Ming and Qing architectural styles?
The greatest achievement of architecture in Ming and Qing dynasties was in the field of gardens. The private gardens in the south of the Yangtze River in Ming Dynasty and the royal gardens in the north of Qing Dynasty are the most artistic ancient buildings. China has built a large number of palaces throughout the ages, but only the palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties-the Forbidden City in Beijing and the Forbidden City in Shenyang-have been preserved so far and become priceless treasures of China culture. The existing ancient cities and houses in the north and south were basically built during this period. Beijing and Nanjingcheng are the most outstanding representatives of Ming and Qing cities. The quadrangles in Beijing and houses in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces are the most successful examples of houses in China. Tanmiao and Huangling are both important buildings in ancient times. At present, Beijing still retains the highest-level temple dedicated to the Temple of Heaven in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, dedicated to heaven and earth, the country and the ancestors of the emperor. One of the most outstanding representatives is the Tiantan in Beijing, which still touches people's hearts with its wonderful art connecting heaven and earth. The Ming tombs have their own style on the basis of inheriting the previous generation, while the Qing Dynasty basically inherited the system of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Tombs are the most outstanding artistic achievements in Ming and Qing tombs.
In the past, architectural history researchers often belittled Ming and Qing architecture because of the decline in the artistic quality of Ming and Qing architecture. In fact, Ming and Qing architecture not only made outstanding achievements in creating group space in art, but also made progress in architectural technology. The architecture in Ming and Qing dynasties emphasized the direct combination of beams, columns and purlins, and reduced the role of bucket arch as an intermediate level. This not only simplifies the structure, but also saves a lot of wood, thus achieving the effect of obtaining more building space with less materials. Masonry was also widely used in Ming and Qing dynasties, which promoted the development of masonry structure. During this period, the common beamless hall in China is the concrete embodiment of this progress.
In a word, the architectural art of Ming and Qing dynasties did not go downhill blindly, but it was like a fading sunset on the horizon, still shining.
Ming and Qing architecture
The harsh rule of the Yuan Dynasty was finally overthrown, and China returned to the hands of the Han people. However, Ming Di, who was bent on restoring the glory of Han and Tang Dynasties, did not bring another glory to China-the decline of feudal system was irreversible. In the Ming Dynasty, centralization reached its peak, the prime minister was abolished and the emperor became the chief bureaucrat. Secret service politics has also developed to the extreme, and secret service organizations such as Dongxihuang and Wei Jinyi are very developed. The feudal rulers strongly advocated Confucianism, but at this time Confucianism had lost its vitality in the pre-Qin period, and its negative factors became more and more obvious. With the development of productive forces, the improvement of handicraft industry and production technology, and the expansion of domestic and foreign markets, capitalism sprouted in China. But in the face of the powerful forces of Confucianism, this bud has never germinated. During this period, the development of science and technology in China reached the last peak, that is, modern western culture began to be introduced into China, Matteo Ricci and Xu Guangqi jointly translated Elements of Geometry, Li Shizhen edited Compendium of Materia Medica, and Song wrote Heavenly Creations. The large-scale peasant uprising triggered by the cruel exploitation of peasants in the late Ming Dynasty overthrew the Ming Dynasty. The rulers of the Qing Dynasty went south to grab the fruits of the revolution and continued the autocratic monarchy of the Ming Dynasty. They discriminated against the Han people and adopted the policy of national assimilation, but the combination of appeasement and coercion contributed to the slave's profit-loving thought, literary inquisition and hindered academic development. After a short period of prosperity, the national situation turned sharply, and the bows and spears of the children of the Eight Banners could not compete with foreigners' strong ships and guns. Thousands of years of feudal society in China was forced to end and entered a semi-feudal and semi-colonial society with severe disasters.
