Jiren Feng

In the quest for classical and orthodox roots for the dynasty’s building standards, Li confronted the challenge of traditional sources coming into conflict with contemporary practical knowledge. Understanding Li’s manner of handling such confl icts casts light on the Chinese literati’s attitudes toward their cultural heritage and how they treated, absorbed, and carried it forward while introducing novel elements of their own times.

Of an earlier period, the Kaogongji preserves an architectural hierarchy in which the dimensions for a prince’s city were smaller than those for the king’s palace city. Other pre-Qin texts also include passages refl ecting a hierarchical regulation of colors used in architecture (such as red for a king, dark colors for commoners).

salvage men set out the screens ornamented with fi gures of axes, and the tents. Between the window and the door, facing the south, they placed the diff erent mats of bamboo basketwork . . . In the side space on the west, facing the east, they placed the diff erent rush mats . . . In the side space on the east, facing the west, they put the diff erent mats of fi ne grass . . . Before the western side chamber, facing the south, [they placed] . . . the usual lacquered bench. The dance costumes of Yin . . . [were displayed] in the western apartment; the spear of Zhui . . . [was displayed] in the eastern apartment. Th e grand carriage was by the guests’ steps, facing the south. Th e next carriage was by the eastern steps, facing
the south. Th e foremost carriage was in front of the left lobby; and the next carriage was in front of the right lobby

This book investigates the historical tradition of Chinese architectural writing from antiquity to the Song dynasty (960–1279), with a focus on the cultural connotations of the imperially commissioned Northern Song building manual Yingzao fashi 營造法式 (Building standards; hereafter YZFS), published in 1103. Th e YZFS was written by the imperial offi cial in the Directorate of Construction Li Jie 李誡 (1035?–1110, courtesy name Mingzhong 明仲) as a handbook of government standards for building methods, materials, and manpower. Not only the earliest but also the most comprehensive Chinese treatise on architectural technology to survive in Its entirety, the YZFS is the most important primary text for the study of ancient Chinese architecture. Circulated to offi cials in ch

Th is notion refl ects, more generally, the way that ancient Chinese literati perceived architecture and the built environment. From early times, many Chinese writers sang the praises of the “imperial virtues” by describing the process of the construction and striking architectural features of the majestic buildings patronized by a king or an emperor, with the implication that the architecture itself proclaimed or symbolized the ruler’s wisdom and virtue. Like Li Hua, Chinese men of letters recognized the construction of architecture as representing state politics, regulations, and indoctrination. Thus, they must have been concerned about how architecture should be properly designed and built in order to conform to the standards of government.

Here, the Green Dragon, White Tiger, Scarlet Bird, and Black Warrior (a tortoise-snake spirit) represent, respectively, the eastern, western, southern, and northern groups of the twenty-eight constellations, and they had been used to correspond to the four cardinal directions since the pre-Qin period. Th is tradition was observed in the Qin and Han imperial building designs, naming the eastern halls, eastern watchtowers, and even tile ends used on them Green Dragon, for example. In addition, this source often specifi es the names of the wood used to make particular building elements, which off ers a useful reference for the selection of timber materials and corresponding architectural features in the Qin and Han palaces.

Although modern architectural historians and sinologists have developed general identifi cations of most textual terms with actual architectural elements, few of them have given attention to the semantic meanings of the terms themselves. When an architectural term was created for a specific building element, the words used in the term had to make sense according to the specifi c architectural procedure and the specific structure related to the element. Th e word choice was a matter of how people (builders or viewers) conceived of these elements. Th erefore, architectural terminology is a faithful carrier of popular architectural culture and distinctive architectural concepts.

The Historical Tradition of Writing on
Architecture
From Antiquity to the Mid-Tenth Century Your subject learned that “[the sages built palaces and chambers] with a ridgepole at the top and eaves below [in order to attend to the wind and rain],” [which way of building,] in the Classic of Changes, corresponds to the time [and divinatory symbol] of “Great Maturity.” [Your subject also learned that] “the positions [of buildings] must be adjusted right and the cardinal directions be determined correctly,” [which,] in the Rites of the Zhou, indeed is a ceremony of [establishing a state in] peace

Referring to classical sources and relating them to contemporary society was a common practice in ancient Chinese writing. Th is refl ects a characteristic of Chinese thinking in many spheres: preference for established precedents. In the practice of compilation, it was often the case that new works cited old texts, with their compilation format and contents more or less built upon previous texts. In the absorption of tradition, however, writers faced the challenge of incorporating it into contemporary social needs and introducing innovative elements.

(When a king established a state, [he ordered that] the cardinal directions be determined and that the positions [of buildings] be adjusted correctly). Th is refl ects a signifi cant notion of constructing states, cities, and buildings during the pre-Qin period: of all the procedures related to construction, the fi rst was to determine the four cardinal directions and adjust the structural positions. Th is notion of construction was regarded as a ceremony of establishing a peaceful and powerful state in the succeeding dynasties.