Ｍｏｒｅ ｏｎ ｔｈｅ Ａｒｔ ｏｆ Ｂｒｉｃｋｓ ａｎｄ Ｔｉｌｅｓ

Ｂｙ　ＨＵＯ　ＪＩＡＮＹＩＮＧ

THOUGH bricks and tiles are ordinary building materials judged by todays standards, centuries ago commoners mostly built their houses with sun-dried adobes and thatch. Back then, bricks and tiles implied wealth and dignity, in much the same way as marble, steel and glass do today. This was particularly true of bricks and tiles featuring ornamental designs for imperial use. The most representative of these aristocratic building blocks were the bricks and tiles of the Qin and Han dynasties. These were later followed by other ornamental brick carving techniques.

Qin-Han Bricks and Tiles

Kilning bricks and tiles as building materials started in the Zhou Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago. After Emperor Qinshihuang united China and put an end to the chaos of the warring states in 221 B.C., he led the country into a period of economic and cultural development, and a massive construction program. No less than 300 imperial palaces, both large and small, were built around the country, not to mention the 5,000-km Great Wall that stretched from Gansus Lintao in the west, to the coast of Liaoning Province in the east. After the Han Dynasty succeeded the Qin in 206 B.C., it continued the economic, social and technological progress at an even faster pace. As a result, the scale of kilning and firing technology during these two dynasties surpassed any previous period.

The Qin imperial court built its main projects, such as palaces and mausoleums, using bricks and tiles made of submerged sediment clay. Such bricks were not only solid and durable, but also heavy, so they were also known as “lead bricks.”

In the early Han Dynasty, Prime Minister Xiao He was in charge of capital construction in Changan. As a townsman and friend of Emperor Liu Bang, Xiao followed him from the beginning of Lius revolt against Qinshihuang and was his most trusted aide during the fight against the Qin and the establishment of the Han Dynasty. Xiao knew what kind of imperial palace the emperor wanted, and spared no manpower or money in building the Weiyang Palace in order to satisfy Lius vanity. The bricks and tiles were made of hydro-sifted clay whose fine texture was mixed with metallic elements. Such bricks and tiles were compact and solid and produced a clear ringing sound when tapped.

The newly constructed Weiyang Palace was so magnificent and sumptuous that even the emperor was overwhelmed. He asked Xiao He why he built a palace of such grandeur when the war had not yet been completed and the country not entirely pacified. Xiao answered, “When peace has not come, a plain imperial palace will do. Now that all the Four Seas have come under Your Majesty, how can your power and prestige be embodied without a grandiose imperial palace? And such a palace also spares later generations the trouble of improving it, thus saving future civilian resources.” Upon hearing this, Liu Bang commented, “Its not until this moment that I know how worthy an emperor can be.”

During the Qin and Han dynasties, imperial bricks and tiles were usually carved with exquisite patterns or characters, and some featured details of the names of products and their makers, as well as the year of production. They were both art works and building materials, and were regarded as precious items even at the time they were made. Ordinary people could not use them or even keep them as collectibles.

The national unity and prosperity that characterized the five centuries of the Qin and Han dynasties fostered the first glorious period of ancient Chinese architecture, evidenced by unearthed Qin-Han bricks and tiles that grace todays art and history museums after being buried for thousands of years.

Brick and Tile Inkstones

As one of the “Four Treasures of the Study,” inkstones have been valued collectibles since ancient times, not only among ordinary people, but also imperial families. The Qing court had a particularly large collection of inkstones that included items from previous dynasties and contemporary masterworks. They were displayed in the Eastern Warm Chamber of the Palace of Heavenly Purity (Qianqinggong).

In 1768, the 43rd year of Emperor Qianlongs reign, the monarch ordered court officials to catalogue the imperial inkstone collection. The result was 24 volumes recording 241 inkstones dating from the Han to Qing dynasties. The first six volumes are devoted to 55 pottery items, the most precious being those made of Weiyang Palace tiles and Tongque Terrace tiles.

Ancient Chinese used various materials to make inkstones, though stone and pottery were common. As early as the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Qin-Han bricks and tiles were used in high-quality inkstones, as evidenced in these lines from Tang Dynasty poet Wu Rong in his Ode to Ancient Tile Inkstones: “Nothing is useless for anything, and broken tiles can become inkstones.”

During the Tang and Song (960-1279) dynasties, people rubbed ancient bricks and tiles to make inkstones. The practice was once again in vogue during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), when debris from ancient palaces of the Qin, Han and Wei-Jin periods became a valuable source material. Bricks and tiles produced for the Han Dynastys Tongque Terrace were made of finely processed clay mixed with walnut oil and elements such as cinnabar, lead and tin. Inkstones made from them have a fine texture that is as solid and lustrous as marble, and inksticks grind well on them. Those made from ancient tile ends engraved with characters were considered very precious.

