Several topics on the history of foreign architecture: 1. Similarities and differences between Chinese and western religious buildings in site selection, layout and form, and make a brief evaluation. 2. The characteristics of the ancient Roman square
(Part, site selection) The site selection of religions in China must be a treasure-house, with the Book of Changes as the mainstay and Feng Shui as the guide. There are many basic site selection requirements among the people, but generally speaking, the temple feng shui meets the requirement of "empty", sitting southeast to northwest, facing the mountains and water. The feng shui position should condense the spirit of heaven and earth, and the mountains hold water, which is more prosperous. After the temple is built, incense can flourish and pilgrims gather, which is a good place to choose a site. However, the actual location of the temple still needs to consider a series of factors such as the specific field and local believers.
The aura theory of Feng Shui is very abstract. If it is a concrete conceptualization, it means good ecology and beautiful landscape. Take Jiuhuashan as an example: Since 1995, Jiuhuashan Buddhist Association has carefully inspected the site selection, and just selected eight addresses. After careful discussion by experts including experts in architecture, Yi ology and other industries, the scope was gradually narrowed, and Xueyuan II was chosen after rough selection. Later, due to the complex terrain and small environmental capacity of the original site of Xueyuan Temple, it was not enough to show the solemnity of the Tibetan Bodhisattva. After re-exploration and repeated research and comparison, it is finally determined that the lion peak in Kecun is the best place to build a large bronze statue. The iconic Bijia Mountain and the Lion Peak of Jiuhua Mountain form a magnificent background, and the huge bronze statue of the Tibetan Bodhisattva reclines. The scenic spot is full of atmosphere, yin and yang, trees and vitality, and it is a place with great ecology and beautiful scenery.
Looking at the location of western churches, take St. Peter as an example. After the death of Jesus, Peter, as the leader of all saints, began to establish a Christian church. In the middle of 1 century, when Christianity gradually spread from Palestine to Rome, it caused great panic among Roman rulers. In order to consolidate his political power, Emperor Nero began to suppress Christian missionaries in 64 AD. Peter, the great saint of Jesus, as the founder of the church, is naturally not immune. He was crucified by Emperor Nero. The execution took place in the present church, which was then Nero's racetrack, and his body was buried on the spot.
Brief comment on site selection: It can be seen that the difference in the site selection of Chinese medicine churches lies in that China mainly focuses on people's beliefs, and with the support of local governments for religious freedom and beliefs, it chooses the site to build temples; The famous cathedrals and capitals in the west are closely related to war, politics, military affairs, economy, and yearning for freedom and equality, or choose literary landmarks with commemorative significance and even economic development areas.
(Part II, Layout)
The layout of temples in China does not include the architectural layout of special terrain. Usually it can be roughly divided into three parts: sitting northeast facing southwest, or sitting west facing southeast. Three of the three halls face south, and the Heavenly King Hall (the auxiliary hall is the Dharma Hall) is dedicated to Maitreya, and Maitreya is covered with cloth. The four heavenly kings are left, southeast, right and northwest (subject to Maitreya, left is east). Behind Maitreya Bodhisattva is the worship of Wei Tuo Bodhisattva. With the Heavenly King Hall as the main line, the vertical lines are aligned, followed by Mahayana Hall, the Mahayana Hall, which is mainly dedicated to Sakyamuni Buddha, and there are also temples dedicated to Buddha Piluchana. The left and right sides of the Buddha Sakyamuni generally worship the oriental pharmacist Buddha and the western Amitabha Buddha, as well as the Tathagata. There are generally eighteen arhats around the main temple in prefecture-level cities, nine on the left and nine on the right. Behind the Buddha of Sakyamuni, there must be many admirers of Guanyin Bodhisattva, known as Island Guanyin, a teenager who is good at money and a dragon girl in the East China Sea. Behind Master Guanyin, there is a statue of Lohan or thirty-two statues.
Next, there are the Dharma Hall and the Sutra Pavilion, which can be up and down, or they can be connected with each other. The above-mentioned Tianwang Hall-Daxiong Hall-Dharma Hall and the Sutra Pavilion are all on a vertical line.
The horizontal line is mainly between the Heavenly King Hall and the Ursa Major Hall, with left and right bell and drum towers, left bell tower (east) and right drum tower (west). Generally, Bodhisattva Diksitigarbha is worshipped under the bell tower, and Bodhisattva Galand (now Guan Gong statue) is worshipped under the drum tower. Some monasteries also set up bells and drums directly in the Ursa Major Hall.
The above is just a general layout. As for a series of monasteries, monasteries and dormitories, I won't elaborate on them one by one.
Western church layout: gradually developed to the later stage, the church forces dominated Europe, and the church became the tallest magnificent building in the city. Gothic church pursues the towering space in the vertical direction, which is beyond the reach of ordinary people. As soon as believers enter the church, they will feel an atmosphere from heaven. Many architects are famous for their unique churches, such as the Three Cross Church in alvar aalto, the Crystal Church in philip johnson, Tadao Ando's "Church of Light", "Church of Water" and "Church of Wind".
The layout of the church is not limited by specific factors. Usually it only includes the following elements: cross plane, stained glass window, dome, bell tower, buttress and flying buttress, organ, and then it is divided into four levels: chapel without priest or chapel; The sanctuary or chapel where the parish is located; The church where the bishop of the diocese is located; Then there is the main hall.
It can be seen that due to different belief cultures, the architecture and layout of Chinese architecture are also very different. Mainly there are many Buddha-God series. In the layout, we should consider the traditional belief culture, in addition to the main Buddha enshrined in the main hall, there are also temples of major bodhisattvas;
Western-style religious buildings are famous for their unique styles and designs, such as crystal churches or wind churches. Their main purpose is to pursue individuality and artistic style. As long as there are some necessary elements in the church, such as the cross, you can generally see the seriousness and elegance of its layout.
Architectural form: China's temples and pagodas are mostly a combination of Chinese and Tibetan, as well as Indian and Mongolian; Comprehensive forms of various national belief elements, etc. There are also large-scale temples, whose architecture is magnificent, magnificent, novel, unique and creative, which is the crystallization of a high degree of integration of Indian and China Han, Tibetan and Mongolian architectural arts.
Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque are common in western churches.
As for the form of religion, whether it is China or the West, it is mostly the national architectural culture in history, especially the ancient temples and western churches with a long history. Every element embodies the wisdom and cultural crystallization of the ancients, so mysterious, beautiful, colorful and charming, it is a cultural treasure of the architectural world.
The characteristics of ancient Roman square: it is the heritage of architectural art and enriches the architectural art world. An architectural style that inherits the achievements of ancient Greek architecture and makes extensive innovations in architectural form, technology and art. Its main features are thick masonry walls, semi-circular arches, door frame decorations selected layer by layer, and cross vault structure. The style is rich and dignified, the composition is harmonious and unified, and the forms are diverse.
It shows the Greek spirit of pursuing democracy and caring for civilians. Its foundation is based on ideals and beliefs such as freedom, rationality, optimism, secularity and humanism, so it has the loftiness of human civilization and the spirit of Yuan Dynasty. It has had a great and far-reaching influence on the value orientation and final destination of the whole western civilization and has become a glorious cultural heritage for future generations.