China is one of the four ancient civilizations in the eastern world. Chinese civilization has a long history and is brilliant, among which ancient architecture culture is also a major feature. The ancient architecture in China has a long history, and there have been many excellent architectural systems in the world, but some of them have been interrupted or not widely circulated, such as those in ancient Egypt and India. Only China's ancient architecture, European architecture and Islamic architecture have survived to this day, and are called the three major architectural systems in the world. In particular, China ancient architecture and European ancient architecture have the longest duration, the widest spread and more brilliant achievements.
From the structural point of view, the characteristics of ancient architecture in China can be summarized into seven items: ① Using wood as the main building material, creating a unique wooden structure can not only meet the actual functional requirements, but also create beautiful architectural forms and corresponding architectural styles. (2) Maintain the framework principle. Columns and vertical and horizontal beams are combined into various forms of beam frames, so that the load on the upper part of the building is transferred to the foundation through the beam frames and columns. The wall only plays the role of enclosure and separation, and does not bear the load. (3) Create a bucket structure. Bucket made of vertically and horizontally stacked short timber and bucket-shaped square timber is a transitional component between columns and beams, and gradually develops into an integral structural layer between upper and lower column grids or between column grids and roof beams, which is an ingenious form of wood structure in ancient China. ④ Standardization of single building. China ancient palaces, temples, houses, etc. It usually consists of several separate buildings. Regardless of the scale of a single building, its outline is composed of three parts: step foundation, house body and roof: the following is the masonry step foundation, which supports the whole house; Standing on the step foundation is a house with wooden columns as the skeleton and doors and windows partitions installed inside; Above it is a wooden roof truss, which makes a soft and elegant curve and extends around the house, and is covered with blue-gray tiles or glazed tiles. The plane of a single building is usually rectangular, and it can also be square, octagonal and round in special use. Ornamental buildings in gardens can adopt fan-shaped, zigzag and circular planes. Roof forms include Yunnan, Xie, Ding, Hanging, Hard, Pyramid and so on. Each form can be divided into single eaves and double eaves, and then can be combined into more forms. ⑤ Pay attention to the plane layout of buildings. Its principle is introversion, multi-level and striving for balance and symmetry. Except for some buildings, such as towers, bell and drum towers, etc. Single buildings rarely show all the outlines. Each complex has at least one courtyard, and at most several or dozens of courtyards. The combination is diverse and the levels are rich, which makes up for the shortage of single building stereotypes. The plane layout adopts the principle of left-right symmetry, with houses around and courtyards in the middle. The combination forms are all developed according to the central axis. Only the plane layout of the garden adopts the principle of free change. ⑥ Flexible arrangement of space layout. Indoor partitions are movable structures, such as fans, doors, covers, screens, etc. , easy to install and disassemble, can be arbitrarily divided and replaced at any time. Courtyard is a unity of mutual utilization with indoor space, which also provides conditions for building to create a small natural environment. You can plant trees and flowers, stack mountain pools, set up arbor flower stands, and some have cloisters as a transition between indoor and outdoor spaces to increase the interest of life. ⑦ Use the means of color decoration. The beam-column frame of wood structure building needs to be painted on the wood surface and other anti-corrosion measures, which has developed into a unique architectural oil decoration and color painting in China. Mineral pigments such as cyan, green and vermilion are often used to draw colorful patterns to increase the aesthetic feeling of buildings. Wooden decorative components, with colorful embossed decorative flat chess decals and various rhombic lattices made of wooden strips, are practical and decorative masterpieces. After the Northern Wei Dynasty, colorful glazed tile roofs, arches and zhaobi made the building brilliant.
