Architectural Art and Culture of Gutian Linshui Palace

Architectural Art and Culture of Gutian Linshui Palace

Through in-depth analysis and research on the architectural art form of Linshui Palace in Gutian County, Fujian Province, it is pointed out that Linshui Palace not only contains the characteristics of traditional Taoist culture in China, but also incorporates the genes of local culture in eastern Fujian, and then gradually forms a unique temple architectural form, which has important academic value for the study of local architectural art and culture in eastern Fujian.

Keywords: Jidong; Gutian Linshui Palace; Architectural art; Taoist culture; Local culture

In recent years, the architectural community has paid more and more attention to "local architecture". Temple architecture, as an architectural form that can best reflect the characteristics of "local architecture", is naturally the focus of research. "Zuo Zhuan" said: "It is a national event to respect and honor." In ancient China society, the importance of ancestral temples can be seen. Ancestral temples are places where Han people worship ancestors, sages and gods, usually in the form of temple buildings. Temple buildings scattered in the vast and rich land of China have their own characteristics in architectural art and culture due to regional differences. Taking Linshui Palace in Gutian County, Fujian Province as an example, this paper makes an in-depth analysis of its architectural art form, and discusses the influence of Taoist culture and local culture on the architectural art form of Linshui Palace, so as to provide reference for the study of local architectural art and culture in eastern Fujian. Fujian Mindong District mainly covers Fuzhou and Ningde. Gutian County is one of the traditional "Ten Towns in Fuzhou", and 1970 is included in Ningde area. Gutian Haibin Palace is located in Nakamura, Da Qiao Town, Gutian County. It is a temple dedicated to the Taoist goddess Chen Jinggu and the birthplace of waterfront culture at home and abroad. Founded in the eighth year of Tang Zhenyuan (792), it has a history of 1200 years. The existing architectural style was mainly built in the first year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty (1875). The whole palace is divided into four halls, front, back, left and right, with a total area of more than 8,000 ㎡, and the main palace alone has 4,000 ㎡. Linshui Palace faces south and is built on the mountain. The ups and downs contrast with the mountains, which is extremely magnificent. The building of Linshui Palace is a civil structure, with double eaves resting on the top of the mountain, and there are carved beams and painted buildings everywhere in the palace, which is extremely beautiful. Gutian Waterfront Palace, as a model of temple architecture in eastern Fujian, was selected as the seventh batch of national key cultural relics protection units in 20 13.

First, the architectural art form of Gutian Linshui Palace

From the artistic form, architecture is a collection of elements such as structure, shape, elevation, space, color and decoration. It is influenced by natural climate, geographical environment, living customs, religious beliefs and aesthetic concepts, and usually has obvious regional and functional characteristics.

(1) Architectural form

1. Building structure and framework The eastern part of Fujian is located in the subtropical monsoon climate zone, which is wet and rainy and is affected by typhoons and other disasters all the year round. At the same time, it is located in the southeast earthquake zone of China, and the structure and framework of the house are very important. Gutian Waterfront Palace is mainly civil structure. The whole building is supported by a wooden frame, surrounded by brick-soil stone walls. The architectural frame design adopts the combination of "span bucket" and "hanging beam" commonly used in residential buildings in eastern Fujian, which has strong stability. Columns are connected by beams, supplemented by beautifully carved components such as bucket arch, arch support and sparrow replacement, which not only has decorative effect, but also can strengthen the frame and effectively defend against natural disasters such as typhoons and earthquakes.

2. Roof structure and form Gutian Waterfront Palace is a double-eaved hilltop, and the roofs are intertwined, overlapping and intertwined, ups and downs, like a huge palace built on a mountainside, which is very spectacular. The roof of the temple is huge in scale and unique in shape. The cornice of the roof is extremely exaggerated arc, and the wing angles at both ends are high, "like a bird, like a fly", which makes the originally broad and depressed roof produce an upward momentum, skillfully dissolving the sense of oppression brought by the big roof, and making people feel relaxed and happy psychologically in the visual space. There are clay sculptures of auspicious birds and animals, such as dragons, phoenixes, lions, tigers, leopards, elephants and cranes, everywhere on the roof ridge and cornices, with vivid images and various postures (Figure 1). The whole roof is small blue tiles, flat and even. With the ups and downs of the roof, yin and yang turn back, resulting in different shapes, light and shade, color changes, forming a subtle spatial composition relationship in unity.

