chinese architecture :imperial palaces and bridge architecture

1. Imperial architecture

2. 4-31 Hall of Supreme Harmony, Imperial Palace, Bejing, Begun 17th c.

3. The Forbidden City, Beijing

4. The Forbidden City, Qing period

5. Imperial Beijing, the Three Great Hall, Qin Dy.

6. The Forbidden City
• Built during Ming and Qing Dynasties (14-20th centiries;
founded in 1407; many halls were built in the 18th C.
• Purple Forbidden City-identification of the emperor with the
numinous purple radiance of the Pole Star
• As the Son of Heaven, the emperor maintained cosmic order
by performing annual rituals such as those at the Altars of
Heaven and Earth, the Temple Imperial Ancestors, and the
Altar of Society
• Oriented North-south axis; encompassed the main altar
complexes, with the palace building facing south
• The complex surrounded by walls, which protecting the royal
family from the outside world.

7. Feng Shui
• Qi (energy) is the most important
• Belief that people and nature are linked in an invisible
dialogue.
• The flow of energy along the surface and within the earth are
believed to have the power to influence the lives of people
near them.
• The flow of qi runs from mountains along the outlines of hills.
It may altered and improved along the landscape, plant, and
objects.
• The principles of feng shui reflects the Chinese beliefs in the
wholeness of the universe and the necessity of living in
harmony with nature.

8. Yin and Yang
• Two opposite forces that emerged from the primordial Dao,
and whose interaction defines and regulates the mechanisms
of the universe
• It is the constant process of changes; countless patterns of
existence; the transformations of energy can be systematically
charted (The Book of Changes)
• In ancient time, Yin and Yang were symbolized by the tiger
and the dragon, and in later period by the yin and Yang
diagram (taiji diagram)

9. Yin and Yang
• Yin and Yang are two complementary modes of being which characterize
and animate all phenomena
• Yang is seen as a mode of being which included male, the bright, dryness,
and heat, the creative, the sun, characterize the east and the south
• Yin includes the complimentary, phenomena not opposite: the female, the
dark, moisture, and cold, the recessive, the moon, characterize the west
and the north
• As for the elements, they associated with the 5 elements (Wood, fire,
earth, metal, water), the seasons, and the colors

10. Yin and Yang
• A color is associated with each element-
direction-season: E=Green; S=Red; W=white;
N=Black; center=yellow
• The associate with colors have a great
important with rituals and liturgy, for clothes,
ornaments, and offering have to conform with
colors

13. View of the Forbidden City

14. Hall of Three Treasure, Forbidden City

15. Palace complex
• Hall of Supreme Harmony-in the center of the
complex; laid in N-S axis; built in 1697
• Housed the Emperor’s thorne
• Used for celebration of the Emperor’s birthday, the
new year, and other important proclamations or
ceremonies.
• 11-bay structure; double eave hipped roof decorated
in the yellow tiles symbolic of imperial status

16. Wumen (Meridian Gate, the Forbidden City

17. Hall of Supreme Harmony, Forbidden City, 17th

18. Temple of Heaven Complex

19. Hall for Player for Prosperous Year

25. E Pang Palace
• E Pang Palace, the most
famous palace architectural
complex in Chinese history, is
splendid in scale and on sight.
It was built in 212 B.C. After
unifying China, the emperor
Chin Shi Huang built the tomb
at the foot of the Li Mountain
while built the great Epang
Palace in the Shanglin
Parkland the south of the Wei
River with the 700,000
prisoners and farmers.

26. E Pang Palace

27. 焚书坑儒【fénshūkēngrú】 burn the books and bury
460 scholars alive in 213 BCE.
Li Si: Memorial on the Burning of Books, page 209
in the Source Book, v.1

28. Zhao Gao,
the First Eunuch Chancellor
Who Overpowered an Emperor
• 指鹿为马
• 【zhǐlùwéimǎ】 call a
stag a horse -
deliberately
misrepresent.
• A test/threat posed by
Zhao Gao to the
second emperor.