In terms of architecture, the Ming and Qing Dynasties reached the last peak of traditional architecture in China, showing an image of simple form and complicated details. With the decrease of the proportion of bucket arch, the depth of cornice and the slender proportion of columns, the proportion of beam and square is heavier, and the soft lines of roof disappear. The official architecture presents a restrained but steady and rigorous style, and the architectural form is exquisite and symbolic. Government-style buildings have been completely standardized. In the Qing Dynasty, the government promulgated the Code of Work of the Ministry of Industry, while in the private sector, there were "building procedures" and "garden management". Due to the improvement of brick-making technology, the number of houses built with bricks suddenly increased during this period, and the city walls were basically built with bricks, and the "beamless hall" built with bricks also appeared in large buildings. Due to the development of architecture in various regions, the regional characteristics began to be obvious. In terms of garden art, gardens in Qing Dynasty made great achievements.
city construction
1. Imperial Capital Beijing
2. Ordinary cities
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the number of cities increased rapidly and the urban structure became more and more complicated. Due to various handicrafts, commerce, foreign trade, military strongholds and transportation hubs, various towns and villages such as Jingdezhen, Yangzhou, Ahava and Xiamen have sprung up all over the country. At this time, brick cities, moats, provincial capitals, cities, counties and cities all have their own rules. The existing well-preserved city wall is Ming Xi An. It was built in the third to eleventh year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1370- 1378), and was expanded on the basis of Chang 'an Imperial City in the Tang Dynasty. It was built with bricks in Qin Long in the fourth year of Ming Dynasty (1570) and has been preserved to this day. The west and south walls of Xi 'an City in Ming Dynasty were basically the same as those of Chang 'an Imperial City in Tang Dynasty, and the east and north walls expanded outward by about one third. The wall is 12m high, 12- 14m wide at the top and 15m wide at the bottom. The city is rectangular. The south wall is 4255 meters long, the north wall is 4262 meters long, the east wall is 1886 meters long, and the west wall is 2708 meters long, with a circumference of about 13.7 kilometers. There are gates on all sides of the city, and the tower of each gate has three floors: the tower is outside, the arrow tower is in the middle, and the main building is at the innermost, which is the main entrance of the city. The watchtower and the main building are connected by fences to form an urn. Build a turret at every corner of the city wall. There are 98 enemy platforms (horse faces and piers) on the city wall every 120 meters, and enemy towers are built on the platforms for soldiers to shelter from the wind and rain and store materials. There are 5,984 spies (battlements) on the outside of the top of the city wall, with battlements and mouths for archery and lookout, and a female wall without battlements on the inside to prevent pedestrians from falling. There is a moat around the city. The whole city wall is magnificent, forming a scientific and rigorous defense system of the ancient castle.
The bell tower is located in the center of Xi, at the intersection of four streets, east, west, north and south. There used to be a big iron clock upstairs, which rang once every morning, hence the name bell tower. It is 36 meters high. It was founded in the seventeenth year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty. Originally Guangji Street in West Street, it was moved here in the 10th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1582). The bell tower consists of three parts from bottom to top: the base, the main building and the roof. The base is square with doors on all sides, and the height from the horizon to the roof is 36 meters. There are five deep and wide buildings, surrounded by cloisters, which can have a panoramic view of the ancient city. The building is divided into two floors, three double eaves and four corners. The four corners of the eaves are like a phoenix spreading its wings, covered with green glass as a golden dome, and painted with a layer of walls, which looks elegant and elegant, just like tang style.
Construction group
Through the changes of different enclosed spaces, the buildings in this period adopted the vertical expansion of overlapping courtyards and the horizontal expansion on the left and right sides to highlight the main building, taking the Forbidden City in Beiping in Ming and Qing Dynasties as a typical example. At this time, builders were quite flexible and sensitive in organizational space.
★ See the Forbidden City in Beijing for details.
Single building
Buildings in Ming and Qing dynasties have obvious retro tendency. The official buildings are not as romantic and soft as in the Tang and Song Dynasties, but set a serious, formal and tough tone. The official architecture in Ming Dynasty has been highly standardized and stereotyped, and further institutionalized in Qing Dynasty, but the local characteristics of folk architecture are very obvious. However, there are a few exceptions, such as the complex turret of the Forbidden City in Beijing.
★ See the Forbidden City in Beijing for official buildings in Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Feiyun Building is located in Dongyue Temple, Jiedian Town, Wanrong County. Legend has it that it was built in the Tang Dynasty, and the existing one was built in the year of Zheng Deyuan in the Ming Dynasty (1506). The building is five rooms wide, five rooms deep, three floors outside and five floors inside, with a total height of about 23 meters. There are many wooden columns on the ground floor, which support the building and form a chessboard. In the center of the building, four thick Tianzhu extend to the top floor. These four pillars are the main pillars of feiyun building. Around Tian Tongzhu, there are 32 wooden pillars supporting each other to form a whole. The plane is square, the middle plane becomes a folded cross, surrounded by a circle of corridors, and the roof contour is changeable; The plane of the third floor is square, but the roof image is similar to that of the middle floor, and the top is covered with a cross roof ridge.
