Cow with A Mornful Eye (3)

Seen Picasso Show at Seattle Art Museum twice. Aside from marveling at his genius, I learned a few things. In a painting, gesture is much more important than accuracy. And, linear element is such a powerful tool that I should exploit it more than what I had been doing.

It is cold in my garage where I paint. So, I keep working on digital painting on my computer. This is the latest version.

Cow with Mornful Eyes (2)

Continue working on the painting on computer.

Cow with a Mournful Eye

Please click the pictures to enlarge.

When I was growing up, our home was near a slaughter house. When a working cow got old and could no longer work, the owner would take it to the slaughter house. These are "yellow cows". Or Huang Niu in Chinese. They mostly tow heavy loads of coal or other stuff. These cows are very intelligent. They know that they are being led to be slaughtered. I saw them mowing and crying. I believe I had seen their tear drops. It was hard to watch. That image has such a strong imprint in my brain.

I use my computer painting software to come up with these two drafts. I will paint them on canvases later. I think the first one may need a large canvas to get the psychological impacts. I may do a few more versions of these seemingly comical yet dark paintings.

Remember Joan Baez's song Donna, Donna, Donna...? It goes "There's a wagon bound for market, and a cow with a mournful eye..."

Jin Temple - 晉祠 （3）

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TIE (iron) Figures
Nearby Xian Hall, there is a patio with four figures cast in iron. These are supposedly guards to protect the compound. A few of them were cast in early 20th century, and with poor design and workmanship. But, this one in Figure 9 was built in Song Dynasty. The facial features are definitely not ethnic Han. The weapon in his hands is missing. Both the posture and the facial expression of the figure are very well modeled. Although it is one thousand year old, there is no rust on it. It seems that stainless steel was already being manufactured 1000 years ago!

鐵人
獻殿附近的平台上有4尊鐵人。他們是護祠的武士。 其中幾尊是民國時補鑄的。 造型不佳， 作工粗糙。 圖9這一尊是原來宋朝鑄的。不但造型生動，威武，而且歷久不銹。 至今仍然保持得金光閃閃。令人不知1000年前， 他們是否已經知道怎樣鑄造不銹鋼。
Zhi-Bo Ditch
Winding in front of Xian Hall is this un-assuming ditch (Figure10) that has the longest history in the whole compound. It was dug in Chun-Qiu Era (BC 5th Century) some 2500 years ago. At the time, the nation of Jin was dominated by 3 war lords. They warred against each other. One of them linked up with the other in an attempt to eliminate the third. This third war lord walled themselves up well, and the siege continued for a long time. There was this strategist by the name of Zhi-Bo (meaning wise old man) who suggested that they dug a ditch to divert the water from Jin Creek to flood the besieged city. However, before they were able to subdue the third war lord, the coalition fell apart. Instead, the first initiator of the conflict was eliminated. This ditch remains as the reminder of that ancient conflict.

智伯渠
獻殿的前面繞了圖10顯示的這道小渠。不要看它不起眼。 它是整個祠園中最古的人工修築物。據說2500年前的春秋時代，晉世卿智伯為了久攻越國不下， 要引晉水來淹攻敵人。 後來沒有成功， 自己就被‘三家分晉’了。這個渠道就是他挖掘留下來的。

Shui-Jing Performing Stage
This is a building (Figure 11) that provides a stage for performing opera. This is actually the back side of the stage. The stage is on the other side facing a courtyard. The audiences sit or stand outdoors to enjoy the performance. It was built in Ming Dynasty (17th Century). The ornate style of the building is the hall mark of Ming-Qing architecture.

水鏡台
圖11的建築是水鏡台。是演戲的舞台。照片是面對晉祠入口拍的， 演戲的舞台在另一面， 面對院子。這是明初造的。 它明顯的華麗裝飾性和宋朝造的聖母殿形成對比。

Jin Temple - 晉祠 （2）

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Flying Beams over Fish Pond
Right in front of Sheng Mu Hall, there is a cross-shaped stone bridge (Figure 1 of the previous post) that covers a fish pond. Figure 3 is another look of the hall and the bridge. The bridge leads down to Xian Hall at a lower level (Figure 4). This bridge was also rebuilt at the time of rebuilding Sheng Mu Hall. It is very elegant and is one of the most treasured structures at this site.
魚沼飛樑
在上一集的圖1， 我們可以看到聖母殿前面有一個十字型的石橋架在聖母殿面前的一個魚池。圖3是從另一個角度看橋和聖母殿的配置。 而圖4可以看到橋和下面的獻殿的配置。這個橋也是和聖母殿一樣， 在宋朝時造的。 這個橋造型特殊美觀。 配合殿堂，樹木的配置，當初總體設計園區的古人是很用心而有創意的。


