Research On The Decorative Art Of Huizhou Ancestral Temple

Ancestral temple is a major public place for a clan, and its construction embodies the cohesion of the financial resources, materials and energy of the whole clan. Regardless of its size or architectural art and skill level, the temple can be regarded as a template and the essence of folk architectural art, as well as the art treasures in the traditional culture. Unlike residential houses, the function of the ancestral temple lays more emphasis on the spiritual and cultural dimensions as the material carrier of patriarchal culture and clan system. Decoration, as one of the important expressions of spiritual function in architecture, cannot only enhance its artistic charm, but also show the spiritual essence of architectural culture vividly. Architectural decoration of the ancestral temple is possessed with the distinctively patriarchal ethical imprint due to the special needs of architectural features, reflecting the unique humanistic thought and aesthetic philosophy at that time. Huizhou Ancient Ancestral Temples are developed in such a cultural hotspot place as Huizhou, so their architectural decoration can fully reflect the natural, economic, cultural and ethical conditions as well as philosophy, aesthetics and other humanistic ideas of Huizhou at that time. Therefore, ancestral temples in Huizhou area are featured with important historical and cultural value, as well as the reference value of art appreciation and design. It is a fortune in the treasury of Chinese traditional architecture, worth our exploring, mining and researching.Huizhou Ancient Ancestral Temples boast the profound and diverse cultural connotation and flexible manifestations. Taking them as the analysis and research object, using field visits and literature research methods, this paper conducts multi-faceted investigation, research and analysis for the architectural decoration of representative ancestral temples within the range of ancient Huizhou area. Firstly, the historical background and development causes of Huizhou Ancient Ancestral Temples were discussed relatively, and their architectural shape characteristics are summarized concurrently. On this basis, the natural environment and the human environment that are relied by the formation and development of their architectural decoration art are analyzed, so as to explore the impact of natural and human factors in Huizhou on the architectural decoration of Huizhou Ancient Ancestral Temples. Then, detailed building components, decorative themes and decorative colors of ancestral temples are sorted out and studied carefully to summarize their characteristics. In order to expand the study scope of Huizhou Ancient Ancestral Temples, the construction of ancestral temples’architectural environment are discussed and analyzed briefly from the perspective of the landscape science, mainly including the building of external and internal temple environment and the analysis for landscape elements. Through the researches, the humanistic ideas behind the architectural decoration of Huizhou Ancient Ancestral Temples are analyzed and their general characteristics in architectural decoration art are summarized. The research on the architectural decoration art of Huizhou Ancient Ancestral Temples plays an inestimable role in nationalizing modern art and protecting cultural heritage.