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Recently, I discovered a wonderful museum with few tourists, quiet environment and detailed explanations. I must introduce it to everyone. This is the Beijing Ancient Architecture Museum.
Beijing Ancient Architecture Museum is located in the Xiannongtan, where the former emperors offered sacrifices to Xiannong and prayed for good weather.
The opening hours here are 9:00-16:00 (closed every Monday, New Year's Day, New Year's Eve, and the first day of the first month), and there are two volunteers at 9:30-12:00 and 1:30-4:00 explain.
There are many scenic spots like the Temple of Heaven, Dashilan, etc. in the surrounding area. You can listen to the explanation in the morning, take pictures in the spare time, and go around in the afternoon.
The opening hours here are 9:00-16:00 (closed every Monday, New Year's Day, New Year's Eve, and the first day of the first month), and there are two volunteers at 9:30-12:00 and 1:30-4:00 explain.
There are many scenic spots like the Temple of Heaven, Dashilan, etc. in the surrounding area. You can listen to the explanation in the morning, take pictures in the spare time, and go around in the afternoon.
Except for the first 200 people on Wednesday, it is free, and you need to buy a ticket for the rest of the time, 15 yuan per person, so it is more cost-effective to come here on Wednesday.
After entering the Xiannongtan, the first large building you see is called the Hall of Worship, and the back is connected to the courtyard of the Taisui Hall.
Worship
Hall of Tai Sui
The Taisui Hall is the main hall, and the Taisui God enshrined in it is in charge of the good and bad fortune of the year, so the emperor will come to worship it every year. If something happens or gets sick, he will send the palace ministers to worship the hall instead.
Today, these two parts form the Beijing Ancient Architecture Museum. The Hall of Worship shows the development process of ancient buildings, and the Hall of Taisui exhibits ancient construction skills and urban development. The supporting halls on both sides of the courtyard are Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Architecture Exhibition and Ancient Architecture Type Appreciation.
The caisson of Longfu Temple in Ming Dynasty
In the museum, there are two town hall treasures that will be the biggest gains of your trip. First, you need to go to the center of the worship hall and look up.
An extremely exquisite and complicated wooden structure decoration is presented in front of us. It is called caisson, which originally originated in the Han Dynasty. Because the name contains water and wells, it is placed on the ceiling to play a role of "fire prevention". In the Ming and Qing dynasties, caissons became more luxurious, with exquisite craftsmanship and wood consumption, and became a symbol of royal and religious sacred status.
This caisson comes from Longfu Temple in the third year of Jingtai in the Ming Dynasty. The central part is called Mingjing. A thick and powerful panlong is carved out of golden nanmu, so it is named Panlong Mingjing caisson.
In ancient times, golden nanmu was a special material for the royal family, and it was extremely precious. One of the crimes of He Shen's ransacking was that the mansion was decorated with golden nanmu, which greatly exceeded the grade. Now a piece of top-quality golden nanmu has reached 400 million US dollars. , Our every viewing is priceless.
Golden nanmu in Prince Kung's Mansion
The Tiangong caisson located in the center of the Taisui Hall also comes from Longfu Temple. Its carvings are more delicate, the imagination is more novel, and the colors are more gorgeous. It has a pivotal position in the history of ancient Chinese architecture.
It is said that the algae well originally had 6 floors, but after restoration, only 4 floors remain, and the bottom of each floor is carved with fine cloud patterns.
Carried by the auspicious clouds is the heavenly palace of Qionglou Yuyu, and there are colorful statues of twenty-eight stars on the pavilion.
There is a copy of the astrology of the people of the Tang Dynasty on the Mingjing, which has 1440 stars drawn, 1420 of which are almost the same as the positions of the modern constellations, which is amazing.
Finally, at the four corners of the algae well, there are four heavenly kings holding it up firmly, showing us the beautiful imagination of Ming Dynasty craftsmen on the life in Tiangong.
