A 1。 How did our ancestors draw rich inspiration from trees and then build those sturdy and exquisite wooden buildings?
Wood was favored by emperors in past dynasties and became the main building material in ancient China because of its advantages of easy access to materials, quick construction and good earthquake resistance.
We can also think of ancient wooden buildings as towering trees, with roots as bases, trunks as pillars and crowns as roofs. Through this analogy, we can easily sort out the mystery and understand the mystery.
A2。 How to see the identity and social status of the owner from the appearance of a building? Most importantly, I will reveal to you the meanings and functions of various god beasts on the roofs of traditional buildings in China, as well as the historical culture and ancient wisdom hidden in them!
In order to maintain the majesty of imperial power, feudal emperors established a very strict hierarchy. The most obvious manifestation of this hierarchy in architecture is the roof and the gate.
We can not only see the changes of history and the warmth and coldness of human feelings from the roof and gate of a building, but also see the rank, status and the size of the bulging wallet of the owner at a glance.
A3。 The most interesting and exquisite parts of traditional architecture are often hidden in some seemingly inconspicuous places.
On the roof of the Forbidden City, a fairy riding a phoenix led ten wild animals to line up. These beasts are dragons, phoenixes, lions, heavenly horses, seahorses, lions, fish, lions, cows and walkers.
These beasts not only have auspicious meanings, but also have a very practical function, which is to cover the nails exposed on the roof, making the building look beautiful and elegant, and also showing layers.
Behind the ancient buildings, there is a very vivid history. If we can understand the language of architecture, we can understand the vastness of the world, the sudden change of life and the eternity of art. As Ms. Zhang Kequn said, the world is not just the present, but also the distance and poetry.
Trees and Houses written by Ms. Zhang Kequn is a top architect in China. Her father Zhang Wei is the vice president of Tsinghua University, her mother Lu Shijia is one of the founders of Beihang University, and her uncle Shi Jinmo is the first of the four famous doctors in Beijing.