Manasara Series (I. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture; II. Indian Architecture according to Manasara-Shilpashastra; III. Manasara on Architecture and Sculpture: Sanskrit Text; IV. Architecture of Manasara: Translation; V. Architecture of Manasara: Illustrations; VI. Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad; VII. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture) v6.c41.s23: China
Mānasāra Series (I. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture; II. Indian Architecture according to Mānasāra-Śilpaśāstra; III. Mānasāra on Architecture and Sculpture: Sanskrit Text; IV. Architecture of Mānasāra: Translation; V. Architecture of Mānasāra: Illustrations; VI. Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad; VII. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture) v6.c41.s23
- Language
- English
China
v6.c41.s23.1
THE FOLLOWERS OF Buddhism in the whole world may be roughly estimated at 200 millions¹ or about one-eighth of the human race. Of these, as many as 150 millions may be allotted to China, and 50 millions to Tibet, Manchuria, Burma, Siam, Cambodia, and Ceylon. The rest of the 400 millions of Chinese population in China profess the doctrines of Confucius, the contemporary and rival of Gautama Buddha, and belong to the new sect known as Lao-tse or the Doctors of Reason, who are more progressive than others. To this want of dominant priesthood in China is ascribed the absence of monumental buildings, ‘because in all countries where architecture has been carried to anything like perfection, it is to sacred art that it has owed its highest inspiration.’ Again, ‘religious and sectarian zeal is often a strong stimulus to sacred architecture, and this is entirely wanting in this remarkable people.’ The want of a hereditary nobility and any strong family pride will similarly account for the absence of the domestic architecture of a durable description. ‘At a man’s death his property is generally divided equally among his children, consequently the wealthiest men do not build residences calculated to last longer than their own lives. The royal palaces are merely somewhat larger and more splendid than those of the mandarins, but the same in character, and erected with the same ends.’ Thus the oldest civilized people of the world are ‘almost wholly without monuments to record the past.’ The Chinese are, however, the only people in the world ‘who now employ polychromy as an essential part of their architecture : indeed, with them, colour is far more essential than form,’ but ‘colour, though most valuable as an accessory, is incapable of that lofty power of expression which form conveys to human mind.’²
v6.c41.s23.2
¹ The census of 1931 disclosed 12,786,806 Buddhists in India.
v6.c41.s23.3
² Fergusson, *History of Indian and Eastern Architecture*, Vol. II, pp. 449-450.
v6.c41.s23.4
This essential feature of Chinese art has defaced all individuality to the temples of the Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucianist. Thus, ‘externally the temples are nearly all of the same type, and it is only from their interior decoration and by the statues placed in them that any distinction can be made.' Even the Muhammadan mosques are 'all in general form identical with the Buddhist and other temples, and can only be distinguished by their external decoration with texts from the *Quran*, and are not even to be recognized by the minaret, which in other countries has been their chief characteristic feature.' There is also no essential distinction between sacred and secular work. Thus 'the temple, the tomb, and the dwelling are symbolically repetitions of each other.'
v6.c41.s23.5
The usual type of Chinese architecture is known as the Ting. It 'consists of a roof of concave section carried on short columns. If the roof is of great dimensions and elaborately decorated, it covers either a temple, an imperial hall of audience, or the official residence of a mandarin, if of small size and light construction, it is that of a house. In order to give more importance to the imperial structures, whether temples or reception halls, they are raised on platforms with triple terraces and balustrades round, and three flights of steps on the south front. The flight in the middle is subdivided into three, the central portion forming an inclined slope which is covered with dragons and clouds in relief, in some cases the treads of the steps on each side are also carved with dragons in relief, the terraces, balustrades and steps being all in white marble.'
v6.c41.s23.6
The building materials are of various kinds. The city walls are built in brick, and the bridges in stone, with marble casing and balustrades. The raised platforms for altars, as well as some temples, and generally the imperial halls, are also built in marble. All other Chinese constructions are in timber. The roofs are covered with glazed tiles, yellow in imperial structures, and green, blue, or purple for others. The ridge and hip rolls, with the dragons and fishes which surmount their roofs, are all in glazed terra-cotta.'¹
v6.c41.s23.7
¹ Fergusson, *History of Indian and Eastern Architecture*, Vol. II, p. 456.
