Architectural Design of Ancient Chinese Palace Complexes Exemplify Worship of and Respect for the Gods and Heaven

[PureInsight.org] When one
hears mention of ancient Chinese palace complexes, one will usually
would think of the Beijing Imperial Palace, also called the Forbidden
City.  Most of the introductions to the Imperial Palace have
focused on the superficial appearance of the architecture, which is
magnificent, grand, dignified and harmonious.  It is the most
outstanding masterpiece achieved by ancient Chinese architects. 
The complex has many cultural flourishes, including small detail work,
such as the sitting beasts carved on the overhanging eaves and drops of
water on the eaves.  The overall design of the structure of the
Imperial Palace complex is also a reflection of cultural intent. 
The location of each palace was determined strictly according to the
hierarchical system of feudalism.  It represented the ancient
Emperors' absolute power and authority.



However, one thing modern people have almost forgotten is that the
supreme Imperial Palace reflected worship and esteem towards the gods
and heaven.    



Rules for the Construction of an Imperial Palace

The Beijing Imperial Palace complex was constructed strictly under the
rules for construction of an imperial palace.  The surrounding
buildings are also part of the architectural complex.  The rule
stipulated certain principles.  The Imperial Court must be located
in the front part of the complex.  That was the place where the
Emperors heard the opinions and suggestions of the Imperial
officials.  Located behind the complex is the trading center of
the capital city.  The Imperial ancestral temple is located at the
left front side of the complex.  That was where Imperial ancestors
were buried and mourned.  The crown shrine for offering of lands
and grains to the gods is located at the right front side of the
Imperial complex.



In the Ming and Qing dynasties, all important events, including
ascending to the throne, marriage, award presentations, ritual
offerings and blessings for going to war and returning after victory,
and so on, were held at the crown shrine.



All Emperors claimed that the gods had appointed them and they were
"the son of Heaven."  They believed that the land and its grain
were the foundation of a country.  



Ancient People Complied with the Gods' Will; Modern People Do As They Please

Emperors treated the ceremony of making offerings to the gods very
seriously and sincerely.  They truly believed that they were "the
sons of Heaven."  Emperors had absolute supreme power in the human
space, but they always complied with the gods' will.  They did
regular self-examination in order to determine whether they had
followed the gods' will, or whether they had caused civilians to
complain about sufferings, which they believed would jeopardize the
foundation of the country.



When the Imperial officials submitted their advice and suggestions to
the Emperors, they always mentioned in their submissions that they did
so by following the gods' will and teachings from ancient times. 
In the semi-divine Chinese culture, the teachings were a record of
rules for behavior that people from ancient times had arrived at from
their inspirations from gods.  These records were written down
when writing became available.



When civilians revolted because of an Emperor's being foolish and self
indulgent, they used slogans and banners claiming they expressed "the
gods' will."  In ancient China, people from all social classes
believed in the existence of the gods' will.  They also believed
that the gods were compassionate.  Therefore, human beings must
comply with the gods' will.  



Let's consider the architectural design of the imperial complex. 
Throughout the past several thousand years, the first thing that the
Emperors, who had absolute power, would consider was how to comply with
the gods' will when they constructed their palaces, which were also the
most important architectural symbols for their country.  They
constructed their palaces based on rules for the construction that they
believed came from Heaven.  Therefore, there was not much change
in the form of the architectural design.  If there was a little
change, it was only for the technique of construction.  This was
because the gods' will is eternal.



Nowadays, nobody has the supreme power that the ancient Emperors
had.  But the houses that people build show more selfness. 
For example, the structure of the houses, the relationship between the
rooms are more aiming at the functionality, comfort and personal
hobbies, rather than the rules made by the gods.



In terms of fashionable appearance, the currently popular properties
are combinations of cement blocks, large glass windows, and flat roofs,
to show industrialized neatness, regularity and coldness.  In
other times, fashionable appearances were a bit different, and
irregular shapes with a protruding corner or an irregularly shaped room
were popular.  In some time in the future, people may again favor
the natural modern homes with sloping roofs and chimneys of red bricks.




Social ideology greatly influences architecture.  When the Chinese
Communist Party conquered China, it had a number of different opinions
on how to treat the Beijing Palace, the symbol of feudalism.  One
of the opinions, which represented the Communist Party's idea, was
"Don't believe in heaven and earth," rather "fight with heaven and
earth."  It suggested putting up high rise buildings around the
Imperial Palace, to suppress the Palace.  It was lucky that that
suggestion was not followed.  Otherwise, the Imperial Palace would
have been sunk into a large group of cold complexes.  



After 1949, the Imperial Ancestral Temple was remade into the "Laboring
Peoples' Cultural Club," and the Imperial Shrine became Zhong Shan
Park.  Since then, the significance of communication with the
"ancestors" and "Heaven" has disappeared.  



The essential culture that had been conserved for the past thousands of
years has come to an end in construction.  Consequently, the
architectural complexes themselves have become like the bodies without
souls.  



The difference between ancient and modern people is that, ancient
people, no matter whether they came from upper or lower social classes,
believed that there was a "heaven" above them.  They would get
punished if they did not follow the heavenly principles.  But most
of the modern people do not believe in the "heavenly principles." 
So they don't think it is important to comply with them in all social
aspects, including architecture.  Modern people consider their
personal wants as the most important thing, such as comfort,
convenience, hobbies, and so on.



Description of the Imperial Palaces in a Poem

There are only a few ancient Chinese imperial palaces that have
survived the wars, fires and other natural and man-made calamities
since the ancient times. Besides the Beijing Imperial Palace, the Shen
Yang Imperial Palace survives.  Also, several ruins of ancient
palaces from the Han and Tang Dynasties can be seen in the city of Xi
An.  



Du Mu, a poet from Tang Dynasty, described in his poem of "A Fang
Imperial Palace," the luxury of the architecture.  The Fang
Imperial Palace was located beside Li Mountain in Xian Yang City and
was burned down in an uprising at the end of the Qin Dynasty.  The
description of the construction and deconstruction of the Palace in the
poem indicated the public sentiments.  The poet pointed out that
it was the ruler of the Qin Dynasty who caused the downfall of the
dynasty, because the Emperor did not care about his civilians,
confiscated all assets and became arrogant and wild.  That was the
reason why the Qin Dynasty only lasted for two generations on the
throne and ended after only 15 years of ruling.  It was wiped out
in an uprising.  



The poet lived in Tang Dynasty.  Being from a later generation, he
witnessed the Tang people sighing for the short life of the Qin Dynasty
but repeating what Qin people had done.  They did not learn a
lesson from Qin Dynasty.  Consequently, the Tang Dynasty was
eventually overthrown.  People from the future also sighed for
them.           



Conclusion

Besides the architectural design of Imperial palaces, all other
buildings in the ancient times manifested a deeply felt respect towards
the gods, moral beliefs and the human environment.  Modern
architecture has become something that has a physical body but lacks a
soul.  This is because of the moral decline of modern people,
leading to the changed appearance of the architecture.  Only when
people's internal minds are rectified can architecture be reconstructed
into harmonious buildings with real cultural intent.  

        

Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2006/11/9/40862