Quintessential Architecture Study - Yonghe Gong by Intan Sofea Zaki

QUINTESSENTIAL ARCHITECTURE

AAR 3136 HISTORY AND THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE 3

EISYA HUSNA | ALLYSA SARA| AZWA EZRINA| INTAN SOFEA

NATIONAL TREASURE

YONGHE GONG BEIJING, CHINA

INTAN SOFEA BT ZAKI | 1818600

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT BACKGROUND ARCHITECTURE BUILDING FORM ANALYSIS CONSTRUCTION CONCLUSION SUMMARY

NATIONAL TREASURE | YONGHE GONG

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful.

Alhamdulillah, all praises to Allah for the strengths, guidance in righteousness and His blessing in completing the study needed for this study.

Special appreciation goes to the course coordinator, Dr Aida Kesuma binti Azmin, for her supervision and constant support. Her invaluable help of constructive comments and providing clear guidance and understandings throughout the study have contributed to the success of this magazine.

Iast but not least, my deepest gratitude goes to my beloved family and friends. To those who indirectly contributed in this research, your kindness means a lot to me. Thank you very much.

INTAN SOFEA BINTI ZAKI (1818600) SECTION 2 AAR 3136 HISTORY AND THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE 3 KULLIYYAH OF ARCHITECTURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

NATIONAL TREASURE | YONGHE GONG

A NATIONAL TREASURE BACKGROUND Yonghe Gong Lamasery or Lama Temple is a famous Tibetan Buddhist temple in the northeastern part of the old city of Beijing, China. It was built in 1694 as the residential palace of Prince Yin Zhen. In 1723, when the prince became the Emperor Yong Zheng and moved into the Forbidden City, the building was retiled in imperial yellow and converted to a temple (as was the usual custom). It was open to the public in 1981, and in 1983, it was designated by the State Council of China as the national key Buddhist temple in the Han nationality area.

Today, Yonghe Gong has become a tourist attraction recommended by a lot of locals. It is often described as Beijing's largest and most important Tibetan Buddhist monastery. Aside from that, it also houses 3 pieces of art that are included in the Guinness World Book of Records. In spite of that, the place itself is a treasure.

Visitors can right away feel the sacredness of the place as they enter since the whole area is filled with burning incense smoke.

Plus, its historical culture and architecture there make it more than just merely a monument.

Historical timeline of Yonghe Gong: 1694: It was built as the Royal Court of Prince Yongzheng.

1722: Elevated to imperial palace status when Yongzheng became emperor for short stays away from the Forbidden City, its name was changed to Palace of Eternal Peace (Yōnghé Gōng).

1744: It became an official Tibetan Buddhist temple, and became the Beijing office of Tibetan Buddhist affairs, run by the Qing government.

1949: Yonghe Temple was declared a national monument.

1966: It was closed for the Cultural Revolution.

1981: It was reopened to the public as a Tibetan temple for tourism and worship.

From top; Bird-eye view of Yonghe Gong Lamasery, Incense smoke at Yonghe Gong

NATIONAL TREASURE | YONGHE GONG

ARCHITECTURE Apart from its fascinating history, the Tibetan architecture of the Yonghe Gong is actually the real treasure of the nation. From the form to the tiniest detail, the bold and variety colour and identity would impress anyone looking at it. The buildings are a combination of Han and Tibetan styles. It has a symmetrical layout with gilded halls, tree-lined courtyards and works of art. Inside are prayer halls, courtyards, and subsidiary buildings for academic purpose and tourism.

PAILOU (THE GATE)

From top; Entrance gate, Zhaitou Gate, Stele Pavilion, Four Language Stele Pavilion

Yonghe Gong entrance ticket

Acts both as an initial transitional space from secular exterior to sacred interior, the celebrated gate or entrance is an introduction to the major symbolic themes of the site, conveyed through the inscriptions on the monumental ceremonial gateways known as pailou, standard features at traditional Chinese sites.

