Chinese Architecture and Metaphor: Song Culture in the Yingzao Fashi Building Manual

Chapter 1 The Historical Tradition of Writing on Architecture: From Antiquity to the Mid-Tenth Century

1 The Historical Tradition of Writing on Architecture From Antiquity to the Mid-Tenth Century Your subject learned that “[the sages built palaces and chambers] with a ridgepole at the top and eaves below [in order to attend to the wind and rain],” [which way of building,] in the Classic of Changes, corresponds to the time [and divinatory symbol] of “Great Maturity.” [Your subject also learned that] “the positions [of buildings] must be adjusted right and the cardinal directions be determined correctly,” [which,] in the Rites of the Zhou, indeed is a ceremony of [establishing a state in] peace (臣聞“上棟下宇” 、 《易》為大壯之時;“正位辨方” 、 《禮》實太平之典). Li Jie, “Jin xinxiu Yingzao fashi xu”1 This is how Li Jie begins his preface to the YZFS, which served to present the work to the imperial court. He cites two of the most esteemed Confucian classics, which were attributed to kings and nobles of the Zhou (mid-eleventh century–256 B.C.E.), one of the most powerful dynasties in Chinese history. One of these writings was the Yi 易 (Changes), later known as the Zhouyi 周易 (Zhou’s [book of] changes) and the Yijing 易 經 (Classic of changes). The second was the Li 禮 (Rites), which refers to the Zhouguan 周官 (Government posts of the Zhou), later known as the Zhouli 周禮 (Rites of the Zhou).2 These classics recorded the art of divining THE HISTORICAL TRADITION OF WRITING ON ARCHITECTURE 15 and the philosophy of life of the ancients, or rites and ceremonies of the Zhou dynasty. Li Jie used these two texts to demonstrate the fundamental principles of construction that had been practiced by ancient rulers who had succeeded in establishing a peaceful and powerful state. The building standards he formulated were based on these traditions of construction practice and architectural administration. Referring to classical sources and relating them to contemporary society was a common practice in ancient Chinese writing. This reflects a characteristic of Chinese thinking in many spheres: preference for established precedents. In the practice of compilation, it was often the case that new works cited old texts, with their compilation format and contents more or less built upon previous texts. In the absorption of tradition, however, writers faced the challenge of incorporating it into contemporary social needs and introducing innovative elements. It is essential to understand the complex attitudes of Chinese literati toward possible conflicts between tradition and reality and how they accomplished the integration of both in their writings. In the YZFS, Li Jie consults an extensive list of classical and earlier texts on architecture, especially those involving fundamental technologies and principles of construction. In the beginning section of the YZFS, “Kanxiang” 看詳 (Examination of details), he frequently quotes those essential texts and indicates that he is following the building principles recorded in classical texts. Furthermore, in the first two chapters, collectively titled “Zongshi” 總釋 (General explanations), he engages in a textual study of architectural terminology and traces the evolution of major technical terms from classical sources to his time. To understand how Li Jie dealt with the relationship between traditional theories and contemporary practice, it is necessary to investigate the previous architectural writings that were available to him. A historiographical study of earlier architectural literature follows. Pre-Qin and Han Architectural Literature Incidental Evidence in Classics and Philosophy Extant Chinese architectural literature from before the Qin period (221–206 B.C.E.) is sparse. During the unprecedented destruction of classics under the directive of the First Emperor of Qin (r. 221–210 B.C.E.), practical texts, such as those on medicine, divination, and horticulture, were exempt from destruction (“所不去者 、 醫藥 、 卜筮 、 種樹之書”).3 Books on building CHINESE ARCHITECTURE AND METAPHOR 16 methods, if any, would also have been exempt. Therefore, the sparseness of architectural materials probably reflects the actual state of architectural writing at this early time. In the pre-Qin works that were rediscovered, collected, or further compiledduringtheHandynasty(206B.C.E.–220C.E.),scatteredmention of architecture can be seen mostly in texts recording or explaining Zhoudynasty rites and ceremonies and in the political and historical documents attributedtotheThreeDynasties—Xia(ca.twenty-firsttosixteenthcenturies B.C.E.), Shang (ca. sixteenth to mid-eleventh centuries B.C.E.), and Zhou. Literary works on the history of the rise and expansion of the Zhou also contain references to architecture. Many of these texts have been esteemed since the Han dynasty as essential Confucian classics. These works include the Yijing, the Zhouguan (or Zhouli), and two other fundamental ritual texts: the Yili...