Xiyue Temple at the Foot of Huashan Mountain
Xiyue Temple
As the capital city, the Chang’an City of the Han and Tang period naturally represented the highest level of Chinese city construction and architecture. The surviving architectures of the Ming and Qing dynasties in Shaanxi, although lacking representative works like the most prosperous Tang, still inherited previous architectural achievements, such as the Bell Tower, which was moved to the center of the city in the Ming Dynasty and followed the architectural style of the Tang and Song Dynasty. In addition, a new type of architectural style with a rich folk culture background, such as the Temple of City God in Xi’an, Sanyuan and Hancheng, and the traditional dwellings of Dangjia Village of Hancheng, largely reflected the folk beliefs, customs and conditions of the people in Shaanxi. The Guanzhong style grand courtyard, generally longer from north to south and short from east to west, is different from the quadrangle courtyard of Beijing which is spacious and square. The construction materials are relatively thick and the structure is huge, bold and rough, and has a distinctive and exquisite southern construction style. Rich and gaudy colors, such as bright red and bright green, were frequently used, together with carved beams and painted rafters, adding magnificence to the building.
There are abundant ancient architectures preserved in Shaanxi. Apart from those before the Yuan Dynasty, most are of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Among those architectures, the most famous one is the Xiyue Temple in Huayin County.
Xiyue Temple was the main site for offering sacrifices to Huashan Mountain during the ages; Huashan Mountain was called Xiyue (the Western Mountain among the Five Sacred Mountains in China) in ancient times, hence naming it Xiyue Temple. Built in the reign of Emperor Wudi of the Western Han Dynasty, and moved to the current location for reconstruction in the Eastern Han Dynasty, it has a history of nearly two thousand years. Today the existing buildings are mainly from the expansion and reconstruction of the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Xiyue Temple, with an area of 186mu (12.4 hectares) is the largest temple among the temples of the Five Sacred Mountains and is also the oldest temple for offering sacrifices to the Mountain God, thus it is called the No. 1 Temple of Wuyue (the Five Sacred Mountains). As it is the temple for the emperors to offer sacrifices to Huashan Mountain, it has a high construction specification. For example, the main architecture is covered with yellow glazed tiles, as yellow was an exclusive color for the royal family, especially for the emperors. It shows a scene of brilliance, and a solemn and royal style. It has a similar architectural style with the Forbidden City Beijing, thus it is known as the Little Forbidden City or the Forbidden City of Shaanxi.
“Tian Wei Zhi Chi” stone arch
Xiyue Temple, with an architectural pattern which features a spacious yard within its walls and an axial symmetry, is the secondary worship building whose specifications are second to the Imperial Palace. The groups of buildings, facing the south and towards the peak of Huashan Mountain, are laid out on a north-south axis, divided into six spaces from the front to the rear. Each section is setting off and contrasting with each other which constitute an indivisible whole. With historical changes and natural disasters, the Xiyue Temple has been damaged several times, but 10 ancient buildings with a high heritage value, such as the Gold Gate, Ling Xing Gate, stone arches, decoration arches, Hao Ling Temple, monumental archways, Imperial Study and so on, still remain today. The particularly well-preserved Qing-style “Tian Wei Zhi Chi” stone arch almost makes full use of all animals and plants which symbolize luck and happiness in the ancient Chinese tradition. Places of interest, which are preserved around the Xiyue Temple, such as the City Wall of the Ming and Qing dynasties, the primitive style monumental archways, Ling Xing Gate with its exaggerated shape and colorful paints, Jinshui Bridge and so on, are called the Chinese cultural heritage treasures. Meanwhile, because of the abundant number of preserved steles and stone inscriptions, most of which are cultural treasures, so it is also called “the Small Forest of Stone Steles”. The steles, such as the Xiyue Huashan Mountain Temple Stele and Song Chen Tuanshu Stele, are all treasures of stone inscription art.
Cheng Huang Temple of Sanyuan
In ancient myth Cheng Huang is the guardian of the ancient city. Later on it was regarded as the god for Taoism and it had been worshipped by people since the time of the Three Kingdoms until the late Qing Dynasty. Cheng Huang Temple of Sanyuan is located in the East Street of Sanyuan County, Shaanxi, with a total building area of 13,000 square meters. It was started to be built in the eighth year of Hongwu Period of Ming Dynasty (1375AD), with a history of some 600 years. As it is one of the best-preserved ancient buildings of the Ming and Qing dynasties in China, the Cheng Huang Temple of Sanyuan follows the traditional way of ancient buildings, which balanced more than 40 separate buildings such as towers, halls, corridors and pavilions on the vertical and horizontal axes. All the buildings are solemn and spectacular with glazed tiles’ roofs, richly ornamented roof beams, and rigorous structures. Now the Sanyuan County Museum was built near the Cheng Huang Temple of Sanyuan which is a national important heritage site under state protection.
Dangjia Village in Hancheng, located 9km northeast of Hancheng City in Shaanxi, is known as the “the fossil of the traditional dwellings for oriental people”. It is precise in layout, broad in scale and takes the advantage of the architectural strengths of the dwellings in Beijing, Shanxi, Shaanxi and Hebei. In addition to 114 quadrangle courtyards for dwellings, there are defense constructions such as castles, underground passages, sentry towers and so on, which are scattered widely and in good order. The Feng Shui Tower, Chastity Stele, Ancestral Hall, theaters and various inscriptions all emit a strong cultural atmosphere. It has not only been listed as an important heritage site under state protection but is also one of China’s famous ancient towns which have great influence at home and abroad. Among all the ancient residential buildings in Shaanxi, the most distinctive one is the Jiangshi Manor in Liujiamao Village of Hecha Township in Mizhi County. It covers an area of more than 40mu (approximately 2.67 hectares) and is the best preserved castle-style cave buildings in the Loess Plateau and consists of three independent cave courtyards which connect with each other. Jiangshi Manor was built in the tenth year of Tongzhi Period of the Qing Dynasty (1871AD), originally as the private manor of a family surnamed Jiang, and is well preserved until today. Cave dwellings are a kind of cave-style residential building dug on the loess which is warm in winter and cool in summer, and is uniquely economical and comfortable. Jiangshi Manor is one of the important heritage sites under state protection and one of the influential tourism attractions in Northern Shaanxi.
