III. Vernacular Dwellings of the Tang and Song Periods

　　Tang, Song and the Five Dynasties were a period when new and fascinating developments were made. The art of vernacular dwellings rose to a unprecedented height.

　　Even prior to the period of Warring States, Books such as Zhouli and Yili had already stipulated in written form the system of rites, but it was not until the Sui, Tang and the Five Dynasties that residences were controlled by sumptuary law. Entrance doors, for in- stance, of aristocrats took the form of Wutou (black head). As recorded in the chapter Yufuzhi (Systems of Living Facilities) of Tanghuiyao (Systems in the Tang Dynasty), "For officials of more than the fifth rank, the main house should not exceed five bays and seven frames, and the hall should be at both ends. The door house should not exceed three frames. A black head entrance door should generally be constructed." Ordinary buildings, such as the storeyed pavilion-type building of the Han Dynasty, were on the decline. Youchuntu (Picture of Touring in Spring) by Zhan Ziqian of the Sui Dynasty depicted country dwellings with the siheyuan of narrow rectangular layout surrounded by houses in a beautiful and quiet setting, the whole enhanced by the gently undulating roofs. The sanheyuan, a fenced compound consisting of thatched houses built on three sides of a yard, the fourth being taken up by a wall, is compact in layout. The wall here is of carved wood, and allowed the sighing of the wind in the forest of pine trees even to be heard in the hall. The compound, with its lingering charm and carefree and content air, displays a similar lightness and elegance to Lushan Caotang (Lushan Thatched Cottage) of Bai Juyi, the famous Tang dynasty poet.

　　In Jiutangshu (the Old Book of the Tang), there are many detailed descriptions of the dwellings of aristocrats. Tang dynasty frescoes discovered in a cave in Mogao provide excellent illustration of such dwellings, with corridors zigzagging their way through the courtyard, and fine tiles covering the undulating roofs of the buildings surrounding it. The poem Shangzhai (Lament of a Building) by Bai Juyi reads," Who erected this building / With red door by the avenue / Grand houses arranged like teeth of a comb / High walls meandering/ There are altogether seven halls / Beams and eaves being adjacent to each other", giving the reader a wonderful insight into the elaborate of such dwellings.

　　Worth mentioning is the fact that although the custom of sitting on the floor and using beds or couches was still widely practised from the Sui, Tang to the period of the Five Dynasties , the custom of sitting with one's legs pointing downwards began to be popular among the aristocracy , spreading to the whole country. It was towards the end of Tang and during the period of the Five Dynasties that the types of furniture that continued to be used in later periods too began to be developed. The disposal of indoor space and the design of rooms too, began to change. By the time of the Five Dynasties, dwellings of some aristocratic residences were already very different from popular dwellings, with floors for sitting on and sliding doors.

　　Nothing remains of the magnificence and prosperity of the old Tang cities, but a remarkable record of the planning of the city of Chang'an in the form of a stone map and accompanying text dating from 1081 has come down to us. The fang-li system was adopted for the city, and although planning followed the system used during the Han Dynasty, and that used in Luoyang of the Northern Wei dynasty, it was now on a much larger scale. Inside the high walls and gates of the fang residential areas, people were safe from attack and robbery. The main streets ran outside the fang. In the case of large fangs, doors were provided on all four sides, while in smaller ones, doors were set only in the eastern and western walls. In the Jiaohe City, Xinjiang, the approximate shape of the old city as it was during the Tang Dynasty can still be seen today due to the dry climate and its rare rainfall. Large, high walls of earth were erected on both sides of the street, and gates into the fang were only to be found in small alleys. Only going through the gate did one come to the door into the court. This fang-li system had the same configuration as that of Central China. Records tell us that the fangs were closed at night and patrolled by guards.

　　The fang-li system was not abolished until the Northern Song in Bianjing when the night time bazaars characteristic of economically more prosperous times could not be forbidden. Each residence in the fang-li was in turn encircled with high walls. A residence at that time was therefore surrounded and protected by at least three types of wall, namely: the city wall, the fang wall and the courtyard wall. Within the courtyard, one could reach the bedroom only by going through a series of doors such as the entrance door an intermediate door and the hall door. The fang-li system not only provided security but also intimacy, and the use of walled courts with their natural-looking gardens lent a magnificent and solemn air to the city as a whole. Thus, the architecture of the Tang Dynasty was already highly developed. This period took the vernacular dwelling much further as far as art, technique and scale were concerned.