The caisson is the most magnificent part of ancient Chinese architecture. They usually appear above the emperor's throne, on top of Sakyamuni's head. If you visit historic sites in the future, you may wish to look up. Perhaps the most legendary craftsmanship of ancient craftsmen is hidden there.
After viewing the treasures of the town hall, we will start from the Neolithic Age and take an architectural journey across time and space.
Pre-Qin period architecture
At the Banpo site in the north, the ancestors invented houses with wooden bone and mud walls to keep warm according to the climate; while the residents of the Hemudu site in the south could also adapt to local conditions, building nests with branches to prevent moisture and insects, creating comfortable living environment.
In the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, the city took shape, and the Erlitou ruins showed us the planning of the palace city, inner city and outer city.
Plan of Erlitou Ruins
Miyagi has walls and ditches to defend against foreign enemies. The palace was cleverly built on a high platform, which effectively prevented rain erosion.
Restoration of Erlitou Palace Ruins
In the Western Zhou Dynasty, tiles hung on wooden eaves to prevent rain appeared, some of which were quite large, which shows that the wooden structure buildings at that time were already very magnificent.
tile effect
3-4 times that of ordinary tiles
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the tiles of Zhongshan Wangling's mausoleum were more distinctive. Their capitals were built on mountains, with mountains as totems, and even the tile nails used to fix tiles and wood were made into the shape of mountains.
During this period, the political situation was turbulent and wars were raging, but there was a major breakthrough in the history of ancient Chinese architecture, which affected the planning of the capital for more than 2,000 years.
"Zhou Li Kao Gong Ji" was born.
What would an ideal royal city look like? The capital city should be square, with three gates on each side, and nine horizontal and vertical arterial roads divide the city into neat small squares, with Miyagi in the middle, forming a layout of the front facing the back city, and the left ancestor and the right society.
Until the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the above-mentioned urban planning continued, such as the Forbidden City, and today we can still see the design of the front court and the back bedroom, and the left ancestor and the right society.
秦汉时期建筑In 221 BC, Qin Shihuang finally ended the war. In the process of unifying the six countries, Xianyang Palace is also constantly expanding.
Restoration map of Xianyang Palace No. 1
At that time, craftsmen were not able to build pavilions. In order to make the palace appear tall, they built a story of rammed earth, covered it with a corridor, and then built the palace on top of the rammed earth, which looked like a two-story building.
Although the buildings at that time had already turned into dust, the huge tiles and sewer pipes unearthed showed people the once grand buildings and the glory of an era.
Immortality: Oversized tile
Pentagonal sewer pipe
In the Han Dynasty, Han Gaozu Liu Bang established the largest city in the world: Han Chang'an City, which is 2.5 times the size of Rome, but did not refer to the "Zhou Ri Kao Gong Ji" for urban planning, but the large-scale palaces and temples Filled the whole city.
It is worth mentioning that the establishment of the East and West Markets moved the trading market during the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties to the city, and created the saying of shopping from then on.
During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, because Weiyang Palace was too small, a more magnificent Jianzhang Palace was built on the west side of Chang'an City, and the garden concept of one pool and three mountains was created.
This idea comes from the mythology of the ancestors. It is said that there are three fairy mountains in the East China Sea: Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou. The immortals live here for a long time and are in charge of the elixir of life. During Qin Shihuang's period, he sent people to search for it many times, but all failed.
Inspired, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty excavated the Taiye Pool in Jianzhang Palace and built three islands in the pool to pray for immortality. Since then, whether in Daming Palace or the Summer Palace, we can see similar garden layouts with one pool and three mountains.
Daming Palace
summer palace
In the Han Dynasty, rich burials were popular, and the concept of death as life made them make the basic necessities of life as funeral objects, so that the deceased could continue to enjoy them in the afterlife.
The architectural artifacts found in Han tombs give us a deeper understanding of the residences of the Han Dynasty. Their building materials are more complete and their technology is more mature. They can build tall buildings and courtyards.