29. Chen She/or Chen Sheng & Wu Guang
The First Uprising
• Chen Sheng was born in Yangcheng (陽城, in modern Dengfeng,
Henan). In 209 BC, he was a military captain along with Wu Guang
when the two of them were ordered to lead 900 soldiers to Yuyang (
漁陽, in modern Beijing) to help defend the northern border against
Xiongnu. Due to storms, it became clear that they could not get to
Yuyang by the deadline, and according to the Qin Rule, if soldiers
could not get to their posts on time, they would be executed.
• Chen and Wu, believing that they were doomed, led their soldiers to
start a rebellion. They (falsely) announced that Ying Fusu, the elder
son of Qin Shi Huang and elder brother of Qin Er Shi, who had
wrongly been forced to commit suicide, and Xiang Yan (項燕), a
beloved general of Chu, had not died and were joining their cause.
They also declared the reestablishment of Chu. Before long, more
than 20,000 people joined.

30. Uprising at Daze Village, (209 BCE)
Prefecture Su, Anhui Province

31. DAMING PALACE OF TANG
DYNASTY
PALACE OF GREAT BRILLIANCE

32. • SERVED AS THE ROYAL RESIDENCE OF THE
TANG EMPERORS FOR 220 YEARS
• DESIGNATED AS A NATIONAL HERITAGE SITE
IN CHINA
• ORIGINALLY NAMED AS YONG’AN PALACE ,
BUT WAS RENAMED AS DAMING PALACE IN
635
• 662-RENOVATIONS WERE MADE, ITS NAME
WAS CHANGED TO PENGLAI PALACE
• 670- RENAMED AS HANYUAN PALACE
• 701- DAMING PALACE AGAIN

33. • Beginning from the south and ending in the
north, on the central axis, stand the Hanyuan
Hall, the Xuanzheng Hall, and the Zichen Hall.
• These halls were historically known as the
"Three Great Halls" and were respectively part
of the outer, middle, and inner court.The
central southern entrance of the Daming
Palace is the Danfeng Gate.
• The gate consisted of five doorways.

34. OUTER COURT
• After passing through the Danfeng Gate, there is a
square of 630 meters long with at the end the Hanyuan
Hall. The Hanyuan Hall was connected to pavilions by
corridors, namely the Xiangluan Pavilion in the east
and the Qifeng Pavilion in the west. The pavilions were
composed of three outward-extending sections of the
same shape but different size that were connected by
corridors. The elevated platform of the Hanyuan Hall is
approximately 15 meters high, 200 meters wide, and
100 meters long. The Hanyuan Hall, where many state
ceremonies were conducted, would serve as the main
hall for hosting foreign ambassadors during diplomatic
exchanges.

35. MIDDLE COURT
• The Xuanzheng Hall is located at a distance of
about 300 meters north of the Hanyuan Hall.
State affairs were usually conducted in this hall.
The office of the secretariat was located to the
west of the Xuanzheng Hall and the office of the
chancellery was located to the east. From this
area, the department of state affairs, the
chancellery, and the secretariat handled the
central management of the Tang empire, which
was done in a system with Three Departments
and Six Ministries.

36. INNER COURT
• The Zichen Hall, located in the inner court, is approximately
95 meters north of the Xuanzheng Hall. It housed the
central government offices. For officials, it was considered a
great honor to be summoned to the Zichen Hall. Taiye Lake,
named after the pond excavated by the Han emperor Wu
during the construction of his Jianzhang Palace in the first
century BC, is lies to the north of the Zichen Hall. It
expanded over 240 mu (40 acres or 0.16 km²) and an island
representing the mythical land of Penglai was built within
it. The pond and island have been recreated, as have the
former gardens. These were based on the historical record,
with separate peony, chrysanthemum, plum, rose, bamboo,
almond, peach, and persimmon gardens.

41. FORBIDDEN CITY
BEIJING AND SHEN YANG

42. • The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial
palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of
the Qing dynasty. It is located in the center of
Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace
Museum. For almost 500 years, it served as
the home of emperors and their households,
as well as the ceremonial and political center
of Chinese government.