The building in Feiyun is very small, but it has four eaves, 12 triangular roof edges and 32 corners, giving people a very tall feeling. The roof of each floor also constitutes a very rich facade of Feiyun buildings. The corner is surrounded by Wan Yun, which is light and easy to escape. The roof of this building is covered with red, yellow and green glazed tiles, and the wooden surface is not painted, showing the true color of wood, yellow as amber, and wind chimes hanging upstairs, crisp and crisp.
Feiyun's architecture is exquisite and peculiar. There are many buildings with complex shapes like this in Song and Yuan paintings, but few physical objects have been preserved, so they are of great value.
Zhenwu Pavilion in Rongxian County, Guangxi Province was built in the first year of Wanli in Ming Dynasty (1573), located on the ancient terrace of Dongmen in Rongxian County. The pavilion has three floors, three floors wide and one floor deep. The ground floor extends to five rooms wide and three rooms deep, with three eaves in appearance. It is located on the top of the mountain, with a height of 13.20m, with large eaves and low columns, which makes Zhenwu Pavilion feel faster than ordinary pavilions, and looks like a single-story building with three double eaves instead of three floors. In addition, the slope of the house is smooth and smooth, and the corners are simple and gentle, which adds a generous spirit to everything. Very fresh and elegant, it is a masterpiece that fully shows the beauty of China's architectural roof. The bottom plane is much larger than the upper two floors, which also makes the outline more distinct. Zhenwuge does not win with wealth and luxury, but is good at elegance. Nearly 3,000 stone solid iron wood members are used in the whole exhibition hall, and the exposed wooden surfaces are all gray-black, while the triple roof is blue tile and gray ridge, with extremely elegant and soft colors. Looking at pavilions from a distance, across the vast plain on the south bank, the southeast mountains stand tall and magnificent. The pavilion itself is 13 meters high and the platform is nearly 20 meters high, which is also the object of surrounding viewing.
There are four or five gold pillars on the floor, which run through the second and third floors, and their feet are suspended, 5 to 25 mm below the second floor, forming a feature of this building.
Religious architecture
Most of the existing Buddhist temples were rebuilt or newly built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and there are still thousands of them all over the country. There are two styles of temples in China: First, large temples located in cities, especially those built in vain, are mostly typical official buildings, with a single layout and overall regularity and symmetry. Generally speaking, there are: Shanmen Hall and Tianwang Hall, and the courtyard between them is arranged on the second floor of the bell and drum; Behind the King's Hall is the Hall of the Great Hero, the East Hall is often the Galatians Hall, and the West Hall is often the Patriarch Hall. Only those with such double courtyards, mountain gates, Heavenly King Hall and Ursa Major Hall can be called temples. In addition, the Dharma Hall, the Sutra Hall, the Abbot, the Zhaitang Hall and the Yunshui Hall in the living area are all arranged in the back or in the small courtyards on both sides. Such as Beijing Guangji Temple and Shanxi Taiyuan Chongshan Temple. Second, the Buddhist temples in mountain villages are mostly adapted to local conditions, and their layout has changed in the process of seeking regularity. Most of the Buddhist temples distributed in Tiantai, Lushan and other four famous mountains and mountainous areas belong to this category. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, most of the monasteries were in the first courtyard next to the temple, in han tang. Now there are more than ten places in the country, some of which are newly built. In order to facilitate the seven monks to be ordained, some chartered temples have permanent altar halls. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, many Lama temples were built and rebuilt in the areas where Tibetan and Mongolian minorities were distributed and in North China. They are all influenced by the architectural style of the Han nationality to varying degrees, and some of them have been quite sinicized, but they always retain some basic features for people to know at a glance.
During this period, brick and tile temples with arch coupons appeared in Buddhist temples in China, commonly known as "Wuliang Temple", such as Linggu Temple in Shanxi and Longchang Temple in Baohua Mountain. This reflects the increase in brick production since the Ming Dynasty, which makes the brick voucher technology that has been applied to tombs applied to ground buildings. The Infinite Hall of Xiantong Temple in Wutai Mountain is a brick building with double eaves and a height of 20.3 meters. This hall is divided into two floors, seven bright rooms and three dark rooms, with a width of 28.2m and a depth of16m. It is made of bricks, with three consecutive arches juxtaposed, and the left and right gables become arch feet, which are connected by open arches. It is a masterpiece of ancient masonry art in China. There are seven pavilions on each floor in front of the Infinite Hall, and brick plaques are embedded in the pavilions. Wuji Hall has high artistic value and is a masterpiece of China's beamless architecture.
