A bridge is a space used as a passage. This space should be functional, solid, and beautiful. Since the beginning of human life, bridge architecture has given importance to function as a connection from one place to another. Stepping stones in the stream were the connections between divided spaces in the agricultural life, the bridge on the entrances of a town was the place for separation, expectation, and communication for people gathering around the community. Southern Chinese provinces such as Zhejiang, Hunan, Yunnan, and Guizhon is famous for it's spectacular scenary, and tribes like the 'Miao' and 'Dong' live in a cooperate community. The 'Dong' tribe is one of the 'Yue' genealogy where the people have settled down in this place in the days of 'Qin Shi Huang(Qin dynasty)'. As the population of the 'Dong' tribe growed, they used a bridge to connect town to town. The scale became larger with additional design, giving splendid achievement to bridge architecture. The 'Fungyu bridge' in Tongdao and 'Chungyang bridge' in Sanjiang are some fine examples. The Fungyu bridge could be defined as a bridge which blocks wind and rain, this has the same function as the lounge bridge in Taishun located in southern Zhejiang province. In Taishun, 5 minority races such as the 'Dong' and 'Miao' people have been living together as a clan society for centuries on mountains as high as 1000m following their own tradition. The 'Xiliu river' flowing thorough has a variety of bridges remaining in it's original form, and it is recently known as a museum of ancient bridges. The formation of the bridges in Tongdao and Taishun shows that it is different with the arch and straight bridges remaining in Korea. In this study, it is readjusting the base data, showing plan characteristics and describing the construction of the wooden structure above the bridge post.

• 장헌덕(한국전통문화학교 전통건축학과 부교수) | Jang, Hun-Duk (professor, Korea National University of Cultural Heritage)