Memorial Archway · Ancestral Temple · Pagoda:Two Thousand Years of Civilian History and Belief

Liu Daqing

Liu Daqing is a photographer， visiting professor at the Design and Art Department， College of Mechanics and Architectural Engineering， China University of Mining and Technology （Beijing） and a member of the Board of Directors， Beijing Visual Cultural Heritage Association.

Memorial Archway · Ancestral Temple · Pagoda：

Two Thousand Years of Civilian History and Belief

Liu Daqing

The Chinese Overseas Publishing House

September 2021

360.00 （CNY）

The author selects 355 photographs out of his more than 3000 works， including pictures of memorial archways， ancestral temples， and pagodas， which builds up the motif of this book. The existence of these historical buildings are the spiritual and cultural core that lies in traditional Chinese society.

For a long time， I took photos in a random and purposeless way， focusing solely on the techniques that could create beautiful but worthless visuals. Gradually， I started to hope that I could record the valuable items that I cared about. I’ve been travelling around since I started with photography many years ago， and wherever I go， I would stride around and learn about the architecture， streets， and urban patterns. These seemingly usual things provided me with perspectives that enabled me to better study human beings and the vestiges left by civil activities. Therefore， I decided to record them in the form of photos.

People constructed architecture and integrated their ideologies and behavioral needs into them. Gradually， architecture became witness to human history and civil culture. Initially， architecture developed as a shelter against terrible weather， then as civilization prevailed and evolved from functional items to spiritual symbols， and many unique architectural forms were derived with peculiar spiritual connotations.

Since 2005， I’ve been taking photos of valuable architectural heritages thoroughly. It not only encouraged me to think but also enabled me to observe and understand the world with a different perspective behind a lens. After over ten years， I photographed nearly a thousand Chinese historical buildings and accumulated more than 3，000 pieces of work. Sometimes I took photos of the buildings I had already photographed to satisfy my new expressions. I hope， through the works， to recall their recognition of cultural heritage， to awaken their emotional awareness on culture preservation， and let them know themselves. Three hundred and fifty-five works are selected， which will be used to create a picture book， including topics of memorial archways （mainly the ones that represented imperial honor on the virtuous and meritorious）， ancestral halls and temples， which comply with the theme of this book — two thousand years of civilian history and belief. Memorial archways， ancestral temples， and pagodas are exemplary ancient Chinese architecture types， manifesting the unique spiritual and cultural connotations of traditional Chinese societies.

The memorial archways are symbols of the supreme honor given by the authorities based on traditional Confucian etiquettes to showcase exemplary behavior. Under the name of the nation and with imperial edicts， the memorial archways were awarded to outstanding government officials and meritorious generals with the most honorable fidelity who abided to the traditional etiquette of not remarrying but showing filial piety to parents-in-law and great devotion to the nurturing of their children. These memorial archways were constructed in front of ancestral halls or at the entrance of villages in order to openly praise the aforementioned behaviors and call on people to imitate and follow for the prosperity of the nation. During the period of feudalism， people strived their whole lives to attain these memorial archways so as to honor and glorify their families and ancestors.

The ancestral temples， on the other hand， display the histories of ordinary families. Each ancestral temple has its unique history， witnessing the rise and decline of the family and exhibiting its past glory. It also motivates future generations to inherit the traditions and worship their ancestors. Up till now， most of these ancestral temples are still being used; family members with traditional lifestyles continue to worship their ancestors， host meetings and festivals， hold weddings， and conduct funerals in these halls. Thus， the ancestral temples are also living architectural and cultural heritages.

Pagodas were initially built for religious rituals， but gradually they evolved into architecture where people entrust their wishes. People donate money to construct pagodas in order to accumulate positive karma and fulfill their wishes for the future.

Over time， these ancient architectures are doomed to disappear due to various natural and civil causes. Cultures and histories belong to all humankind. The only thing I could do to help is to take photos of them and to preserve and disseminate them as information.

