STUDY ON ACOUSTICS OF CHINESE TRADITIONAL COURTYARD THEATRES

摘要

Courtyard theatre is the major type of traditional theatrical buildings in China. The absence of roof would mean little reverberation, but its enclosed space is conducive to early reflections for the audience. Furthermore, the roofed stage, open in three sides and thrusted into the courtyard, functions as a reflective shell. The space under the raised stage often serves as the main entry to the theater. The raised height of the stage around 2.5 m facilities the transmission of direct sound to a longer distance. Based on acoustical measurements of several courtyard theatres, an analysis is presented in this paper.