3. Facade and modeling elements: The gate of Gutian Linshui Palace adopts the style of China traditional arched gatehouse (Figure 2), which is magnificent and meaningful. The ridge of the wall is in the shape of five mountains falling, and the bottom is decorated with gorgeous decorative frames, decorated with exquisite Taoist color paintings and clay sculptures. The temple gate is a bluestone door frame, square and atmospheric. There is a pair of engraved bluestone couplets on the left and right sides, "The temple looks magnificent and the mother instrument is boundless", which expresses Gutian people's praise for Mrs. Chen Jinggu, who is close to the water tower. Just above the temple gate is a straight plaque of "Waterfront Palace Ceremony", on both sides of which are carved gods to bless the people, showing the identity and status of the temple. The red walls on both sides of the temple gate are carved with exquisite reliefs of Shuanglong grabbing pearls and Tiger and Leopard coming to spring, which are accurate in shape and lifelike in image. The gables of Linshui Palace are rich in styles, including parallel pendants, bows, clouds and saddles. The ridges of different shapes are interspersed with different heights, which enriches the vertical curve of the building and gives people a strong appeal. Different shapes give people a light, lively, serious, exquisite or magnificent visual feeling. This kind of building facade is a typical traditional residential style in eastern Fujian, which embodies the rich local architectural culture and people's aesthetic taste.

4. Architectural space and layout From the perspective of spatial layout and design, Gutian Waterfront Palace is divided into four halls, with the front hall as the main hall, the ancient stage, the bell and drum tower, the worship pavilion and the main hall, followed by the dressing room and the Sanqing Hall, and the bamboo knife hall and the Taibao Hall on the left and right sides respectively (Figure 3). The functional division of different spaces is clear, which is not only a whole, but also an independent space, with clear movement and static. Each hall has different architectural shapes, creating a sacred and solemn building complex. The layout of Linshui Palace follows the principle of Taoist temple in the south, Kun in the north, symmetrical ridge and temple, and centered venerable person. Sitting north facing south, the main building and the affiliated building are organically connected in series with a deep vertical plane and a narrow horizontal plane, which embodies the orderly architectural space based on the central axis. Gutian Waterfront Palace adopts the concept of "skillfully borrowing and forming on the spot" and skillfully uses the objective natural environment for design and construction, which embodies the Taoist world view of "harmony between man and nature". Especially from the overall space of the building complex, its combination mode is patchwork with the change of the mountain, with distinct levels, free and flexible single-plane combination and ingenious and diverse spatial form changes.

5. Color composition and expression The color composition and expression of the architecture and decoration of Gutian Linshui Palace are mainly red and cyan. As the primary color of the wall, red symbolizes nobility, auspiciousness and happiness. The floor components are blue-gray granite and bluestone, and the roof is also blue tile, which represents the meaning of solemnity, steadiness and fortitude. Red is bright and not dry on the blue-gray background, while blue-gray is thick and not stuffy in the contrast of red, and the two are harmonious and unified. Some wooden components in the palace are decorated with red paint, some are painted with simple techniques to preserve the true colors of wood, while others are painted with dark green, cobalt blue, empty sparrow blue and other deep and solemn colors to avoid being too gorgeous and pursue the natural and simple artistic conception of Taoism, while highlighting the mysterious and solemn atmosphere of religious buildings.

(B) Gutian seaside palace architectural decoration art

Traditional architectural decoration is an important part of architectural art, and the content and style of decorative art it expresses have great influence on the expression of architectural form and humanistic spirit. The decoration of Gutian Waterfront Palace fully shows the cultural and artistic forms in eastern Fujian, adopting traditional techniques such as carving, painting, clay sculpture and painting in eastern Fujian, drawing materials from different places, applying art according to materials, being flexible and skillful, and paying attention to the transmission of humanistic spirit.

1. Decoration theme and cultural connotation The architectural decoration of Gutian Linshui Palace focuses on praising Chen Jinggu's belief and embodying Taoist ideology and culture. Through the architectural decoration of temples, such as sculptures, murals and clay sculptures, a mysterious and solemn religious atmosphere is formed, which also reflects the moral standards, values, religious beliefs and aspirations of Gutian people. The theme of palace decoration is mainly Taoist immortals, Taoist stories, all kinds of beasts, fairyland and magic weapons, full of Taoist deification and strong religious shock, which guides people to yearn for fairyland visually and psychologically, thus strengthening their belief in Taoism; There are also historical allusions that represent China's traditional moral values, such as "riding a thousand miles" and "Zhao Zilong riding a savior alone", all of which promote ethical virtues such as loyalty, righteousness, qi and chastity, and have a positive effect on "cultivating sentiment and helping others"; Some of them are decorated with animals, plants, folk utensils and other patterns and symbols, expressing the good wishes of the world with homophonic words and excuses, reflecting the simple folk customs of Gutian.

2. The craftsmanship and decorative techniques passed down from Gutian have been passed down from generation to generation, and the pattern design presents a unique regionality. For example, the ceiling decoration of local temples is usually designed with algae wells, which symbolize the vast sky, and its construction and decoration are extremely complicated. There are five algae wells in Gutian Linshui Palace, among which the lotus covered algae well on the ancient stage is the most typical (Figure 4). The layered structure of caisson adopts the construction technology of repeated vertical-pull-out and jumping up and down, and the interlayer rises and contracts. All the components are connected by tenons and mortises, which are layered, orderly, complicated but not chaotic, and full of rhythm. Each floor has exquisite carvings and paintings, which are rich in content and mean good luck. From bottom to top, there are 8 carved panels with cloud and water patterns, decorative small bucket arches, hanging flowers, flowers and animals. The top symbolizes the sun, and the center is a lotus-covered sculpture, which represents holiness and light. Gutian folk also said that it has the function of "avoiding fire" and has a strong folk culture color.

