Source: CCTV.com
02-24-2007 10:06
Wang’s Grand Courtyard is situated in Lingshi County at the south edge of Jinzhong basin of Shanxi Province. The family started in Jingsheng Town, which is only 12km east of Lingshi County, that takes Mianshan Mountain as screen in the east, looks over Fenhe River in the west.
Wang's Grand Courtyard is an example in handing down the five thousand years' old Chinese civilization and a masterpiece of Chinese civil residence architecture of Qing Dynasty; with a total area of up to 150,000 sq.m, ranks in the provincial-level cultural relic protection. The three huge architectural complexes of Gaojiaya, Red-Gate Fort and Ancestral Temple now opened up as "Chinese Civil Residence Art House". It was set up in the periods of Qing Dynasty, with an sum area of 45,000 sq.m and covering 123
wow gold large and small compounds with 1,118 rooms.
The two architectural complexes of Gaojiaya and Red-gate Fort are confronting each other in the east-west direction. It also connected to each other through a well-protected bridge on the hill. The two compounds have the general characteristics of relying on mountains and complying with the terrain in layer upon layer.
The great momentum and complete functions basically inherit the courtyard style of house. In addition, the carvings on brick, wood and stone have great originality with their elegant decoration unified practicability and impressive appearance. It ranks in an extremely high cultural grade of Chinese residential designs.
The Gao Jia Ya Architectural Complex had been built by the brothers of Wang Rucong and Wang Rucheng, the wang’s 17th generation, within the period of Qing Dynasty from 1796 to 1811. It covered about 2,000 sq.m of land including 35 large and small courtyards and 342 rooms. The buildings and gardens are well arranged
buy wow gold adapting themselves for the geographical conditions having magnificent manner and completed functions, inheriting the courtyard style formed in the Western Zhou Dynasty.
Wang’s Courtyard perfectly satisfies the requirements of the three architectural elements of "practicality, stability, and elegant form" but more importantly also in that it represents the novelty in the ranges from cultural implication to social scale and imposing manner from terrain selection to internal structure design.
Under the prerequisite of compliance with courtesy system and striving for practicality, the whole architecture combines the gardening art with the courtyard style as a whole, both keeps the traditional style of North-China civil residence and fully uses of South-China gardens.
Wang's family entered time of great prosperity in the period of Emperor Kangxi, Qianlong and Jiaqing were in positions from 1722 to 1796 when it went in for large-scale construction, built residences, ancestral halls and grave-yard. In such period, there are twelve persons from Wang's family who held offices as fifth-to second-rank officials in the government.
Since the eighteenth century (in the period of Daoguang), Wang's family gradually declined, and the reason for it lay in that, in addition to the social, political, economic and other objective factors, its descendants did not try to make a good showing and got extravagant day by day. They cast away the fine moral characters handed down from their ancestors. Some of them were out of studies while contributing money for official posts, and some neglected farming while indulging themselves in smoking opium. Finally, Wang's family went to declination just like the falling buildings. Though individual rich families still ran firms and shops within the province and in Beijing and Tianjin before the War of Resistance Against Japan.
Wang's family has experienced 27 generations for more than 680 years.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were many wealthy businessmen built large mansions on the fertile land of Jiangxi province. The architecture works that embody the dreams of a family have become a great cultural legacy for contemporaries…
Today, everything of the mansions may be a masterpiece of the private residential culture in northern China. It symbolizes an excitement of the memory of a nation about its rich history and glorious civilization.
Shangxi Province is reputed to be a treasure house of Chinese ancient architecture, and to the date, 106 family compounds dating before the Song Dynasty from 960 to 1279 have been found here, accounting for 70 percent of the nation’s wood-structured buildings of the same age.
Chang’s family house has its uniqueness of geographic structure. It has left a mystery of design. The courtyard has more doors on a straight line and has more than usual three sets on one unit. Of cause doors are not confront each other to meet the terms of good fengshui.
The ancient Chinese people pursued poetic charming while building gardens and stressed geomantic quality and rites while creating mansions. Some large families such as Yus built both gardens and mansions. However, as independent structures, the gardens and mansions were all built according to their respective rules. On the other hand, Yus family amphsize library more than any other functions It shows not only the admiration to study, but the foundation of family background.
Most mansions integrate natural landscape with artificial buildings and represents a philosophy of respecting nature and combining the heaven and man. It features strict structures, an exquisite layout, a convergent manner, and a free and easy style. Noble but not overbearing, magnificent but no volatile, the mansions bear wisdom and moral standard and represents the feudal culture and thoughts as an integration of commerce, culture and officialdom.
The perfect blending of the mansions practical functions and artistic designs shows ancient architects’ superb techniques in creating complex art on a simple plane. Both the entire composition of the mansions and the designs of details show the glamour of Chinese residential house culture. It stands in an imposing manner with a profound meaning. Each of the engravings in the mansion is a fantastic artwork and contains a touching story or a life philosophy.