There are many kinds of pagodas in Ming and Qing Dynasties. In modeling, the arch and eaves of the tower are very slender, surrounding the tower body like an endless belt, and the contour line is different from before. Because of its towering figure and outstanding image, the tower plays a great role in the overall outline of the building complex, enriching the three-dimensional composition of the city and decorating the scenic spots. In fact, the significance of stupa has already surpassed religious provisions and become an important aesthetic object in people's lives. Therefore, not only Taoism and Islam have built some towers with their own style meaning, but also some Feng Shui towers (style towers) and lighthouses have been built by the people. They are influenced by stupas in terms of modeling, style and artistry. Take Hongfei Tower of Guangsheng Temple as an example.
Hongfei Pagoda is better than Shangsi Temple in the northeast of Hongdong County 17km, and it is the most complete attic glass pagoda in China. The outside of the tower is covered with glazed tiles and glazed tiles. Glazed tiles have different shades and bright eyes, hence the name. This tower was built in the Han Dynasty and has been rebuilt many times. In the sixth year of Jiajing in Ming Dynasty (1527), it was rebuilt, and in the second year of Apocalypse (1622), the ground floor was octagonal, with thirteen floors and a height of 47.438+0 meters. The tower body is made of blue bricks, with eaves on each floor. The tower body gradually differentiates from bottom to top, forming a tall and straight outline. At the same time, imitating the style of wooden buildings, columns are applied at corners, patterns are carved on the flat and generous surfaces, and bucket arches and various components are also very delicate. Both the shape and structure reflect the typical style of brick towers in the Ming Dynasty. Tower eaves, foreheads, tower doors and various decorative patterns (such as Guanyin, Lohan, Tianwang, King Kong, Dragon and Tiger, LAM Raymond, flowers, birds and insects, etc. ) are inlaid with yellow, green and blue colored glasses, which are exquisite and dazzling, forming a gorgeous and complicated decorative style. Up to now, the color is as good as new, which shows the superb level of Shanxi colored glass technology in Ming Dynasty. The tower is hollow, with an upturned pedal, which can be climbed up. It is a masterpiece of china glass Tower.
King Kong Throne Tower is a kind of group towers, commonly known as "Five Towers". It originated in the South Asian subcontinent, with Sakyamuni Buddha Tower as a typical representative. Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes once appeared in murals of the Northern Dynasties. But it has not been promoted. Tibetan Buddhism widely uses this five-tower form as a symbol of the universe model. In addition to Tibet and Mongolia, some such towers were built in northern China during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Mostly in Beijing and Chengde. The famous pagodas in Beijing are Zhenjue Temple in Ming Dynasty, Biyun Temple Pagoda in Qing Dynasty and Jingheng Pagoda in Xihuang Temple.
Zhenjue Temple, located outside Xizhimen, Beijing, was built in the ninth year of Chenghua (1473). In the 26th year of Qing Qianlong (176 1), in order to avoid Yong Zhengdi, it was overhauled and renamed Dazhengjue Temple. Because there are five pagodas in the temple, it is commonly known as Wuta Temple. During the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty (around 14 13), an Indian monk, Bandida, came to Beijing to present five golden buddhas and "Fogayeta" with Indian style patterns. Emperor Yongle ordered the building of temples and towers, which took nine years to complete according to the patterns presented.
