中英雙語話中國藝術 第10期:中國古代建築的基本組成

10. The Basic Components of the Ancient Chinese Building

10. 中國古代建築的基本組成

Base

臺基

It is also called base pedestal, which is the base of the building. Its surface is higher than ground. Base is for bolstering the building and protecting it against damp or corrosion. In the meantime, it can make up for the imperfection that the single-building in Chinese ancient architecture is insufficient in grandness and height. Generally there are four kinds of bases.

也稱基座。系高出地面的建築物底U叫建築時時潮防腐，同時可彌補中國古建築單體建築不甚高大雄偉的欠缺。大致有四種。

A. Common base

1.普通臺基

It is almost 1 Chinese chi in height, which tamped and cemented with the mixed earth of white Clay or mud or brickbat. Common base is usually used for constructing the small type of building.

用素土或灰土或碎磚三合土芳築而成，約高一尺，常用於小式建築。

B. Higher Class base

2.較高級臺基

It is higher than common base. The white marble banister is often built at the side of this type of base. Higher-class base is used for the less important building in big type buildings or palace buildings.

較普通臺基高，常在臺基上邊建漢白玉欄杆，用於大式建築或宮殿建築中的次要建築。

C. Much higher Class base

3.更高級臺基

It is the XuMi Base，which is also called Buddha's warrior Base. "XuMi" is a mountain in ancient India myth, which is said locating in world center and is the tallest mount，cosmos. The sun, moon and stars appear and disappear among it and all the structures of universe need to build up alongside its layers. Xu-Mi Base is used as base of the figure of Buddha or shrine to show the lofty greatness of Buddha. The ancient Chinese architecture uses the XuMi base to show the buildings' class. It is generally built up in layers with brick or stone, much higher class base has cave，convex line feet，and line decoration in it, and the white marble banister is built at its stage. It is used for constructing the palace and the big temple in common.

即須彌座，又名金剛座。"須彌"是古印度神話中的山名，相傳位於世界中心，系宇宙間最高的山，日月星辰出沒其間，三界諸天也依傍它層層建立。須彌座用陰影

佛像或神鑫的臺基，用以顯示佛的崇高偉大。中國古建築採用須彌座表示建築的級別。一般用磚或石砌成，上有凹凸線腳和紋飾，臺上建有漢白玉欄杆，常用於宮殿和著名寺院中的主要殿堂建築。

D. The highest-class base

4.最高級臺基

It is folded by several XuMi Bases to make the building seem to be more large and grand. The highest-class base is usually used in the most superior buildings, for example, the three greatest halls of the Imperial Palace and Dacheng Hall of Confucian Temple in Qufu of Shandong，which are just towering aloft on the highest-class base.

由幾個須彌座相疊而成，從而使建築物顯得更爲宏偉高大，常用於最高級建築，如故宮三大殿和山東曲阜孔廟大成殿即聳立在最高級臺基上。

Wood Cylinder

木頭圓柱

It is the cylindrical wood in common made of pine or bucket wood. Wood cylinder is placing on the stage of which the bottom is made of rock (sometimes bronze utensils). Many wood cylinders are used for propping up the purling of the house to form the beam.

常用松木或桶木製成的圓柱形木頭。置於石頭(有時是銅器)爲底的臺上。多根木頭圓柱，用於支撐屋面穰條，形成樑架。

Room Width

開間

The space that is rounded by four wood cylinders is called "Opening". Those openings which face the building are called "room width", 0r called "Miankuo". The vertical depth number is called "enter depth". The Chinese in ancient times took odd number as good luck numbers, so the great majority of openings in the flat surface combination are odd numbers; and more openings mean the higher grades. Taihe Hall of the Imperial Palace in Peking and the Main Hall of Ancestral Temple in Peking have 11 openings both.

四根木頭圓柱圍成的空間稱爲"間"。建築的迎面間數稱爲"開間或稱"面闊"。建築的縱深間數稱"進深"。中國古代以奇數爲吉祥數字，所以平面組合中絕大多數的開間爲單數;而且開間越多，等級越高。北京故宮太和殿，北京太廟大開間爲十一間。

Crossbeam , Namely Horizontal Beam

大梁，即橫樑

It is the main wood which is erected on the wood cylinder to form the ridge of roof. It is usually made of pine, elm or cedar. In Chinese traditional wood structure buildings, it is one of the main pieces of framework.

架於木頭圓柱上的一根最主要的木頭，以形成屋脊。常用松木、榆木或杉木製成。是中國傳統木結構建築中骨架的主件之一。

Arch

斗拱

It is a special component in the Chinese ancient building. The square board is called "Dou", the short bow wood is called "arch"，the long inclined wood is called "Ang"，and "arch" is their general name. Usually it is placed among the pillar head and forehead，face of the house to prop up a beam and pick up eaves and it also has a decorative function. It is made up of the square wood, the short bow wood and the long inclined wood, mixing in length and breadth layer upon layer and pursuing a layer to pick outwardly to form a pad base which is to descend.

是中國古代建築獨特的構件。方形木塊叫鬥，弓形短木叫拱，斜置長木叫昂，總稱斗拱。一般置於柱頭和額柿、屋面之間，用來支撐荷載樑架、挑出屋檐，兼具裝飾作用。由鬥形木塊、弓形短木、斜置長木組成，縱橫交錯層疊，逐層向外挑出，形成上大下小的託座。

Colorful Painting

彩畫

It is originally for protecting wood structure against damp and corrosion and insect-eating，afterwards the press of it is just the adornment. After Song Dynasty, the colorful paintings have become the indispensable adornment art of palace. It is divided into three grades.

