Architecture
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Altar of the Land and Grain
In the Zhongshan Park in central Beijing lies a terrace filled and surfaced with earth of five different colours.This is Shejitan(the Altar of the Land and Grain),popularly known as Wusetu(Five-Coloured Earth). The classical sense of the word she me...
Studio
This is usually a simple but elegant structure built in parks or gardens to give an embellishing touch to the landscape.It is called xuan after the name of a high-fronted,curtained carriage used in ancient times by people of rank probably because,li...
The Chinese Quadrangle
Traditionally most urban Chinese used to live in quadrangles called siheyuan orfour-side enclosed courtyards.These courts,as the name implies,are formed by inward-facing houses on four sides,closed in by enclosure walls. A small or medium-sized sihe...
House of Retreat
Certain type of Chinese buildings or rooms that provide or promise a quiet retreat for specific purposes are usually called zhai.This is originally a word with religious implication,meaningpurification by ablution and abstinence.From this has been d...
Covered Corridor
The covered corridor represents a typical architectural style in Chinese landscape gardening.A long,bell-like structure,it is a roofed walk with low railings or long side benches.Providing people with shade from the sun and protection from the rain,...
Terrace
The tai was an ancient architectural structure,a very much elevated terrace with a flat top.Generally built of earth and stone and surfaced with brick,it was used as a belvedere from which to look into the distance.In fact,however,many a wellknown a...
Storeyed Pavilion
The Chinese ge is similar to the lou in that both are of two or more storeys,but the ge has a door and windows only on the front side,with the other three sides all solid walls,and it is usually enclosed by wood balustrades or decorated boards all a...
Flowing Cup Pavilion
This is a pavilion which used to serve as a place of recreation for men of letters.In the stone floor is cut a winding ditch to which water from a spring is channelled.Participants to theflowing-cupgame would in turn fill a cup with liquor and set i...
Storeyed Building
When the Chinese speak of a lou,they refer to any building of two or more storeys with a horizontal main ridge. The erection of such buildings began a long time ago in the Period of the Warring States(475-221 B.C.),when chonglou(layered houses)was m...
Zoomorphic Ornaments
Chinese palaces,temples and mansions have on their rools a special kind of ornaments called wenshou or zoomorphic ornaments,some on the main ridges and some on the sloping nd branch ridges. The monstrous thing at either and of the main ridge,called...