History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v2.c34.s8: Palaces and Domestic Architecture.
History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v2.c34.s8
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Palaces and Domestic Architecture.
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From what has been already said, it will be understood that 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, as is usually the case in Europe, and consequently they never attain the magnitude essential to architectural dignity. 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 Yung-lo. Unfortunately, the absence of plans makes it impossible to connect the various buildings one with the other. From a bird’s-eye view of the Forbidden City (Tzu-chin-ch’eng) it would seem that the buildings therein contained are all of one storey, and surmounted with the same type of roof as that employed in the temples; and as the main fronts of the building all face south, there is a general monotony of appearance, varied only by the height of the several structures, according to their importance. The three principal halls are the Tai-ho-t’ien, or Hall of Highest Peace (built 1602-1722), where levies are held on special occasions, the Chung-ho-t’ien, or Hall of Central Peace, and the Pao-ho-t’ien, or Hall of Secure Peace. The first named is the most important, and it is preceded by what is called a gateway, which externally is similar to the Tai-ho-t’ien in design, but has nine bays instead of eleven on the main front; it is also raised on a platform with a triple terrace, balustrade, and flights of steps.
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The plan of the Tai-ho-t’ien will be best understood by reference to Woodcut No. 504, which is the type of all the larger temples and halls. The principal front faces the south, and the hall is raised on a lofty platform with three terraces (A, A, A), rising one above the other and enclosed by balustrades: three flights of steps (B, B, B), give access to the upper terrace, a portion of the central flight, having in the middle, instead of steps, an inclined slope (C) with dragons and clouds carved thereon in bas-relief; the treads of the steps are also carved, but in lower relief. In front of the hall, which consists of eleven bays, is the open verandah (D, D), and the hall beyond is divided longitudinally into central and side aisles, the former being of the same width as the central bay of the main front. Virtually, therefore, the plan is similar to that of a European church, with nave and aisles running east and west, and a central transept with the principal entrance (E) at its south end, and the Imperial dais (F) in the north transept. The only light
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The Tai-ho Hall, Pekin.
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admitted is that which enters through the entrance door, the glazed screens in the rear of the verandah, and three others on the north side. All the side bays and the remaining eight on the north side are filled in with walls in brick, which are plastered over on the inside and outside, and rise to the soffit of the lowest transverse beam. Externally these walls have a very ugly effect, especially as the beams and groups of brackets above are all richly painted in various colours and in part gilded. The roof of the hall is carried on forty columns about 30 ft. high, and of which the diameter is 3 ft. 5 in.; the coffered ceiling is carried on great beams at two different levels with bracketing between them and round the hall. The four central columns are gilded with tapestry or damask designs in relief, the others are painted red, and the beams and ceiling gilded and painted in bright colours. The columns of the verandah, the east and west narrow bays and the store-room and central recess in the rear are 20 ft. high, and carry a lower roof with bracketed eaves, and this with the eaves of the principal roof over the hall gives the appearance to which reference has been made of a double-eaved roof. The north bay of the hall is roofed at the same level as the verandah, and in the section (Woodcut No. 505) it will be seen that the filling-in of the main walls of the whole hall, and against which the verandah roof rests, consists of a series of beams one above the other, tenoned into the great columns, the spaces between them being treated as friezes and decorated with various designs.
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With the exception of the ancestral temple of Yung-lo, the Tai-ho Hall is perhaps the largest in China, but in its design
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505. The Tai-ho Hall, Pekin.
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it contains the elementary construction of all the temples and halls; sometimes the verandah is carried along the east and west ends, but on the north side it is included in the hall, being covered over with a roof at a lower level. The east and west bays are used for various purposes connected with the structure, whether temple, hall, or palace, and in the latter sometimes utilised as bedrooms or boudoirs. As a rule the halls are ceiled above the tie-beam; the ceiling being divided into coffers; more importance is given to the central bay, which is sunk into deep coffers with bracket friezes round them. Some of the halls are covered with an open timber roof, in which the unwrought rafters covering the roof contrast with the elaborate painting and gilding of the columns and the heavy superposed beams of the roof. There does not seem to be any rule regulating the east and west ends of the main roof; sometimes these are hipped, as in the Tai-ho Hall and the Hall of the Classics, sometimes the I'rimoya prevails, but in both cases the hips have heavy rolls covering them, crowned with a series of miniature griffons. The greater number of the buildings in the Forbidden City have one storey only; to these there are some exceptions, where an upper floor, of the same height as the verandah storey, is carried on the level of the upper portion of the roof of same, and has a projecting balcony round the outside. In these cases there are windows to light the storey. In the Wan-fo pavilion there are three storeys all with verandahs.