原是爲木結構防潮、防腐、防蛙，後來才突出其裝飾性，宋代以後彩畫已成爲宮殿不可缺少的裝飾藝術。可分爲三個等級。

A. The Hexi colorful painting

1.和經彩畫

It is the highest colorful painting in grade. Its main characteristics are: the center of the painting is made up of various pictures of dragons or phoenix and using the flower patterns to fill the space; both sides of the paintings use 《》 to frame and daub them with some shining coating such as gilding to make them look very magnificent.

是等級最高的彩畫。其主要特點是：中間的畫面由各種不同的龍或鳳的圖案組成，間補以花卉圖案;畫面兩邊用《》框住，並且瀝粉貼金，金碧輝煌，十分壯麗。

B. The circle colorful painting

2.旋子彩畫

Its grade is next to the Hexi colorful painting. The painting uses the simplified form of flowers with the eddy petals; sometimes it can also draw dragon and phoenix. The two sides may frame with gilding powder It is generally used in the less important palace or temples.

等級次於和窒彩畫。畫面用簡化形式的渦卷瓣旋花，有時也可畫龍鳳，兩邊框起，可以貼金粉，也可以不貼金粉。一般用在次要宮殿或寺廟中。

C. The colorful painting of Su's type

3.蘇式彩畫

Its Grade is lower than the two kinds above. The picture covers landscape, person story, flowers, birds, fish, and insects..., the both sides use "《》" or " ( )" to frame. "（）" is called "wrapper" by architects. The colorful painting of Su's type is developing from the "wrapper" colorful painting of the South of the Yangze River.

等級低於前兩種。畫面爲山水、人物故事、花鳥魚蟲等，兩邊用《》或（）框起。"( )"被建築家們稱作"包袱蘇式彩畫，便是從江南的包袱彩畫演變而來的。

Roof (called in ancient times "House Cover")

屋頂(古稱屋蓋)

The Chinese traditional roof has the following seven kinds, the Palace Wu of the double-eave roof and the heavy summit of hill of the double-eave roof are the highest grades , and then followed with the Palace Wu of the single-eave roof and the heavy summit of hill of the single-eave roof.

中國傳統屋頂有以下七種，其中以重檐龐殿頂、重檐歇山頂爲級別最高，其次爲單檐龐殿、單檐歇山頂。

A. The roof of the Palace Wu

1.龐殿頂

Its all sides are sloping with one positive ridge and four inclined ridges. The house's surface has a little bit radian，it is also called Four A Roof.

四面斜坡，有一條正脊和四條斜脊，屋面稍有弧度，又稱四阿頂。

B. The roof of the heavy summit of hill

2.歇山頂

It is a combination of the roof of the Palace Wu and the hard summit of hill, which means the upper part of the house surface with four sloping sides, and turns to the triangle wall surface which is hanging straight. There are one positive ridge, four hanging ridges and four dependent ridges in it, so it is also called nine-ridge roof.

是龐殿頂和硬山頂的結合，即四面斜坡的屋面上部轉折成垂直的蘭角形牆面。有一條正脊、四條垂脊，四條依脊組成，所以又稱九脊頂。

C. The roof of the hang summit of hill

3.懸山頂

It is that the two sides of the double ascent of the house surface stretch out the gable wall. There is a positive ridge and four hanging ridges on the house surface, so we also call it the roof of the picking-summit of hill.

屋面雙坡，兩側伸出山牆之外。屋面上有一條正脊和四條垂脊，又稱挑山頂。

D. The roof of the hard summit of hill

4.硬山頂

The double ascents of the house surface and two sides of the gable wall are at the same level of the house surface, or slightly higher than it.

屋面雙坡，兩側山牆同屋面齊平，或略高於屋面。

E. The roof of the accumulating top

5.攢尖頂

Its flat surface is circular or polygon and it is a roof of taper up. There is no positive ridge and several house ridges hand over in the top end. This type of roof is generally used in ordinary pavilion, terraces and towers.

平面爲圓形或多邊形，上爲錐形的屋頂，沒有正脊，有若干屋脊交於上端。一般亭、閣、塔常用此式屋頂。

F. The roof of rolling shed

6.捲棚頂

The house surface has double ascents and there is no obvious positive ridge, that is the connection of the front ond bock of the oscents building up in layers in a curved form instead of using the ridges.

屋面雙墟，沒有明顯的正脊，即前後坡相接處不用脊而砌成弧形曲面。山牆即房子兩側上部成山尖形的牆面。常見的山牆還有風火山牆，其特點是兩側山牆高出屋面，隨屋頂的斜坡面而呈階梯形。

Gable Wall

藻井

It is the wall which is formed as the top of mountain at the up of both sides of the house. The familiar gable wall still has the wind-fire gable wall, which has the characteristics of two sides of gable wall being higher than house surface, presenting a stairs form with the slope surface of the roof.

中國傳統建築中天花板上的一種裝飾。名爲"藻井含有五行，以水克火，預防火災之義。一般都在寺廟佛座上或宮殿的寶座上方。是平頂的凹進部分，有方格形、六角形、八角形或圓形，上有雕刻或彩繪，常見的有"雙龍戲珠"。

Decorated Ceiling Panel (Algae Well)

It is a kind of adornment on the ceiling in the Chinese traditional building. "Algae well" implies that the water subdues fire, which con prevent it from a fire. It is generally above the Buddha's seat of temples or the throne of the palace. Algae well is the sunken part of the even roof, there being square space form, hexagon, octagon or circular, which is engraved or colored up on it，among those pictures "double dragons play with a bead" is quite populaor.