As a matter of fact, in the ovenlike waning days of this summer vacation, the museum's architectural-model exhibition is clearly the hottest attraction around.
Professor Hu Pao-lin of Chung-yuan Christian University originally proposed such an exhibition to museum director Su Jui-ping. The idea was implemented by a committee of roughly two dozen architects and scholars.
The myriad distinctive architectural forms of the Chinese millennia initially overwhelmed the committee: How could all this be appropriately represented in one display? The committee pondered.
China's complexity in climate, geography, and ethnic groups added to the challenge. The country's domain reaches into temperate, subtropical, tropical, and even subfrigid climate zones, while its terrain encompasses vastnesses of plateaus, mountains, valleys, and basins; rivers and lakes dominate some areas, desert conditions others. Hans, Manchus, Mongolians, Turkic peoples, and many others diversify the population and contribute to the diversity of Chinese architecture.
Taking all this into account, after several intensive meetings, the committee selected an arbitrarily manageable three-dozen-odd architectural representatives to be reproduced for the display.
The exhibited miniatures are arranged in chronological order—from the Neolithic period (6000 B.C.), Hsia, Shang, Chou Dynasties (2205-221 B.C.); Chin and Han Dynasties (221 B.C.-220 A.D.); Three Kingdoms and Six Dynasties (220-589 A.D.); Sui, Tang, and Five Dynasties (581-959 A.D.); Sung Dynasty (960-1279 A.D.); to the Yuan, Ming, and Ching Dynasties (1271-1911 A.D.).
The following "tour" is largely gleaned from a briefing by Professor Lin Hui-chen for his Chung-yuan Christian University students on their tour of the exhibition:
The development of Chinese architecture, said Lin, traces back to eight thousand years ago. Before that, the nomadic peoples who inhabited the country only gradually settled in areas of fertile crop lands and along rivers, moving normally when the hunting and fishing got more difficult; they randomly bedded down in natural caves. As the nomadic tribes evolved into true agricultural societies, in order to more easily care for their crops, they built their own permanent dwellings near the fields.
"Since geological conditions differed in each Chinese region," Lin noted, "the construction materials and methods were also varied. People living along the northern loess plateau constructed cavelike underground dwellings, since very few trees grew on the plateau. To keep off sun and rain, the excavations were covered with thatched roofing."
The first of the miniature displays—Banpo Village—is typical of such underground communities. The excavated Banpo Village site in Shansi Province, the best of the surviving underground dwelling concentrations—covers five square hectares. Circling ditches guarded against the intrusions of enemies, including large animals, and prevented the escape of livestock. In the center is a large underground facility for assemblies and ceremonies. Two hundred underground dwellings spread concentrically from that point.
"Do not disdain the yellowish-brown soil in this model," Professor Lin advised, "because the loess contains shells and the bones and teeth of mammals—a very special kind of earth only found in northern China, the Mississippi Basin, and north-central Europe. Without the chance to see a loess area first hand, no student can imagine what the impact of that color really is. Anyway, to duplicate the color of the northern China loess plateau, we made more than ten tries."
In the southern Yangtze River Valley, people living among woods—or bamboo thickets—developed balustrade architecture. In the lake and swamp areas clustered in southern China, dwellings were erected high above the ground, and poultry and livestock were raised under the elevated floors. A model of the housing vestiges at Maochia-tsui in Hupei Province recreates this balustrade architecture at the exhibition.
In 1959, archaeologists identified palace ruins in western Honan Province and southern Shansi Province, a discovery that confirmed the historical existence of the Hsia Dynasty of 3,800 years ago.
"In the remains of the Erh-lee-tou Palace, several characteristics of traditional Chinese architecture could be found—a structure sited in a north-south direction and encircled by corridors, main gate in the south, and receiving hallways in the center. Now, we may take such construction for granted. But think about it: over 3,500 years ago our ancestors had already built residences incorporating such structural concepts," remarked Professor Lin.
The Shang (later redubbed Yin) Dynasty was China's second, beginning about 3,400 years ago and enduring for six centuries. At that time, a social hierarchy was definitively regulated, the status of each person determining not only the privileges he enjoyed but the style of the house in which he lived.
While emperors and feudal lords could build forts and castles on their lands, laborers and slaves of the period could live only in the cave or balustrade-type dwellings outside the confines of the palace walls. The displayed model of the Yin ruins is divided into residential area, ceramic workshops, and gravesites, exactly as the original. The residential area, of course, features the palace and, also, a temple and significant altar.
