What are the common stone carvings for temples in ancient times

In ancient times, temples were generally used as places to worship ancestors, gods and buddhas, or sages from previous generations. In modern times, almost every city has a temple for their patron saint, and most cities have multiple temples for the gods they believe in. And nowadays, temple culture has permeated every aspect of our lives, such as architecture, geography, painting, sculpture, cultural relics, temple fairs and so on.

A temple ancient construction, usually most of the stone stone carvings and wood wood carvings are used as decoration. Among them, to count the stone stone carving is the most prominent, skillful traditional stone carving process, exquisite and exquisite product display, all for the temple ancient construction added ancient color and charm of history and culture. Below look at the temple in the ancient construction, commonly used in the type of stone carving what?

One, the temple's mountain gate - stone door plaque

Previously, the temple was built in the mountains and forests, so the mountain gate for the alias of the temple. Nowadays, most of the temples will become a place for people to come to the temple for pilgrimage and traveling. Therefore, an imposing mountain gate is built in front of the temple to attract visitors from all over the world.

The gate is usually carved with various kinds of stone to create a stone gateway with carvings, paintings and plaques. In traditional Chinese stone carving, each table of stone gate is a stone craft. It utilizes the traditional stone carving techniques of round carving, relief carving, high relief carving, shallow relief carving, flat relief carving, shaded line carving, etc., all of which are widely used in the carving of stone pagodas.

Two, the temple's column - stone dragon column

Stone dragon column is a traditional building of the Chinese nation, has a long history. It is a cylinder of stone, the appearance of carving entangled cloud dragon, column across a beautiful cloud plate, like traveling clouds inserted into the clouds. The whole dragon pillar symbolizes auspiciousness, magnificence and other meanings.

A table of stone carving dragon column on the use of a variety of carving techniques, such as: round carving, carving, line carving, flat carving, relief carving, painting carving and other multi-work carving process.

Three, the temple guardrail - stone railing

Stone railing is the most common component of China's traditional architecture, in the temple in the ancient construction, stone railing is the most indispensable, it can be blocked enclosure, will be separated from different areas, but will not cut off the link between the regions. Especially the carving pattern on the railing also plays a role in embellishing the environment.

A stone balustrade is generally composed of three parts: column, plate and burden, of which the column is divided into two parts: column body and column head.

Four, the temple relief carving plug stone

Relief stone plug - relief, it is generally used in the temple wall plane carved out of the concave and convex undulating image of a sculpture, is between the round carving and painting between the form of artistic expression. In China, the relief stone plug to dragon plug mainly, there is a dragon wall, three dragon wall, five dragon wall, seven dragon wall, nine dragon wall and other forms. These forms are most honored by the nine-dragon wall, which can also be often seen inside the temple.

Fifth, the temple stone incense burner, stone burner

Stone incense burner is generally made of high-quality lapis lazuli carved into, incense burner on both sides will generally be carved dragon vivid. The role of the stone incense burner is to contain incense sticks for daily worship of the gods. "The sun shines on the incense burner and produces purple smoke" is a poem by Li Bai, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, describing the incense burner.

Temple incense burners, generally made of lapis lazuli and granite. Stone burner stone "incense road" necessary appliances, but also Chinese folklore, religion, ritual activities in the indispensable offerings.

Six, the temple of the stone pavilion, stone tower, stone drums, stone lanterns

Stone tower is a variety of stone carving, with a specific form and style of traditional Chinese architecture. Stone pagoda stone temple stupa foundation, it is an important part of the connection between the tower in the underground palace, the most common stone stupa in the temple.

Stone carving stone drum: most of them are not alone, often with the door hairpin, threshold, door, door, door frame, railings together to produce the overall stone carving decorative effect, and stone lions placed together in order to enhance the sense of beauty, blessing, good luck, warding off evil spirits and other decorative effects.

Stone lanterns: also a kind of plastic arts, is to use a variety of stone to create a certain space with a visible, touchable artwork. Stone lantern is a kind of East Asian traditional lighting appliances, originated from China, the earliest prototype is the Chinese Buddha lighting.

Common stone carvings of temples and ancient buildings are: large-scale carving of the Buddha, Guanyin Bodhisattva, the four heavenly kings, eighteen Luohan, five hundred Luohan and other religious figures of stone carvings. There are twelve Chinese zodiac, merit monument, stone braves, unicorn, stone lions, elephants, camel monument dragon turtle auspicious beasts and so on a variety of symbols of auspicious stone carvings.

Keywords: temple ancient construction