COURTYARD There are five courtyards lined along the axial line connecting the entrances to all the halls. Starting before the entrance, “Courtyard of Ceremonial Gateways”, as an introduction, leading to “Courtyard of the Imperial Carriageway”, a wide path bordered by gingko trees, "Courtyard of the Gate of Harmony and Peace ", largest open area at the site, "Courtyard of the Palace of Harmony and Peace" and the final courtyard, "Courtyard of the Pavilion of Infinite Happiness", where the central hall is located at.

Ginko boulevard at the entrance

NATIONAL TREASURE | YONGHE GONG

At the centre of axial layout, there are five main buildings separated by courtyards. All the five buildings are different in design but follows the same architectural style. They can be distinguished easily as it differs by numbers of levels, placement of doors and windows and walls texture. In addition to that, building heights increased from south (the gate hall) to north. Usually people would not realize, but each ground of each hall is slowly elevated starting from the entrance. Travelling from one hall to another would give different experience.

Every hall houses different Tibetan Buddhist idols, which also differ is sizes. Taller halls has taller idols, even up to 52 feets tall. The centre hall is the tallest hall, and placed at the last at the north end of the temple.

Listed are the halls arranged from south entrance to north end of Yonghe Gong Lamasery; The Gate Hall of Harmony and Peace ( , Yōnghémén Dàdiàn /yongher-mnn daa-dyen/)

雍和门大殿

The Hall of Harmony and Peace ( , Yōnghé Gōng /yong-her gong/)

雍和宫

The Hall of Everlasting Protection ( , Yōngyòu Diàn /yong-yoh dyen/)

永佑殿

The Hall of the Wheel of the Law ( , Fălún Diàn /fah-lwnn dyen/)

法轮殿

The Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happiness ( , Wànfú Gé /wan-foo ger/)

阁

万福

Top; Wanfu Ge Pavilion, Middle from left; Yonghemen, Yongyou Dian Bottom from left; Yonghe Gong, Falun Dian

NATIONAL TREASURE | YONGHE GONG

BUILDING FORM ANALYSIS

Animal carvings at the end of roof ridge Bell hung at each roof end Sunken floor to

Symmetrical and grid layout

place idols

Chinese Style Gable Roof

Conrete staircases

layered at each level Short span column and beam Timber structure and walls Numerous openings with

Floor plan of Wanfu Ge

decorated carvings Repetitive rhythms

Side elevation of Wanfu Ge

Laid on a tall stone foundation

Front elevation of Wanfu Ge

Cross section of Falun Dian NATIONAL TREASURE | YONGHE GONG

Floor plan of Yonghemen

Cross section of Yonghemen

Full floor plan of Yonghe Gong Lamasery

Front elevation of Yonghemen NATIONAL TREASURE | YONGHE GONG

CONSTRUCTION

MATERIALS Yonghe Gong is mainly built out of timber taken from Pinus sp. tree. It is used in the structure, walls, roof and carvings. The structure is laid on stone foundation. Some parts are made out of concrete such as stairs.

It is a full no-nail construction.

FOUNDATION The foundation of the temple is rectangular, and its top and four sides are made of stones.

The height of foundation is 1.05m. It is only laid on ground hence no excavation were done.

COLUMN & BEAM The column holding all the loads goes straight from foundation up to the roof and joint to the beam by mortise and tenons connections making it even sturdier. Since timber can only support short span, the columns are placed every 3 to 5 meters apart.

MORTISE AND TENONS

NATIONAL TREASURE | YONGHE GONG

The roof of Yonghe Gong Lamasery is the most magnificient statement in the whole structure.

The colourful structure were purposely exposed to increase the aesthetics of the temple.

Every layer of details was handmade carefully by local craftsmen. The two layers of rafters are arranged tightly and supported by very intricate roof connections .The roof tiles are laid on the rafters and followed by an array of bamboos on top making it sturdier.

Every single end of rafters and bamboos are imprinted with buddhist symbols and chinese letters.

NATIONAL TREASURE | YONGHE GONG

CARVINGS & PATTERNS The intricacy and skills of the local craftsmen could be seen all over Yonghe Gong.

