Fen(分°) is the proportional dimension unit of the standard timber section on Yingzaofashi(營造法式), and there is a phrase that not only structural members but the whole structural design of a building also use Fen as the dimension unit on the book. But in fact only the section dimensions of structural members are recorded by Fen, but the design dimensions are recorded by Chi(尺) on the book. Other historical records also described the building size by Chi. So there has been long-standing debate on the phase in Chinese architectural history society, including the recent confrontation on the analysis of survey figures of the east great hall of Foguangsi temple(佛光寺東大殿). This paper analyzes all the records about the size of structural members and section planning on the book to make various calculation and evaluation. And it makes a survey of Cai(材) as the dimension and design unit between Chi and Fen through geometric analysis. Cai might be a rough unit of measurement in terms of structural and proportional scheming on Yingzaofashi, and the full size Cai(足材) had been a building scheming module before the Song dynasty.

In ancient times, architectural design was seen as a critical task in building technologies. Specifically, form, dimension and structural design are of significant. These aspects are associated with each other and to be emerged as a whole. Designing plan dimension was deemed to be the core of design technology due to its close relationship with module system. Thus, its evolution as well as development process typically represents and reflects the spirits and contents of design technologies in ancient China. In China, the materials regarding ancient architectural technology include Yingzaofashi(營造法式) of Song Dynasty and Gongchengzuofazeli(工程做法則例) of Qing Dynasty. They show many aspects concerning materials, structure, scale system and building. In Yingzaofashi, although the length of objects are decided by 'cai(材)' and 'fen(分)', there are no regulations on length, width and height of a building. However, in the construction of ancient buildings, the above mentioned basic scales are very important in both design and construction. The present paper attempts to discuss the significance, namely, the design principles of length, with and height of ancient chinese architecture.