Aesthetics Of Architecture Mingqi

Architecture mingqi (明器) are funeral architecture models in burials and"dwelling of souls". They are targets of general art study. The research on them is important for the reconstruction of ancient architectural techniques and art, the understanding of cultural and social implications of ancient Chinese architectures, and will provide new perspectives for our researches on architectures in ancient China. Therefore, a systematic research on funeral architecture models is significant both methodologically and practically.The dissertation is a multi-disciplines research of archaeology, architecture and art study. It mainly focuses on archaeological data of the Qin and Han Dynasties in Shaanxi, but also includes data in surrounding areas and the periods before and after Qin and Han.The first part of the dissertation aims to establish a"time-spatial framework"of funeral architecture models. I divide the developmental process of funeral architecture models into three stages: pre-Qin, Qin and Han, and post-Han. Based on the records in ancient texts, the typological definition according to functions of architectures, I try to generalize the developmental trajectory, the characteristics of each stage and the particularity of different regions.The second part of the dissertation focuses on the aesthetics of funeral architecture models. As copies of real architectures on the ground, architecture models in burials partly reflect the aesthetics of real architectures. I appreciate the aesthetics of the roof, body and platform and the whole single building, and discuss the aesthetics of two typical yard plans: the ax symmetric plan and the centric plan. The aesthetics of the granary, well, pigsty, stove and toilet is also mentioned.In the third part of the dissertation, I try to explore the aesthetics of funeral architecture models as artworks. As important objects in mortuary practice, funeral architecture models are not only copies of real architectures, but also artworks with their own aesthetic elements. I interpret these elements from five aspects: the aesthetic cause, the aesthetic shape, the aesthetic sense, the aesthetic meaning and the aesthetic context, which correspond the function, decoration, appreciation, design and implication of funeral architecture models. I generalize the aesthetic characteristic of funeral architecture models from the perspectives of seven dichotomies, including freedom and rule, simple and complex, stereo and plane, realistic and abstract, changeable and eternal, size and balance, and pleasure and propaganda. Finally, I discuss how to inherit the symbolic and spiritual gene of ancient Chinese architectures conveyed by the funeral architectural models.