College of Environmental Design
Department of Architecture, UC Berkeley
Architecture Slide Library
Architecture 170 - Fall 1996 - Dell Upton - October 8
I. Connections.
II. Persia.
The Persians, organized under the leadership of Cyrus (r. 559-29 bce), founder of the Achaemenid dynasty as cultural synthesizers. Persepolis, v. Shiraz, Iran, 518-460õbce for Darius I, Xerxes, Artaxerxes. A ritual center that consciously incorporates the images and architectural forms of conquered peoples and honors Zoroastrian religion, particularly the god Ahuramazda. Note: Gate of All Countries, apadana/audience hall, Hall of One Hundred Columns, Tripylon Gate, carvings of processions of subject peoples, columns that combine classical-type elements with addorsed (back-to-back) animals.
III. Buddhist India.
A. Vedic Traditions. Vedic religion: Vedic (imported Indo-Aryan) and native Dravidian (ÏAgamicÓ) ideas, formulated in religious writings, beginning ca. 1000 bce, that are the foundations of several Indian religions. Prince Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 bce): the Buddha.
B. Early Buddhist Monuments. Placemaking as a religiopolitical strategy. Worship of pillars and their association with Buddhism. The Mauryan dynasty: Attempts of emperor Ashoka (272-232 bce), whose capital was at Pataliputra [Patna], to solidify his regime by allying it with Buddhism. The lats or ÏPillars of Ashoka,Ó mid 3c bce. Monolithic columns with animal capitals, set up at crossroads and at sites associated with Buddhism. Typically without visible bases, and surrounded by vedikas/fenced enclosures and paved paths (pradaksinapatha) for circumambulation. Axis mundi symbolism. Asoka has many preexisting columns, as well as natural stones, covered with Buddhist and political exhortations, and creates some himself. Exs. at Lauriya Nandangarh, Topra, and Sarnath, India.
The stupa: Great Stupa at Sanchi, India, begun mid 3c bce, enlarged ca. 150 bce and mid-1c bce. Cosmological symbolism of sky dome, world mountain, axis mundi, sunÌs path, cosmic man. Note parts: anda/dome, chattras/umbrellas, yasti/mast, harmika/top railing, toranas/gates, vedikas; yastis/wood sprites.
The chaitya hall: religious meeting hall containing stupa. Carved out of rock, 1c bce to 4-5c ce. Cosmological symbolism of house. Chaitya Hall at Karle, India, ca. 100-125 ce. Note: front columns, wooden and stone facade, elephant-capital columns, nave, apse, aisles, roof structure, stupa.
C. Connections II: Looking Back toward the West. The tradition of rock-cut architecture (e.g., tombs of the Achaemenids, Naqsh-i-Rustam, Iran) transformed by Buddhism: the 7c Colossal Buddhas at Bamiyan, Afghanistan, with associated rock-cut santuaries.
IV. Connections III: North. Rock-cut Buddhist sanctuaries at Yungang, Shanxi province, China, 460-94 ce, for the Wei rulers, who move their capital to Luoyang, Henan province, 490 ce, and undertake rock-cut sanctuaries at Longmen, Henan Province, 490 ce-. The transformation of Buddhist religious forms: the pagoda as a version of the stupa combined with the Chinese lou/watchtower. Dayenta/Great Wild Goose Pagoda, Zuensi monastery, vic. ChangÌan/Xian, China, rebuilt 701-4 ce. The pagoda in Japan: Pagodas at Yakushiji, Nara, 8c and Kifukuji, Nara, 1426. Note: mokushi/middle roofs, sorin/finial with fukubachi/dome, ukebana/lotus, kurin/nine rings, filigree, sphere, and hoju/world jewel.