From the perspective of traditional culture, the characteristics of ancient architecture in China can be summarized into five aspects: ① There are few real architectural theories. The emergence of architecture as a discipline is a modern thing. What guides the development of architecture is abstract philosophical theory, established moral norms and concrete political system. ② The traditional Confucian etiquette thought is the main idea guiding architectural creation, supplemented by Feng Shui theory. (3) Full of China people's realistic attitude towards life. The concrete performance is not to seek the long-term existence of the building, but to meet the practical functional needs as the starting point. The standardization and generalization of architectural forms, the use of a structural type of building can meet the needs of multiple functions. ④ Standardized architectural individuals should express their individuality through the combination of architectural spaces. The arrangement of architectural groups is the essence of traditional architectural art, which embodies the rational thinking mode of combining time and space and the affinity between man and nature everywhere. ⑤ Represent a specific theme by symbolic means. It expresses artistic conception in gardens, world outlook in religious buildings and political system in palace buildings. Some decorative components and sketches, even single buildings, have become a symbol with fixed significance.
Among many architectural types, the Buddhist architecture in China is a great treasure.
Buddhism rose in the 5th-6th century BC, originated in Nepal today, and was founded by Sakyamuni. It probably began to spread in China around A.D., so-called Buddhism spread to the east, and white horses came from the west. The earliest existing Buddhist temple is Baima Temple in Luoyang. In addition, there are four famous Buddhist mountains-Jinwutai, Yinputuo, Copper Emei and Tiejiuhua, which are the Dojo of Manjusri Bodhisattva, Guanyin Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva respectively, all of which have a large number of Buddhist buildings. Of course, there is the Zhongyue Shaolin Temple, which is also very famous.
The introduction of Buddhism had a great influence on the traditional culture of China. As far as architecture is concerned, it only brought the concept of "tower" at first. It was also called pagoda at that time. It is often said that "saving a life is better than building a seven-level pagoda", which is to compare the merits and demerits of his people with the seven-level tower. But the "tower" at that time was actually the tomb of Buddhists, and their ashes were often buried. Because the Buddhist relics cremated by the Buddha were worker bees in the Eight Pagodas, King Ashoka later took them out and divided them into many parts in order to promote Buddhism, and sent messengers to build pagodas everywhere for worship. Therefore, the tower has become a sacred building for believers to worship. Influenced by Indian Buddhist architecture, the original Buddhist temple in China also placed the tower in the center. It is said that the central building of the White Horse Temple is a generous wooden tower with halls and cloisters around it (unfortunately, I have never been there, but it must have changed).
Just as Buddhism should be China, so should architecture be China. Evolution from tower center to temple center. There are two main reasons: First, it is influenced by the traditional architectural culture of China. From the Yin Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, a traditional architectural model with temples as the main body and courtyards stacked on top of each other gradually formed in China. In this kind of buildings, the status of temples is lofty, sacred and majestic. It is a place where emperors discuss state affairs and hold ceremonies, and it is also a place where heaven and earth, countries, gods and ancestors are sacrificed. Therefore, in Buddhist temples, the places where Buddha statues, Buddhist rituals and chanting should also be temples, which is a form that China people have long been accustomed to and often adopt. Second, after Buddhism was introduced into China, some nobles, wealthy businessmen and even emperors often "abandoned their homes as temples" out of reverence for Buddhism. These mansions are all built with the main hall as the main building. After being converted into a temple, it has a far-reaching impact on the layout and design of Buddhist temples.
In view of the above reasons, the architectural layout of Buddhist temples in Han Dynasty in China has basically taken the form of ancient government offices and traditional courtyards in the course of nearly two thousand years' development. At the same time, a temple can have several courtyards, and smaller temples are also called quadrangles. The courtyard where the monks live is usually called buddhist nun.
The layout of this kind of Buddhist temple generally sits in a cloister with the north facing south, the mountain gate and the temple are all on a central axis, and the two sides are basically symmetrical. The most intact Zen temple in China is Baoguang Temple in Xindu, Sichuan, which was founded in the Tang Dynasty and has been cultivated and rebuilt repeatedly in future generations. However, the typical layout of the early Buddhist temples in China, which is "the temple and the tower are integrated, with the tower in the middle", is still preserved. This layout is hard to see in many Buddhist temples across the country.