At present, the highest pottery building unearthed in the country is seven stories
Ming ware pottery garden (replica)
Another harvest from Han tombs is called Que. Que and Que are set on both sides of the entrance to form a gap to mark the importance of this place. For example, the two ends of the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City protrude outwards to form a U shape, which is its palace.
Gao Yique, located in Ya'an, Sichuan, was found on both sides of the tomb passage, known as the tomb. His master is Gao Yi, and many of the official positions he has held are engraved on the gate. Among them, the largest official is Yizhou Taishou, whose rank is equivalent to the current governor of Sichuan Province.
1:3 model replica
The specifications of this que are very high. Not only does it have the main que and the auxiliary que, but it also has a very complete map of traveling with horses and horses. You must know that only those with outstanding achievements will have this picture on the tomb. This is the emperor's wish to the master A very high affirmation.
Troubled times
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Buddhism was introduced to China, and religious buildings began to rise for a while. The most famous of them was the world's largest and most magnificent Buddhist art shrine, Mo High cave.
During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, although wars were frequent and dynasties changed, the vigorous development of Buddhism could not be stopped. However, the belief in Buddhism by the whole people has also brought a lot of social crises. There are more and more monks in the temples, and they do not pay taxes, farm land, or serve as soldiers.
So Tuoba Tao, Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty, began the first large-scale extermination of Buddhism, burning down temples, expelling monks, and many Buddhist wooden buildings were destroyed at that time.
However, due to the large number of Buddhist believers, Tuoba Tao's descendants finally restored Buddhism again in order to strengthen ideological rule, and began to build cave temples that were difficult to burn, so that these Buddhist treasures could be handed down forever.
Longmen Grottoes
Yungang Grottoes
After the eminent monk passed away, the relics needed to be kept in a pagoda, which was another type of religious building that was fashionable at that time. The Songyue Temple Pagoda in Zhengzhou, Henan is the earliest existing brick pagoda and the only dodecagonal pagoda.
This kind of tower is called a dense eaves tower, and the interval between each floor is very narrow, so it does not have a sightseeing function.
Architecture of the Sui and Tang Dynasties
In 581 AD, Yang Jian put an end to the period of great division, established the capital in Xi'an, and established the Sui Dynasty. At that time, the capital of the Sui Dynasty was called "Daxing City". It was built by the famous architect Yu Wenkai.
Yu Wenkai
Sui Daxing City
In addition to leaving a perfect city for future generations, another living fossil building of the Sui Dynasty also had a great influence on us, that is, the Zhaozhou Bridge that appeared in elementary school textbooks. After 1400 years of wind and rain, the bridge is still unimpeded and intact.
And its durability benefits from the stable shape of the single-hole long span and the load-sharing of the open shoulder arches on both sides. Such an advanced design concept is 800 years earlier than that of foreign countries!
When the Tang Dynasty replaced the Sui Dynasty, Li Yuan did not destroy the capital, but expanded it to make it more in line with the description in "Zhou Li Kao Gong Ji".
This is a very well-regulated city. The streets are divided into grids, which are called squares as the places where the common people live. High walls are built around them, and each gate is guarded by officials. When the bell rings in the morning, the gates are opened one by one, and the people can come out for activities. At night, drums sounded in the city, reminding the residents to go home quickly. If there were still people walking on the street after the time limit, they would be arrested and beaten.
In the Tang Dynasty, there was a very important building, which overturned the Japanese claim that there were no Tang Dynasty buildings in China, and became the earliest existing wooden structure building. This is the main hall of Foguang Temple located in Wutai Mountain, Shanxi.
And its discovery and confirmation also have a tortuous and arduous process. In 1925, Liang Sicheng, who was still studying in the United States, received a book from his father Liang Qichao. This is the "Building Method" known as the Encyclopedia of Ancient Chinese Architecture.
