The Research On The Official Buildings Of Qin And Han Dynasties Seen In Bamboo And Silk Documents

The official buildings of the Qin and Han dynasties were important tools for maintaining national security and stability,maintaining the normal operation of the country,and consolidating national power.Previously,Limited by research materials and methods,it was difficult to conduct more in-depth research on the official buildings of the Qin and Han dynasties.Since the last century,the endless collection of bamboo and silk documents has brought new opportunities for the study of official architecture in the Qin and Han dynasties.The article is based on bamboo and silk documents,handed down literature,and archaeological materials,and comprehensively utilizes research methods from disciplines such as philology and architecture.It focuses on exploring specific issues in five aspects during the Qin and Han dynasties,including the use of land for official buildings,the craftsmen of official buildings,official building materials,the maintenance of official buildings,and official buildings.Building land is the foundation of government buildings.During the Qin and Han dynasties,when choosing construction land,the officials emphasized the importance of"adaptation to local condition"(得进退就便处),and even flexibly changed the nature of the construction land.Secondly,the government calculates the land area of different government buildings through"modulus"(模数),and then represents the level of government buildings by their multiples,and strictly maintains the land grade of government buildings.In addition,the government also severely cracked down on private encroach government building land.Government craftsmen are one of the important builders of government buildings.Craftsmen have the responsibility of drawing,planning,and building.According to their job positions,craftsmen can be divided into county craftsmen(县匠),military craftsmen(军匠),and palace craftsmen(宫匠),all of whom are low-level officials.The county craftsmen of the local government are directly managed by the"Banzhanag"(办长),and supervised by the"Sikong"(司空);The palace craftsmen of the central government are under the control of"Dajiang"(大匠).Initially,the"Dajiang"(大匠)was subordinate to the"Shaofu”(少府),and later merged with"Gong Sikong"(宫司空),"Left and right Sikong"(左右司空),and others to become the"Jiangzuoshaofu"(将作少府);The palace craftsmen of the feudal states of the Western Han Dynasty may be managed by the"Dajiang"(大匠)and the"Jiangzuo+(posthumous title)King/Queen"(将作+“谥号”王/王后),with the latter being responsible for craftsmen who specialize in the royal tombs.In addition,in order to ensure construction quality and safety,and clarify the construction responsibilities of craftsmen,the Qin and Han dynasties also established a supervision mechanism for craftsmen.The Qin and Han government had a complete system of building materials from collection,transportation,processing to use:the materials controlled by the government were called"Xianguancaiwu"(县官材物),which can be divided into"Xianguancai"(县官材)and"Taxiaowu"(它小物)based on their value.Among them,"Xianguancai"(县官材)specifically refer to building wood.In addition to requisition,the government also emphasizes the importance of"obtain raw material locally"(就地取材),with specialized institutions and personnel responsible for collecting materials and transporting them through methods such as"following the water"(随水而下).In order to better manage materials,the government not only has a"collection book"(集簿)for recording detailed information on materials and a"calculation book"(计簿)for material usage,but also severely punishes officials who are greedy for building materials.In order to extend the normal service life of official buildings,the Qin and Han dynasties required maintenance of official buildings.Here,we will take the waterproofing,fire prevention,and renovation of official buildings as an example to explore:the government pays attention to preventing building water and fire disasters,and has formulated a series of fire prevention and waterproofing building safety measures through laws and regulations such as the"Internal History Miscellaneous Rhythms"(内史杂律)and the"Antai Residential Common Order"(安台居室共令);Officials need to follow the rules to repair buildings,and during the"quality assurance period"(质量保证期),the owner or original construction personnel are responsible for repairing the buildings;Outside the"quality assurance period",it is divided into"self repair"(自修)organized by officials and"other repair"(他修)organized by government personnel based on the degree of building damage.In addition,the government also supervises the implementation of building renovation work through daily work books,laws,and regulations.Finally,we through four cases of"Li"(里),"Gongping"(宫屏),"Wu"(庑),and"Linxiang Court Prison"(临湘廷狱),analyze the relationship between official buildings and administrative activities in the Qin and Han dynasties.The layout planning of"Li"(里)fully demonstrates that official buildings are facilities that facilitate official administration,and their scale adjustment and internal division are closely related to grassroots management;The"Gongping"(宫屏)refers to the toilets of ancestral temples.In the Qin Dynasty,the government not only established"county official temples"(县官祠)in various regions and arranged for officials to follow them regularly,but also explicitly prohibited officials serving in ancestral temples from disrespectful behavior towards ghosts and gods during the worship period,reflecting the government’s respect for ancestral activities;The"Wu"(庑)is a prison building located in the township,which houses male and female prison cages.The building area is determined by the number of prisoners,and there are ancillary buildings outside,surrounded by walls.The"Wu"(庑)was an important safeguard measure taken by the Qin Dynasty government to prevent criminals from fleeing and maintain stable governance,and there was also a strict management system;The"Linxiang Court Prison"(临湘廷狱)refers to the Linxiang Prison,which is composed of three parts:"expanding the gate"(扩门),court,and prison.The"expanding the gate"(扩门)is used to separate the"Linxiang Court Prison"(临湘廷狱)from other government buildings.The court is used to inspect food or interrogate prisoners,and the prison is used to imprison prisoners.The prison gate also has two internal and external doors.Each construction link of the"Linxiang Court Prison"(临湘廷狱)is managed by a dedicated person and has detailed work records,reflecting the scientific and standardized prison system of the Han Dynasty.These government buildings with different functions jointly ensure the normal operation of various administrative activities of the government and maintain the security and stability of the country.