Editing Chinese architecture (section)

===Imperial===

{{Main|Chinese palace}}
[[File:黄鹤楼东侧面.JPG|right|thumb|The modern [[Yellow Crane Tower]], rebuilt in 1985.]]

Certain architectural features were reserved for buildings built for the [[emperor of China]]. One example is the use of yellow (the imperial color) roof tiles. Yellow tiles still adorn most of the buildings within the [[Forbidden City]]. Only the emperor could use [[hip roof]]s, with all four sides sloping. The two types of hip roof were single-eave and double-eave. The [[Hall of Supreme Harmony]] is the archetypal example of double eaves.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Steinhardt|first=Nancy Shatzman|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1089804685|title=Chinese architecture : a history|date=2019|isbn=978-0-691-19197-3|location=Princeton, New Jersey|oclc=1089804685}}</ref> The [[Temple of Heaven]] uses blue roof tiles to symbolize the sky. The roofs are almost invariably supported by [[Bracket (architecture)|bracket]]s ("''dougong''"), a feature shared only with the largest of religious buildings. The building's wooden columns well as the wall surfaces, tend to be red. Black is often used in pagodas. It was believed that the gods were inspired by the black color to visit earth.

The 5-clawed dragon, adopted by the [[Hongwu emperor]] (first emperor of [[Ming dynasty]]) for his personal use, was used to decoration the beams, pillars, and on the doors on imperial architecture. Curiously, the dragon was never used on roofs of imperial buildings.

Only buildings used by the imperial family were allowed to have nine ''jian'' (間, space between two columns); only gates used by the [[Emperor of China|emperor]] could have five arches, with the centre one, reserved for the emperor. The ancient Chinese favored the color [[red]].

{{Gallery
|width=160
|File:CMOC Treasures of Ancient China exhibit - pictorial brick depicting a courtyard scene.jpg|Pictorial brick depicting a typical Han-style palatial courtyard with watchtowers.
|Image:Eastern Han tomb, Luoyang 2.jpg|A [[vault (architecture)|vaulted]] tomb chamber in [[Luoyang]], built during the [[Eastern Han dynasty]] (AD 25–220)
|File:A Model of the Site of Xianyang Palace I 02 2012-09.JPG|Model of [[Xianyang Palace]]; Qin state, Warring States c.5th century BCE
|Image:Eastern Han tomb, Luoyang 3.jpg|A tomb chamber of [[Luoyang]], built during the [[Eastern Han dynasty]] (AD 25–220) with incised wall decorations
|Image:Mingdynastytombs3.jpg|The Great Red Gate at the [[Ming tombs]] near Beijing, built in the 15th century
|Image:Beijing-forbidden7.jpg|The yellow roof tiles and red wall in the [[Forbidden City]] (Palace Museum) grounds in [[Beijing]], built during the [[Yongle Emperor|Yongle era]] (1402–1424) of the [[Ming dynasty]]
|title=}}

[[Beijing]] became the [[capital of China]] after the [[Mongol]] invasion of the 13th century, completing the easterly migration of the Chinese capital begun in the [[Jin dynasty (1115-1234)|Jin dynasty]]. The [[Ming dynasty|Ming]] uprising in 1368 reasserted Chinese authority and fixed Beijing as the seat of imperial power for the next five centuries. The emperor and the empress lived in palaces on the central axis of the [[Forbidden City]], the [[crown prince]] at the eastern side, and the concubines at the back (the imperial concubines were often referred to as "The Back Palace Three Thousand"). During the mid-[[Qing dynasty]], the emperor's residence was moved to the western side of the complex. It is misleading to speak of an axis in the Western sense of a visual [[Perspective (visual)|perspective]] ordering facades. The Chinese axis is a line of privilege, usually built upon, regulating access—instead of vistas, a series of gates and pavilions are used.

[[File:Prince Yide's tomb, towers.jpg|thumb|left|''Que'' 闕 towers along the walls of [[Tang dynasty|Tang]]-era [[Chang'an]], as depicted in this 8th-century mural from Prince [[Li Chongrun]]'s tomb at the [[Qianling Mausoleum]] in [[Shaanxi]]]]

[[Numerology]] influenced imperial architecture, hence the use of nine (the greatest single digit number) in much of construction and the reason why the Forbidden City in Beijing is said to have 9,999.9 rooms—just short of heaven's mythical 10,000 rooms. The importance of the East (the direction of the rising sun) in orienting and siting imperial buildings is a form of solar worship found in many ancient cultures, reflecting the affiliation of Ruler with the Sun.

The tombs and mausoleums of imperial family members, such as the 8th-century [[Tang dynasty]] tombs at the [[Qianling Mausoleum]], can be counted as part of the imperial tradition. These above-ground earthen mounds and pyramids had subterranean shaft-and-vault structures that were lined with brick walls since at least the [[Warring States period]] (481–221 BC).<ref name="guo 2004 12">Guo, Qinghua. "Tomb Architecture of Dynastic China: Old and New Questions," ''Architectural History'' (Volume 47, 2004): 1–24. Page 12.</ref>