v6.c41.s23.8
The Temple of Heaven, or the Great Dragon, a most magnificent temple built about the year A.D. 1420, is situated close to the southern wall of the capital city of Pekin, in a square enclosure measuring about a mile each way. From the outer gate a raised causeway leads to the temple, on either side of which, for the accommodation of the priests, are numerous buildings approached by frequent flights of steps leading down to a park beautifully planted. In the centre part of the enclosure are two altars, distinguished as the north and south. The south altar consists of a circular platform of three concentric terraces, the upper one 90 feet in diameter, the middle terrace 150 feet, and the lower one 210 feet, all enclosed with balustrades and raised about 6 feet, one above the other. These terraces are ascended by four flights of steps on the north, east, south, and west sides respectively. In the centre of the platform are the five sacred vessels found in all Buddhist temples, over which a canopy is erected on the occasion of a celebration. There are eight flights of steps to the north altar, three of which are placed side by side on the north end, the central portion of the middle flight forming a gradual slope and covered with dragons and clouds in relief. In the centre of the upper terrace is the circular structure known as the Heaven’s Palace. It has the appearance of a three-storeyed structure, but in reality consists of a central hall 90 feet in height with double aisles round. The roof, with its widely projecting eaves, and the drum below, are carried by four immense columns, 4 feet in diameter; the second roof and drum are carried by twelve columns, as also the lower storey. The construction is of a very extraordinary kind. At the level of the upper part of the second roof, carved beams are tenoned into the four columns, over which, between each, are provided two other columns, forming a sort of attic storey, to support the roof and the internal dome.¹
v6.c41.s23.9
¹ Fergusson, *History of Indian and Eastern Architecture*, Vol. II, pp. 459–460.
v6.c41.s23.10
Although all temples in China, whether Confucian, Taoist, or Buddhist, are based on the same Ting type, ‘generally speaking, the temple of a Buddhist monastery is enclosed by a wall, with a monumental gateway at the entrance and a series of three detached buildings beyond, placed one behind the other, on a central axis, with courts between, and communicating one with the other by means of covered corridors. The first building is the ex-voto hall, with statues; the second is the principal temple in which are the three images of the Buddhist triad, and the altar with the sacred vessels in front. The building in the rear contains sometimes a miniature *dagoba* in marble, in which are enclosed supposed relics of Buddha. To the right and left of the enclosure, and placed symmetrically, are other isolated structures, such as the bell-tower, the library, the pagoda, and the monks’ dwellings.’²
v6.c41.s23.11
² *Ibid.*, p. 461.
v6.c41.s23.12
The Buddhist temple of Honan is ‘a parallelogram enclosed by a high wall, measuring 306 feet by 174 feet. In the shorter front, facing the river, is a gateway. This leads to a series of halls opening into each other, and occupying the whole of the longer axis of the internal court. The first and second of these are porches or ante-chapels. The central one is the largest, and practically the choir of the building. It contains the altar, adorned by gilt images of the three precious Buddhas, with stalls for the monks and all arrangements necessary for the daily service. Behind this, in the next compartment, is a *dagoba*, and in its rear another apartment devoted to the goddess Kuan-Yin, principally worshipped by women, in fact, the Lady Chapel of the church. Around the court are arranged the cells of the monks, their kitchen, refectory, and all the necessary offices of the monastery. These are generally placed against the outer wall, and open into the court. At Pekin there are several lamasaries or Buddhist monasteries of much more monumental character than that of Honan.’
v6.c41.s23.13
‘The usual form of temple,’ says Fergusson, ‘as seen in towns and villages, is very simple, rectangular on plan, with five bays in the front, which always faces the south, and three at the side, with a verandah and flight of steps in the centre of the south front leading to the central doorway.’¹
v6.c41.s23.14
¹ Fergusson, *History of Indian and Eastern Architecture*, Vol. II, pp. 463-464.
v6.c41.s23.15
Another type of later temples, dating from the fifteenth century, ‘consists of a lofty square pedestal, which recalls the lower portion of the celebrated temple at Bodh-Gaya. The pedestal is subdivided into five storeys by string courses, each storey enriched with arcaded niches containing statues of Buddha, the whole crowned with five square *dagobas*, the centre one with thirteen projecting eaves.’²
v6.c41.s23.16
² *Ibid.*, II, p. 464.
v6.c41.s23.17
The Chinese tombs are different from the Buddhist *stūpas* in their origin and in form. That is mostly due to the fact that while the *stūpas* contained the sacred relic of Buddha, the Chinese tombs are monuments built in memory of the ordinary dead, because the Chinese are well known, like all Turanian peoples, as the worshippers of ancestors. These tombs are ‘often merely conical mounds of earth, with a circle of stones round their base.’
v6.c41.s23.18
The Chinese pagodas ‘owe their origin to the religion of Fo or Buddha, being nothing more than exaggerated *dagobas*.’³ These pagodas are generally nine-storeyed in the south, but in the north the storeys range from three to thirteen. The porcelain tower at Nankin and the pagoda in the Summer Palace, Pekin, are the best examples.¹ The former is known as the Temple of Gratitude, as it was erected (1412–1431) as a monument of gratitude to an empress of the Ming family.
v6.c41.s23.19
³ *Ibid.*, II, p. 468.
v6.c41.s23.20
¹ Photo. 499, 500, Fergusson, *History of Indian and Eastern Architecture*, Vol. II, pp. 470, 471.
