Page:History of Indian and Eastern Architecture Vol 2.djvu/580

 476 CHINESE ARCHITECTURE. BOOK IX. the Christian Era, we find them used as gateways to a simulated tomb. In India both the tumulus and the P'ai-lu had at that time passed away from their original sepulchral meaning ; the one had become a relic - shrine, the other an iconostasis. Two thousand years afterwards in China we find them both still used for the purposes for which they were originally designed. PALACES AND DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE. From what has been already said, it will be understood that there is virtually no difference in the architectural design of the temples and palaces; in both cases the halls and palaces consist of a number of pavilions rather than of numerous suites of apartments and halls, as is usually the case in Europe, and consequently they never attain the magnitude essential to architectural dignity. The resemblance of temple and palace is further accentuated by the fact that in front of the great hall of the palace in the Forbidden City are similar platforms with the triple terrace, balustrade, and flights of steps, which have been described in the Temple of Heaven and the tomb of Yung-lo. Unfortunately, the absence of plans makes it impossible to connect the various buildings one with the other. From a bird's-eye view of the Forbidden City (Tzu-chin-ch'eng) it would seem that the buildings therein contained are all of one storey, and surmounted with the same type of roof as that employed in the temples ; and as the main fronts of the building all face south, there is a general monotony of appearance, varied only by the height of the several structures, according to their importance. The three principal halls are the Tai-ho-t'ien, or Hall of Highest Peace (built 1602-1722), where levies are held on special occasions, the Chung-ho-t'ien, or Hall of Central Peace, and the Pao-ho-t'ien, or Hall of Secure Peace. The first named is the most important, and it is preceded by what is called a gateway, which externally is similar to the Tai-ho- t'ien in design, but has nine bays instead of eleven on the main front ; it is also raised on a platform with a triple terrace, balustrade, and flights of steps. The plan of the Tai-ho-t'ien will be best understood by reference to Woodcut No. 504, which is the type of all the larger temples and halls. The principal front faces the south, and the hall is raised on a lofty platform with three terraces (A, A, A), rising one above the other and enclosed by balustrades : three flights of steps (B, B, B), give access to the upper terrace, a portion" of the central flight, having in the middle, instead of steps, an inclined slope (C) with dragons and clouds carved thereon in bas-relief; the treads of the steps^are also carved,