Memorial Archways

Memorial archways initially appeared in the Song Dynasty and prospered during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Memorial archways are an essential part of the Chinese historical culture and ancient architectural history， not to mention a unique creation with prominent Chinese cultural characteristics and one of the symbols of Chinese culture. Its prototype can be traced back to the Zhou Dynasty. Memorial archways were commonly constructed in front of palaces， temples， mausoleums， ancestral temples， government office buildings， and street entrances for various functions as Ling-xing gates， imperial honor archways， mausoleum archways， garden archways， etc. In ancient times， most memorial archways were imperial honor archways， built in recognition of meritorious services， imperial civil examination achievements， good governance， and virtues such as loyalty， filial piety， integrity， and faithfulness. They were constructed as special independent single-row columned gateways with stones， woods， bricks， wood-stone combinations， and brick-stone combinations. One of the architectural types is called the “towering type” or the “outstanding-column type，” the columns which stick out above the roof of memorial archways. The other is called the “non-outstanding-column type，” which indicates that the highest points of such memorial archways are the ridges of the roof.

They can also be categorized structurally into “one-door-two-column，” “three-door-four-column，” and “five-door-six-column” types， or “one-door-one-roof，” “three-door-three-roof” and “three-door-five-roof” types if roofs are incorporated on the top of the memorial archways. Once upon a time in history， there were more than ten thousand memorial archways in China. Although the number has drastically decreased due to the changing of time and eras， thousands remain， existing widely throughout China. With a higher concentration in the southern provinces， memorial archways are found throughout China except for Tibet and Xinjiang， where the data is missing.

Ancestral Temples

Ancestral temples are sacrificial and memorial architecture for ancestors and influential historic scholars where people perform sacrificial rituals and host meetings or events. Besides， they function as mediums to maintain family order， etiquette and discipline. Ancestral temples were organized into a relatively comprehensive system in Song Dynasty and prospered in Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty. Normally， villages are formed around single dominant families， which would build ancestral temples with their own family names for sacrificial rituals， family meetings， honorary commendations， punishments， festivals， ceremonies， weddings， and funerals. Integrating the essence of local traditional cultures， these ancestral temples are usually also the most magnificent and decorated building blocks in a village， forming a unique cultural landscape.

Common ancestral temples are courtyarded compounds with front squares， performance stages， main entrances， enclosing walls， central courtyards， sanctuaries， worship halls， chambers and auxiliary rooms. Currently， many of such heritages still exist in southern China， widely distributed in Jiangsu， Zhejiang， Hunan， and Jiangxi provinces and especially concentrated in Huizhou， Southern Fujian Province and Cantonese regions. Ancestral temples symbolize and represent Chinese civilian history and culture， as consanguinity plays an important role in traditional Chinese ethics and family kinships are treated as the cultural foundation for moral behaviors. Zhu Xi once said， “Although ancestors are long gone， sacrificial rites cannot be done without sincerity.” In other words， even though ancestors are unaware of the sacrificial rites， younger generations should show gratitude and longing for their families through ritual to pass on the righteous behaviors that reflect filial piety and caring siblinghood. Every ancestral temple has its own history， witnessing the rise and decline of the family as well as its reunions and separations and showcasing its past glories. Consequently， ancestral temples are considered the spiritual pillars for family cohesion and symbols for family reunion and harmony， encouraging younger generations to inherit family traditions and worship their ancestors.

Pagoda

Pagodas are a commonly seen traditional Eastern architecture with distinct forms and styles. Pagodas originated in ancient India where they are called stupas （Sanskrit）， as the bone-burying architecture for eminent Buddha monks. As Buddhism propagated， the stupa architectural style was widely spread and developed in East Asia. During East Han Dynasty， the stupa was introduced to China， where it was immediately integrated with local architectural forms and turned into pagodas， where prominent traditional Chinese architectural characteristics were shown. Most pagodas are either with tight tiles or in loft style， constructed by clay， wood， bricks， stones or steel. Originally， pagodas were mostly for Buddhism. Nevertheless， through a long time of localization in China， pagodas of other functions have emerged， such as observation pagodas， Fengshui pagodas and Wenchang pagodas.

Pagodas can be observed in most of China. They exist near monasteries， on top of mountains， along rivers and within ancient cities， each of them being the landmark and the symbol of the surroundings. Up till now， the Chinese pagoda has a history of around 2， 000 years， with the earliest Pagoda constructed more than 1， 900 years ago during the East Han Dynasty， from 67 CE to January 15th of the lunar calendar， 72 CE. Pagodas as a religious symbol have entered the secular world， integrating history， religion， art and other cultural elements. During the period when Buddhism prospered in China， many Chinese people， from emperors to civilians， were Buddhists who contributed financially alongside national and provincial grants to construct numerous pagodas in order to worship the relics of Buddha for the accumulation of merits and virtues.