　　In the Northern Song, the fang-li system was abolished, but residences were still controlled by sumptuary law. Yufuzhi of Songshi (History of Song) stipulates that "The residences of princes in office are called Fu, those of other officials Zhai and those of common people Jia." Ample evidence of Song residences has come down to us in illustrative form. Compared with the strength and grandeur of Tang vernacular dwellings, those of the Song Dynasty were less magnificent, but possessed a simple and natural beauty all of their own. The sentiments expressed in "the sense of quietness and indifference towards fame and wealth" and "the mind of mildness and calmness" are reflected in the architecture of the period.

　　Qingmingshanghetu, a painting by Zhang Zeduan of the Song Dynasty depicts urban life in the Northern Song capital of Dongjing, also called Bianliang. In the picture, farmers house outside the city are relatively crude and simple: some are huts with low wall, some are thatched or tile-covered houses. For urban dwellings, overhung gable-end or gable-and hipped roofs were employed. Bamboo booths are shown constructed in front of the projecting eaves, adding a further dimension to the roofs. House comer structures are particularly fine. The main ridges of two sides of the house are often prolonged to form two transom windows crossing perpendicularly. The mutually hooked form is often applied to the door houses of the siheyuan so that the roof curve produces a splendid effect. Trees and flowers are planted in the garden, a carefree and leisurely atmosphere.

　　In the rural scene depicted in the painting of "Vast Land" by Wang Ximeng of the Northern Song Dynasty, there are many dwellings, most of which possess courtyards with wall consisting mainly of bamboo fences and wooden palings. Entrance doors of various forms are shown. There are rooms to the left and right. Most of the vernacular dwellings are generally " 工 " shaped houses consisting of the front hall, the through corridor and the rear bedroom. All in all, these dwellings convey a leisurely atmosphere, making one want to linger. Outside the residences of aristocrats and officials, wutoumen (black-head gates) or door house was constructed, and in the case of the later, the "interrupted laying" method was often employed in the middle bay to allow for the passing of carts and horses. Gallery house often took the place of the winding corridors in order to increase living space, the siheyuan thus changed in function and appearance. The layout of the dwellings with its underlying principle of "main room in front and bedroom to the rear" introduced during the Han Dynasty remained unchanged, except for the fact that now through galleries were constructed to connect the hall for reception and sitting room and the bedroom to the rear, resulting in a " T " shaped,"工" shaped or "王" shaped plan, with lateral rooms or courts on either side of the hall and bedroom. Houses were mostly overhung gable-end in form, and decorated with both ridge and wall beasts. In spite of the fact that in Northern Song period the use of dougong (corbel bracket), caissons, door houses and pained wooden beams were only allowed for officials' residences and palace temples in an effort to maintain the feudal system of hierachy, the law was on occasion ignored by landlords and rich merchants.

　　In the period of the two Song Dynasties, the custom of sitting with legs pointing downward at last replaced that of kneeling, practised since Shang and Zhou times. Furniture in daily use at, or on which one sat, such as tables and chairs now became highly popular. This new type of furniture also led to pile-supported floors in vernacular dwellings being superseded by ones of earth as well as to a change in the shape of houses. High and slender forms replaced the former lower heights and deeper depths, and the height of the lattice work windows also increased. It is only in Korea that dwellings designed for the custom of sitting on the floor, dating from the Tang Dynasty, are still to be seen.

　　Important changes also took place in the structure and modeling of furniture. The box-shaped structure prevailing in the Sui and Tang eras was replaced by post-and-beam framing, and decorative moldings were now extensively used, together laying the foundation for further changes in the Ming and Qing periods.

　　This was the time when the aesthetic ideology of the literati and scholar-officials, its main characteristic of the pursuit of unaffected and natural beauty, increasingly began to influence taste in general. This aestheticism differed greatly from that of the governing class which was primarily interested in the bombastic and the excessively decorated. At this point, the difference between these two groups was especially obvious and influenced later generations. Thereafter, the contrast between vernacular and official buildings became even more marked, and their styles differed increasingly. Vernacular dwellings of the Song Dynasty thus possessed a refined and clear artistic style.

　　出版：Springer Wien New York

　　ISBN-3-211-83008-1

　　2000年