Chinese Architecture & Interior

Bai Yan (Pai Yen)

"a hundred eyes". tall pharmacist's cupboard with many small drawers.

Gong Bi

"court-style painting" technique uses detailed brushstrokes and vivid colors.

Zhedievi

"crossed seat" or "crossed chair", term covers various types and styles od X frame chairs built with an X frame on both side.

Feng Shui

"Art of placement". make a place harmonious and positive. channels, balances, and enhances ch'i. bring fortune and prosperity.

Forbidden City

"emperor's palace" or "gate of the heavenly palace".1 short of the mythical 10,000 rooms in heaven. had 9 mythical animals guarding the emperor. studs on gates were arranged 9x9 pattern. contained the Gate of Great Peace, Qiniandian Hall of Prayer, Hall of Supreme Justice

Ba Xian Zhuo

"table of the eight immortals", a square table of normal height intended to be placed in front of a taller and narrower table caled Tang Hua An. Traditionally, art objects stood on the tables.

National Stadium or Bird's nest

Beijing, National Stadium designed for the 2008 olympics.

Pai-lou or Paifang

monumental archway or gateway with one, three, or five openings; erected as a memorial at the entrance to a palace, tomb or processional way.

Zhi

straight column

Luo Quan Yi or Luo Han chair

Arched horseshoe-shaped crest rail chair, a chair with a crest rail that curves forward in a broad bow forming the arms, each ending in an outward scrolll. traditionally of monastic use.

Taoist temples

Emphasized on order and equability. most are situated to the topography of nature. Has 2 styles, traditional (similar to buddhist temples, symmetric) and Ba Gua (furnace at center).

Confucianism

Kung Fu-Tzu or Confucius, china's greatest philosopher, concerned about ethics, and morality in politics. Yin & Yang. Balance and Symmetry. Feng Shui, 9 and odd numbers: masculine.

Watercube

National Aquatics Center, collaboration of PTW architects of Australia with CSCEC chinese state construction engineer corporation.

Potala palace

Residence for the Dalai lama in Tibet, it rises 200m against a hillside, has 9 storeys and is colored white, red, and gold leaf.

Porcelain

a ceramic material made by heating clay in the form of kaolin between 1200° F. and 1400° C.

kan'g table

a chinese long, low table, typically rectangular with short cabriole legs, placed on a kang, a raised three-walled platform used for sleeping or relaxing.

zhuo table

a chinese rectangular table with a corner legs not inset.

yungang

a large buddhist monastic center in northwest china where there are numerous cave temples each having a shallow oval shaped interior with a massive central image of Buddha.

gulou

a large drum tower or pavilion in Chinese architecture located at the right side of a city gate, palace entrance, or forecourt of a temple.

yingbi

a screenwall in Chinese architecture that protects the main gate to a monastery or house against evil spirits, which were believed to move only in straight line

dougong bracket

a structural timber bracket found between the top of a column and a cross beam. each is formed of a double bow-shaped arm (gong) which supports a block of wood (dou) on each side.

blanc de chine

a type of white porcelain made at Dehua in the Fujian province. Produced from the Ming dynasty.

Chinese yoke rack pattern

archair form in the chinese shan-lan gate. slightly concave center front crest rail, spoon-shaped splat and higher than European model to keep the feet from the cold and damp floor, with low front stretcher as footstool.

tong wa

bamboo tiles

zhonglou

bell tower or pavilion in Chinese architecture located at the right side of a citygate, palace entrance, or forecourt of a temple.

blue and white wares

blue decoration is painted onto the body before glazing, using very finely cobalt oxide mixed with water.

zaojing or caisson ceiling

central deepest part is round "Well" (jing), the middle part is the octagonal well and the outermost part is a square. symbolizes that heaven is above and earth is below.

Guan Mao Shi or scholar's cap shape chair

chair with a back rest topped with a slender crest rail which often had ears that jutted out slightly beyond the stiles. ears are similar to headdress worn by scholar officials.

ta

chinese pagoda architecture

Opium Bed or Kan'g

chinese tester beds, four tall posts and canopies of separated construction. enclosed on all 3 sides. terminates on a horse hoof feet. served as a daybed in the morning.

Lute or Psaltery table

circular top small table or stand that is occasionally used as vase stands.

the temple of heaven

complex of ancient sacrificial buildings. 38 meters in height and 30 meters in diameter, built with 3 levels of marble stones.

Pavillion

covered structures without surrounding walls and are traditional part of Chinese architecture

Zui Weng Yi

drunken lord's chair. a bamboo chair that could be converted into a daybed by drawing forward a footrest from beneath the seat.

Xiu Dun

dun with decorative openwork sides (check online)

Taoism

founded by Lao-tse. mean "way" of the natural universe. living in harmony with nature, an incomprehensible natural force which all events in the universe unfailingly follow. Bagua Style, all structure surround the Danlu (stove to make pills of immortality)

Dun (Tun)

framework of simple members of convex, curving verticals joining a circular frame at the bottom and supporting a circular seat at the top. (check online)

Liu Xian Zhuo or table for six immortals

gaming table similar to Ba Xian Zhuo.

Buddhism

has 4 noble truths, suffering is part of life, people suffer because they try to get things they cannot have, way to escape is to overcome desires, path to nirvana was to avoid too much pleasure and too much self denial.

Shui Mo Hua

ink and was painting watercolor technique that uses monochromatic color scheme and often only black ink.

Great Wall of China

ordered to be built by emperor Qin Shi Huang Ti. Monument, first door under heaven, located at the wall's eastern end at Shanhaiguan and Last door under heaven located at the wall's northwestern end at Jiayuguan.

Ping or Coromandel screens

ornamental screen. symbol of rank form which the material is made of.

Kan'g Ji or K'ang table

short legged table used for writing or dining intended to be used on a kang or a Jia Zi Chuang or any large platform piece of furniture.

Pagoda

structure with top, similar to the stupa. Body, where the shrine of Buddha is put. and the base where the relics of the buddha are buried.

Jade ware

symbol of vitality and authority. Jade Cicada (symbol of eternal life) is placed on the mouth of a deceased person.

lingdao

the spiritway that led from the south gate to a royal tomb of the Tang dynasty, lined with stone pillars and sculptured animal and human figures.

Suo

top and bottom of the column are smaller in diameter with the middle section bigger in diameter.

Banwa

under layered tiles

Southern official chair or Mei Gui Shi

various chairs with a distinctively short back rest, as it was intended to be placed before a window.