Chinese dragon
Chiwen
(
Chinese
:
蚩吻
;
pinyin
:
ch?w?n
;
Wade?Giles
:
ch'ih-wen
;
lit.
'hornless-dragon mouth') is an 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
[
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]
The name for this dragon is
ch?w?n
(
蚩吻
), which
compounds
ch?
(
蚩
; '
hornless dragon
', 'young dragon') and
w?n
(
吻
; '[', 'animal's]', 'mouth').
Ch?sh?u
(
?首
) and
Ch?tou
(
?頭
), both literally meaning "hornless-dragon head".
Chiwen
is alternatively written
?吻
; 'owl mouth', using the homophonous
character
ch?
(
?
; 'owl/bird of prey'). The
ch?w?i
(
?尾
; 'owl tail') and
ch?meng
(
??
; 'owl roof-ridge') are additional birdlike roof decorations.
History
[
edit
]
Chiwei
on Gaoyi Que, Han dynasty.
Northern Qi
tomb mural showing building with
chiwei
roof ornamentation.
The origin of the roof decoration of
chiwen
can be traced to the roof decoration alternatively named as
chiwei
(?尾), 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
[
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]
The
chiwen
is listed second or third among the
Long sh?ng ji?z?
(
龍生九子
; 'dragon gives birth to nine young'),
Nine Dragons
(
九龍
;
ji?long
), 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 (
Chinese
:
九龍
;
Jyutping
:
gau2 lung4
;
Cantonese Yale
:
Gauluhng
), as well as numerous lakes, rivers and hamlets in
mainland China
.
According to the
Ming Dynasty
Wuzazu
(
五雜俎
) "The
ch'i-wen
, which like swallowing, are placed on both ends of the ridgepoles of roofs (to swallow all evil influences)."
[1]
Welch describes
chiwen
as "the dragon who likes 'to swallow things'".
[2]
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
(
蘇氏演義
) by Su E (
蘇?
) 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.
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
.
Shibi
?尾
"ornamental roof-ridge tile" is more commonly used than
chifun
蚩吻
or
shifun
?吻
. In
Japanese mythology
, the
Shachihoko
?
(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
?
is a
kokuji
"Chinese character invented in Japan" that can also be read
shachi
for "
orca
".
Gallery
[
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]
See also
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Chiwen
.
References
[
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]
- ^
Liu Xujie (July 2003).
中?古代建筑史(第1卷)
(1st ed.). Beijing: China Building Industry Press. pp. 535?539.
ISBN
978-7112090709
.
- ^
Fu Xinian (2003).
中?古代建筑史(第2卷)
(1st ed.). Beijing: China Building Industry Press. pp. 279?280, 637?640.
ISBN
9787112031238
.
- ^
Guo Daiheng (2003).
中?古代建筑史(第3卷)
(1st ed.). Beijing: China Building Industry Press. pp. 813?815.
ISBN
9787112040940
.
External links
[
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]