Song "Building French Style"
This book inspired Liang Sicheng's determination to study ancient Chinese architecture. After returning to China, he immediately devoted himself to field investigations. However, five years later, no buildings of the Tang Dynasty were found.
Until one day in 1937, while researching the "Dunhuang Grottoes Catalog", Liang Sicheng discovered a Tang Dynasty-style architectural mural, the Temple of Light of the Great Buddha. So, he immediately rushed to Mount Wutai with his wife Lin Huiyin and other researchers. When they saw the true face of Foguang Temple, they already had a judgment in their hearts. The short main ridge, gentle slope, strong bucket arches, and curved eaves all exude the grandeur of the Tang Dynasty.
Tang Dynasty architectural features
But how to prove that this is the building of the Tang Dynasty? Although the date of construction is engraved on the "stone pillars" in front of the hall - the eleventh year of Emperor Dazong of Tang Dynasty, ancient buildings are often renovated by later generations. To obtain a strong proof, one must find it from the hall. After several days of searching for Lin Huiyin, a faint ink stain was finally found on the beam of the main hall. After dipping in water and wiping it, the writing appeared impressively, and the content was exactly the same as that of the "stone pillar".
The discovery of the main hall of Foguang Temple shocked the whole world, and also filled a gap in the entity of ancient Chinese architecture. The rigorous proportion and scientific design made this building stand for thousands of years, and it continuously conveyed the confidence and confidence of the prosperous Tang Dynasty to the world. heroic.
Merchants gather and shops stand everywhere; people are crowded and traffic is busy. "A Picture of Rising the River during the Qingming Festival" vividly shows us the life of the people in Bianjing. Time came to the Song Dynasty, a heyday when the total economic output accounted for half of the world.
With the development of the city and the rapid increase in population, the market system that separates business from life can no longer meet people's needs. Finally, the government overthrew the wall of Lifang, canceled the curfew system, and business continued from the street to the end of the alley, from daytime to late night, and Bianjing has become a city that never sleeps.
In such an era with the courage to break the tradition, people have a more sophisticated understanding of construction technology and aesthetics, and have left many rare architectural masterpieces for future generations.
Longxing Temple in Zhengding County, Shijiazhuang is known as the first famous temple in the Northern Song Dynasty. The roof of the Mani Hall is particularly peculiar. On the basis of the double eaves on the top of the mountain, there are another mountain-style buildings on each side, forming a majestic yet light style. . This architectural style was later spread to Japan and other countries, but it was unfortunately lost in China, making the Mani Hall an isolated example.
Longxing Temple
Mani Temple
Xie Shan Ding: There is a fork on the roof
Double eaves: two-story eaves
Baoxia: the side room surrounding the main room
In the Zhuanlun Tibetan Hall of Longxing Temple, there is still the oldest rotatable Buddhist scripture bookshelf in China. It is designed as a pavilion with an octagonal lower eaves and a circular upper eaves. , is amazing.
Jinci, located in Taiyuan, Shanxi, is also well-known. In the Notre Dame Hall, there are 8 wooden carved dragons, which are lifelike in different shapes and are firmly fixed on the pillars by nails, forming a special setting only for royal sacrificial buildings. Today, these eight Panlongs, as the earliest extant wooden components, have become well-deserved national treasures.
Another must-see National Treasure is the Uonuma Flying Beam located in front of the Notre-Dame Hall. This is a cross-shaped bridge connecting the Notre Dame Hall and the Dedicated Hall. It is stable vertically and slightly inclined horizontally. Looking from the side, it looks like a bird fluttering its wings. It is reflected on the fish pond with blue waves, giving people a natural agility. beauty.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, although the national strength was prosperous and construction was vigorously promoted, due to the lack of standardization of projects, officials often cut corners and materials to embezzle. In order to solve this problem, Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty ordered Li Jie to compile "Building Procedures" and publish it nationwide.
