What is the most fundamental difference between the architecture of the Tang Dynasty and the architecture of the Song Dynasty? Is it the door? How many original architectural prototypes of the two dynasties still exist in China?
Tang Dynasty:
In the early period of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the country was unified and relatively stable for more than a hundred years, which provided conditions for social and economic prosperity. It reached its peak in the Kaiyuan and Tianbao years in the middle of the Tang Dynasty (Figure 4-2-A). Although it began to decline after the "An-Shi Rebellion", the end of the Tang Dynasty was still worthy of being the climax of my country's feudal social, economic and cultural development. Architectural technology and art have also undergone tremendous development and improvement. The main features are:
First: large scale and strict planning. Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, was originally planned and built in the Sui Dynasty, but it was expanded after the Tang Dynasty inherited it, making it the largest and most prosperous city in the world at that time. The planning of Chang'an City was the most rigorous among the ancient capitals in my country (see the urban construction chapter separately). It even affected Tokyo City in the Bohai Sea, Heisei Kyo (today's Nara City) in Japan, and later Heian Kyo (today's Kyoto City). The Daming Palace in Chang'an of the Tang Dynasty was also very large, with the site area equivalent to more than three times the total area of the Forbidden City in the Qingming Palace. The grandeur and breadth of other buildings such as the city and government offices are also unmatched by any feudal dynasty.
Second: The handling of building groups is becoming more and more mature. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, not only the overall planning of the city was strengthened, but also the spatial combination of palaces, mausoleums and other buildings that highlighted the main building was emphasized, and the foil technique in the vertical axis direction was emphasized. This technique is the origin of the layout of palaces and mausoleums in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Third: Wooden buildings have solved the technical problems of large areas and large volumes and have been finalized. The Linde Hall of the Daming Palace covers an area of 5,000 square meters and is arranged in a column grid with 11 rooms wide and 17 rooms deep. Stereization reflects the progress of construction management level, accelerates the construction speed, and also promotes architectural design.
Fourth: Improvement of design and construction levels. The technicians who master the design and construction are "all materials" and are skilled in professional skills. They specialize in public and private housing design and on-site command, and make a living from it.
Fifth: Masonry construction has further developed. The main reason is that the number of pagodas using bricks and stones has increased. At present, all Tang pagodas preserved in our country are masonry pagodas.
Sixth: The authenticity and maturity of architectural art processing. The architectural style of the Tang Dynasty is characterized by grandeur, strictness and cheerfulness. The existing wooden building materials reflect the unity of architectural art processing and structure in the Tang Dynasty. The structure of the brackets, the image of the pillars, and the processing of the beams all make people feel the inherent connection between the stress state and the image of the component itself, achieving the balance of strength and beauty. unified. The color tone is simple and bright, the roof is stretched and flat, and the doors and windows are unpretentious, giving people a solemn and generous impression. This is a feature that is not easy to find in the architecture of the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Song Dynasty:
Song Architecture
Beizhengding Longxing Temple is an important example of the overall layout of the existing Song Dynasty Buddhist temple architecture. There is a rectangular courtyard inside the mountain gate, a bell tower, The drum towers are arranged on the left and right. The Dajue Sixth Master Hall in the middle has been destroyed, but the ruins still exist. Entering the north is the Mani Hall, with side halls on the left and right, forming another longitudinal courtyard. Then heading north into the second gate is the main building, the Buddhist Incense Pavilion and the Zhuanlunzang Hall and Cishi Pavilion on the west side in front of it. The magnificent spatial combination formed with other secondary buildings, pavilions, halls, pavilions, etc. is also the climax of the entire Buddhist temple complex. There is also an Amitabha Hall located behind the temple. Both the Buddhist Incense Pavilion and the Amitabha Hall adopt the system of three parallel halls. The whole temple building is arranged in depth along the central axis. From the outside to the inside, the temples overlap, the courtyards change, the heights are staggered, and the priorities are clear.
Foxiang Pavilion is now about 33 meters high, with three floors and a hilltop. The upper two floors have double eaves and flat seats. Rebuilt around 1940. The forty-second statue of Guanyin in the pavilion is 24 meters high. It was cast when the pavilion was built in the fourth year of Kaibao's reign (971) in the Northern Song Dynasty. It is the largest bronze statue remaining in China today. Both Zhuanlunzang Hall and Cishi Pavilion are two stories tall, with double eaves resting on the top of the mountain. Same size, but different structures. The rest of the auxiliary halls in the temple are single-story. This layout method with the high pavilion as the center of the temple reflects the feature that after the mid-Tang Dynasty, the main buildings had to be multi-storeyed due to the enshrinement of tall Buddha statues, and the supporting secondary buildings also became taller. Mani Hall was built in the fourth year of Emperor You of the Northern Song Dynasty (1052). The foundation of the hall is nearly square, with towers on each side in the middle. The hall is surrounded by thick walls, with only the front door and windows on the front. The appearance of this hall is unique, with double eaves resting on the top of the mountain, and the Baoxia building resting on the top of the mountain with a mountain face in front. It is very similar to the paintings of the Song Dynasty handed down from generation to generation.
