Old Beijing Architecture. Carving: Carving

Author: Tian Xutong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: What is stone carving? No need for excessive explanation—anything carved from stone is stone carving. However, when our attention focuses on the stone carvings of ancient Beijing architecture, these once-familiar objects suddenly seem mysterious. The stone piers in front of Siheyuan gates, stone lions in front of princely gates, stone tablets (huabiao) in front of Tiananmen, stone beasts on the arches of bridges, and the dragon and phoenix patterns on the balustrades of the Dragon Throne Hall’s Upaya pedestal—all these, beyond their surface shapes, seem to embody recorded history, reflect a culture and aesthetic taste, and represent the hierarchical concepts of feudal society. The role of stone carving thus extends beyond practical decoration, carrying many spiritual connotations. It not only governs social ethics and morality but also shapes people’s lifestyles and behaviors—it is an unwritten book of etiquette.
The architecture of old Beijing has a very stable style. Whether it’s the Siheyuan of common folk in hutongs, the residences of feudal lords, the imperial Forbidden City, or temples and monasteries dedicated to various deities, they all feature upturned eaves, bracket sets, large roofs, and painted decorations. The main halls, grand halls, hanging flower gates, side rooms, and front-facing rooms all follow strict regulations—even the kitchen stoves are placed on the east side, symbolizing the auspicious position of the "Eastern Kitchen God." Toilets are built in hidden cross-hall areas or in the "unlucky" southwest corner of the courtyard, supposedly to suppress the White Tiger Star with filth. Such practices reflect the family values and ethical norms of a four-generation household, emphasizing hierarchy and distinctions between the inner and outer worlds.
When it comes to stone carvings, there are even more ( means "" in Chinese, which is hard to translate directly but implies meticulous attention to detail). Beyond size, genre, placement, and decorative patterns, they must also align with the environment and Feng Shui to convey auspicious meanings or ward off bad omens.
Anyone who has visited the Xiangshan area west of Beijing will notice a slightly reddish hill north of the Yuwu Pavilion. On this hill lies an ancient tomb, topped with a stone archway. Why was a stone archway built here? According to old Beijing tales, Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty was very keen on constructing watchtowers () to train the Eight Banners troops in archery and horseback combat. Each banner built seven solid watchtowers and eight hollow ones for observation, collectively known as "Seven Dead, Eight Alive."
North of the Yuwu Pavilion in Xiangshan, this red hill resembles a turtle. In Chinese culture, the turtle is considered a sacred creature that holds the secrets of the universe and is ranked alongside the dragon, phoenix, and Qilin as one of the Four Mythical Creatures. Emperor Qianlong, an expert in Feng Shui, believed that if this "turtle" hill were to one day crawl to the Kunming Lake of the Qingyi Garden (Summer Palace) to drink, the family lineage would produce a future emperor, posing a threat to the stability of the Qing Dynasty.
How could this be stopped? Qianlong devised a clever solution: he ordered the construction of three watchtowers on the hill to suppress the "turtle," and atop its "head," he built a stone archway to lock it in place, rendering it immobile. This combination of suppression and confinement ( means "" in Chinese, which is hard to translate but implies "solving" or "neutralizing") the Feng Shui of Xiangshan as a potential site for a future emperor, thus safeguarding the Qing Dynasty.