Stepping into the Chou Dynasty (1122-221 B.C.), we find the ssu-ho-yuan (residence centered around a courtyard) already evolved to its mature stage. The model on exhibition is of the Young Phoenix Palace at Mount Hsi in Shensi Province.
Professor Lin commented: "The palace features two compounds with three successive entrances and is the oldest ssu-ho-yuan ever discovered. Its structure is strictly symmetrical. The most respected residents occupied the center, and the people living in the right wing of the house were always the inferiors of those occupying the left; retired elders dwelt in the back. The host, on formal occasions, always used the stairs at the east side; the guest, the west side; the central stairs were reserved for grand ceremonies."
According to records of the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.), when Confucian thought prevailed, the cultured person was to behave smoothly, his external manners akin to a circle, with no angles; but the inner spirit was to be squarely ordered: the concept is always reflected in Han Dynasty buildings.
The Imperial Changan Ming-tang Palace residence is the exhibition example. It occupies a square compound within a circular moat; in its very center is another square residential building within a round courtyard. The central structure faces in the traditional, due directions—the east, south, west, and north outlooks signifying, respectively, the spring, summer, fall, and winter seasons.
Important imperial ceremonies involving sacrifices, bestowals, promotions, or retirements were held here. The emperor, noted Lin, had to wear imperial robes of specific colors in tune with the particular season when presiding over a ritual, and face in the auspicious seasonal direction.
Towards the end of the Han Dynasty, Buddhism from India had been disseminated throughout China, and religious edifices were erected everywhere. Two pagodas were selected to represent such buildings. The Sung-yueh Temple Pagoda, built in 523 A.D., is the oldest surviving brick structure in China. The Four-Gate Pagoda of Shen-tung Temple, a four-sided structure with arch gates at each side, is noted for its graceful proportions and simplicity. "Was it used as a repository for Buddhist scriptures or holy relics?" a student asked. "In the Han Dynasty, only holy relics were preserved in pagodas," Professor Lin replied.
During the Sui Dynasty (581-618 A.D.), the four most famous man-made sights of northern China were the Chang-chou Lion, the Ying-chou Pagoda, the Chen-ting Buddha, and the An-chi Bridge. Professor Fang Lin-tzu and his students produced the An-chi Bridge model.
The original bridge was 51 meters in length and 9.6 meters wide; 28 stone slabs were used to form four spandrel arches. Noted Professor Lin: "The bridge design is ingenious. The slope of the segmental arch is quite smooth, convenient for traffic. Its unfolded arch is a fantastic design, too, in connection with efficient rain water drainage." After inspecting the completed bridge model, Professor Fang realized it looked far too new; he finally solved the problem by gluing green moss to it.
Buildings of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.) were less delicate, more unrefined and vigorous, characteristics reflected in the Hall of the Sacred Mother in Shansi Province. Its square dimensions bulked large but were rather irregular; the Temples of Lord Kuan and of the God of Literature were on the eastern side, the three Saints Temple and the Tung-le Pavilion on the west. Murmuring waters and cypress plantings dominated the grand gardens.
The model of the structure, pictured in the famous painting By the River at the Spring Festival, is a very exquisite work. When approaching this model, the students became visibly excited. "Many of them participated in producing it," remarked Professor Lin. He continued, "During the Northern Sung Dynasty, under the pressure of invasions by barbarian tribes, the capital, Kaifeng, was moved to the southern city of Lingan. Nostalgic artists produced many paintings of Kaifeng. By the River at the Spring Festival is the most famous."
The two-dimensional painting was blueprint for a three-dimensional model in three sections. To the right is a typical farm hamlet of the age beside the Grand Canal, with several thatched huts surrounded by densely-planted groves, and poultry and livestock in the encircled farmyard.
Down the Grand Canal is bustling market town. A rainbow-bridge is its most prominent feature—people saunter over it, boats shuttle under, and business activities abound in its environs.
The last and most architecturally important section is the Kaifeng Capital—the emperor's palaces.
In Chinese architectural records, residences and gardens are classified as two categories, the former to serve a complex of living functions, the latter for recreation, study, and entertainment.
In the Han Dynasty, only imperial government ranking officials, the nobility, and the very rich could afford such private gardens, in which both rare animals and plants were raised. Gradually, into the Sung and Ming Dynasties, private gardens became more popular and widespread. Retired functionaries of the imperial administration returned to their hometowns, especially in southern China, and constructed their own gardens. Prosperous farmers also created gardens for recreational activities. The South's Tai Lake District, dotted with ponds and swamps—water was the most important composition element in forming such a garden—became a district of sumptuous gardens. The Taipei Fine Arts Museum selected the famous Fishing Master Yuan (Garden) to be the representative model.
