With China's reform and opening up, Beijing is improving urban construction on an unprecedented scale. Its speed of development is astonishing and it brings about changes day by day. Around this graceful ancient capital, a large number of key national projects, massive infrastructure buildings have sprung up.

The Number "Nine" and Imperial Buildings

It may not be common knowledge among Western visitors that the number "nine" carried a special significance in old China. Ancient Chinese regarded odd numbers as masculine and even numbers as feminine. "Nine, " the largest single digit number, was taken as representing the "ultimate masculine" and was, therefore, symbolic of the supreme sovereignty of the emperor. For this reason, the number "nine" (or its multiples) is often employed in palace structures and designs. A noticeable example is the number of studs on palace gates. The studs are usually arranged in nine rows of nine each, totalling eighty-one. This is even true of the marble gates of the "underground palace" of the Dingling Mausoleum in Beijing: 81 (or 9 X 9) studs were carved out of the stone. If the visitor goes to the Temple of Guan Yu in Luoyang, he will also find on the red gate nine rows of nine wood studs each. This was because Guan was given posthumous honours of an emperor.

Ancient palaces generally consisted of nine courtyards or quadrangles; so does the Temple of Confucius in Qufu, Shan-dong Province -a magnificent architectural complex worthy of an imperial household and testifying to the importance attached to the great sage by the courts of various dynasties.

The buildings of the Forbidden City of Beijing are traditionally measured as having a total floor space of 9,900 bays-some even say 9, 999 bays, which may be an exaggeration. The picturesque towers guarding the four corners of the palace compound have each 9 beams and 18 columns, and the three famous screen walls (in Datong and Beijing - see above article ) have nine dragons on each.

The number "nine" was sometimes combined with "five" to represent imperial majesty. The great hall on Tian'anmen is 9 bays wide by 5 bays deep.

There is a seventeen-arched bridge in the Summer Palace of Beijing. This, too, has much to do with "nine". Count the arches from either end, and you will find that the largest span in the middle is the ninth.

An extreme example of the "game of nine" is perhaps the Circular Mound Altar (Huanqiutan) in the Temple of Heaven. Site for the Ming and Qing emperors to worship Heaven, the al tar is in three tiers. The upper terrace is made up of nine concentric rings of slabs. The first ring or innermost circle consists of nine fan-shaped slabs, the second ring 18 (2 X 9) slabs, the third 27 (3 X 9)... until the last or ninth ring, made up of 81 or 9 X 9 slabs.

The number "nine" is not only used on buildings. The New Year dinner for the imperial house was composed of 99 dishes. To celebrate the birthday of an emperor, the stage performances must comprise of 99 numbers as a sign of good luck and long life.

Cloisonne

Cloisonne, in which China excels, is known as jingtailan in the country. It first appeared toward the end of the Yuan Dynasty in the mid-14th century, flourished and reached its peak of development during the reign of the Ming emperor Jingtai (1450 - 1457). And as the objects were mostly in blue (lan ) colour, cloisonne came to be called by its present name jingtailan.

A jintailan article has a copper body. The design on it is formed by copper wire stuck on with a vegetable glue. Coloured enamel is filled in with different colours kept apart by the wire strips. After being fired four or five times in a kiln, the workpiece is polished and gilded into a colourful and lustrous work of art.

During the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), cloisonneware was mainly supplied for use in the imperial palace, in the form of incense-burners, vases, jars, boxes and candlesticks -all in imitation of antique porcelain and bronze.

Present-day production, with Beijing as the leading centre, stresses the adding of ornamental beauty to things that are useful. The artifacts include vases, plates , jars , boxes , tea sets . lamps, lanterns, tables, stools, drinking vessels and small articles for the desk.

A pair of big cloisonne horses have been made in recent years, each measuring 2.1 metres high and 2. 4 metres long, and weighing about 700 kilograms. They took eight months to finish, involving the labour of hundreds of workers and 60 tons of coal for the firing. They represent the largest object ever made in cloisonne in the 500 years since the art was born.

Cloisonneware bears on the surface vitreous enamal which. like porcelain, is hard but brittle, so it must not be knocked against anything hard. To remove dust from it, it should be whisked lightly with a soft cloth. Avoid heavy wiping with a wet cloth, for this might eventually wear off the gilding.

