History of Indian and Eastern Architecture

by James Fergusson

In reading Mr. Michie’s, or any other description of the Dragon Temple of Pekin, it seems impossible to avoid feeling that there are so many points of resemblance between it and the Serpent Temple of Nakhon Wat, that the coincidence can hardly be accidental. The variations are hardly greater than might be expected from difference of age, and the fact that the one was erected by Chinese at the northern extremity of their empire, the other by Cambodians near the southern limit of theirs. All the links, however, which connect the two temples are still wanting; yet, as we have the assertion of the Chinese traveller in 1295 that the Tao-tze religion[657] existed in Cambodia while he was there, we should not feel surprise at any similarity that may be traced between the temples of the two countries.

Buddhist Temples.

The only Buddhist temple in China of which any plans have been made, or which I have myself had an opportunity of inspecting, is that at Honan, opposite Canton. Unfortunately it is very modern, and by no means monumental. It is a parallelogram enclosed by a high wall, measuring 306 ft. by 174 ft. In the shorter front facing the river is a gateway of some pretension. This leads to a series of halls opening into each other, and occupying the whole of the longer axis of the internal court. The first and second of these are porches or antechapels. The central one is the largest, and practically the choir of the building. It contains the altar, adorned by gilt images of the three precious Buddhas, with stalls for the monks and all arrangements necessary for the daily service. Behind this, in the next compartment, is a dagoba, and in its rear another apartment devoted to the goddess Kuan yin, principally worshipped by women—in fact, the Lady Chapel of the church. Around the court are arranged the cells of the monks, their kitchen, refectory, and all the necessary offices of the convent. These are generally placed against the outer wall, and open into the court.

Any person familiar with the rock-cut examples in India will easily recognise in this temple all the features he is accustomed to in the earlier Chaityas and Viharas, though strangely altered by their Chinese disguise. The figure which stood in front of the dagoba ([Woodcut No. 61]) is moved forward and placed on an altar by itself, with two companions added, in accordance with modern Chinese theology; but the general arrangements remain the same. The most interesting part, however, is the arrangement of the cells, &c., relatively to the temple. In one of the caves at Dhumnar (Bhim ka Bazar) something like this has been attempted, but it is evidently so difficult of execution in the rock, that we are not surprised to find it not repeated. It is evidently what was intended to be represented on the central rath of Mahavellipore ([Woodcut No. 181]), and must indeed have been the general arrangement of Buddhist ecclesiastical establishments. What is now wanted is, that some one should supply information regarding the earlier temples of the Chinese, say of the 12th to the 16th centuries. They no doubt exist, and would throw great light on the earlier Indian examples. In the meanwhile, however, it is curious to refer back to the Woodcut No. 129. From it it will be perceived that as early as the 11th century the Buddhist Chaitya in India, standing in the centre of its Vihara, had already been sublimated into an idol temple, surrounded by a series of idol niches, since there cannot be a doubt that the Jaina temple of Vimala Sah is a reproduction for another purpose of an old Buddhist monastery. The curious point is, that the 18th-century temple of Honan reproduces, for their original purpose, forms which in India had, seven centuries earlier, passed away to another faith, and became wholly conventional. It is still more strange that, if we leap over the intermediate period, and go seven centuries further back, we shall find in India the same ceremonies performed in the same form of temples as those at which any one may assist in China at the present day.

At Pekin there are several Lamaseries or Buddhist monasteries, of a much more monumental character than that at Honan, but it is very difficult indeed to guess at their arrangement from mere verbal descriptions without dimensions. The gateway of one, represented in Woodcut No. 380, gives a fair idea of the usual mode of constructing gateways in China.

380. Monumental Gateway of Buddhist Monastery, Pekin. (From a Photograph by Beato.)

It has three openings of pleasing proportions, and is as well designed as any to be found in China. Behind it is to be seen the dagoba, to which it leads: a tall form, with a reverse slope, and an exaggerated tee, so altered from those we are accustomed to in the earlier days of Indian architecture, that it requires some familiarity with the intermediate forms in Nepal and Burmah to feel sure that it is the direct lineal descendant of the topes at Sanchi or Manikyala. Around it are minarets, with a cross-legged seated figure of Buddha on each face. But without a plan or description it is impossible to say whether they come down to the ground, or on what kind of basement they rest.

The ordinary form of a temple, as seen in the villages or towns in China, is extremely simple, and seems to be the same, whether dedicated to Buddha, or to the Queen of Heaven, or to any other deity of the strange pantheon of the Celestial Empire. It generally consists of a square apartment with a highly ornamented roof, and with one of the side-walls removed. The entrance is never at the end, nor the end wall ever removed, as would be the case in the West, but always the side; and it is by no means clear that this is not the right and reasonable way of arranging matters. In very small temples a single beam supports the eaves, and a screen inside forms the back of the porch and the front of the temple. In larger temples two or more pillars are introduced, but the other arrangements remain the same. Both these may be seen in the annexed woodcut (No. [381]), and when arranged as picturesquely as in this group, and with their gateways and subsidiary adjuncts, they become very pleasing features in the landscape. As architectural objects, they depend for their effect principally on colour, which is applied with an unsparing hand in the form of glazed tiles, painted ornaments, and frequently also paintings, such as landscapes and figure subjects. Gilding is also employed to a great extent, and with good effect.