人體、自然與建築的共通原理：維特魯維烏斯《建築十書》中的四元素與四屬性體系

Common Principles of Human Body, Nature and Architecture: The Four-element and Four-quality Systems in De Architectura by Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

古羅馬建築師維特魯維烏斯於西元前1世紀撰寫的《建築十書》，乃是唯一流傳至今的西方古典時期建築學著作。該著作提到的許多觀念，從文藝復興至當代，持續在建築理論與實踐上發生影響力。但長久以來，著作中的某些主題卻較少受到學術界關注，如四元素與四屬性體系的觀念。這兩套源自古希臘哲學與醫學的體系，在《建築十書》中首度被納入建築學領域。四元素包括氣、火、水與土，四屬性則是冷、熱、乾與濕。在古典希臘時期，此二體系發展出相互對應之關係；即氣的屬性為熱與濕，火為熱與乾，水為冷與濕，土為冷與乾；此對應關係也進一步成為四元素彼此變換的理論依據。 本文主要目的為探討四元素與四屬性體系在《建築十書》中扮演的角色，檢視該著作如何以此二體系之觀念，闡述人體、自然與建築的共通原理，並依此作為建築相關理論的建構基礎，其包括建築材料、建築設計與城市規劃方面的各種理論。《建築十書》涉及這兩套體系的敘述，可見於〈第一書〉、〈第二書〉、〈第五書〉、〈第六書〉與〈第八書〉中。本文也進一步分析《建築十書》的四元素及四屬性觀念，是否與某些古希臘哲學家及醫學家的學說有關，也嘗試進行與中國風水之五行體系與印度Vāstu-Shāstra之Pancha-Bhuta體系的初步比較，討論不同的古典元素體系在不同的建築理論傳統中，是否可能具有的共同特徵與意義。

 

De Architectura, or Ten Books on Architecture, written by the Roman architect Marcus Vitruvius Pollio in the 1st century BCE is the only treatise on architecture of the Classical Period that survived into the present day. Many ideas mentioned in this treatise have been continuously exerting considerable influence on the theory and practice of architecture from the Renaissance to the present. However, some topics in De Architectura seem to have attracted less academic attention for a long time, such as the ideas of the Four-element and Four-quality systems. The two systems originating in ancient Greek philosophy and medicine were applied to the field of architecture for the first time in De Architectura. The so-called Four Elements are air, fire, water and earth, and the Four Qualities are cold, hot, dry and wet. In the period of Classical Greece, the correspondence between the two systems were established; air is hot and wet, fire hot and dry, water cold and wet, and earth cold and dry. According to such a correspondence, the theory about the transformation between the Four Elements are also established. This paper mainly aims to explore the role of the Four-element and Four-quality systems in De Architectura, examining how the ideas of the two systems were used to elaborate the common principles of human body, nature and architecture, and formed the basis of a variety of architectural theories, especially those about building materials, architectural design and urban planning. The description related to the two systems in De Architectura can be found in several books of this treatise, including Book I, II, V, VI and VIII. This paper also undertakes to clarify whether the ideas in De Architectura were derived from the theories of certain ancient Greek philosophers and medical scholar. Moreover, according to a preliminary comparison with the Wu-Xing System in Chinese Feng-Shui and the Pancha-Bhuta System in Indian Vāstu-Shāstra, an attempt is also made to discuss whether different classical-element systems may possibly have certain common characteristics andmeaning in different traditions of architectural theories.