"Create French"
The central idea of this book is not original. It comes from the "Wood Classic" written by Yu Hao, a craftsman at the end of the Five Dynasties, and conveys a set of universal and flexible architectural concepts: modular system.
1 Li Jie 2 Yu Hao
That is to divide all wood into 8 basic specifications, called eight materials. When you need to build a house, you can accurately calculate the size of various components by selecting the corresponding specifications and applying them to different formulas.
Hachisai
Applicable building types for each grade
In addition, it also regulates labor. The number of people required for the processing, transportation, and installation of each component can be calculated, and these formulas are not rote. The north is dry, the south is humid, the winter is cold, and the summer is hot. It will also adapt to local conditions. Parameters are given to adjust.
In this way, the budget and settlement have a basis, and no one dares to embezzle any more.
In 916 AD, before the fall of the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty, the land of the Central Plains was in the midst of a raging war. At this time, the Khitan people in the north had already established the Liao Dynasty in Inner Mongolia, and accepted the Tang Dynasty craftsmen who defected.
As a result, Tang Dynasty-style buildings continued on the land under Liao rule, and the Guanyin Pavilion of Dule Temple in Jixian County, Tianjin is one of them.
From the outside, this is a two-story building, but when you walk into it, you will find its hidden mystery. Surrounding the 16-meter-high Avalokitesvara statue, an additional dark layer is set up in the pavilion, thus forming a three-story viewing platform surrounding Avalokitesvara.
Climbing to the third floor (it can't be climbed now), you will find that you are looking at the huge head of Avalokitesvara. There are ten small Avalokitesvara statues on top of her head, with plump and kind faces and drooping shoulders. Tang Fengpei's artistic atmosphere is brought to each section.
With the rise of the Song Dynasty, the architecture of the Liao Dynasty not only inherited the majesty and roughness of the Tang Dynasty, but also gradually absorbed the meticulous and graceful style of the Song Dynasty, leaving a national treasure-level boutique building for later generations: Yingxian Wooden Pagoda.
Ying County Wooden Pagoda: Located in Ying County, Shuozhou City, Shanxi Province
It is the oldest surviving wooden tower in China, and it is also one of the world's three strange towers with the same reputation as the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Eiffel Tower. This tower seems to have only 5 floors, but in fact there are dark floors between each floor, so it actually has 9 floors, which is equivalent to a modern building with more than 20 floors, giving people a sense of towering and shocking.
If you stand under the pagoda, you will find that each layer of the eaves is shrinking inward layer by layer, and then the bucket arches are made in different ways, creating a unique Zen-like graceful outline. It is said that there are more than 50 types of bucket arches in Yingxian wooden towers, accounting for half of the total types found so far. It is a veritable museum of bucket arches.
And these mortise and tenon joints of wood not only carry the huge cornices, but also flexibly loosen and consume energy when shaken, and finally return to a balanced state.
Yingxian Wooden Pagoda Bucket Arch 1:5 Model
In addition to the brackets, the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda has two secret weapons that have brought it long-term stability. One is the four dark layers hidden in the tower, which form four rigid rings inside the building to provide firm support; the other is that during the maintenance of the Jin Dynasty, wooden columns were added to the center of the tower around the tower, make it stronger.
According to historical records of the Ming Dynasty, seven earthquakes occurred here, and all other buildings collapsed, except for the wooden pagoda.
But unfortunately, a county magistrate in modern times removed the walls of the outer eaves of the tower body and the diagonal braces inside the walls for Fengshui, making it lose its stability and the structure began to tilt. Today, the leaning angle of the Leaning Tower of Pisa is only 4 degrees, while The wooden pagoda in Ying County is nearly 10 degrees Celsius.
Architecture in Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties
In 1271 AD, Kublai Khan established the Yuan Dynasty and moved the capital to Beijing the following year, starting the urban planning of the Yuan Dynasty.
