Bulletin of Catholic University of Peking

CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF PEKING 37

persists. The gates and towers of city walls, too, though consisting of several

storeys, have no long verticals accent-—

uating their height which, on the contrary, is depressed in effect by.the stratifying horizontals of the secondary roofs, balconies, and mezzanines. |

It is to this consistent cultivation and stressing of the horizontal line and proportion that Chinese architecture owes its power of producing in the soul a sense of restfulness and peace. And here, too, it differs radically from the Gothic, in which the verticals are indubitably dominant. So deeply-rooted in the Chinese character is this penchant for the horizontal motive that it reveals itself even in their written numerals. The Roman numerals are based on the fingers held vertically; whereas the Chinese numerals are based on the fingers held horizontally.

From this it follows that no form of Western architecture does more violence to that mute language of the soul of China, which we call Chinese archi-

tecture, than its most complete antithesis, the Gothic architecture of Northern Europe. :

The third and final point of contrast with Western architecture is found in the Chinese roof. The Western tendency is to lessen the importance of this part, or to hide it altogether by means of cornices and parapets. The Chinese, on the contrary, make it the crowning feature of their buildings, and find in its surfaces an outlet and medium for the free play of their artistic fantasy.

They seem to insist upon the idea that it is the roof, after all, which shelters. And to emphasize, as it were, this conception, they double and treble the roof by the interposition of mezzanines. But inasmuch as the material of the supporting columns is wood instead of stone, they feel that the rigid and massive expanse of the tiled roof should be in some way mitigated so as to give buoyancy and flexibility to its lines. To obtain this effect, they

Scochow

Shansi