Nan Lao Spring
Facing Sheng Mu Hall, you will see (Figure 5) a spring with a pavilion over it. The water flows into a beautifully constructed pond. This spring is said to be one of the sources of Jing Creek that played an important role of the irrigation system. The pavilion was said to be erected back in North Qi (6th Century). However, the present structure seems to be built at later time.
難老泉
我們面對聖母殿， 左邊有一個用一個小亭子蓋著的泉叫‘難老泉’（圖5）. 泉水流入一個用石頭砌的渠道。據說這個泉就是歷史上造福這一帶農業的晉水的源頭之一。 亭子原來是在第六世紀的北齊時造的。 現在這個亭子何時造的就不清楚了。這個景觀和整體的配置替這個祠園增色多多。

Xian (Offering) Hall
Across the Flying Beam Bridge going toward the entrance, one can see Xian Hall. Figure 6 shows how beautifully the hall integrates with the landscape. Xian means offering. During the ceremony, offerings were placed inside the hall. It is an unusual structure with no enclosing wall (Figure 7). It was built in 12th Century during when the area was ruled by Jin, an ethnic group from Manchuria. It was rebuilt in Ming Dynasty. In 1955, the building was rebuilt again using the same material and the same building style and technique in Jin era.
獻殿
圖6的獻殿是在祭祀時擺設祭品的地方。這個配置， 在中國祠寺是比較少見的。圖7可以看到這個殿是沒有牆壁的。獻殿是12世紀金朝代建的。 殿內沒有柱子（圖7），顯得寬敞。

Jin Temple - 晉祠 （1）

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History:
This compound（Figure 0）in present day Shan Xi Province was built as a memorial hall to honor a 1050BC Zhou dynasty high official Shu Yu who was a son of Emperor, Zhou Wu Wang. (See Foot Note) He developed the irrigation system in this area some three thousand years ago. As a result, this area became the most prosperous region in ancient China. People living in this area built this temple compound to commemorate Shu Yu who laid the foundation for prosperity for generations to come. Although the written record of this memorial temple (not a Buddhist temple) can be traced back to the 5th century。 The main hall Sheng Mu Hall (Holy Mother Hall) and the bridge in front of it were rebuilt in 11th century during Song Dynasty. Other buildings were built or rebuilt in later period. Therefore, the mix of styles recalls the evolution of aesthetics in Chinese architecture.
The premises were beautifully laid out. There are cannels, springs, bridges, tall cedar trees, and the well preserved wooden halls. The waters and the trees, in particular, soften the solemn atmosphere, and make it feel approachable and humane. It is a very enjoyable place to stroll around.
The following description of the compound reverses the order of what a visitor may proceed from the entrance. We start from the main hall and work our way down to the Shui Jing Hall near the entrance.
歷史
山西太原附近的晉祠 （圖0）是紀念周武王的兒子唐叔虞的。他被封在當時稱為唐的山西，他利用晉水，大興水利，造就這地區成為富庶之鄉。人們就造了晉祠來紀念他。這祠始建年代雖然不可考， 但是5世紀的水經註已經有晉祠的描述。 現在祠園中最早的建築物是11世紀宋代造的。其他的建築有遼金和明代造的。
整個祠園的佈置非常美觀。 祠殿間配合泉，渠，橋，加上蒼然的古樹，肅穆中夾著秀麗，令人徘徊留連。
我們的描述將從本殿-聖母殿開始，反其道地往入口走，欣賞中軸臨近的建築和庭園。


