Abstract
A stylobate is an important component of a building at the bottom, being exposed to the outside while supporting a building or pagoda. Researches have been conducted consistently on stylobates in traditional architecture, and most of them focused on remaining cases containing excavations. This study examined stylobates in ancient Chinese architecture in iconographic materials from Eastern Han Dynasty to the Northern and Southern Dynasties to understand stylobates made before the remaining cases. The findings led to the following conclusions: All styles of architectural stylobates were found from the stilt style to stone-constructed, brick-constructed, and post-lintel styles. Of them, the stone-constructed style was the most popular, being followed by the post-lintel style. The brick-constructed style was found in intaglio murals in stone burial chambers and stone coffins from the Northern and Southern Dynasties, which indicates that it developed after the stone-constructed style.