Abstract
Location: Mainly in the Southwest area of Yunnan Province. Key Geographical Concept: Integration of architecture and nature in Buddhist culture. The particular environmental features of the area include warm and rainy weather, enabling the bodhi tree to grow into the stone tower. The Theravada Buddhism culture of the Dai people provided the motivation for the origination of the tree-embracing pagoda.
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Notes
- 1.
Yan Emperor (Mandarin: yan di), one of legendary Chinese tribal leaders about 4,000 years ago, is regarded as one of the initiators of Chinese civilization.
- 2.
Yellow Emperor (Mandarin: huang di) is one of the ancient Chinese emperors and heroes about 4,000 years ago who is regarded as one of the initiators of Chinese civilization.
- 3.
See the case in Volume 3 “5.2 Qikou Hillside Cave Dwelling: Comfort Home at Loess Hill”.
- 4.
Dongzhen house, one of the four types of sunken courtyard, is named based on the direction of the main room and is arranged by the bagua. It has a rectangle plan, a main room in the east and a kitchen in the southeast.
- 5.
Xidui house, one of the four types of sunken courtyard, is named based on the direction of the main room and is arranged by the bagua. It has a square plan, a main room in the west and a kitchen in the southwest.
- 6.
Nanli house, one of the four types of sunken courtyard, is named based on the direction of the main room and is arranged by the bagua. It has a rectangle plan, a main room in the south and a kitchen in the southeast.
- 7.
Beikan house, one of the four types of sunken courtyard, is named based on the direction of the main room and is arranged by the bagua. It has a rectangle plan, a main room in the north and a kitchen in the east.
- 8.
I Ching (Mandarin: yi jing), also known as Book of Changes, is an ancient Chinese classical philosophical work.
- 9.
Zhongyuan is referred to the central plain region in China, where dynasties were usually led by the Han people in the ancient China.
- 10.
Fold system, a large-scale first-order tectonic unit in the Earth’s crust, consists of several fold belts and intermediate massifs.
- 11.
Chi, cun and zhang are traditional Ancient Chinese units of length. 1 m ≈ 3 chi, 1 m ≈ 0.3 zhang, 3.33 cm ≈ 1 cun.
- 12.
Zhang, chi and cun are traditional Ancient Chinese units of length. 1 m ≈ 3 chi, 1 m ≈ 0.3 zhang, 3.33 cm ≈ 1 cun.
- 13.
Book of the Later Han (Mandarin: hou han shu), an official Chinese historical text from 25 to 220 AD on the period of the Han Dynasty, was mainly compiled by Fan Ye during the Liu Song Dynasty (420–479).
- 14.
Shen Xian Zhuan, literally Biographies of Divine Transcendent, partially attributed to the Taoist scholar Ge Hong in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317–420), is a biographical collection of fairy tales which are important to our understanding of the formation of the Taoist religion.
- 15.
Kaijian, also known as miankuo, is a unit to measure the width of the building, which refers to the distance between two columns in the frontage of the traditional Chinese wooden architecture.
- 16.
Jinshen, a unit to measure the depth of the building, refers to the distance between two columns in the gable of the traditional Chinese wooden architecture.
- 17.
Serindia or the Western region (Mandarin: xi yu), refers to the regions to the west of the Yangguan and Yumenguan Passes in Dunhuang, including what is now Sinkiang and parts of Central Asia, although it is sometimes used more generally to refer to other regions to the west of China as well, such as the Indian subcontinent.
- 18.
Negative (Yin ) and positive (Yang ) (lit. backing to the dark and confronting with the bright) is a traditional site selection discipline in ancient China that was believed to better harmonize the living and natural environments.
- 19.
Avatamsaka Sutra (Mandarin: hua yan jing), translated into Chinese in the third century, is one of the richest texts of Buddhism, recording as it does the Buddha’s highest teachings.
- 20.
Jin Dynasty (265–420), Chinese dynasty, including the Western and Eastern Jin periods, is different from the Jin Kingdom (1115–1234) by Jurchen in northern China.
- 21.
Hexi Corridor is a historical route in northwest China that lies to the west of the Yellow River. It was the main access point from ancient Zhongyuan (lit. the Central Plain region in China) to Central Asia and West Asia for trade and military.
- 22.
Peach Blossom Land (Mandarin: shi wai tao yuan), a fictitious land of peace off the beaten path, first appeared in a well-known ancient Chinese essay, Peach-Blossom Spring, written by Tao Yuanming (approximately 365–427) during the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317–420). The name is often used to describe an unspoiled wilderness of great beauty away from the turmoil of the world.
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Wang, F. (2016). “Embedments” Cases. In: Geo-Architecture and Landscape in China’s Geographic and Historic Context. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0489-6_2
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