#Chinese Architecture

[yebreed]

Old Chinese houses are an inexhaustible creative space in terms of wooden interiors. To me, something alike is associated with childhood memories of a countryside house in Zhejiang.

Photo: ©遗产君

[evilsment]

🌞 Sun and Moon Pagodas | 日月双塔 🌚

Originally built in Guilin, Guangxi during the Tang dynasty (618-917) the pagodas were reconstructed in 2001.

[psykopaths]

[arc-hus]

Qujiang Museum of Fine Arts Extension, Xi-an, China - Neri&Hu

[tarotdecks]

green scenery in china x

[niteshade925]

April 12, Xi'an, China, Daci'en Temple/大慈恩寺 and the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda/大雁塔 (Part 1 - Temple and Architecture):

Daci'en Temple is famous in popular culture mainly for one reason: the monk Xuanzang/玄奘, or the real person who inspired the character of Tang Sanzang/唐三藏 (sometimes translated as "Tripitaka") in the novel Journey to the West/西游记. Xuanzang was in charge of Daci'en Temple after he returned to China in 645 AD from his journey throughout Central Asia and India. More on him later.

The temple is also known for two more things, first is its importance to Chinese Buddhism, as the temple is considered the cradle of the Consciousness-Only School (weishizong/唯识宗) and the Dharma Characteristics School (faxiangzong/法相宗)(both are part of Chinese Mahayana Buddhism), and second is the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda (built in 652 AD while Xuanzang was in charge of the temple).

The temple has been rebuilt over the years, and the current temple (excluding the pagoda) was mainly built in 1466, during Ming dynasty, thus the current temple consists of Ming-era architecture:

Drum and bell towers within the temple

Giant Wild Goose Pagoda in the distance

More pictures of the architecture. I have to say it's better preserved here than in other places so far...

Coming up to the Mahavira Hall/大雄宝殿 of the temple

As mentioned in the previous posts on Qinglong Temple, I avoided taking pictures of the Buddha statues as this is considered disrespectful. But because it's just hard to avoid including them in pictures of the architecture, the statues may be partially visible sometimes.

Approaching the Tushita Hall/兜率

More pics of the architecture, note the pattern on the windows, called chuangling/窗棂. This particular one is a "three-crossing"/三交 pattern, the highest grade of chuangling.

There were two visiting monks taking pictures of this relief behind Mahavira Hall, so it's probably okay to snap a picture of it. The interesting thing is the bian'e/匾额 above it, which says 人天欢喜 (right to left: "human and heaven rejoice together"). Usually it's "heaven" before "human" (天人), but here it's clearly "human" before "heaven".

The Guanyin Hall/观音殿. Guanyin is the Chinese name for Avalokitesvara. The smaller red lanterns are where visiters hang their wishes from:

And finally the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, one of the landmarks of Xi'an. This pagoda was originally built to house all of the Buddhist texts and relics Xuanzang had brought back from India, and is the largest Tang-era brick pagoda remaining today. In Tang dynasty (618 - 907 AD), people who passed the imperial exams to become jinshi/进士 would tour around Chang'an on horseback with flowers in their hair and write poems before this pagoda, called "雁塔题名".

Before we entered the temple, I could hear a weird jingle-jangle from across the street, but it was only when we came up to the pagoda that I realized where the sound was coming from. There were bells hanging from every corner of every level of the pagoda, and they were pretty loud for their size.

Since it was pretty hot outside that day, to avoid possible heat stroke we didn't attempt to climb the pagoda (I don't think there's air conditioning inside considering that this pagoda is 1300+ years old.....). I think there were several important artifacts/relics inside? But I can find some pictures from online for part 3.

[madeleineengland]

The Sun and Moon Pagodas in Guilin, China (photo by Nathan Ackley)

Sun & Moon Twin Pagodas are one of the greatest attractions in Guilin, situated in Shanhu (Shan Lake).

The word sun and moon in Chinese character written together meant brightness. They are also known as Gold and Silver Pagodas because of their colors at night. They stand next to each other reflecting the beauty of each other.

Originally built in Guilin's moat during the Tang dynasty, these tiered towers were reconstructed in 2001 and now they are a tourist site combining culture, art, religion, and architecture, technology, and natural landscape.

The "Sun" Pagoda is constructed with copper; it has 9 floors and reaches a height of 41 metres. The "Moon" Pagoda's construction is made of marble; it has 7 floors and measuring 35 meters high. The two pagodas are connected via a tunnel at the bottom of the lake.

From the Moon Pagoda to the Sun Pagoda, there is a 10-meter glass tunnel that links the two under water. When walking through the tunnel, one can see the fish above the head and on both sides.

[viagginterstellari]

Courtyard - Shaxi, 2019

[lutnistas]

Old Mosque ( Zharkent / Kazakhstan )

[pastelcheckereddreams]

The Jingshi in Autumn by nikkidraws

Turns out, I didn’t mess it up after all 😅 although I’ve been reliabily informed by my bestie that that bridge looks likes it’s rising from the pond similar to the Loch Ness Monster. I may put this up on my shop over at INPRNT depending on interest - so let me know! I plan on doing a lot more of these kind of marker projects in future.

Speaking of my shop, there’s also currently (July 2023) a storewide sale of up to 40% off your order, and $5 wordwide shipping 👀 If you like my CQL set design saga, why not check out my set blueprints? Or you can head over to my kofi if prints aren’t your thing. I’m still a fairly new artist so I appreciate your support 🙏

[yebreed]

Abandoned Ming dynasty rural graveyard, Zhejiang.

Photo: © Aier闽

[evilsment]

🪴 Siheyuan | 四合院 🪴

Is a historical type of courtyard residence that is commonly found across China. Designs differ in every region. For example, in the northwest where dust storms are strong, the walls tend to be higher. In the South the houses are built with multiple stories. In the northeast the weather is cold so courtyards are broad and large to increase the exposure to sunlight, and there are more open rooms inside the walls.

[arc-hus]

Shou County Culture and Art Center, China - Studio Zhu-Pei

[safije]

Photos of Beijing China's famous Forbidden City

[niteshade925]

April 12, Xi'an, China, Daci'en Temple/大慈恩寺 and the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda/大雁塔 (Part 2 - Scenery):

A serene corner of the temple:

Elephant-shaped stone benches and tables. (I blurred parts of the picture because people were sitting there)

The type of Chinese lantern on the left is called gongdeng/宫灯 (lit. palace lanterns):

An interesting bian'e that consists of a relief of lotuses. Usually bian'e serves as signs.

The moutan peony (mudan/牡丹 in Chinese) garden in the temple. Unfortunately due to the hot weather, only some of the flowers are still in full bloom

These are Chinese roses (yueji/月季 in Chinese):

On the right is an "artificial mountain", called jiashan/假山 in Chinese. This is an important element in Chinese gardens:

White marble (referred to as hanbaiyu/汉白玉) handrails. I think the gutter ends are in the shape of chi/螭? Not sure about this one.

[alonelycandleflame]

I know this is not my usual form of content (mostly art, French Revolution, donations for 🍉, and miscellanea) but I just wanted to share some travel photos from my trip to China in June and July! (Since I've been extremely lacking in terms of original content, I apologize for that) I will post some bits of original art in the coming days, so stay tuned! 🤗💖