43. • Built in 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of
980 buildings and covers 72 ha (180 acres).[1]
The palace complex exemplifies traditional
Chinese palatial architecture,[2] and has
influenced cultural and architectural
developments in East Asia and elsewhere. The
Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage
Site in 1987,[2] and is listed by UNESCO as the
largest collection of preserved ancient
wooden structures in the world.

44. • Since 1925, the Forbidden City has been under
the charge of the Palace Museum, whose
extensive collection of artwork and artifacts
were built upon the imperial collections of the
Ming and Qing dynasties. Part of the
museum's former collection is now located in
the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Both
museums descend from the same institution,
but were split after the Chinese Civil War.

45. • The Forbidden City is a rectangle, measuring 961 metres
(3,153 ft) from north to south and 753 metres (2,470 ft) from
east to west. It consists of 980 surviving buildings with 8,886
bays of rooms;[29][30] however this figure may not include
various antechambers.[29] Another common figure points to
9,999 rooms including antechambers;[31] although this
number is frequently cited, it is likely an oral tradition, and it
is not supported by survey evidence.[32] The Forbidden City
was designed to be the centre of the ancient, walled city of
Beijing. It is enclosed in a larger, walled area called the
Imperial City. The Imperial City is, in turn, enclosed by the
Inner City; to its south lies the Outer City.

46. • The Forbidden City remains important in the civic
scheme of Beijing. The central north–south axis
remains the central axis of Beijing. This axis extends to
the south through Tiananmen gate to Tiananmen
Square, the ceremonial centre of the People's Republic
of China, and on to Yongdingmen. To the north, it
extends through Jingshan Hill to the Bell and Drum
Towers.[33] This axis is not exactly aligned north–
south, but is tilted by slightly more than two degrees.
Researchers now believe that the axis was designed in
the Yuan dynasty to be aligned with Xanadu, the other
capital of their empire.[34]

47. • The Forbidden City is surrounded by a 7.9 metres (26 ft) high city wall[11]
and a 6 metres (20 ft) deep by 52 metres (171 ft) wide moat. The walls are
8.62 metres (28.3 ft) wide at the base, tapering to 6.66 metres (21.9 ft) at
the top.[35] These walls served as both defensive walls and retaining walls
for the palace. They were constructed with a rammed earth core, and
surfaced with three layers of specially baked bricks on both sides, with the
interstices filled with mortar.[36]
• At the four corners of the wall sit towers (E) with intricate roofs boasting
72 ridges, reproducing the Pavilion of Prince Teng and the Yellow Crane
Pavilion as they appeared in Song dynasty paintings.[36] These towers are
the most visible parts of the palace to commoners outside the walls, and
much folklore is attached to them. According to one legend, artisans could
not put a corner tower back together after it was dismantled for
renovations in the early Qing dynasty, and it was only rebuilt after the
intervention of carpenter-immortal Lu Ban.[11]

48. • Plan of the Forbidden City. Labels in red are used to refer to locations throughout the article. - – -
Approximate dividing line between Inner (north) and Outer (south) Courts.
• A. Meridian Gate
• B. Gate of Divine Might
• C. West Glorious Gate
• D. East Glorious Gate
• E. Corner towers
• F. Gate of Supreme Harmony
• G. Hall of Supreme Harmony
• H. Hall of Military Eminence
• J. Hall of Literary Glory
• K. Southern Three Places
• L. Palace of Heavenly Purity
• M. Imperial garden
• N. Hall of Mental Cultivation
• O. Palace of Tranquil Longevity

