Asian architecture [hindu & china] - Art Appreciation

ASIAN ARCHITECTURE[Hindu & Chinese Architecture]

FAMOUS ARCHITECTURAL STRUCTURES

Angkor is a vast temple complex in Cambodia featuring the magnificent remains of several capitals of the Khmer Empire, from the 9th to the 15th century AD. These include the famous Angkor Wat temple, the world’s largest single religious monument, and the Bayon temple (at Angkor Thom) with its multitude of massive stone faces. During it’s long history Angkor went through many changes in religion converting between Hinduism to Buddhism several times.


Prambanan is the largest and

most beautiful Hindu temple

complex in Indonesia.


Situated on a large rock, Tanah Lot is one of the most famous Hindu temples in Bali, and probably the most photographed. The Tanah Lot temple has been a part of Balinese mythology for centuries. The temple is one of 7 sea temples, each within eyesight of the next, to form a chain along the south-western coast of Bali.


The City of 1000 Temples, Kanchipuram is one of the oldest cities in South India, and known for its ancient Hindu temples and silk sarees. The city contains several big temples like the VaradharajaPerumal Temple for Lord Vishnu and the Ekambaranatha Temple which is one of the five forms of abodes of Lord Siva.


The Brihadeeswarar Temple, located in Thanjavur, India, was built by the Cholaking Rajaraja I in the 11th century. The world’s first complete granite temple, Brihadishwara is a brilliant example of the Dravidian style of temple architecture. The temple tower is 66 meters (216 feet) high making it one of the tallest temples in the world.


-The enormous temple complex is dedicated to Shiva, known here as Sundareshvara and his consort Parvati or Meenakshi. -The temple complex is within a high-walled enclosure, at the core of which are the two sanctums for meenakshi and Sundareshwara, surrounded by a number of smaller shrines and grand pillared halls.


The architecture of Virupaksha temple was so integrated that the original pre-Vijayanagara temple must have been enclosed by the building of a closed circumambulatory passage and one or more antechambers as well as an open, pillared passage on the three sides of the vimana. Presently the temple has three gopuras: a large outer eastern one, a small inner east and a northern one.

HISTORY

HISTORY

•Gradual improvement of technique on timber structure buildings

•Rammed earth construction

•Glazing tiles and building with stones

Primitive – Han Dynasty

•output and quality of bricks and tiles are improved

•techniques on timber structure are also improved

Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties:

•application of bricks - more popular

•advancement in baking glazes

•proportion of the building components fell into fixed pattern

Sui and Tang Dynasties:

HISTORY

• scale of the buildings is generally smaller than that in Tang Dynasty

• more beautiful and rich in diversity

Song Dynasty

• Tibetan Buddhist temples and Islamic mosques were built

Yuan Dynasty:

• Production of bricks increased

• Quality and quantity of glaze tiles had exceeded the past's

• Official buildings were highly standardized

Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties

HISTORY

•Traditional Chinese style blended with Western architectural characteristics

1840s (Opium war)

•Architectural styles were pared down - buildings looked sparse (Solid grey blocks and simple designs)

•Returning to the Ancient's Period - Buildings with large roof

•New Communist Bldgs Period - Big Ten Buildings for National Celebration(constructed in 1959) exemplified the combination designs of Stalinist architecture, traditional Chinese architecture and modern architecture.

1949 (People's Rep. Of China - Established)

•new architectural styles began to develop (combines older styles plus new invented elements)

1980s:

EVOLUTION:

1) Cave dwellings

2) Nest dwellings

3) Houses built and raised above the ground on bamboo poles

4) Architectural Techniques (Mortise and tenon joints)

5) Earthenware roof tiles and plaster were used

6) The Great Wall of China

7) Buddhist Pagodas

8) Use of brick walls, glazing, & sculpture

9) More elegant and intricate styles

10) Traditional Chinese Architecture peak

FEATURES

FEATURES

• Flexible Structure:

Dougong - unique design only found in China; a system of brackets inserted between the top of a column and a crossbeam

The Eave of the Ancient Palace in the

Forbidden City

[Ancient]

FEATURES • Wonderful and Elegant Appearance:

The unique outside has not only fit and satisfied the practical functional need of building, but also exhibited its wonderful appearance. It is a good model of a combination of practicality and beauty.

• Regular Layout:

Most of the buildings strictly follow the axis-centered principle with symmetrical wings.

• Gorgeous Ornaments:

Meticulous attention is given to ornaments either from a whole or a specific part.

[Ancient]

FEATURES • Traditionally: emphasis on width of the buildings;

Modern: emphasis in height and depth

• Emphasis on symmetry

• The use of certain color, numbers of the cardinal directions

[Ancient-Modern]

FAMOUS

ARCHITECTURAL

STRUCTURES


• The Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications built by a number of emperors to protect the northern borders against nomadic tribes.


• Situated 13 Km northwest of central Beijing, the Summer Palace is one of the largest, (2.9 Sq Km) best preserved, and most interesting royal gardens in the world.

• Although it is called a palace it is not in fact a single building but includes scores of buildings, such as temples, halls, pavilions and towers.


• The Ming Tombs cover an area of 80 square kilometres, situated in a valley bordered on three sides by the Yanshan Mountains.


• Situated in the heart of Beijing, the Forbidden City is the world's largest palace complex. It has lavishly decorated ceremonial halls and royal palaces. All the gates, palace and other structures of the Forbidden City were arranged about the north-south central axis of old Beijing


• Temple of Heaven is not a single building but a complex located in the southern end of central Beijing.

• The temple was used by the emperor to make offerings to the heaven and to prey for a good harvest.


• First built to a height of 60 meters (197 feet) with five stories, it is now 64.5 meters (211.6 feet) high with an additional two stories.

Asian architecture [hindu & china] - Art Appreciation

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