Archive for category Chinese Architecture
Suzhou Gardens
Posted by ancient chinese culture in Chinese Architecture on August 1, 2010
As an old saying goes, gardens to the south of Yangtze River are the best in the World and Suzhou gardens are the best among them. Suzhou gardens play a unique and irreplaceable role in the history of world landscape gardening. In 1997, Suzhou Gardens was listed as World Cultural and Natural Heritage.
The earlist garden in Suzhou，which belonged to the King of Wu, can date back to the period of Spring and Autumn Warring States (770BC~221BC). Suzhou gardens experienced its golden age during the Ming Dynasty (1368~1644) and Qing Dynasty (1636~1911). It is said that during its heyday, there were about 200 gardens in Suzhou city.
Suzhou Gardens are the carrier of Chinese traditional culture and are best known for its cultural features, including unique inscribed boards, excellet couplets, exquisite engraving and poetic Garden halls’names, etc. All these stand as the proof of the creativity and wisdom of ancient Chinese. Handwritings of some ancient Chinese calligraphy celebrities, which are of high literary value, are also well-presevered in these gardens.
Suzhou Gardens fully reflect the profound importance of natural beauty in Chinese culture. The “borrowed scenery”, a technique of garden design that merges the surrounding natural scenery into the garden itself, is often used in in the art of garden construction in Suzhou. Nowadays, we still can enjoy the beauty of some famous ones, such as Zhuozheng Garden (also called Humble Administrator’s Garden), Liu Garden (also called Lingering Garden), etc.
Yellow Crane Tower
Posted by ancient chinese culture in Chinese Architecture on July 25, 2010
Yellow Crane Tower is one of the three most famous and historic towers in China. Located on Snake Hill in Wuhan, Hubei Province, it has been regarded as “The First Scenery under Heaven”. Also, it is regarded as a symbol of Wuhan.
Legend goes that, a young man named Xin opened a wine shop. One day, a Taoist priest came to the shop to buy wine, but he could not afford it. So he asked for the free wine and the owner accepted. Xin served the free wine to the Taoist priest everyday for half a year. In order to thank him, the Taoist priest drew a crane on the wall of the shop. It was a magic crane which could dance when it heard clapping. Thousands of people came to the shop to see the magic crane. In this way, the owner’s business became so prosperous that he became a rich man. Ten years later, the Taoist priest visited the shop again. He played the flute and then rode on the crane to the sky. In memory of the Taoist priest, Xin built a tower and named it Yellow Crane Tower.
According relevant records, Yellow Crane Tower was first built during the period of Three Kingdoms (220~280) and was rebuilt during 1981 to 1985. With five stories high, it looks very magnificent. Both internal and external parts of the tower are painted with the patterns of crane, clouds, flowers, etc. In ancient times, it was one of the most inspirational for celebrities and poets. It is said that during the period of the Qing Dynasty (1636~1911), 300 poems were written about the tower.
Ancient Chinese Bridges
Posted by ancient chinese culture in Chinese Architecture on July 12, 2010
A bridge is a man-made path for the purpose of providing the passage over an obstacle. Generally, it consists of two main parts: Superstructure and substructure of bridge. The former contains the body of bridge and bridge deck. The latter contains piers, abutments and foundation.
Originally，the “bridge” referred to a kind of big tree. It was big enough to lie down over the river. The tree could link the two banks of the river. That was a Single-plank Bridge. Until now, solving the problem of crossing over the water or valleys is still the primary purpose for a bridge.
Zhaozhou Bridge – the oldest, best preserved the great stone arch bridge
Bridges are built of stone, wood, bamboo, brick, etc. Bridges in ancient China can be divided into four categories, namely the arch, beam, cable suspension and floating bridges.
Throughout history, the Chinese people have built thousands of bridges, which have earned high reputation all over the world. Ancient bridges are crystallization of our ancestors’ wisdom and besides their practical functions, they also have great artistic value. Nowadays we still can enjoy the beauty of some famous ones, such as China’s four famous ancient bridges, namely Zhaozhou Bridge, Luoyang Bridge, Guangji Bridge and Lugou Bridge.
Guangji Bridge
Brick Carving
Posted by ancient chinese culture in Chinese Architecture on September 10, 2009
The brick carving is a very important part in ancient Chinese architecture. It is widely used for the decorative purposes on gateways, doors, eaves, ridges, roofs, etc.
The carvings on bricks cover a wide range of subjects, including human figures, flowers, tigers, dragons, lions, elephants, etc. Among all of them, the most common seen are human figures from popular legends, dramas and folklore.
The brick carving requires exquisite materials and superb craftsmanship. It is done on a kind of special gray brick, also called fangzhuan in the Ming Dynasty and jinzhuan in the Qing dynasty. The brick is so brittle that can be easily ruined by a slip of the carving tool.
Nowadays, we can still appreciate this art form in the provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui, Shanxi, Guangdong, etc. The carvings of Anhui is among the most reprehensive ones.
Chinese Pagoda
Posted by ancient chinese culture in Chinese Architecture on September 9, 2009
Chinese pagoda is strongly influenced by the Buddhism and evolved from the stupa from the Indian subcontinent.
As the Buddhist missionaries, pilgrims, rulers, and ordinary devoted to seek out, distribute, and extol Buddhist relics, the original purpose of the pagoda was to house relics and sacred writings.
The earliest base-structure types for pagodas were square-base and circular-base. By the 10th century the Chinese began to build octagonal-base pagoda towers. The structure can be divided into three parts: the top, the body and the base.
Most pagodas contain relics of the Buddha or at least a statue of the Enlightened. Inside pagodas, there may be a dome-like room or can be climbed by stairs to take care for the decorations or the jewels that are fixed atop of the lotus flower bud.
Yingxian Wooden Pagoda , built in 1056 .( the oldest wooden Buddhist pagoda in existence)
The Xumi Pagoda, built in 636 AD during the Tang Dynasty.
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