Chiwen

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Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Italic title". Script error: No such module "Multiple image". Chiwen (Script error: No such module "Lang-zh".) is a roof ornamental motif in traditional Chinese architecture and art. Chiwen is also the name of a Chinese dragon that mixes features of a fish, and in Chinese mythology is one of the nine sons of the dragon, which are also used as imperial roof decorations. As architectural ornaments or waterspouts, they are comparable with Western gargoyles, but are not related to the mythological character.

Etymology

The name for this dragon is Template:Zhp, which compounds Template:Zhp and Template:Zhp. Template:Zhp and Template:Zhp, both literally meaning "hornless-dragon head".

Chiwen is alternatively written Template:Zhi, using the homophonous character Template:Zhp. The Template:Zhp and Template:Zhp are additional birdlike roof decorations.

History

Script error: No such module "Multiple image". The origin of the roof decoration of chiwen can be traced to the roof decoration alternatively named as Template:Zhp, the earliest visual examples found in the Han dynasty on many ceramic architectural models, que-towers, and tomb murals and stone-reliefs. [a 1]

The chiwei were shaped like wings, associated with the Zhuque, also a commonly used as a roof ornamental motif during the Han dynasty. Chiwei was adopted as roof ornaments on palaces, temples and official buildings throughout the Three Kingdoms to Northern and Southern dynasties, later expanded to be used by private manors of nobility in the Tang dynasty. With the appearance and formal use of glazed roof tiles in the Tang dynasty, chiwei were also often glazed in green and blue colors, as seen often in the murals of Mogao Grottoes. Over the course of the mid-Tang dynasty, the fish-like chiwen became another prevailing ornamental motif alongside the chiwei.[a 2]

In the Song dynasty, chiwen fully replaced the chiwei and adopted a more dragon-like appearance while also retaining some of their predecessor's bird-like features such as wings or bird's head. The technical treastise Yingzao Fashi details the proper elements and terminology of the chiwen and formalises their construction and measurements. [a 3]

By the Ming and Qing dynasties, the chiwen was widely used in traditional architecture, their bodies and tail turning more inwards and became very ornate in appearance, with many variations based on regional styles and colors.

Symbolism

The chiwen is listed second or third among the Template:Zhp, Template:Zhi, which are traditional mythological creatures that have become traditional Chinese feng shui architectural decorations. Each one of the nine dragons has a protective function. The Nine dragons are also used in many place names in Hong Kong, such as Kowloon, literally meaning "nine dragons" in Cantonese (Script error: No such module "Lang-zh".), as well as numerous lakes, rivers and hamlets in mainland China.

According to the Ming Dynasty Template:Zhp "The ch'i-wen, which like swallowing, are placed on both ends of the ridgepoles of roofs (to swallow all evil influences)."[1]Template:R/superscript

Welch describes chiwen as "the dragon who likes 'to swallow things'".

This is the fish-like, hornless dragon with a very truncated body and large, wide mouth usually found along roof ridges (as if swallowing the roof beams). His presence on roofs is also said to guard against fires. A paragraph in the Tang dynasty book Su Shi Yan Yi (Template:Zhi) by Su E (Template:Zhi) says that a mythical sea creature called the chi wen [sic] was put on the roofs of buildings during the Han dynasty to protect the structures from fire hazards. This dragon is still found on the roofs of traditional Chinese homes today, protecting the inhabitants from fires. [2]Template:R/superscript

In Fengshui theory, a chiwen or chiwei supposedly protects against not only fires, but also floods and typhoons.

The Japanese language borrowed these names for architectural roof decorations as Sino-Japanese vocabulary. Script error: No such module "lang". Script error: No such module "Lang". "ornamental roof-ridge tile" is more commonly used than Script error: No such module "lang". Script error: No such module "Lang". or Script error: No such module "lang". Script error: No such module "Lang".. In Japanese mythology, the Script error: No such module "lang". Script error: No such module "Lang". (a mythical fish with a carp's arched tail, tiger's head, and dragon's scales) roof decoration is believed to cause rain and protect against fire. This Script error: No such module "Lang". is a kokuji "Chinese character invented in Japan" that can also be read Script error: No such module "lang". for "orca".

Gallery

See also

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References

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External links

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