This is a capital that best fits Zhouli Kaogongji, especially the construction of the water system. Water conservancy scientist Guo Shoujing not only solved the problem of using water for palace gardens and irrigating farmland, but also directed the construction of the Tonghui River, realizing the connection of the North-South Grand Canal from Yuandadu to Hangzhou City. Since then, the ship traffic and transportation on Jishuitan have been developed, presenting a scene of prosperity.
Beijing Guo Shoujing Memorial Hall
Due to the limited knowledge of the Mongolian and Yuan rulers, the development of architecture during this period was basically in a state of decline, and Yongle Palace is regarded as an outstanding masterpiece among them. This Taoist palace complex, which took more than 110 years to complete, has few carvings and simple lines, showing the rough and unruly architectural style of the Yuan Dynasty.
Shanxi Ruicheng Yongle Chongyang Hall
But when you walk into the palace, you will find that its beauty and delicacy are all reflected on the walls. There are 960 square meters of murals here, which vividly show us the scene of the immortals paying homage to Yuanshi Tianzun.
"Chao Yuan Tu"
In 1368 AD, the Ming Dynasty occupied the city of Beijing in the Yuan Dynasty, and Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed himself emperor and established his capital in Nanjing. 54 years later, Zhu Diqian, the great emperor of Yongle, decided to move the capital to Beijing despite all the arguments, and another urban transformation began.
They destroyed the perfect water system built by Yuan Dadu, moved the imperial city 1 mile south, and the south city wall 2 mile south, reducing the original capital area.
During the Jiajing period, the emperor wanted to build an outer city, forming an ideal layout with the imperial city in the middle, surrounded by the inner city and the outer city. Unfortunately, after a small part was built, the treasury was empty, so it had to be connected with the east and west gates.
During the Yongle period, urban reform and palace construction were carried out at the same time. Referring to the etiquette system that "the king must live in the world", Zhu Di built the palace on the central axis of Beijing.
In ancient times, the emperor's heavenly palace was in Ziweixing, and the imperial palace belonged to the forbidden area, so the built palace complex was named the Forbidden City, and behind it was the "Long Live Palace" built by Zhu Di to suppress the "wangqi" of the Yuan Dynasty Mountain".
In 1644, on this Longevity Mountain, Chongzhen, the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty, hanged himself, marking the end of the Ming Dynasty. In the same year, when the Qing army entered the pass, Shunzhi issued the first edict at the Taihe Gate in the Forbidden City.
Taihe Gate
Burning is the easiest way to change dynasties, and because of this, all the large-scale palaces in Chinese history have come to the same ending. Fortunately, the Qing Dynasty did not do this. It left us this architectural art treasure, and made that period of history traceable from now on.
If you are going to visit the Forbidden City, there are several interesting designs about the architecture, you must not miss it!
1 turret
On the four corners of the Forbidden City, there are four turrets. They not only undertake the duty of looking out and defending, but also provide a residence for the 28 constellations of Spica.
Turret model
The turret is made up of 6 overlapping hilltops. The 3-story eaves have a total of 28 wing corners, ten-faced mountain flowers, 72 ridges, and 230 kissing beasts. The most complex building in the Forbidden City.
2 Wangzhu and Chishou
Passing through the square of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, you will see a magnificent three-story white marble platform, which carries the supreme power and prestige of the three halls of the Forbidden City.
Each floor of this high platform is made in the style of Mount Sumeru, which symbolizes the center of the Buddhist universe. It is surrounded by white marble railings, and each pillar is carved with dragon and phoenix patterns.
Below the railing, there is a protruding dragon head, called Chishou. Whenever it rains, they will use their mouths to drain away the rainwater, forming a spectacular spectacle of thousands of dragons spraying water.
