Page:History of Indian and Eastern Architecture Vol 2.djvu/583

 CHAP. III. DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE. 479 but in both cases the hips have heavy rolls covering them, crowned with a series of miniature griffons. The greater number of the buildings in the Forbidden City have one storey only ; to these there are some exceptions, where an upper floor, of the same height as the verandah storey, is carried on the level of the upper portion of the roof of same, and has a projecting balcony round the outside. In these cases there are windows to light the storey. In the Wan-fo pavilion there are three storeys all with verandahs. DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE. It is in their domestic architecture, if in any, that the Chinese excel; there we do not look either for monumental grandeur or for durability, and it is almost impossible to resist being captivated by the gaiety and brilliancy of a Chinese dwelling of the first class, and the exuberant richness and beauty of the carvings and ornaments that are heaped on every part of it. The principal difference between the palaces and the Chinese dwellings of the better class lies in a much lighter system of construction, there is the same general disposition of the plan, viz., a series of detached blocks, separated by open courts or gardens and placed in communication with one another by covered corridors. All Chinese habitations, however, are subjected to official rules, which prescribe the dimensions in width and height, and the number of columns which may be used. The principal hall, for instance, is not allowed to be wider than three bays, if for a man of letters only; five, if for a mandarin, seven for a prince, and only the palace of the emperor may have nine or more bays. These rules, which have from time immemorial been strictly enforced, have curtailed the development of style, so that the architect has only been able to exercise his originality in details of a decorative kind, and this probably accounts for the overloading of the structure with useless ornament, or in the accentuation of the curves given to the ridge cresting, and the raising of the ends of the eaves at the angles to such an extent as some- times to carry the water falling on them back into the roof. In the arrangement of their houses there is, however, no longer the rigid symmetry which governs their temples or palaces. When on level ground they are surrounded by picturesque gardens with small lakes, on the borders of which the principal reception rooms are built, with terraces and marble balustrades ; and, if in a hilly country, every advantage is taken to place their pavilions on prominent sites, so as to command the best