| Chinese Ancient Pagoda is a Buddhist architecture with Chinese characteristics, which is a combination of Indian covered bowl tower and Chinese traditional pavilions created by Chinese craftsmen. As a product integrating Chinese traditional architecture culture and Indian Buddhist architecture culture, it has developed into a unique cultural phenomenon. Ancient Buddhist pagoda has a long history of more than2,000years since its entrance in mainland China in late Han Dynasty, experiencing changes during Wei, Jin, Sui, Tang, Song, Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. Under the constant influence of Chinese architectural tradition, aesthetic judgement and religious ideas, it has greatly changed in its modeling, structure, function, decoration, building materials and interaction with the environment, resulting in hundreds of Chinese Ancient Pagoda with high aesthetic and cultural value, abundant in forms, rich in functions, splendid in decoration.The dissertation is to study thoroughly the Chinese ancient pagoda from an aesthetic culture perspectives. The purpose is to unveil the mystery, secularity and beauty of the Chinese ancient pagoda so as to deepen the understanding of Chinese ancient aesthetic culture.Forms of Ancient Chinese pagoda mainly derive from two sources:ancient Indian and ancient western China, with ancient Indian stupa as the origin, and ancient western China pagoda as an intermediary. The direct influence of the two sources on the form of Chinese mainland pagoda are:India covered bowl tower and the western China high tower. The modeling of covered bowl tower is a hemispherical covered bowl with a square flat head and a canopy on top and a circular tower base at the bottom. In between the tower base and the covered bowl is a circular corridor for believers to enring clockwise. The corridor is surrounded by a fence with an exit on four directions:east, west, north and south, standing at each exit is a decorative archway. The architectural style of Ancient Indian pagoda is full symbolic features of Buddhist culture:The covered bowl symbolizes Buddha’s Nirvana and the universe; the flat head and column support and the canopy on the column symbolizes Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha; clockwise corridor symbolizes the realm reaching Buddha Nirvana. Carved on the four archways are wonderful curled lotus patterns related to Buddha, and righteous poultry and benevolent beasts like swans, peacocks, elephants of Buddha incarnation. These are so vividly carved and look almost real, forming Tuo Lanna art. Obviously, ancient Indian stupa has integrated Buddhist culture and Tuo Lanna art and featured a strong Buddhist and religious implication, sacred and spiritual, and promoting Buddhism principle by means of art. Therefore, in addition to sanctity of religious worship, the architectural culture of ancient Indian pagoda has its aesthetic properties as well, combining the dual attributes of religious worship and aesthetic judgement. Besides, with the rise of Mahayana Buddhism, the ancient Indian stupa has changed into the high tower of Gandhara region, which has first lost its fence and tower gate. Surrounded its covered bowl and base are Niches separated by pilasters, with Buddha in each for worshiping. This has changed the convention of using flora and fauna to symbolize Buddha in the period of stupa. The peripheral side of the covered bowl and the base is decorated with relief panels about Buddhist stories. Secondly, Taki, tower and Tasha are greatly stretched. The circular base is replaced by a multi-layered square and a solid tower body is changed into a hollow tower body to lay the Buddha. The covered bowl of Tasha is proportionally reduced, with layers increased, the overall momentum is overwhelming. The modeling of uniting the tower and Buddha as one greatly enhances the sacredness of pagoda, because it impresses directly on people’s heart, far more effective compared with flora and fauna symbols. The modeling of Western China pagoda has inherited the features of high tower in Gandhara region, having a square base and a column tower body carved with Buddha and thus has intensive sanctity.Having inherited features from ancient India stupa and Gandhara and Western China tower, Chinese ancient pagoda has integrated features of Chinese traditional building like Pavilion and developed into Han-style pagoda with Chinese characteristics, mainly including pavilion-style tower and tight tiles tower. Pavilion-style tower has a top like Indian stupa, with intense separated layers like Chinese pavilion, and a hollow body through which people can climb up to the top. Tight tiles tower is a variant of pavilion-style tower, with a huge first storey as the tower body and layers of tight tiles on the top. Most tower body are solid and has no way to climb up. From aesthetic perspective, Chinese ancient pagoda has further developed the mystery of ancient Indian pagoda. But with the influence of Confucianism and Taoism, it has developed worldly in function and beauty in appearance. Wei Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties witnessed the form, development and prosperity of Chinese ancient pagoda. And the Pavilion-style tower has changed from few layers and small body to multi-layer and larger body. However, due to the aesthetic and cultural change in Southern and Northern Dynasties, when intellectuals pursue lively spirit and charm style, physical and mental freedom, natural beauty is emphasize to meet the spiritual needs. So even with the number of layers increased, and the body of pagoda enlarged, the curves applied to the tower eaves and body still makes the architectural appearance look vigorous and forceful. Thus, the architectural modeling changed from vigorous and firm in Han Dynasty to simple and ethereal. Meanwhile the beauty for beauty’s sake aesthetic fashion and Buddhist decoration style makes the pagoda gorgeous. The aesthetic culture of Sui and Tang dynasties is open and confident, all-embracing and Majestic, resulting in a magnificent, majestic architectural style. As a result, the individual building is dignified and stable, and the pagoda at that time appears forceful, dignified with simple and neat decoration. The aesthetic culture of Song dynasty is constrained and conservative, more rational but less free, pursuing sophistication and elegancy, resulting in an clear and elegant architectural style. It has been exemplified on the building technology sticking to the structural element in Yingzao Fashi (Treatise on Architectural Methods) and meeting the standard of institution and aesthetic judgement. Under this influence, the pagoda in Song Dynasty appears beautiful and elegant in modeling technology. The culture of Liao and Jin Dynasties is backward for its remote location. People mainly absorb culture from Central Plains, coupled with the Worship of Buddhism. The pagoda is, therefore, mainly solid tight tiles tower that cannot be boarded; the base and body of the tower were richly decorated with Buddhist themes, with gorgeous and magnificent appearance. The new and the old aesthetic ideas collided intensively in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Influenced by the ethical culture, rational constraints gradually become rigid conservatism, making official buildings more institutional, with neat and clear Axis. The architecture has turned into a cultural explanation of an ethical image. Influenced by the new aesthetic culture, such as the more free aesthetic concepts "Only Love" and "Innocence Idea," new opportunities for construction are created. Rather than reflecting the innovative architectural forms, it has reflected on the transformation of architectural details, people aggressively pursue complicated decoration while continuing to improve architectural forms. As a result, buildings are becoming aesthetical and artificial. In a word, the architectural modeling in Ming and Qing Dynasties has experienced little change while the details have become more complicated and gorgeous.Chinese pagoda has close relation with temple. Before Sui and Tang dynasties, towers are the centre of the buildings. This is true both to Indian and Western China temple pagoda and Chinese inland pavilion pagoda. The pagoda is always built in the center of the temple, that is, the building of the pagoda is the building of the temple. The layout style with the pagoda in the centre and surrounded with affiliated buildings is the requirement from Buddhism and the demand from believers worship, revealing the sanctity of pagoda as well. But while demonstrating sanctity, the China inland pagoda reveals its worldly feature, which is mainly represented by the main buildings of the axis and circulated with affiliated buildings. After Sui and Tang dynasties, the Chinese religion has developed, advocating "Supplementary Biography of Buddhism, with no words. Right to the heart, enlightment." Especially its belief on the insight into "enlightment" has thoroughly disillusioned the believers worship on Buddhist texts and Buddha. Thus, pagoda, as a symbol of Buddha, lost its sanctity as well. And it is gradually removed from the centre of the temple, standing beside or behind a temple and even out of the temple. Meanwhile, temples have become the central buildings on the axis. In this way, the sanctity of pagoda gradually disappeared while its worldly feature gradually increased.Chinese temple is a garden like layout, as a result, Chinese pagoda has a close relationship with gardens. In India, the pagoda is the center building of a monastery garden and is ultra-secular and sacred. Flowers and fruits are primarily used as offerings and monks’food here. After being imported to China, with the enhancement of aesthetic nature and the flourish of royal gardens and private gardens in Wei and Jin Dynasties, while pagoda is still sacred, the flowers and fruits are no longer regarded as a simple offering, but as a strong aesthetic implication. Stupa temple at this time is located in the centre of the garden. The sacred shape and aesthetic decoration of the temple have direct influence on the hearts of believers and pilgrims, giving them a strong spiritual shock, enhancing the strength and aesthetic force. The aesthetic qualities of the garden make a supplement to religion, making it easy for people to understand religion and accept it. With the widespread of residential temple and mountain temple, pagoda’s body and location were limited, and gradually became a fundamental layout factors when constructing a garden. In Ming and Qing Dynasties, the ruling class purposely integrated pagoda and royal garden, making pagoda an important factor in the layout of Chinese garden landscape.Chinese ancient pagoda, especially the pavilion-style tower is the best explanation image of Chinese architecture culture, representing the aesthetic and cultural characteristics of Chinese pavilion:huge, majestic, and dignified, which has turned the pavilion into the best platform for the Chinese ruling class to flaunt their wealth, status, and a high place to reach immortal. With the widespread penetration of Confucian ethical culture, such pavilions have increasingly become realistic, secular worldly, while the Taoist Immortal thought gives pavilions its super immortality where worldly man become immortal. Therefore, pavilion in the Qin and Han dynasties have an aesthetic culture implication of both amusing man and God. And the Chinese pagoda shares the same meaning in Southern and Northern Dynasties. It is the primal cultural function of Chinese ancient pagoda as well. The pagoda was built in large-scale in Wei and Jin Dynasties, reflecting intellectuals’entertainment needs of amusing God and satisfying their Buddhist belief, the pursuit of a detached life and praying for blessings. Its light and elegant style reflects these intellectuals pursuit of blending lively life and natural beauty, so as to satisfy their free-spirited soul in the interaction of heart and physical objects.From the perspective of aesthetic culture, the Chinese ancient pagoda has mainly three features:mystery, secularity and beauty. Mystery is a continuing feature inherited from Indian pagoda, including three aspects:first, built for advocating Buddhist principles; second, decorated by Buddhist theme; third, religious implication in the layout. Secularity is the crucial feature distinguishing Chinese pagoda from Indian pagoda. By way of the mystery power of pagoda, practical functions are achieved, such as climbing high to watch far, observing enemies so as to keep alert in war times, supplementing Fengshui and revital Wenhua and so on. These features are a manifestation of China’s secular culture and its worldly application:secularity and practicality on the appearance of pagoda. The beauty of Chinese aesthetic culture is also represented in Chinese ancient pagoda by its stability, its beautiful shape and rhythmic beauty and the beauty of the building material, the layout and its curve and so on. |
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