The King Kong throne tower consists of two parts: the throne and the stone tower. The throne is a 7.7-meter-high platform, made of bricks and white marble, divided into six layers, with a collection of 0.5 meters from bottom to top, and its appearance is solemn. The bottom floor is Sumitomo, and the top five floors are a row of niches, and each niche is carved with a Buddha statue. On the platform at the top of the throne, there are five square stone pagodas with dense eaves: the central pagoda 13 floor, about 8 meters high, symbolizing Peluzenafo; The four-corner pagodas each have 1 1 floors, about 7 meters high, and the East Pagoda symbolizes Azifu; The south tower symbolizes the treasure giving birth to Buddha; The west tower symbolizes amitabha; The North Tower symbolizes the achievement of Buddha. The Buddha statue symbolized by this tower is called Five Dhyani Buddhas. Each tower is assembled from thousands of pre-carved stones. In the middle of the throne, there is a ticket door. There are 44 stone steps in the tower, which spiral up and lead to the upper platform of the throne. There is also a round glass cover under the stage. The tower base and tower body are carved with Buddha statues, Sanskrit and religious decorations. The central tower is engraved with a pair of Fo Yin, which means "Fo Yin is all over the world". The proportion of each part of the King Kong throne tower of Wuta Temple is well-proportioned, giving people a solid and unshakable impression.
Civilian residence
Beijing quadrangle is the representative of quadrangle architecture in the north. Its courtyard is spacious and spacious, and the houses on all sides are independent, and there are corridors connecting them, so it is very convenient to live. Siheyuan is a closed house with only one street gate leading to the outside. The closed door comes from Chengtiandi, which has strong privacy and is very suitable for exclusive residence. In the yard, the houses on all sides are open to the yard, and the family is happy. Because the yard is spacious, you can plant trees and flowers, feed birds and fish, and pile stones to beautify the environment. Residents not only enjoy comfortable housing, but also share the beautiful world endowed by nature.
Screen wall is an important decorative wall inside and outside the gate of Beijing quadrangle. Most of it is made of bricks. Its main function is to shield the messy and rigid walls and scenery inside and outside the gate and beautify the population at the gate. When people go in and out of the gate, the first thing they see is beautifully stacked and carved walls and auspicious words embedded in them. Pass through a small hanging flower door, which is the inner room of the quadrangle. The inner room is a courtyard, surrounded by buildings with north room, east wing room, west wing room and hanging flower doors. In feudal society, the allocation of houses in inner rooms was very strict, and the first house with superior location should be occupied by the grandfather and wife of the older generation. Only one of the three rooms in the north room is open to the public, which is called the main room. The two rooms on both sides only opened the door of the hall to form a suite, which became a pattern of light and shade. The main hall is the place where family members live, entertain relatives or worship ancestors on New Year's Day, and there are many bedrooms on both sides. The bedrooms on both sides of the east and west also have the distinction of honour and inferiority. Under the system of polygamy, the east side is distinguished and occupies the first house, while the west side is humble and occupies the wing. The east and west wing rooms can be opened separately or communicated with the main room, and are generally used as bedrooms or study rooms. Both the East Wing and the West Wing are occupied by the younger generation. The wing is also light and dark, with a living room in the middle and bedrooms on both sides. You can also separate a room on the south side for use as a kitchen or restaurant. Medium-sized or above quadrangles often have rear military houses or rear Gai Lou, which are mainly used for unmarried women or maids.
The residential courtyard in the south of China is very small, and the surrounding houses are connected into a whole, which is called "a letter", which is suitable for the climate conditions in the south. Most houses in the south adopt bucket-through structure, and the combination of houses is flexible, suitable for places with uneven terrain. White walls and tiles are mostly used in southern dwellings, giving people an elegant feeling. In the south, the gables of houses like to be made into "volcanic walls", which can be considered as an exaggeration of hard mountains. In some densely populated southern cities in ancient times, this gable above the roof can really play the role of arson, but also has a good decorative effect.
Hakka earth building is a unique mythical mountain village residential building in the world. Tulou can be divided into square tulou and round tulou. The round earth building is the most rich Hakka traditional color and the most shocking. Hakkas, originally Han Chinese in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River in China, were forced to move south when wars were frequent more than 900 years ago. In this long period of historical turmoil, in order to avoid external shocks, Hakkas have to rely on the mountains to operate and live in groups. At first, single houses were built with local raw soil, gravel, wooden strips, etc., and then they were connected into large houses, and then multi-storey square or round earth buildings were built to resist foreign oppression and bandits. This strange earth building was later spread to Hakka areas in Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangxi and Guangxi. From the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the earth building grew bigger and bigger. In ancient times, even before liberation, tulou has always been a strong fortress for Hakka self-defense.
In addition, the folk houses in other parts of our country are also very distinctive. In a word, folk houses are the crystallization of the wisdom of the working people, with relatively free forms, not bound by "laws" and "rules", and there are many places worth learning from.