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Architecture in Ancient China
For most visitors to China, sightseeing means a daily encounter
with Chinese architecture of one type or another ranging from
temples through gardens, mausoleum, pagodas, imperial palaces
to residential houses.
The Forbidden City in Beijing best exemplifies the elements of
palace architecture. Imposing buildings, like the three great
Halls of Harmony, stand well-spaced along the central axis. Facing
south and rising from a terrace, these buildings represent the
supreme power and authority emperors enjoyed during the feudalistic
dynasties. The living accormdations of the imperial dfamily are
found at the back of the City. Clustered around the Great Halls
at a distance are numerous smaller buildillgs where the more influential
eunuches and concubines were locked in struggle for power and
influence.
To the south of the Forbidden City is the Temple of Heaven,
an exquisite example of what foreigners might call religious architecture,
for it was here that the emperor would go twice a year to carry
out ritual ceremonies of sacrifice, expressing gratitude to Heaven
for the previous harvest and praying for the next harvest. Constructed
without the use of a single nail, the round 39-meter-high Hall
of Prayer for Good Harvests has a three-tier roof, whose tiles
are painted deop blue, symbolizing the colour of heaven. The roof
is supported by 28 pillars, of which the four most massive ones
represent the four seasons. The double ring consisting of two
circles Of twelve pillars represent the 12 months, plus the traditional
divisions of the Chinese day, each comprising of two hours.
Visitors who see Chinese buildings Will invariably notice the
extensive use of timber as a building material in addition to
bricks and tiles. That is because timber was not only easily available
and transportable but also was very practical. Heavy posts are
capable of carrying the roof while the wood could be carved for
decoration and embellishment. After all, Who would fail to be
impressed by the highly elaborate decorations and embellishments
in those buildings?
Pagdas are as much a part of Chinese scenery as churches are in
England. Tall or low, massive or slender, pagodas dot China's
landscape as evidence of Buddhist influence on and merge with
Chinese culture. The oldest existing pagoda, also built of wood,
is located in Yingxian County in north Shanxi. That the 67. l3
meter-high pagoda should have survived all the vicissitudes of
life for more than 900 years, including some strong earthquakes,
was a miracle. Because it is out of the way, most visitors do
not see this pagoda. More frequently visited pagodas are the Great
Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an, the Pagoda of Six Harmonies in Hangzhou,
and the Forest of Pagodas near Shaolin Monastery in Henan, central
China, to name just a few.
What is it that gives China's building unmistakable Chinese characteristics?
It is the ombination of the massive, often curved roof, the predominant
use of timber, the terrace, the corbel construction, and the dazzlingly
colourful decoration.
The roofs of Chinese temples and palaces lend an air of weightlessness
to the generally large and massive buildings. The eaves, of ten
slightly upturned, seem to let the entire roof float above the
building as if carried on invisible columns. Another way of achieving
this illusion of floating is the double roof. Here the roof is
constructed in two stages and the low wall separating the two
suggests a small additional storey. A practical funciton of uptumed
roof gutters is to ensure enough light inside the building while
making it easy to carry off rain-water. Additionally, the roofs
of palaces are covered with glazed tiles. As the emperor's colour
was yellow, those of the impe rial palace are in yellow. The Temple
of Heaven, on the other hand, is appropriately covered ln blue
tiles, the colour of the sky.
Buildings in China, be they temples or palaccs or pagodas, rise
invariably from a terrace. That is as it should br, for the wooden
frame, however flexible it is, has to be protected from any ingress
of water. OId texts, however, point to a symbolic cosmlogical
meaning when they state "the Heaven covers and the Earth
carries". The terrace in these terms represents the Earth
and the roof the Heaven. Thus we come to the recurrent theme of
ancient Chinese philosophy, which is a complete harmony between
man and nature.
No discussion of traditional Chinese buildings can be completed
without a mention of the corbel construction. Developed by Chinese
craftsmen over the centuries, it is the ultimate form or style
of Chinese architecture that is the pride of the Chinese nation
and the admiration of foreigners. While posts and beams satisfy
structural requirements and are often built without the benefit
of glue or nails, corhels and brackets are artfully combined into
incredibly complex and visually intriguing structures to support
the roof. These corbel systems also give a clue to the social
status of the owner of a house because ordinary people were not
permitted to have them: they were the prerogative of people of
rank.
Decorations for ancient Chinese buildings are largely of two types,
i. e., colourful paintings and decorative sculptures. The former
plays a decorative, symbolic or protective role. A classic exam-
ple is that found in the Long Corridor of the Summer Palace in
Beijing. Decorative sculptures, which are found both inside and
outside the main buildings, range from brick sculptures on walls,
stone sculptures on balustrades, to the small sculptures of mythological
beasts atop a palace or temple roof ridge and the large ones of
men and beasts in front of a mausoleum. For example, in front
of the Hall of Preserving Harmony there is 200-ton stone on the
terrace which is an intricate1y carved design of dragon and pheonix.
Chinese lunar new year and 12 animals
Chinese Folk Theatrical Art
Chinese folk art
Chinese Kungfu
Chinese Qigong
Chinese musical instruments
Festivals of China
Chinese Garden
Chinese Famous Grottoes
Traditional Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion
Traditional Chinese Medicine
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