Page:A history of architecture on the comparative method for the student, craftsman, and amateur.djvu/694

 636 COMPARATIVE ARCHITECTURE. iv. Religion. There are three rehgions : — , p, ■ ( Confucianism (Confucius, born b.c. 551, died B.C. 475). in '-nma^g^^^j^jgj^^ (introduced from India about a.d. 90). y J ( Taoism, or Sintuism. J P ( Buddhism (introduced a.d. 550). China. — Confucianism is a code of moral doctrines and conduct, and can scarcely be called a religion. An absence of important religious structures is probably the result of there being no dominant priesthood ; this absence has been the wonder of travellers, because the Chinese have probably been civilized as long as the Egyptians, who, mainly in consequence of their religious ideas, created an architecture unequalled in its grandeur. Temples and shrines erected to Buddha or Confucius, though numerous, are unimportant. In addition, the poor family has its altar and household gods and the wealthy family its ancestral hall of worship. Ancestral worship is so profound and leads to such a veneration for graves that the Chinese will plough around them for genera- tions without being guilty of the sacrilege of destroying them. Japan. — Sintuism is the national religion, but Buddhism is also prevalent. The extraordinary number of images of every possible size and material is to be remarked. In Japan the Buddhist religion, with its mysterious and awe- inspiring symbols, acted on the artistic Japanese nature, ever ready to depict beautiful and fantastic forms; thus demons, monsters and conventional representations are found in conjunction with the birds and landscapes of the changing seasons. V. Social and Political. China. — The Chinese government is autocratic, the Emperor being head of State and Church, and the provinces being governed by mandarins. The Emperor is at once the worshipper and priest of the important Pekin temples, an instance of the old idea of priest-king. The nobility is not hereditary, and property is divided equally among children at death. There is little family pride to cause, as in England, the erection of castles and residences wath which the life of the family could be associated. The " guilds " into which many trades or crafts are formed have an important influence. They date from about a.d. 600, and resemble in constitution the mediaeval guilds of Europe. A point affecting domestic architecture is the law which regulates the forms and dimensions of the residence for each class of the inhabitants. The social condition of the Indian and West Asiatic countries which were governed by monarchs supreme in