Yingbi
Yingbi ( Chinese 影壁 , Pinyin yǐngbì - "shadow wall "), also known in Chinese as Zhaobi ( 照壁 , zhàobì ) or less often Xiaoqiang ( 蕭牆 / 萧墙 , xiāoqiáng ), is a component of traditional Chinese architecture. In Chinese architecture, it serves as a privacy wall or shielding wall outside or inside the entrance of a traditional courtyard building and is also referred to literally as the so-called " shadow wall ". It is a typical element in the Chinese four-sided courtyard, a four-sided enclosed homestead ( Siheyuan ), which is particularly common in northern China. Technically, this privacy wall is further subdivided into inner yingbi ( 內 影壁 / 内 影壁 , nèi yǐngbì ) and outer yingbi ( 外 影壁 , wài yǐngbì ) of an architectural system. In religious buildings such as B. Temple complexes, it separates the sacred from the profane. It is supposed to keep "ominous" influences away. Yingbi is therefore often translated as “ ghost wall ”, since according to the Chinese mythological idea “ghosts” ( 鬼 , guǐ ) cannot move around corners and are thus stopped. On the facades of the Yingbi there are often characters such as fú ( 福 - "blessing"), or symbols of luck as an ornament on the bricks, so-called zhuandiao ( 磚雕 / 砖雕 , zhuāndiāo ), in order to reinforce blessings or auspicious influences for the residents of the building .
The famous shielding walls ( Yingbi ) include z. B. the nine-dragon wall ( 九龍壁 / 九龙壁 , jiǔlóngbì ) by Datong ( 大同 ).
photos
Brick carving of a Yingbi
Dragons as an ornament of a Yingbi
Shielding wall in Beihai Park
Yingbi as a partition wall in a temple complex
outer shadow wall in front of the Hua Pagoda
outer Yingbi as an opening composition
inner privacy screen at the south gate to the inner courtyard
simple inner yingbi without decoration
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ China's brick carving ( Memento from November 20, 2007 in the Internet Archive )