1000 Monuments of Genius. Christopher E.M. Pearson

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      89. Ise shrine, Uji-Yamada, early 1st century CE with later periodic rebuildings (Japan)

      Part of a larger complex with housing for pilgrims and priests, the Ise shrine is a major focus of Shinto worship in Japan. The inner shrine, dedicated to the sun goddess, is situated some kilometres from the outer shrine, which is dedicated to the goddess of agriculture and the earth. Built on a domestic scale, the inner shrine is regularly duplicated every 20 years on an immediately adjacent site in order to maintain it in a state of perfect preservation and cleanliness; the older building is then demolished. The central post of each reincarnation, however, is always retained in situ to provide a sense of continuity. The present building manifests forms and building techniques dating from the 7th century and earlier, thus preserving many archaic forms of timber construction that would otherwise have disappeared, notably the crossed wooden members (chigi) of the gable ends and the stubby wooden billets (katsuogi) ranged along the roof ridge. Its form in fact seems to derive from early designs for raised granaries. Reflecting Shinto views on ritual purity, visitors are not allowed near the innermost precinct, where priests prepare a daily offering of food for the deity.

      90. Mỹ Sơn, Quãng Nam province, 4th-13th century (Vietnam)

      91. Yungang caves, Datong, late 5th century (China)

      92. Kailasa Temple, Ellora, Maharashtra, 750 (India)

      93. Horyu-ji temple complex, Nara Prefecture, 7th century (Japan)

      Horyu-ji is the oldest surviving Buddhist temple in Japan, and one of the oldest extant wooden buildings in the world. This monastic complex dates from near the time of the introduction of Buddhism into Japan in the 6th century. It was built by Shotoku Taishi, an early convert to the new religion. All the buildings are contained within an enclosed courtyard, though the colonnaded outer walls were added some time later. The plan, while essentially regular, evidences a subtle asymmetry in the placement and size of the buildings, giving a living, dynamic quality to the composition. The trabeated mode of building, upward curve of the roof eaves and complex system of bracketing are all essentially Chinese in origin. Typical of many later Buddhist temples in Japan, Horyu-ji features a multi-tiered pagoda housing symbolic relics of the Buddha, a monumental gateway, a lecture hall (kodo) and an image hall (kondo). A single wooden post serves as the ‘heart’ of the pagoda, rising from the floor to the uppermost finial, while its elegantly flared eaves are supported on ‘cloud-pattern’ bracketing.

      94. Great Wild Goose Pagoda, Ci’en Temple, Xi’an, Shanxi Province, 652 with later rebuildings (China)

      The Chinese pagoda typology visibly derives from that of the Indian stupa, and it remains one of the chief vehicles of Buddhist ritual throughout the Far East. One of the most ancient of such structures surviving in China, the Great Wild Goose Pagoda was erected during the Tang Dynasty as part of a monastery. It originally had five stories and was about 54 metres tall. This early version, built of rammed earth with a stone facing, collapsed within a few decades, but was rebuilt in 704. The second version, in brick, was damaged by a huge earthquake in 1556, which removed three of its ten stories, leaving it with the current seven. Now 64 metres tall, the pagoda was completely renovated in the Ming Dynasty and again in 1964. The exterior is simple and blocky in appearance, the sheer brick façades relieved only by decorative banding between levels and an articulation of shallow pilasters and small arched openings. The pagoda contains sutras and statuettes of the Buddha brought to China from India. It is related to the Small Wild Goose Pagoda, also in Xi’an.

      95. Pancha Ratha (The Five Ratha), Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu, c. mid-7th century (India)

      96. Cave-temples at Longmen, Luoyang City, Henan Province, 672–675 (China)

      97. Elephanta Island, also known as Gharapuri Island, Mumbai harbour, Maharashtra, 9th century and later (India)

      98. Daibutsuden (Great Buddha Hall), Todai-ji, Nara, 738 with later rebuildings (Japan)

      99. Great Kyz Kala, Merv, 651 (Turkmenistan)

      100. Jotab-dong Pagoda, Gyenongsangbuk-do, 750 (South Korea)

      101. Pagoda of Fogong Temple, Yingxian, Shanxi Province, 1056 (China)

      102. Somapura Mahavihara, also known as Paharpur, Naogaon, c. 800 and later (Bangladesh)

      103. Temple complex at Bagan, Bagan, 10th-13th century (Myanmar)

      104. Borobudur, Java, c. 800–850 (Indonesia)

      Illustrative of the spread of Buddhism from India to Southeast Asia through the initiative of traveling merchants, the great complex at Borobodur is said to be the largest Buddhist temple in the world. With its roughly square base, the shrine’s plan is symmetrical and oriented to the cardinal directions. There are access stairs at the centre of each side. The construction is of dark volcanic stone, built over a low natural hill to reach a height of 31.5 metres. In profile, the shrine comprises a series of terraces that symbolically represent the stages of enlightenment of a Buddhist pilgrim who moves from ignorance to illumination (nirvana). Visitors would walk for several kilometres around the perimeters of the first four tiers in succession. Along the way they would encounter a continuous sequence of low-relief stone friezes illustrating many aspects of Buddhist iconography. The three concentric circular tiers that crown the complex feature 72 small stupas in the form of perforated, bell-shaped domes, each containing a statue of the Buddha. The pinnacle is occupied by the Great Stupa shrine. Once in a neglected state, the entire site was thoroughly restored from 1972 under the auspices of UNESCO.

      105. Yunyan Pagoda, also known as Huqiu Tower, Suzhou, СКАЧАТЬ