49. MERDIAN GATE

50. • The design of the Forbidden City, from its overall layout to the smallest detail, was
meticulously planned to reflect philosophical and religious principles, and above all to
symbolise the majesty of Imperial power. Some noted examples of symbolic designs include:
• Yellow is the color of the Emperor. Thus almost all roofs in the Forbidden City bear yellow
glazed tiles. There are only two exceptions. The library at the Pavilion of Literary Profundity (
文渊阁) had black tiles because black was associated with water, and thus fire-prevention.
Similarly, the Crown Prince's residences have green tiles because green was associated with
wood, and thus growth.[42]
• The main halls of the Outer and Inner courts are all arranged in groups of three – the shape
of the Qian triagram, representing Heaven. The residences of the Inner Court on the other
hand are arranged in groups of six – the shape of the Kun triagram, representing the
Earth.[11]
• The sloping ridges of building roofs are decorated with a line of statuettes led by a man
riding a phoenix and followed by an imperial dragon. The number of statuettes represents
the status of the building – a minor building might have 3 or 5. The Hall of Supreme Harmony
has 10, the only building in the country to be permitted this in Imperial times. As a result, its
10th statuette, called a "Hangshi", or "ranked tenth" (Chinese: 行十; pinyin: Hángshí),[54] is
also unique in the Forbidden City.[67]
• The layout of buildings follows ancient customs laid down in the Classic of Rites. Thus,
ancestral temples are in front of the palace. Storage areas are placed in the front part of the
palace complex, and residences in the back.[68]

51. MUKDEN PALACE(SHEN YANG)
• The Mukden Palace (simplified Chinese: 盛京宫殿;
traditional Chinese: 盛京宮殿; pinyin: Shèngjīng Gōngdiàn)
or Shenyang Gugong (simplified Chinese: 沈阳故宫;
traditional Chinese: 瀋陽故宮; pinyin: Shěnyáng Gùgōng),
also known as the Shenyang Imperial Palace, is the former
imperial palace of the early Qing dynasty of China.
• It was built in 1625 and the first three Qing emperors lived
there from 1625 to 1644. Since the end of monarchy in
China, the palace was converted to a museum that lies in
the center of Shenyang city, Liaoning province.

52. • Early construction began in 1625 by Nurhaci. By 1631, additional
structures were added under Emperor Huang Taiji.
• The Mukden Palace was built to resemble the Forbidden City in
Beijing. However, the palace also exhibits hints of Manchurian and
Tibetan styles.
• After the Qing dynasty replaced the Ming dynasty in 1644 in Beijing,
the Mukden palace lost its status as the official residence of the
Emperor. Instead, the Mukden Palace became a regional palace.
• In 1780, Emperor Qianlong further expanded the palace. Successive
Qing dynasty emperors usually stayed at Mukden Palace for some
time each year.

53. • In 1955, Mukden Palace was converted into
the Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum.
• In 2004, it was included on the UNESCO World
Heritage List as an extension of the Imperial
Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, or
Forbidden City, site in Beijing.

55. DAZHENG HALL

60. BRIDGE ARCHITECTURE
• Chinese bridges from ancient times, highly varied
in material and form, are an important legacy
with national characteristics, occupying an
important position in the world history of bridge
building. China, a country with such a long
history, has inherited from her past bridges
without number: there are, it is said, four million
of them if one counts the stone arch bridges
alone. In the southern regions of rivers and lakes,
the landscape is dotted with bridges of various
sized and descriptions, which make it all the more
picturesque.

61. BEAM BRIDGE
• A beam bridge means setting up bridge columns or bridge
piers in the water, on which cross beams are erected which
are linked together into a bridge. Beam bridges differentiate
themselves into bridges with single span and multiple spans,
and into stone beam and wooden beam bridges. It is also
possible to build covered ways on them.
• The earliest reference to the beam bridge in Chinese history is
the Ju Bridge dating from the Shang Dynasty (16th-11th
century B.C.)
• From the Zhou Dynasty through to the Qin and Han Dynasties,
bridges with timber beams and stone piers were
predominant.

62. ANPING BRIDGE
• Anping Bridge is a stone beam bridge
in China's Fujian province. It is 2,070
metres (1.29 mi). It is a nationally
protected historic site registered with
the State Administration of Cultural
Heritage.
• It is named after Anhai, which was
formerly known as Anping.
• It was originally 811 zhang 2,223
metres (1.381 mi)] long and 1.6 zhang
4.4 metres (14 ft)] wide, with 362
spans. Upon completion, it was the
longest bridge in China until 1905.