Ornamental Pillar

A well-known architec tural ornament in China is the huabiao, often seen on the grounds of palaces, imperial gardens and mausoleums. It is also seen at some crossroads to mark the thoroughfares.

There is a pair of such ornamental pillars carved out of marble standing in front and behind Tian'anmen, the Gate of Heavenly Peace, at the centre of Beijing. Each pillar, entwined by a divine dragon engraved in relief, carries a plate on top, on which squats an animal called kong. This creature in Chinese mythology is supposed to be born of the dragon and good at keeping watch. It is generally referred to as the "stone lion. " The four kong at Tian'anmen have different names, the two in front facing south and with their backs to the wall are called wangjungui or "looking out for the emperor's return. " Their duty, it is said, was to watch over the emperor's excursions and call him back if he was too long absent from the palace. The couple inside the gate facing north are called wangjungchu or " looking out for the emperor's progress," and their job was to supervise how the emperor behaved in the imperial palace. If he should indulge himself and neglect court affairs, the stone lions would remind him of his duties and tell him it was time to go out among the people.

These popular explanations reflected the naive wishes of the people for an emperor who would listen to advice and work really for their good.

The huabiao has a long history behind it and can be traced back to Yao and Shun, legendary sage kings in remote times. To solicit public criticism, it is said, they erected wooden crosses at marketplaces so that the people might write their complaints and wishes on them. These wooden posts were replaced during the Han Dynasty (206 B. C. - 220 A. D. ) by stone pillars, which grew more and more decorative and ornately carved until they became the sumptuous columns to palace gates.

Palace

The Chinese word for "palace" is gong which, however, may refer to anyone of several different things.

In the earliest Chinese writings it meant no more than an ordinary house. After the founding of the Qin Dynasty (221207 B. C.), gong came gradually to mean the group of buildings in which the emperor lived and worked. From about the same time, the Chinese palace grew ever larger in scale. The Efanggong (or Epanggong, according to the purists) of the First Emperor of Qin, according to an authoritative source, measured "5 li (2 1/2 km) from east to west and 1,000 paces from north to south. " The Weiyanggong of the Western Han Dynasty (206 B. C. - 24 A. D. ) had, within a periphery of 11 kilometres, as many as 43 halls and terraces. The Forbidden City of Beijing, which still stands intact and which served as the imperial palace for both Ming and Qing emperors (1368-1911), covers an area of 720, 000 square metres and embraces many halls, towers, pavilions and studies, measured as 9,900 bays. It is one of the greatest palaces still existing in the world. In short, the gong grew into a veritable city and is often called gongcheng (palace city).

Apart from the palace, other abodes of the emperor are also called gong. So, the Yiheyuan Park used to be the Summer Palace; the Mountain Resort at Chengde and the Huagingchi thermal spa near Xi'an were both xinggong or "palace-ontour. " Then there is another type of gong called zhaigong, where the emperor prepared himself with ablution and abstinence before he offered sacrifice at a grand ceremony. There is one such zhaigong on the grounds of Beijing's Temple of Heaven.

Inside a great gong, certain individual buildings may also be called gong. The Qing emperors used to live at Qianqinggong (Palace of Heavenly Purity) in the Forbidden City, whereas the living quarters of the empresses were at Kunninggong (Palace of Female Tranquility). The imperial concubines of various ranks inhabited the six gong or palace quadrangles on either side of the 'central axis of the Forbidden City. When the monarchs or their spouses died, they were buried in digong ( underground palaces ).

The name gong is also used for religious buildings of great dimensions. The Potala in Lhasa is a gong to the Chinese; the lama temple of Beijing is Yonghegong. The temples of Taoist priests are generally called sanqinggong (palace of triple purity).

For thousands of years in old China, the word gong was reserved exclusively for naming imperial and religious buildings. With the passage of time and political changes, many of the old gong have been opened to the general public for sightseeing. Furthermore, a number of buildings have been named gong or palace. For instance, Taimiao or the Imperial Ancestral Temple in Beijing has been renamed the "Working People's Palace of Culture. " On West Chang'an Jie, a comparatively new building serves as the "Cultural Palace of National Minorities. " Similar gong or palaces have been built in many cities of the country for the cultural, scientific and recreational actvities respectively for workers, youth and children.