3 gold bricks
On the three-story Xumizuo is the highest-level palace in the Forbidden City: the Hall of Supreme Harmony. In ancient times, it was the easiest way to distinguish between the middle, the most, and the high. The Hall of Supreme Harmony is located in the center of the central axis and has the largest number of rooms. It is the tallest and largest building in the Forbidden City.
The floor of the Hall of Supreme Harmony is covered with the largest number of gold bricks. One piece is equivalent to the monthly salary of three county magistrates. It takes mud to be selected for a year to dry, the bricks to be dried in the shade for 7 months, and fired for 130 days before they can be released from the kiln.
Bricks are not made of gold
Mud selection-mud refining-embryo making-shade drying-kiln firing-signature-storage
Many inscriptions can be seen on the side of the bricks. From the craftsman to the supervisor, any party can be held accountable for problems. Qualified gold bricks sound like knocks, are as smooth as black jade, and are broken without holes, representing the highest level of paving palaces.
4 Dougong
Looking up, you will see a structure made of single pieces of wood between the pillars and the roof. It is a unique device in ancient Chinese architecture: bucket arches.
Dougong originated in the Han Dynasty. It can not only support the eaves to prevent rain, but also strengthen the force and resist vibration, so it is very large. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, as the materials and technology became more mature, the houses also had the function of waterproofing, and the brackets became more delicate, and instead became a part of architectural decoration.
Pingshenke Dougong Components in Qing Dynasty
In the Forbidden City, the more brackets, the higher the level of the palace.
5 roof
The emperor's palace is honored with yellow, the palace is green, and black is generally used for sacrifices, so yellow glazed tiles are used in the Forbidden City, green is used in Yin'an Hall of Prince Gong's Mansion, and black is used in Xiannongtan Taisui Hall.
In addition to the color, the roof shape also has a strict classification. The roof of the veranda is the highest level, characterized by slopes on all sides and protruding eaves. The Hall of Supreme Harmony adopts the roof of the veranda with double eaves, which establishes the highest level of the palace.
Double eaves are two-story eaves, which are higher in grade than single eaves
The rest is next to the top of the mountain, like two slopes resting for a while and then turning a corner. Tiananmen Square is the top of Xieshan Mountain with double eaves.
The suspended mountain top is generally used for less important side halls, with only two slopes jutting out of the gable.
The hard top is often found in residential courtyards, and it also has two slopes but the eaves do not protrude.
6 spines
Well, don't look away quickly after understanding the roof, there are more treasures hidden on the roof of the Supreme Harmony Hall. First of all, at both ends of the ridge, there are two faucets with big mouths, holding the ridge firmly.
Owl Kiss: Dragon (Ming and Qing Dynasties)
This is Chi Kiss, which was called Chi Tai before the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is said that it is a big fish in the sea.
Chiwei: fish (before Ming and Qing Dynasties)
In addition to the main ridge, on the ridge of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, there are also a series of small animals, which perform their duties to protect the safety of the temple.
dragon phoenix lion pegasus seahorse
In ancient times, nine was the highest yang number and represented the son of heaven, so there was a saying of ninety-five supreme. There are 9 small animals on the ridges of the Hall of Central Harmony and the Hall of Preserving Harmony. How can it show the highest level of the Hall of Supreme Harmony? The craftsmen racked their brains, and finally installed a unique animal behind the 9 small animals, which looks like a monkey and holds a lightning rod. People call it Xingshi.
Therefore, the Hall of Supreme Harmony has 10 unique little beasts, proudly showing the highest glory in the Forbidden City to the world.
After admiring the design of the Forbidden City, our tour of ancient Chinese architecture finally came to an end. From ancient times to the Qing Dynasty, there are not many surviving buildings, but fortunately, through them, we can still feel the lofty sentiments of the Tang Dynasty, the gentleness of the Song Dynasty, the barbaric growth of the Yuan Dynasty, and the rigidity of the Qing Dynasty. Complete the dialogue with the soul of history again and again.
The beauty and stories endowed by time have been waiting for someone to come and listen.
