The Analysis Of The Architectural Form And Space Layout Of The City God’s Temple

City God’s temple, a large architectural complex aiming at offeringsacrifices to patron saints, is of prevalence in ancient cities back to feudal periodof China, whose development coincides with the establishment and growth ofthe belief in city god.Belief in city god is of importance in belief system of ancient China. Asone of the most crucial deities in Han people’s legend and Taoism, city god isthe patron of a city in Chinese traditional culture. Temples were constructedwherever there were cities for worshiping city gods in capital and localadministrative units at all levels, like mansions, prefectures, and counties. Aslocal officials of the nether world, city gods have the authorities correspondingto officials of mansions, prefectures, and counties in the real world. Theauthorities include safeguarding the city and determining life and death, wealand woe, rewards and punishments, good and evil of the mortal, and mitigatingnatural disasters.The earliest Chinese architecture constructed for worshiping city god onrecord is the city god’s temple in Wuhu of Anhui Province back to the reign ofWu in the period of Three Kingdoms. During Tang and Song Dynasties, with thewide spread of belief in city god among the populace, government graduallyinvolves the belief to national worshiping systems, which explains themushrooming of city god’s temples all around the country, especially in thesouth. In early years of Ming Dynasty, as belief in city god has officially become a vital component of national worship, Zhu Yuanzhang, founder of MingDynasty, conferred ranks to city gods within his territory and sent out imperialdecree of constructing city god’s temple to mansions, prefectures, and counties.Since then, city god’s temples have become architectures existing in almost allthe ancient city in China.As architectures aiming at worshiping, city god’s temples in Shanxi havearchitectural form and spatial layout of distinctive religious and ritual features,complying with Confucius key concepts of hierarchy and of superiority andinferiority. Imitating the structure of palace, city god’s temple usually has themain buildings arranged in linear order, an axis formed, and subordinatebuildings constructed symmetrically according to the axis to form enclosureswith the main buildings, thus series of small yards and magnificent architecturecomplex of exquisite organization are taking shape.This thesis begins with the establishment and growth of the belief in citygod and explores the origin and the development of city god’s temple with thehelp of related ancient records. Based on earlier research findings and analysesof materials about city god’s temple in Shanxi local chronicles, the presentauthor examines in diachronic manner development, distribution, and commonfeatures of the locations of city god’s temple in Shanxi province. Through casestudy and literature review, the author carries out research about architecturalform and spatial layout of city god’s temple in Shanxi.Finally, through in-depth analysis to status quo and protection of a few citygod’s temples in Shanxi, the author points out problems currently observed inprotection and repair of city god’s temples in Shanxi, and provides somecorresponding constructive suggestions.