Mingtang (míngtáng 明堂, Hall of Clarity / Radiance; bright bridal chamber. According to M. Granet, the "calendar house" [1] ) is the central architectural structure in the ritual system of Ancient China , a pavilion for the audience of Wang Zhou . It is repeatedly mentioned in pre-imperial sources, however, a detailed description appears only in the Han era . Mintan is a cosmographic model that locates the van in the center of the universe.
It appears as a square oriented to the cardinal in the manner of a mandala , often as a “magic square” by Luo Shu , whose eight extreme components correspond to eight trigrams . A detailed description of this kind is contained in Cai Yong蔡邕 (132—192, see en: Cai Yong ); the treatise Yes Give Lizzy ( zh: 大 戴 礼记 , presumably 1st century AD) contains the chapter “Mintan”, indicating the size of the mintan, as well as a sequence of numbers identified with Loshu : 294, 753, 618. The same the chapter, however, mentions an alternative interpretation related to the mysterious plant, which grows on a leaf a day for the first half of the month, and then discards one of them. The ratio of this plant to the mintan-building is not clear to the end. The section mentions Khaogun蒿 宮, the “wormwood palace,” which later became the monarch’s camping tent.
In postclassical literature, there are more than twenty different reconstructions of mintan . [2]
Among the intellectuals of the imperial period who considered the importance of Mintan were Dong Zhongshu (c. 179–104 BC, close to Wu-di), Wang Fuji (1619–1692), Kang Yuwei (1858–1927).
Archeology
Three versions of the Han Mintan are known, two of which have been investigated by archaeologists.
The first was built by Wu-di (reign. 141-87 BC) in Fengao, at the foot of Mount Tai , in the fall of 109. (The previous construction project in the capital, initiated by 16-year-old U-di under the influence of Confucian mentors shortly after his accession, was suppressed by the Dowager Empress Dow). [3] The inconvenience of the Mintan U-di location was 800 km from the capital.
The foundation of the building, discovered in 1956 south of the Western Han capital of Chang'an , is attributed to the Mintan, built during the reign of Wang Man in 4-5 years. n e. It was a square building of nine rooms, surrounded by a cyclic moat (according to Tsai Yun, symbolizing the Four Seas surrounding the Celestial Empire, as well as the celestial sphere). The construction of the Mintan was caused by the need for cosmological legitimation for the new regime established by usurping the throne. Mintan Van Man was burned during the capture of the capital in the year 23 .
The order to build the third Mintan was given to Guan Wu-di in 56 . In the building erected south of Luoyang , the ceremony of accepting the Heavenly Mandate of Ming-di in 59 was held . The foundation of this structure was discovered in 1963 and investigated in 1978 , but the excavation report was published only in 2010 . [four]
In 2009-2011 excavations of the remnants of mintan in Luoyang ( zh: 洛阳 明堂 遗址 ), the construction of which began in 688, were carried out in China .
Other values
In later eras, the name Mintan was used to refer to the temple of the ancestors, as well as the central room in the tomb, the style of which imitated the deceased's earthly dwelling.
In the system of Chinese acupuncture and physiognomy, mintan denotes a nose . This value is already mentioned in the early medical treatise Huang di Neijing . However, there Mintan is repeatedly referred to as the reception of Juan-di himself , in which he asks questions to his ministers.
In Chinese astronomy, Mintan is the name of the constellation ( zh: 明堂 (星 官) ), corresponding to the European constellation Leo. See en: Supreme Palace enclosure太微 垣.
The concept of mintan is also used in geomancy .
Notes
- ↑ Granet, Marseille. "Chinese Thought from Confucius to Lao Tzu", trans. V. B. Iordansky. Moscow, Algorithm, 2008: 73.
- ↑ John B. Henderson, “Chinese Cosmographical Thought: The High Intellectual Tradition,” p. 212
- ↑ Lillian Lan-ying Tseng, Picturing Heaven in Early China . Harvard, 2011: 21-6.
- ↑ Lillian Lan-ying Tseng, Picturing Heaven in Early China . Harvard, 2011: 37.