10. The Basic Components of the Ancient Chinese Building
10. 中国古代建筑的基本组成

Base
台基
It is also called base pedestal, which is the base of the building. Its surface is higher than ground. Base is for bolstering the building and protecting it against damp or corrosion. In the meantime, it can make up for the imperfection that the single-building in Chinese ancient architecture is insufficient in grandness and height. Generally there are four kinds of bases.
也称基座。系高出地面的建筑物底U叫建筑时时潮防腐，同时可弥补中国古建筑单体建筑不甚高大雄伟的欠缺。大致有四种。
A. Common base
1.普通台基
It is almost 1 Chinese chi in height, which tamped and cemented with the mixed earth of white Clay or mud or brickbat. Common base is usually used for constructing the small type of building.
用素土或灰土或碎砖三合土芳筑而成，约高一尺，常用于小式建筑。
B. Higher Class base
2.较高级台基
It is higher than common base. The white marble banister is often built at the side of this type of base. Higher-class base is used for the less important building in big type buildings or palace buildings.
较普通台基高，常在台基上边建汉白玉栏杆，用于大式建筑或宫殿建筑中的次要建筑。
C. Much higher Class base
3.更高级台基
It is the XuMi Base，which is also called Buddha's warrior Base. "XuMi" is a mountain in ancient India myth, which is said locating in world center and is the tallest mount，cosmos. The sun, moon and stars appear and disappear among it and all the structures of universe need to build up alongside its layers. Xu-Mi Base is used as base of the figure of Buddha or shrine to show the lofty greatness of Buddha. The ancient Chinese architecture uses the XuMi base to show the buildings' class. It is generally built up in layers with brick or stone, much higher class base has cave，convex line feet，and line decoration in it, and the white marble banister is built at its stage. It is used for constructing the palace and the big temple in common.
即须弥座，又名金刚座。"须弥"是古印度神话中的山名，相传位于世界中心，系宇宙间最高的山，日月星辰出没其间，三界诸天也依傍它层层建立。须弥座用阴影
佛像或神鑫的台基，用以显示佛的崇高伟大。中国古建筑采用须弥座表示建筑的级别。一般用砖或石砌成，上有凹凸线脚和纹饰，台上建有汉白玉栏杆，常用于宫殿和著名寺院中的主要殿堂建筑。
D. The highest-class base
4.最高级台基
It is folded by several XuMi Bases to make the building seem to be more large and grand. The highest-class base is usually used in the most superior buildings, for example, the three greatest halls of the Imperial Palace and Dacheng Hall of Confucian Temple in Qufu of Shandong，which are just towering aloft on the highest-class base.
由几个须弥座相叠而成，从而使建筑物显得更为宏伟高大，常用于最高级建筑，如故宫三大殿和山东曲阜孔庙大成殿即耸立在最高级台基上。
Wood Cylinder
木头圆柱
It is the cylindrical wood in common made of pine or bucket wood. Wood cylinder is placing on the stage of which the bottom is made of rock (sometimes bronze utensils). Many wood cylinders are used for propping up the purling of the house to form the beam.
常用松木或桶木制成的圆柱形木头。置于石头(有时是铜器)为底的台上。多根木头圆柱，用于支撑屋面穰条，形成梁架。
Room Width
开间
The space that is rounded by four wood cylinders is called "Opening". Those openings which face the building are called "room width", 0r called "Miankuo". The vertical depth number is called "enter depth". The Chinese in ancient times took odd number as good luck numbers, so the great majority of openings in the flat surface combination are odd numbers; and more openings mean the higher grades. Taihe Hall of the Imperial Palace in Peking and the Main Hall of Ancestral Temple in Peking have 11 openings both.
四根木头圆柱围成的空间称为"间"。建筑的迎面间数称为"开间或称"面阔"。建筑的纵深间数称"进深"。中国古代以奇数为吉祥数字，所以平面组合中绝大多数的开间为单数;而且开间越多，等级越高。北京故宫太和殿，北京太庙大开间为十一间。
Crossbeam , Namely Horizontal Beam
大梁，即横梁
It is the main wood which is erected on the wood cylinder to form the ridge of roof. It is usually made of pine, elm or cedar. In Chinese traditional wood structure buildings, it is one of the main pieces of framework.
架于木头圆柱上的一根最主要的木头，以形成屋脊。常用松木、榆木或杉木制成。是中国传统木结构建筑中骨架的主件之一。
Arch
斗拱
It is a special component in the Chinese ancient building. The square board is called "Dou", the short bow wood is called "arch"，the long inclined wood is called "Ang"，and "arch" is their general name. Usually it is placed among the pillar head and forehead，face of the house to prop up a beam and pick up eaves and it also has a decorative function. It is made up of the square wood, the short bow wood and the long inclined wood, mixing in length and breadth layer upon layer and pursuing a layer to pick outwardly to form a pad base which is to descend.
是中国古代建筑独特的构件。方形木块叫斗，弓形短木叫拱，斜置长木叫昂，总称斗拱。一般置于柱头和额柿、屋面之间，用来支撑荷载梁架、挑出屋檐，兼具装饰作用。由斗形木块、弓形短木、斜置长木组成，纵横交错层叠，逐层向外挑出，形成上大下小的托座。
Colorful Painting
彩画
It is originally for protecting wood structure against damp and corrosion and insect-eating，afterwards the press of it is just the adornment. After Song Dynasty, the colorful paintings have become the indispensable adornment art of palace. It is divided into three grades.
