the state.

Ancient European castles.

In most Chinese dynasties, the emperor controlled a great deal of wealth, but there were few cases when castles needed to be built to protect his wealth (another concept called "not at risk" could also explain this). Emperors also assumed greater power than many monarchs in medieval Europe. People were undoubtedly loyal to the emperor, so you also see that abnormal transfers of power or regime changes, which do not happen very often (except in some troubled times), so the need to strengthen and protect the emperor is also reduced.

This is why ancient Chinese emperors built palaces, not castles, and this is the most common reason.

This is because the terrain of China is very complex, the plains are very few, and most of China is mainly agricultural, so it is not suitable for building castles.

Because all the cities built in ancient China were cities, they did not have the habit of building castles, and castles were not very suitable in China.

This is because the ancient people thought that only the house was the strongest and could provide them with protection from the wind and rain, and it was very difficult to build a castle, and it was not very strong.

The ancient "castle" was called Wubao, which originated in the Eastern Han Dynasty. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, starting from the border areas with frequent wars, the rich and nobles built their houses higher and higher because they were worried about their property and personal safety, and paid more and more attention to defense. With the widespread spread of wars at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the lords of the Central Plains and even the south brought this kind of defensive dock fort to their territories in order to protect their homes and property.

The lord of the manor recruited a large number of soldiers to guard the dock fort, and set up armory, chariots and horses, so that a local self-defense force was formed, and the whole dock fort was like an independent small kingdom. In the subsequent Three Kingdoms, Two Jin Dynasty, and Northern and Southern Dynasties eras, wars were still frequent, and Wubao also existed for a long time because of this.