Dule Temple in Jixian County, Hebei Province was rebuilt in the second year of Liao Tonghe (984). The existing mountain gate and Guanyin Pavilion are original from the Liao Dynasty. There was originally a corridor surrounding the two, which no longer exists. The mountain facade is three rooms wide, with a single eaves verandah roof. The platform base is low, the dougongs are majestic, and the eaves are far-reaching. There is no ceiling inside, and the dougongs, beams, purlins and other components are visible, and the decorative effect is remarkable. Guanyin Pavilion is three stories high, but its appearance is only two stories, with a dark layer in the middle. In the pavilion is a 16-meter-high 11-faced Guanyin statue from the Liao Dynasty, which is the largest existing statue in ancient China. The statue leads directly to the third floor. There is an empty well inside to accommodate the statue body. The dark layer between the upper and lower floors of the pavilion is the space occupied by the flat structure and the lower eaves. The pillars on the upper and lower floors are not directly connected. Instead, the columns on the upper floor are inserted into the capitals and brackets of the lower floor. The different shapes of the hollow wells on the upper and lower floors help to prevent the structure of the hollow well from deforming and strengthen the rigidity of the entire pavilion structure. The hollow well is also a space for accommodating Buddha statues, achieving the unity of structure and function. In addition, the characteristics of Xi'ang and Hua Gong's overhangs being equal but of different heights are also used to adjust the roof slope. This is a common method for single-story and multi-story buildings since the Tang Dynasty.
The shape of the pavilion combines the majestic characteristics of the Tang Dynasty and the softness of the Song Dynasty. It is an important example of Liao Dynasty architecture.
Huayan Temple and Shanhua Temple in Datong, Shanxi still exist today, both of which are important works of Liao and Jin architecture. Huayan Temple is divided into upper and lower temples. The main hall of the upper temple was rebuilt in the third year of Jin Tianjuan (1140). It is the largest single-eaves wooden building in ancient times that has been discovered so far. The Bojia Temple in the lower temple was built in In the seventh year of Chongxi reign of the Liao Dynasty (1038), thirty-eight closets for storing scriptures were arranged along the wall inside, imitating the style of a heavy building. They were divided into upper and lower floors. They were interrupted at the back window to form five heavenly palace pavilions. They flew over the windows to The ring bridge connects the left and right cabinets, which faithfully reflects the architectural style of the Liao Dynasty and is also an important relic of the small woodwork of the Liao Dynasty. The plane of the main hall's column network is similar to the form of the "Golden Box Doug Bottom Trough". The inner and outer columns are of the same height, and two sets of roof trusses, Mingfu and Caofu, are used on it. It is similar to the main hall of Foguang Temple in Wutai Mountain, which can prove that the Liao Dynasty architecture directly It inherits the architectural style of the Tang Dynasty. The main hall of Shanhua Temple was built in the Liao Dynasty, while the Puxian Pavilion, Sansheng Temple and the Mountain Gate are relics of the Jin Dynasty. The temple has tall halls and wide courtyards, making it the largest existing Buddhist temple in the Liao and Jin Dynasties. At the same time, the planes, structures, and shapes of these buildings have their own characteristics, which are important materials for studying the evolution and changes of Liao and Jin architecture.
The overall layout of the buildings in the Song Dynasty is different from that in the Tang Dynasty. It is arranged into a number of courtyard groups along the axis, which strengthens the depth of development, such as Zhengding Longxing Temple. The main buildings of some other groups are no longer composed of two or three deep palaces, but are surrounded by lower buildings surrounding the central towering palace to form a whole, such as the Song Dynasty painting "The Emperor Ming's Summer Retreat" This is true for "Tengwang Pavilion Picture" and "Yellow Crane Tower Picture". At this time, pavilions were no longer built at the corners of the cloister of the courtyard, but a number of pavilions and pavilions were built at random heights on the left and right of the central axis, so that the image of the entire group would not be monotonous. In addition, combined with the deep layout, there are often supporting rooms and side halls on the left and right of the main hall to highlight the importance of the central main building. From these materials, we can also see that the position, size, height and level, waist eaves, roof, etc. of each building in the group, the combined outline and the relationship between each part have been carefully processed, and they are good at making use of the terrain. It is full of garden interest.
Tang Dynasty architecture: such as Xi'an Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Nanchan Temple, Guangrenwang Temple, Tang Dynasty Taoist temples, Foguang Temple, Tiantai Nunnery, the tombs of Tang Dynasty emperors, etc.
Song Dynasty Architecture: It is said that there are more than 100 Song Dynasty buildings in existence, such as Jinci Temple in Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, Baoguo Temple in Ningbo, Bazi Bridge in Yuecheng District, Shaoxing, "Iron Tower" at Youguo Temple in Kaifeng, and Kaiyuan Temple Tower in Dingxian County , Ding County Kaiyuan Temple Pagoda, Pizhi Pagoda, etc.