The Garden of the Fishing Master can be categorized as a now-traditional, medium-sized pleasure garden. Sited in the city of Soochow near the ruins of Wan Chuan Hall, it was lovingly reconstructed during the reign of Emperor Chien Lung of the Ching Dynasty (in the 1770's). Like many another traditional Chinese garden, Fishing Master Yuan, in limited space, expressed an unlimited profundity of aesthetic experience. It covered about eight acres, with a pond in the center as the main feature and stones, artificial mountains, trees, arbors, and roofed corridors surrounding the pond.
The garden's landscaping artistry had important implications. Traditional rules of symmetrical order and contrasting tenor were applied in the space arrangements to achieve "mobility within tranquility," and "tranquility within mobility," so that visitors might enjoy differing views from every vantage along the winding paths. Weeping willow trees at every corner united the scene. No lotus flowers grew in the pond, though they were usually to be found in a Chinese pool, so the peaceful water surface could reflect the graceful surrounding scene and add unfathomable depths and ordered additions to the total garden. Here, people would enjoy nature, savor tea, and lose themselves in thought.
Dream of the Red Chamber, China's first-ranked classic novel, written by Tsao Hsueh-chin during the early Ching Dynasty (1740's), narrates a story of two families and of the transcendent romantic dreams of youth. Professor Lin converted descriptions from the story into a three-dimensional model.
A quadrangle residence enclosing courtyards and gardens is the focus. Such "quads" have been the most popular dwelling structures in China's matured architectural history.
Over-looking the exhibited model, visitors can discern every feature. The residence is always along a north-south line, facing south—or the reverse. Inside the main gate, usually positioned at the south-east corner, a tsao-pei (protection-wall) prohibits entry to evil or unauspicious spirits—or in earlier days, stopped arrows shot through the gate. Making a detour around the protection-wall, guests would enter the first chin (a gate or entrance-hall) in a line of four successive chin.
Most of the time, there are, in succession, three courtyards—the chin, and sub-residences and structures circling each courtyard in quadrangle formation. Outer rooms—adjacent to the street—are kitchens, workshops, and living quarters for servants.
At the rear of the first court, in the second chin, a cool, breezy reception hall, guests were received. Distinctly more "liveable" than the outer courts, the final courtyard was the most private family sanctuary in the compound.
Lin embroidered: "A person's status in the extended family, in the old days, determined how far he lived from the main hall—where the ancestral tablets were traditionally kept, important guests received, and major ceremonies and rituals held. Windows of the quadrangle's structures opened only from the inner side, to prevent forcing from the outside by an attacking force."
In Taiwan, the old Liu residence at Neipu, the Grand Gate of the Lung Shan Temple at Lukang, and the Lin Garden, Fang Chien Chai, in Panchiao are all famous for their architected designs.
The Liu residence utilizes a type of rectangular layout known as the "centipede form," and is a typical urban residence of the southern down-island area. The residence is very narrow, for purposes of easy self-defence and for economic reasons; such elongated sites always contain several separate sections. Tradesmen and commercial exchange—including shops—always dominate the first section; the most, personal main family activities are in the final part.
The first section, near the bustling street, contains a small room for the ill, a prayer room, and a study room. Passing through a courtyard, one enters the kitchen and bathroom area. The third section incorporates a three-story building which houses the main family activities areas—living, dining, and guest receiving rooms. In the back courtyard of this building, a gate leads to the center of a clustered residential community. Such "centipede form" residences are still easily found in the Pingtung Plain area of Taiwan, where many Hakkas (a distinctive Chinese cultural group) live.
There are many Buddhist temples named "Lung Shan Temple" in Taiwan. Since, during the Ching Dynasty (1700's), the down-island town of Lukang was the busiest commercial port, and many local businessmen were very rich, they thanked the Buddha for blessing them with so much wealth: The Lukang merchants and people donated large sums to build the most magnificent of all the island's Lung Shan Temples. Its san-men (grand main gate) is famous for its intricate structure and graceful design, and the fact that no extra decor or colorful paints have been added.
Fang Chien Chai (Bright and Peaceful Study Room), the old Lin garden, has been famous on Taiwan for many years. As Taiwan is naturally warm and humid, a great variety of plants grow well everywhere in the garden, and magnificent lotus flowers flaunt their fragrance from its pond. To enhance the artistic atmosphere, surrounding corridor walls are carved in relief.
To increase the Museum display's effect, many photographs and blueprints of the featured architecture are hung on the wall for reference.
The exhibition is a feast for those fascinated by the structures of China—as well as the children (in all of us), excited by miniatures.