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Plate 21.2 Zixiaodian 紫霄殿 (1412), the main
hall of Zixiaogong 紫霄宮, Mount Wudang
武當山, Hubei province

Plate 21.3 Longguodian 隆國殿 (1427), the
main hall of Qutansi 瞿曇寺, a Tibetan
Buddhist monastery in Ledu 樂都, Qinghai
province

Zixiaogong 紫霄宮 (1412), one of the largest Daoist temples same basic principles governed their construction. These
on Mount Wudang 武當山 in Hubei province (see also principles reflect a shift away from the ones outlined in the
Chapters 14 and 21) ; and Longguodian 隆國殿 (Hall of Song dynasty government construction manual Yingzao fashi
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Enriching the State) (1427) (Pl. 21.3) the main hall of 營造法式 (Treatise on Architectural Methods) of 1103 and
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Qutansi 瞿曇寺 (Gautama Monastery), a Tibetan Buddhist towards the widely different set of rules put forth in the Qing
monastery in Ledu 樂都, Qinghai province (see also (1644–1911) court’s building manual, Gongcheng zuofa 工程做
discussion by Karl Debreczeny in Chapter 17 of this 法 (Imperial Specifications for State Buildings) (c. 1734).
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volume). Nonetheless, the official Ming architectural style should not
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Ling’endian, Zixiaodian and Longguodian were all be understood merely as a passive transitional style between
constructed within 15 years of each other under the direction the Song and the Qing. Rather, the many early Ming
of officials dispatched from the imperial capital. architectural developments reveal a deliberate attempt to
Typologically, they are analogous in that they are all the simplify and standardise the construction process, a possible
main halls of their respective architectural complexes. outcome of the extraordinary task of building two Ming
Considering these similarities, one might expect the halls to capitals within just a few decades of each other. To
look more alike than they actually do. Indeed, the initial demonstrate this point, this chapter focuses on three specific
visual impacts of these buildings differ quite significantly. elements: the module system, the bracket-set types and the
Yet a close examination of these buildings’ structures reveals relationship between the bracket-sets and the bays in these
that they actually share an underlying logic because the three halls.

190 | Ming China: Courts and Contacts 1400–1450