The Sheng Mu( Holy Mother) Hall
Since there was no clear historical record, the identity of “holy mother” that this main hall was to honor is not clear. The general consensus is that it honors the mother of Shu Yu, or wife of Emperor Zhou Wu Wang. Her name was Yi-Jiang. She was said to be one of the ten most capable people who helped her husband conquered the surrounding warlords, and established the empire.
The present hall (Figure 1) was built in 11th century during Song Dynasty. This beautiful 62 feet high hall has royally 7 bays. The roof has double layers giving it a much more substantial look than the Tang era single layer roof as seen previously in Fo Guang Temple. A better understanding of the structural requirements reduced the size of the corbel brackets, relative to those of Tang buildings. The columns and the building have a more slender and tall look. The most remarkable feature of this building is that there is no column inside the hall, giving the interior an expansive feel. This was achieved by a complex wooden truss system that supports the heavy roof, as can be partially seen in Figure 2. The exterior columns were originally bare without these dragons. The beautifully carved dragons as seen in the pictures were added in Ming or Qing dynasty. They are not overly decorative as many of the stone carved columns of late Qing dynasty are. Aesthetically, they integrate with the rest of the structure well.

Foot Note: Zhou Wu Wang was the second emperor of Zhou Dynasty (11th Century BC to 3rd Century BC). He and his brother Zhou Gong defined the social order, and the corresponding rituals that had been followed by the succeeding Chinese dynasties for 3000 years. They are the most influential figures in the history.

聖母殿
因為沒有用文字記載下來， 聖母到底是誰，成了個謎。 一般說法是紀念叔虞的母親， 也就是周武王的皇后邑姜。 據說她是輔佐武王平定天下的10個主要人物之一。
這個62尺高的殿堂（圖1）也是用皇家7間規格。重檐歇山式的屋頂增加了厚重的感覺。這個時期，營造方法進步了。 斗拱和柱高的比例減小。整個建築覺得比唐朝的高挑。同時內部沒有一根柱子，沉重的屋頂完全由兩排外柱來承擔。所用的繁複的樑架可以在圖二中看得出來。
原來的柱子沒有盤龍。現在柱子上的木雕盤龍應該是明朝時加上去的。它們造型典雅生動，和整個柱子和殿堂的風格配合得很好。不像晚清的石雕龍柱，顯得過份的華麗。

Fo-Guang Si 佛光寺（3）- Manjusri Hall 文殊殿 and Garan Hall 珈藍殿

Before we go further, one thing which was not made clear in the previous blogs, is that all these Chinese wood buildings did not use a single nail. All joints were built with notches that fit together. It is important to keep this in mind when we look at these magnificent 1000 year old buildings.

Manjusri Hall (Figure 1) houses the leading disciple of Shakyamuni Buddha. He was said to be the wisest among all disciples, and is widely worshipped in China. This hall was built in 1137 during Jin era (parallel to South Song Dynasty). The structural design had advanced truss system (Figure 2) reducing the number of interior column by 12. Notice the increased depth of truss-like beam on the right hand side of the picture. That enabled the large interior span. The interior space is even more impressive. The corbel bracket (Figure 3) evolved to include 45 degree fan-out design. They are more decorative than the austere elegance of Tang bracket. The clay figures inside (Figure 4) were painted with more golden and reddish colors. They give a more harmonious feeling as opposed to Tang color scheme of contrasting primary colors.

Garan Hall (Figure 5) was built in late Ming around 1630 and was rebuilt partially again during Kang-Xi period (1700) in early Qing . It is the smallest hall among three major halls. The bracket system (Figure 6) and the painting around them had already shown the decorative style of Ming-Qing buildings. This particular hall still maintains the simple yet dignifying elegance, in keeping with the rest of the buildings in the compound. Some late Qing buildings and present day reinforced concrete imitations are vulgar and decadent.

文殊殿 （圖1） 供奉文殊菩薩。 文殊是釋迦佛的大弟子， 也是最有智慧的弟子， 在中國被廣泛地供奉。 這個殿是金朝（1137年） 建的。 當時的木結構已經進步到使用桁架（圖2）， 叫做“減柱造”。注意到圖的右邊 橫梁桁架整體的厚度。 這就是為何可以“減柱”的原因。 圖3 的斗拱已經從唐朝簡潔的設計，演化到使用比較有裝飾性的45度設計。裡面的佛像（圖4）使用比較調和的金和暗紅色， 已不像唐佛像的鮮明了。

珈藍殿（圖5）是在明末1630時造的，康熙時（1700）重修。 這是3大殿中較小的一個。 看看斗拱和周遭的彩畫，已經看到清代非常裝飾性的作風了。 不過這殿仍然保持全寺莊靜高雅的風格。 不像晚清的華麗風格。 看到有一些現在用鋼筋混凝土的仿造“木”建築， 真有慘不忍睹的感覺。