If we visit the larger Buddhist temples in the Han Dynasty, it will generally be like this:
Shanmen-the gate of the temple. There are generally three gates in the mountain gate, which symbolize the "three liberation gates" of Buddhism, namely, the empty gate, the non-phase gate and the reactive gate. Inside the mountain gate, in the shrines on both sides, there is a deity who holds Vajrayana to protect Buddhism, named Vajrayana.
In the King's Temple, there are big and tall "Four Heavenly Kings" on both sides of the main hall, and Maitreya Buddha has always been shaped in the middle of the main hall, so some people call the King's Temple Maitreya Buddha. Behind the Maitreya Buddha, facing the Ursa Major Hall, there are many shrines dedicated to the statue of Wei Tuo, the protector.
There are bells and drums on both sides of the road to the Hall of the Great Hero, and there are rules for Buddhist temples to ring bells and drums. In the morning, the bell is followed by drums; In old age, drums are followed by bells. "Bell beats crane, drum beats dragonfly"; "Awaken the fame and fortune in the world and call back the dream of suffering and charm." The temple not only regards the bell and drum as an important instrument to implement Buddhist etiquette, but also injects profound Buddhist teachings into the sound of the bell and drum. As far as its function is concerned, this is far less than the bell and drum outside the temple.
The Hall of the Great Hero, or the main hall, is the main hall of the temple. The statues in the hall are slightly different from each temple. Middle: Some statues are "one Buddha and two disciples", in which the statue of Sakyamuni stands, and the statues of Ye Jia and Ananda stand on the left and right respectively. Some sculptures are called "Heng III Buddha", among which on the left is the mother Buddha Sakyamuni, the oriental glazed pharmacist Buddha and on the right is the western paradise Buddha Amitabha. Some sculptures are "three vertical buddhas", with Sakyamuni Buddha in the middle, Kaya Buddha in the past and Maitreya Buddha on the left.
On both sides: there are more than 0/8 plastic arhats/kloc-,and there are 500 arhats between the walls.
Behind: a plastic Buddha, with a drooping left hand, attracts all beings, with a chest in his right hand and a lotus platform in his palm. Some sculptures are "Three Saints of Amitabha", with Amitabha in the middle, Guanyin Bodhisattva on the left and Bodhisattva on the right (if there is another temple, it will be called Amitabha Hall). Some plastic Guanyin bodhisattvas are usually "Island Guanyin". She stood between the mountains and seas of the Luo family in Putuo, holding a poplar branch net bottle; There are also lucky boys and dragon girls on both sides; The back wall is carved with the scene of Guanyin Bodhisattva saving eight difficulties in Pumenpin (if there is another hall, it is called Guanyin Hall). Some sculptures are "Three Masters", with Guanyin Bodhisattva riding a roaring lion on the left, Manjusri Bodhisattva riding a green lion on the left, and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva riding a white elephant (if there is another temple, it will be called the Three Masters Hall).
Generally speaking, the Dharma Hall and the Buddhist Scripture Building are magnificent buildings with two functions. Below is the Dharma Hall. There is a high throne in the hall. A brave lion is painted on the screen of the throne, because the lion's roar symbolizes the Buddha's statement. There are bells and drums on the left and right sides of the Dharma Hall to prevent the mage from knocking at the door when he speaks.
Above it is the Tibetan Scripture Building, which houses Buddhist scriptures, laws, papers and other magic weapons. Ordinary monks are not allowed to go at will except those who are licensed to read Tibetan books.
Larger temples are on both sides of the main hall and pavilion, imitating the layout of palace corridors and courtyards, and symmetrically arranging several smaller courtyards. Such as Bodhi, Prajna, Tayuan, Abbot, Dharma Hall, Ancestral Hall, Lohan Hall, etc. Now the cloister basically has five parts, namely the so-called "five halls": the meditation hall and the living room; Warehouse, everyone (kitchen), a batch of materials.
In Buddhist temples, flowers and trees are widely planted, either pine or cypress, or bodhi or bauhinia. Some courtyards have lotus pond rockeries, which are organically combined with buildings and become ideal religious places and safe and comfortable living areas. If there is culture, it will be more prosperous.