原是为木结构防潮、防腐、防蛙，后来才突出其装饰性，宋代以后彩画已成为宫殿不可缺少的装饰艺术。可分为三个等级。
A. The Hexi colorful painting
1.和经彩画
It is the highest colorful painting in grade. Its main characteristics are: the center of the painting is made up of various pictures of dragons or phoenix and using the flower patterns to fill the space; both sides of the paintings use 《》 to frame and daub them with some shining coating such as gilding to make them look very magnificent.
是等级最高的彩画。其主要特点是：中间的画面由各种不同的龙或凤的图案组成，间补以花卉图案;画面两边用《》框住，并且沥粉贴金，金碧辉煌，十分壮丽。
B. The circle colorful painting
2.旋子彩画
Its grade is next to the Hexi colorful painting. The painting uses the simplified form of flowers with the eddy petals; sometimes it can also draw dragon and phoenix. The two sides may frame with gilding powder It is generally used in the less important palace or temples.
等级次于和窒彩画。画面用简化形式的涡卷瓣旋花，有时也可画龙凤，两边框起，可以贴金粉，也可以不贴金粉。一般用在次要宫殿或寺庙中。
C. The colorful painting of Su's type
3.苏式彩画
Its Grade is lower than the two kinds above. The picture covers landscape, person story, flowers, birds, fish, and insects..., the both sides use "《》" or " ( )" to frame. "（）" is called "wrapper" by architects. The colorful painting of Su's type is developing from the "wrapper" colorful painting of the South of the Yangze River.
等级低于前两种。画面为山水、人物故事、花鸟鱼虫等，两边用《》或（）框起。"( )"被建筑家们称作"包袱苏式彩画，便是从江南的包袱彩画演变而来的。
Roof (called in ancient times "House Cover")
屋顶(古称屋盖)
The Chinese traditional roof has the following seven kinds, the Palace Wu of the double-eave roof and the heavy summit of hill of the double-eave roof are the highest grades , and then followed with the Palace Wu of the single-eave roof and the heavy summit of hill of the single-eave roof.
中国传统屋顶有以下七种，其中以重檐庞殿顶、重檐歇山顶为级别最高，其次为单檐庞殿、单檐歇山顶。
A. The roof of the Palace Wu
1.庞殿顶
Its all sides are sloping with one positive ridge and four inclined ridges. The house's surface has a little bit radian，it is also called Four A Roof.
四面斜坡，有一条正脊和四条斜脊，屋面稍有弧度，又称四阿顶。
B. The roof of the heavy summit of hill
2.歇山顶
It is a combination of the roof of the Palace Wu and the hard summit of hill, which means the upper part of the house surface with four sloping sides, and turns to the triangle wall surface which is hanging straight. There are one positive ridge, four hanging ridges and four dependent ridges in it, so it is also called nine-ridge roof.
是庞殿顶和硬山顶的结合，即四面斜坡的屋面上部转折成垂直的兰角形墙面。有一条正脊、四条垂脊，四条依脊组成，所以又称九脊顶。
C. The roof of the hang summit of hill
3.悬山顶
It is that the two sides of the double ascent of the house surface stretch out the gable wall. There is a positive ridge and four hanging ridges on the house surface, so we also call it the roof of the picking-summit of hill.
屋面双坡，两侧伸出山墙之外。屋面上有一条正脊和四条垂脊，又称挑山顶。
D. The roof of the hard summit of hill
4.硬山顶
The double ascents of the house surface and two sides of the gable wall are at the same level of the house surface, or slightly higher than it.
屋面双坡，两侧山墙同屋面齐平，或略高于屋面。
E. The roof of the accumulating top
5.攒尖顶
Its flat surface is circular or polygon and it is a roof of taper up. There is no positive ridge and several house ridges hand over in the top end. This type of roof is generally used in ordinary pavilion, terraces and towers.
平面为圆形或多边形，上为锥形的屋顶，没有正脊，有若干屋脊交于上端。一般亭、阁、塔常用此式屋顶。
F. The roof of rolling shed
6.卷棚顶
The house surface has double ascents and there is no obvious positive ridge, that is the connection of the front ond bock of the oscents building up in layers in a curved form instead of using the ridges.
屋面双墟，没有明显的正脊，即前后坡相接处不用脊而砌成弧形曲面。山墙即房子两侧上部成山尖形的墙面。常见的山墙还有风火山墙，其特点是两侧山墙高出屋面，随屋顶的斜坡面而呈阶梯形。
Gable Wall
藻井
It is the wall which is formed as the top of mountain at the up of both sides of the house. The familiar gable wall still has the wind-fire gable wall, which has the characteristics of two sides of gable wall being higher than house surface, presenting a stairs form with the slope surface of the roof.
中国传统建筑中天花板上的一种装饰。名为"藻井含有五行，以水克火，预防火灾之义。一般都在寺庙佛座上或宫殿的宝座上方。是平顶的凹进部分，有方格形、六角形、八角形或圆形，上有雕刻或彩绘，常见的有"双龙戏珠"。
Decorated Ceiling Panel (Algae Well)
It is a kind of adornment on the ceiling in the Chinese traditional building. "Algae well" implies that the water subdues fire, which con prevent it from a fire. It is generally above the Buddha's seat of temples or the throne of the palace. Algae well is the sunken part of the even roof, there being square space form, hexagon, octagon or circular, which is engraved or colored up on it，among those pictures "double dragons play with a bead" is quite populaor.