Such inkstones are good practical items and pleasant on the eyes. Many ancient scholars considered owning one a great honor. Celebrated Northern Song calligrapher Huang Tingjian (1045-1105) once inscribed an epitaph for Wang Wenshu, whose son sent him a Tongque tile in gratitude. Huang made the invaluable gift into an inkstone and wrote an inscription for it. Emperor Qianlong also expressed his appreciation of ancient brick and tile inkstones, and many in the Qing imperial collection bear his inscriptions.

Underground Brick

Carvings

Beginning in the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.) people started to produce engraved bricks, and the craft reached its zenith during the Qin and Han dynasties. Patterns were not carved directly – they were mostly manufactured by applying molds on adobes before firing. These engraved bricks are considered a prototype of true brick carving.

Based on archaeological discoveries, historians agree that brick carving in the true sense started in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). Representative artifacts include a suite of brick carvings now in the collection of the National Museum of China, unearthed from a Song tomb found in Henans Yanshi. In one carving, a young woman pokes charcoal in a fire as tea is brewed over it. In another, a woman prepares fish on a table, with a basin of clear water lying by her side on the floor and a steaming pot on the stove across the table. More women are featured in a third carving, washing and cooking. These masterfully executed carvings vividly reflect culinary customs of the Song Dynasty.

Bricks from the same period found in a tomb in Shandongs Jinan demonstrate a different style – a combination of relief carving and painting. For example, a convex desk and two chairs are carved out of the brick, while a vase of flowers and a pot are painted on the bricks sunken side, creating the impression the items are standing on the table. The interior wall of the tomb is embellished with brick carvings modeled on a wooden structure. The simulated bracket system on the carved gateway still shows scaled vermilion paint typical of ancient wooden architecture. The tomb chamber is round and three meters in diameter. The circular wall is carved with furniture and articles of daily use. Skeletons of a man and a woman and a few bronze coins were unearthed from the tomb, which is believed to have belonged to a well-off couple. The tomb is valuable for the study of burial customs, architecture and brick carving during the Song Dynasty.

In the Northern Song Dynasty brick carvings mainly decorated tomb chambers, and sites unearthed in Henan, Shanxi, Gansu and other places all feature brick carvings embellishing their inner chamber walls. The number and quality of the carvings indicates the social status of the tomb owners, as they usually attempted to reflect the lives of the deceased.

Tombs from the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234, established in northern China by the Jurchens, ancestors of the Manchus) feature more sophisticated brick carvings. One discovered in Shanxis Houma is particularly outstanding, as it is full of fantastic brick carvings that simulate wooden roof brackets, sunken ceilings, gateways, screen partitions, tables, chairs, flowers, poultry, human figures, and scenes of entertainment. The actors and actresses on the stage are vividly portrayed in relief.

Ornamental Home

Architecture

Tomb brick carvings declined during the Yuan Dynasty, but were gradually introduced into other fields of architecture, including residential buildings and gardens. By the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), brick carving was widely used to provide ornamentation for homes.

Wood, brick and stone carvings are characteristic ornamental features of ancient Chinese houses. They borrow from one another in artistic technique and design. Brick carving is mainly applied to exterior elements of courtyard houses, such as screen walls, gate towers, roofs and windows. By the Qing Dynasty, techniques had developed to a supreme level, both in craftsmanship and design, creating the golden era of Chinese brick carving. Many masterpieces from the period can still be seen today in large compound homes in Anhui, Shanxi, Beijing and some other places, built by rich officials and merchants of the Qing Dynasty.

Traditional patterns of brick carving almost unanimously convey the message of good will and blessing. For example, five bats (a homophone of “happiness” in Chinese) surrounding a variation of the Chinese character “shou” (longevity) mean both happiness and longevity; a composition of pines and cranes symbolizes longevity; and a lion (or lions) playing with an embroidered ball is meant to guard a house against evil spirits. Lions also indicate a smooth career in officialdom, because in ancient Chinese the word was used interchangeably with the character meaning “tutor,” which often appeared in the titles of high-ranking officials.

Apart from such patterns, characters were also often used to embellish screen walls inside, and sometimes also in front of, gateways to courtyard homes, to “lock in” family wealth and maintain privacy, while also fending off evil spirits. One of the most commonly used characters was longevity – “shou.” A brick screen wall in the Qiao Family Mansion in Shanxis Qixian County is carved with 100 seal-script variations of this character. Other common motifs include noble plants like plums, orchids, bamboo and chrysanthemums; vases and peonies that stand for wealth and peace; and the mythical “kylin” animal with boys, expressing hope for a flourishing family line.

A wide range of other motifs – human figures, landscapes, animals, birds, flowers, fairytales, theatrical stories and geometric patterns – can also be found in brick carvings decorating traditional Chinese homes.