Editing Chinese architecture (section)

===Religious===
{{See also|Temple (Chinese)}}
[[File:南禅寺大殿正面.jpg|thumb|[[Nanchan Temple (Wutai)]], built in the late 8th century during the [[Tang dynasty]]]]
[[File:佛光寺东大殿右侧面.jpg|thumb|A timber hall built in 857 during the [[Tang dynasty]], located at the Buddhist [[Foguang Temple]] of [[Mount Wutai]], Shanxi]]
Generally speaking, [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] architecture follows the imperial style. A large Buddhist monastery normally has a front hall, housing the statues of the [[Four Heavenly Kings]], followed by a great hall, housing statues of the [[Buddhahood|Buddhas]]. Accommodations are located at the two sides. Some of the greatest examples of this come from the 18th-century [[Puning Temple (Hebei)|Puning Temple]] and [[Putuo Zongcheng Temple]]. Buddhist monasteries sometimes also have [[pagoda]]s, which may house relics of the [[Gautama Buddha]]; older pagodas tend to be four-sided, while later pagodas usually have eight sides.

[[Daoism|Daoist]] architecture usually follows the commoners' style. The main entrance is, however, usually at the side, out of [[superstition]] about [[demon]]s that might try to enter the premise (see [[feng shui]].) In contrast to the Buddhists, in a [[Daoism|Daoist]] temple the main deity is located in the main hall at the front, with lesser deities in the back hall and at the sides. This is because Chinese people believe that even after the body has died, the soul is still alive. From the [[Han Chinese|Han]] grave design, it shows the forces of cosmic yin/yang, the two forces from the heaven and earth that create eternity.<ref>Suhadolnik, Nataša Vampelj (2011). ''Han Mural Tombs: Reflection of Correlative Cosmology through Mural Paintings'' (https://revije.ff.uni-lj.si/as/article/view/2870 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202043758/https://revije.ff.uni-lj.si/as/article/view/2870 |date=2 December 2017 }}). Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 4.0 License.</ref>

The tallest pre-modern building in China was built for both religious and martial purposes. The [[Liaodi Pagoda]] of 1055 AD stands at a height of {{convert|84|m|ft|abbr=on}}, and although it served as the crowning pagoda of the Kaiyuan monastery in old Dingzhou, [[Hebei]], it was also used as a military [[watchtower]] for [[Song dynasty]] soldiers to observe potential [[Liao dynasty]] troop movements.

The architecture of the [[List of mosques in China|mosques]] and ''[[Gongbei (Islamic architecture)|gongbei]]'' tomb shrines of [[Islam in China|Chinese Muslims]] often combines traditional Chinese styles with Middle Eastern influences. The royal and nonroyal tombs found in the third through sixth centuries traced back to [[Han dynasty tomb architecture|Han construction]]. Some tombs were considered two-chamber spaces, where the focal point was the central pagoda pillar. This focal point served as what Buddhist call a pagoda, which is a symbol of the Buddha and his death.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Adrian |last=Snodgrass |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1038479106 |title=The Symbolism of the Stupa. |date=2018 |publisher=Cornell University, Southeast Asia Program Publications |isbn=978-1-5017-1896-0 |oclc=1038479106}}</ref> The layout of such tombs has the corpse in the back chamber, as the pillar location indicated the Buddha's death. There would sometimes be interior tomb decoration to portray immortal or divine meaning.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Steinhardt |first=Nancy Shatzman |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1084458000 |title=Chinese architecture in an age of turmoil, 200–600 |date=2014 |isbn=978-0-8248-3823-2 |location=Honolulu |oclc=1084458000}}</ref>

Dome ceilings in the 4th and 7th centuries were representations of the heavens.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lehmann |first=Karl |date=March 1945 |title=The Dome of Heaven |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00043079.1945.11407667 |journal=The Art Bulletin |language=en |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=1–27 |doi=10.1080/00043079.1945.11407667 |issn=0004-3079|url-access=subscription }}</ref> This originates from Roman provincial art and ancient Egypt. As most of these representations are circular, other forms are present: dodecagon, octagonal, and square. Many caves in the 4th-7th centuries were probably carved throughout the Han and Tang period.

====Gallery====
<gallery widths="170" heights="170">
File:T'ang Architecture in the Mo-kao Fresco 2.jpg|Fresco from the Mogao Cave depicting typical Tang Dynasty architecture.
File:T'ang Architecture in the Mo-kao Fresco 1.jpg|Fresco from the Mogao Cave.
File:Mogao Cave 61, painting of Mount Wutai monasteries.jpg|English: A mural painting from Cave 61 at the Mogao Caves, depicting Tang dynasty monastic architecture from Mount Wutai.
File:Mount Tai.jpg|A group of temples at the top of [[Mount Tai]]shan, where structures have been built at the site since the 3rd century BC during the [[Han dynasty]]
File:Nanshan temple.JPG|Nanshan Temple in [[Longkou]], [[Shandong]].
File:Lianhuashan Temple.jpg|Lianhuashan (lit. "lotus flower mountain") Temple in [[Dalian]]
File:方塔2.JPG|[[Songjiang Square Pagoda]], built in the 11th century
File:Jiudingta 2008 07 15 1.jpg|The [[Nine Pinnacle Pagoda]], built in the 8th century during the [[Tang dynasty]]
File:Chinese-style minaret of the Great Mosque.jpg|A [[Chinese pavilion]] instead of a [[minaret]] at the [[Great Mosque of Xi'an]].
File:The Fugong Temple Wooden Pagoda.jpg|The [[Pagoda of Fogong Temple|Fogong Temple Pagoda]], located in Ying county, Shanxi province, built in 1056 during the [[Liao dynasty]], is the oldest existent fully wooden pagoda in China
File:ChinaTrip2005-110.jpg|The [[Giant Wild Goose Pagoda]] in [[Xi'an]], rebuilt in 704 during the [[Tang dynasty]]
File:Songyue Pagoda 1.JPG|The [[Songyue Pagoda]], built in 523 AD during the [[Northern and Southern dynasties]]
File:Liuhe Pagoda.jpg|The [[Liuhe Pagoda]] of [[Hangzhou]], China, built in 1165 AD during the [[Song dynasty]]
File:5741-Linxia-Huasi-Gongbei.jpg|Hua Si [[Gongbei (Islamic architecture)|Gongbei]] (the mausoleum of [[Ma Laichi]]) in [[Linxia City]], [[Gansu]]
File:Foguang temple.jpg|A timber hall built in 857 during the [[Tang dynasty]],<ref>Steinhardt (2004), 228–229.</ref> located at the Buddhist [[Foguang Temple]] in [[Mount Wutai]], [[Shanxi]]
File:Dingzhou Liaodi Pagoda 4.jpg|The [[Liaodi Pagoda]], the tallest pre-modern [[Chinese pagoda]], built in 1055 during the [[Song dynasty]]
</gallery>