v6.c41.s23.21
It was octagonal in form, 236 feet in height. Its extraordinary feature lies in the fact that its brick walls, as well as the upper and under sides of the projecting roofs, were coated with porcelain. ‘From the summit of the spire eight chains were suspended, to each of which were attached nine bells, and a bell was also attached to each angle of the lower roof, making 144 bells in all.’ These when tinkling in harmony to the evening breeze ‘must have produced an effect as singular as pleasing.’
v6.c41.s23.22
The pagoda in the Summer Palace is ‘divided into three storeys, with additional projecting eaves under the balconies. Four of the sides of the octagon are longer than the other four.’ ‘Altogether there is a play of light and shade,’ declares Fergusson, ‘and a variety about the ornaments in this tower, which is extremely pleasing. It is much more like an Indian design than any other in China, and with the circle of pillars round its base, and the *stambha*, which usually accompany these objects further west, it recalled the original forms as completely as any other object in this country.’²
v6.c41.s23.23
² Fergusson, *ibid.*, II, pp. 471–472.
v6.c41.s23.24
The entrance gateways to temples and tombs, known as *pailus* or *paibangs*, are a class of monument almost universally employed as honorific monuments of deceased persons. ‘The posts or piers always carry a rail or frieze bearing an inscription, which is in fact the object for which the monument was erected. The most singular features about them are the tile roofs at various levels, with which they are surmounted.’³
v6.c41.s23.25
³ For example, *see* the sketches made by Fergusson (*ibid.*, Vol. II, pp. 473, 475) of the Gateway near Canton and at Amoy.
v6.c41.s23.26
‘Their origin is as distinctly Indian as the other,’ declares Fergusson. Another curious thing noted by him is ‘that at Sānchi, before the Christian era, we find them used as gateways to a simulated tomb. In India both the tumulus and the *pailu* had at that time passed away from their original sepulchral meaning, the one had become a relic shrine, the other an iconostasis. Two thousand years afterwards in China we find them both still used for the purposes for which they were originally designed.’¹
v6.c41.s23.27
¹ Fergusson, *History of Indian and Eastern Architecture*, II, pp. 475–476.
v6.c41.s23.28
As has already been stated, ‘there is virtually no difference in the architectural design of the temples and palaces.’ In both cases the halls and palaces consist of a number of pavilions rather than of numerous suites of apartments and halls. ‘The resemblance of temple and palace is further accentuated by the fact that in front of the great hall of the palace in the Forbidden City are similar platforms, with the triple terrace, balustrade, and flights of steps, which have been described in the Temple of Heaven and the Tomb of Yunglo.’ In this Forbidden City the buildings are all of one storey, surmounted with the same type of roof as that employed in temples, and facing the south. But according to their importance, their height differs. ‘The three principal halls are the Hall of Highest Peace (built in 1602–1722) where levees are held on special occasions, the Hall of Central Peace, and the Hall of Secure Peace. The first is the most important and it is preceded by a gateway and has nine bays instead of eleven on the main front. It is raised on a platform with a triple terrace, balustrade, and flights of steps.’²
v6.c41.s23.29
² For plan and section, *see* Fergusson, *ibid.*, pp. 477, 478, and Winter Palace, Pekin, p. 482.
v6.c41.s23.30
‘The principal difference between the palaces and Chinese dwellings of the better class lies in a much lighter system of construction. There is the same general disposition of the plan, viz., a series of detached blocks, separated by open courts or gardens, and placed in communication with one another by covered corridors.’ The official rules are stated to prescribe the dimensions in width and height for all Chinese habitations, and the number of columns which may be used. ‘The principal hall, for instance, is not allowed to be wider than three bays, if for a man of letters only, five, if for a mandarin, seven for a prince, and only the palace of the emperor may have nine or more bays.’
v6.c41.s23.31
These rules were distinctly taken from the architectural texts of India. In the *Mānasāra Śilpa-śāstra* the rules regarding the length, breadth, height, and number of storeys of buildings for people of different ranks are discussed in great detail in a whole chapter (XI) on Dimensions. In the concluding portion of the chapter it is stated that ‘there should be one to two storeys in the palaces of the kings of the ninth order, one to three of the eighth order, one to four to the kings of the seventh order, three to eight storeys in palaces of the kings of the third order, three to nine storeys for those of the second order, and five to twelve storeys for the kings of the first order. One to three storeys are given to the crown prince and nobles. The build-ings of the architects of first rank, engineers, military officers, chiefs, and twice-born in general, may possess one, two, or three storeys. The temples of gods may have one to twelve storeys. The stables, etc., are built in a single storey.’
v6.c41.s23.32
The Chinese municipalities must have access to these guide books. We in India, however, have forgotten all these rules and have adopted instead those prevalent in the countries of our conquerors.