63. Wan'an Bridge
• Wan'an Bridge, a timber arch lounge
bridge, is seen in Changqiao Village of
Pingnan County, southeast China's
Fujian Province, Dec. 21, 2012. Built in
the Northern Song Dynasty (960-
1127) and rebuilt several times since
then, the bridge is 98.2 meters long
and 4.7 meters wide. It has been listed
as one of the state key cultural relics
protection units.

64. Jiangdong Bridge
• The Jiangdong Bridge in
Zhangzhou, Fujian Province boasts
the largest stone beams. In the
first year of the reign of Jiaxi (A.D.
1237) of the Song Dynasty, the
timber beams of this bridge were
replaced by stone ones.
• The bridge had 15 spans, each
consisting of 3 slices of stone
beams. But today only 5 spans
remain.

66. Fengyu Bridge
• "Feng Yu" means wind and
rain.
• The Feng Yu Covered Bridge,
in Chongqing, China, is known
throughout the Far East for its
traditional beauty topped by a
pagoda-style roof that
stretched 303 metres across
the region's Apeng River.
• A bridge that existed from
1591 to 2013 in Chongquing,
China. In 2013, the bridge
caught fire and was
destroyed.

67. ARCH BRIDGE
• Arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved
arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its
loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at
either side. A viaduct (a long bridge) may be made from a series of arches,
although other more economical structures are typically used today.

68. Anji Bridge
• The oldest arch bridge in China.
• The Anji Bridge, also known as the
Zhaozhou Bridge, at Zhouxian,
Hebei Province, built in the Sui
Dynasty.
• The Anji Bridge has a segmental
deck and the parapets are
engraved with dragons and other
animals.

69. Feng Bridge
• The extant Feng Bridge (the Maple
Bridge) (built in the Qing Dynasty),
mentioned in the well-known poem
"A Night Mooring Near the Maple
Bridge" by Zhang Ji of the Tang
Dynasty, is characterized by its shell
arch.
• The thinnest arch ring is merely
1/66.7th the span, whereas for an
average arch the ring is 1/20th the
span.

70. Baodai Bridge
• The grandest among all of Suzhou's
bridges, however, is Baodai (Precious
Belt) Bridge, which is located in the
south of Suzhou, near the Grand Canal.
It is a bridge with 53 underneath arches,
measuring 316.8 meters long. The
bridge has been listed as one of the
most famous multi-arched bridges in the
worldwide.
• The Baodai (Precious Belt) Bridge was
built by Wang Zhongshu, a magistrate of
Suzhou prefecture during the time of
the Yuanhe emperor of the Tang
Dynasty (805-820). To raise money to
finance the bridgework, Wang used his
expensive belt, hence the name.

71. • Cable Suspension Bridge
Cable suspension bridge vary in kind
according to the materials of which the cables
are made rattan, bamboo, leather and iron
chain.

72. Famous bridges
Jihong Bridge spans over the Lancangjiang
River at the place where Shuizhai Township of
Baoshan City connects with Shanyang
Township of Yongping County.

73. Luding Bridge is a bridge over the Dadu
River in Luding County,Garzê Tibetan
Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, China,
located about 80 kilometers west of the city
of Ya'an. The bridge dates from the Qing
Dynasty and is considered a historical
landmark.

74. • Floating Bridge
A pontoon bridge or floating bridge or bridge
of boats is a bridge that floats on water and in
which barge- or boat-like pontoons support
the bridge deck and its dynamic loads.

75. • To cross the river ,boats were linked together
to form a floating bridge. it is also named
Qiaohang (the boat bridge) and Zhouliang
(the boat beam).

76. • Zhouliang example
• Qiaohang example

77. • The earliest reference to the floating bridge is
shown in the Book of songs. In the 12th
century B.C, King Wen of the Zhou dynasty
ordered a bridge to be built on the Wei river.
Pujing floating bridge in the tang Dynasty.

78. • Pujing floating bridge in the tang Dynasty.