 Anonymous, Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)
Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk, 159.8 x 93.2 cm |
The main building here presides
magnificently on top of a city wall. With a triple-eave, hip-and-gable, cross-shaped roof, the gables are shown with crescent beams and decoration (such as vertical
ch'ui-yu). To the immediate left of the building is an attached
pavilion. The columns inside are large, which allow for an expansive interior. An
elevated terrace extends around the sides with railings, and the brackets under the eaves and yen-ch'ih-pan panels are below. The decoration to the
main and subsidiary ridges, as well as the eave rafters, is finely rendered. The areas
where the outer eave lintels and columns meet have also been painted.
The city wall itself is composed of slabs with turrets running along
the outer edge. A gate is shown below the pavilion
in the foreground with supporting columns (p'ai-ch'a chu) inside. Between the gate tower and the main building along the wall is a stairway, at the base of which is a wu-t'ou gate (which has uprights but no crossbeam or
roof), also serving as an entrance to the building complex inside. White lines accent the
lines of the ridges, making them stand out clearly. |