Second, the architectural culture of Gutian Linshui Palace

Architecture is a concrete form of culture, which reflects the material and cultural level, social system, religious beliefs and customs of a society and a nation. Various cultural factors play a decisive role in architecture. Studying the cultural factors contained in Gutian Waterfront Palace architecture will help us to understand the causes of its architectural form more deeply.

(A) Taoist culture

Gutian Waterfront Palace is a typical Taoist building. Its basic modeling, architectural features, decorative arts and aesthetic features are all determined by the characteristics of Taoist culture itself. It vividly conveys the philosophical thought, aesthetic characteristics and values of Taoism through architectural forms, thus embodying the solemn and mysterious cultural atmosphere of religion. Linshui Palace is located in a remote mountainous area, with beautiful scenery and pleasant climate. It conforms to the Taoist philosophy of "mountains and rivers have spirits" and carries the Taoist belief pursuit of staying away from the secular and achieving immortality. Taoist architectural decoration can be seen everywhere in the palace, creating a natural, clean, extraordinary and isolated fairyland on earth. At the same time, Linshui Palace, as the carrier of Taoist culture in real society, can't be completely divorced from secular life. In order to adapt to the living environment, seek the "realistic needs" of self-development, and better attract and educate believers, Taoist culture and folk culture are organically integrated in the expression forms of architecture and decoration, which not only emphasizes the traditional moral concept, but also caters to the psychological wishes of the people, and has distinctive national cultural characteristics, showing the side of Taoist culture's entry into the WTO.

(b) local culture

On the basis of consanguinity and geographical relationship, traditional rural society forms local culture such as regional folklore, religious belief, value orientation and lifestyle, and constructs architectural space with local culture as the background. Local architecture is not only a material entity, but also a cultural carrier, which is deeply integrated into local resources, context and life, and is the materialization and solidification of rural customs. Gutian County, located in the mountainous area of eastern Fujian, is restricted by natural environment and traffic conditions, forming a unique local culture. Sacrificial activities should be carried out in all seasons, holidays, girls' marriage, adult etiquette and the birth of children. This simple folk custom has been handed down for thousands of years. Chen Jinggu's belief, in particular, bears many activities of production customs in farming society, forming a cultural belief with wide influence and distinctive characteristics in eastern Fujian. Waterfront Palace is rooted in this soil, and gradually forms tangible culture such as architecture and decoration and intangible culture such as myth, sacrifice and folk custom, which exerts a subtle influence on the local people's ideas and behaviors and has a strong local flavor.

(C) Ritual culture

The Analects of Confucius said: "Virtue is the foundation of Tao and ceremony is the foundation of ceremony", which is the core content and concrete embodiment of the feudal patriarchal clan system in China. As a way to carry forward the spirit of ritual system, temple architecture is built to maintain this system and moral order, and it has a strict hierarchy. Since the Tang Dynasty, Mrs. Chen Jinggu, a lady on the waterfront, has been honored dozens of times, and Chen Jinggu has also changed from a folk god to a king-appointed god who protects the country, with great influence. Especially after Emperor Daoguang of Qing Dynasty and Emperor Xianfeng honored Chen Jinggu as "Queen Chen" and "Mother Shun Tian", Linshui Palace became the imperial court, reaching an unprecedented height in architectural etiquette. In order to highlight its noble status, the architectural form of Linshui Palace was built with reference to the style and pattern of the Tang Dynasty Palace in China. It is tall, dignified and elegant, and decorated with a large number of dragons, which embodies the supreme momentum of the royal palace style. Besides offering sacrifices to Chen Jinggu, Linshui Palace also offers sacrifices to immortals such as Lin nine niang, Li Sanniang and Yang Taibao. The rank and status of immortals are also defined with reference to the traditional patriarchal hierarchy. The location of the statue is very particular, which has a great influence on the overall layout of the building.

Third, the conclusion

Gutian Waterfront Palace is a symbol of the architectural culture of temples in eastern Fujian, a comprehensive creation of various architectural and decorative art styles, and an exchange and integration of China Taoist culture and local culture. With the development of society and culture, a unique form of temple architecture has gradually formed. The architectural art and culture of Gutian Waterfront Palace can not be separated from the soil in eastern Fujian. It is a witness to the history of local architecture in eastern Fujian, embodies the essence of local culture and is the crystallization of the collective wisdom of local people. In this sense, it is of great academic value to study and analyze A Palace by the Waterfront. Now it has become a historical relic and cultural heritage. We should cherish it forever with the attitude of "respecting history, preserving history and studying history".

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