Hall

The than is the largest single building in traditional Chinese architecture and is generally referred to as dadian (grand hall). It is also called zhengdian (central hall) as it is invariably built on the axis of an architectural complex.

Corresponding to the rigid ranking system of feudal times, there were strict regulations about the building of palace halls. The dadian was the grandest of all buildings, being symbolic of the supreme power of the emperor.

The most famous Chinese than are three: Taihedian or the Hall of Supreme Harmony in Beijing's Forbidden City, Dachengdian or the Great Hall in the Confucius Temple of Quf u , and Tiankuangdian or the Hall of Celestial Gift in the Daimiao Temple at the foot of Mt. Taishan. Of the three, the Hall of Supreme Harmony in Beijing is the greatest and most splendid. It measures 28 metres high, 11 bays wide and 5 bays deep, totalling 55 bays. Its double-eaved, four-sloped roof is covered with yellow glazed tiles. From each end of the main ridge, which is straight and level, fork down two corner ridges, which curve slightly and turn up at the lower corners, presenting a beautiful skyline. All the ridges are decorated with wenshou or zoomorphic ornaments, adding a mystic flavour to grandeur.

At the centre of the ornate interior, the emperor's throne, gilded in gold and carved with dragons, stands on a platform flanked by six huge columns also entwined with gilded dragons. The caisson ceiling high above carries a dragon carved in relief playing with pearls and has a big glass-ball mirror hanging down from the centre.

Taihedian is the main hall of the palace, where grand ceremonies took place and important edicts were read and issued during the days of the emperors. It represents the most sumptuous example of the traditional art of Chinese architecture.

Other halls deserving to be called than were mostly buildings where imperial sacrifices took place. Tiankuangdian, mentioned before, was the hall in which the emperors worshipped the God of Mt. Taishan. Qiniandian in Beijing's Temple of Heaven, famous for its unique structure, was where the emperors prayed for good harvest and has been known as the "Hall of Prayer" among Westerners. For the worship of their ancestors . the emperors used to go to a great hall in Taimiao, the Imperial Family Temple lying to the east of Tian'anmen Gate.

The above example suffice to show that the name dian or dadian was reserved only for certain buildings related to the supreme ruler.

Zoomorphic Ornaments

Chinese palaces, temples and mansions have on their roofs a special kind of ornaments called wenshou or zoomorphic ornaments, some on the main ridges and some on the sloping and branch ridges.

The monstrous thing at either end of the main ridge, called chiwen, appears roughly like the tail of a fish. Fierce and formidable, it looks as if it were ready to devour the whole ridge; so it is also known as tunjishou or the ridge-devouring beast. It is, according to Chinese mythology, one of the sons of the Dragon King who rules the seas. It is said to be able to stir up waves and change them into rains. So ancient Chinese put a chiwen at either end of the main ridge for its magic powers to conjure up a downpour to put out any fire that might break out. But for fear that it might gobble up the ridge, they transfixed it on the roof with a sword.

At the end of the sloping and branch ridges there are often a string of smaller animals, their sizes and numbers being decided by the status of the owner of the building in the feudal hierarchy.

The largest number of zoomorphic ornaments is found on the Taihedian Throne Hall or the Hall of Supreme Harmony of the Forbidden City. Leading the flock is a god riding a phoenix, after whom come a dragon, a phoenix, a lion, a heavenly horse, a sea horse and five other mythological animals, all called by unusual names. Qianqinggong (the Palace of Heavenly Purity), which the emperor used as his living quarters and his office for handling daily affairs, being next in status to Taihedian, has a band of nine animal figures. Still next in importance is Kunninggong (the Palace of Female Tranquility), which served as the empress's apartments; it has a group of seven zoomorphic figures. This number is further reduced to five for the twelve halls in side courtyards, that used to house the imperial concubines of different grades. Some of the side halls have only one animal figure each on their roofs.
These small animals were also believed to be capable of putting out fires. While this can be easily dismissed as superstition, they do add to the grandeur and magnificence of the imperial buildings.

The earliest ridge animals so far discovered in the country came to light in 1960 in a suburban area of Shashi, Hubei Province. On the interior wall of a roll tile which served as the body of a ridge animal figure was engraved "first year of Yuanguang," which means the year 134 B.C. It can be seen that installing animal figures on roof-ridges has been an established practice for at least 2,100 years.