The colourful carving and patterns are one of the first things that catches someone's eyes visiting the temple.

Most patterns and carving symbolise Tibetan Buddhism and are inspired by natural elements such as flowers and animals.

Every single detail enhance the feeling of a temple as a symbolism of Buddha.

The patterns are mostly carved and later painted or imprinted directly onto the wood using traditional ways. Every single door and windows in Yonghe Gong has the same pattern carved, which is the motif of vajra.

As visitors enter any hall or Dian and look up, they will see repetitive tiled patterns of mandala, one of Tibetan Buddhism's beliefs.

Most of the design are the symbol of Dharma Wheel or Endless Knot.

The colours are mostly green, red, blue and yellow, which can distract people from feeling too tight in a space with a lot of columns.

Aside from that, there are also carvings of Buddhist animals on top of every roof ridge. It is golden in colour gold or yellow is the colour exclusive to emperors at that time.

NATIONAL TREASURE | YONGHE GONG

In a nutshell, it can be said that Yonghe Gong is a real hidden treasure of China. Even that it is not as famous as the Forbidden City to the tourists, it is very acknowledged and treasured by the locals. There is no doubt why Yonghe Gong Lamasery was declared as a national monument or a 'National Treasure' of China in 1949, seeing its historical background, religious importance and architectural impression. Every single details of Yonghe Gong is too unique from its history to its architecture. Tibetan Architectural influence increases the value of the temple from the aspect of religiousness and aesthetics. Yonghe Gong is a place the locals would always explore and appreciate.

This shows that cultural significance and religion play an important role in making sure that a building is more than just a monument or a static touristy place. It truly is remarkable for such to fulfill the needs of both the people and its surrounding environment at the same time.

CONCLUSION & SYNTHESIS

Last but not least, it can be synthesized that today's architecture world should look and learn from different nations' treasure, from how culture and religion could affect the execution of a design, to the intricacy of details and considerations. The outstanding timber structure of Yonghe Gong should also be studied more, as it is not affected even after hundreds of years standing without deep foundation and nails.

NATIONAL TREASURE | YONGHE GONG NATIONAL TREASURE | YONGHE GONG

MASTER PLAN

YONGHEMEN FLOOR PLAN

NATIONAL TREASURE WANFU GE ELEVATIONS

YONGHE GONG BEIJING, CHINA

YONGHEMEN ELEVATION

YONGHEMEN SECTION

FALUN DIAN SECTION

ROOF

CONSTRUCTION

COLUMN TO ROOF

MORTISE & TENONS

PATTERNS & CARVINGS

TIMBER STRUCTURE

ROOF FRAME

Built in 1694, Yonghe Gong or Lama Temple is a famous historical temple located in Beijing, China. It has become a national treasure since 1949, and currently houses three idols included in Guinness World Book of Records.

Its colourful Tibetan Architecture does not only attract visitors' eyes but also symbolizes the Tibetan Buddhism. The timber structure still stands strong until now even without a single nail.

For every nation there is an appointed time. When their time comes, then they cannot put it back an hour, nor can they put it forward.

(Surah Yunus, 10:49, Surah al-A'raf, 7:34)

NATIONAL TREASURE | YONGHE GONG

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Yonghe Temple (Harmony and Peace Palace Lamasery). (n.d.). Retrieved January 06, 2021, from https://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/beijing/yonghe.htm Liu, M. (2019, April 04). A Study on the Decorative Patterns of Tibetan Buddhist Monastery Architecture. Retrieved January 06, 2021, from https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=92128 Orientalarchitecture.com. (n.d.). Yonghegong Lamasery, Beijing, China. Retrieved January 06, 2021, from https://www.orientalarchitecture.com/sid/53/china/beijing/lamasery-yonghegong Lama Temple (Yonghe Temple) - Highest Tibetan Buddhist Temple in Beijing. (n.d.). Retrieved January 06, 2021, from https://www.chinadiscovery.com/beijing/lama-temple.html