Famous Ancient Charm -- Beijing's Archways and Gateways

Author: Ma Xin, Cao Lijun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: Ancient Charm of Famous Cities is a series of books that attempts to introduce China's famous cities and ancient architecture from new perspectives and concepts. For both Chinese and foreign readers, it serves as a travel guide, a valuable reference, and a practical toolbook. Ancient architecture is a magnificent part of China's cultural heritage. Over thousands of years, the vicissitudes of nature and the fluctuations of human society have made the remaining ancient buildings even more precious. Ancient Charm of Famous Cities showcases the integration of history and culture with ancient architecture, tracing the social, historical, philosophical, cultural, and artistic origins of ancient Chinese architecture. As people's pursuit of culture and art has grown, architectural culture has become a trend, and they are even more eager to understand the history of ancient architecture and the living environment of people at that time. The authors of this book have dedicated many years to researching ancient Chinese architectural culture. They have compiled their photographs into this book, aiming to awaken more people's care and raise awareness of protecting cultural heritage. Ancient Chinese architecture often appears in clusters, with a grand and magnificent scale. As individual buildings, archways play a significant role in architectural layouts. China Great Encyclopedia·Archway: "An archway, also known as a gate tower, is a structure with a single row of pillars, used to divide and control space." It forms a unique architectural style with its simple yet delicate expression, standing out in ancient Chinese architecture. Archways originated from ancient chuo-xie (decorative pillars), which were once used to honor virtuous figures. The New History of the Five Dynasties·Biographies of Li Zi: "Judging the suitability of the land, raise the outer gate, and place chuo-xie at the door so that the unvirtuous can see them and change their hearts and actions." Archways are commemorative structures built by feudal rulers for themselves, loyal ministers, filial sons, chaste wives, and heroic women. As standalone buildings, those with towers are called "towers," while those without are called "archways" or "gate towers." They are built in temples, mausoleums, ancestral halls, government offices, bridgeheads, gardens, streets, and in front of commercial shops, constructed from materials such as wood, brick, stone, and glazed tiles, adorned with exquisite patterns, paintings, and calligraphy. The architectural form of archways and gate towers is the crystallization of ancient Chinese architectural art and humanistic spirit. This book reproduces the representative archways and gate towers remaining in the ancient capital of Beijing through exquisite images. The book is published in three languages: Chinese, English, and Japanese.