Glazed Tile

The glazed tile, as a high-class building material in ancient China, was used exclusively on palace buildings of the imperial household and the big mansions of the nobles and high officials. The glaze was normally in one of four colors: yellow, green, blue and black. Tiles coated with it not only add splendor to the buildings but, in old times, carried a political significance.

Yellow tiles were reserved for use on the roofs of royal palaces, mausoleums, imperial gardens and temples. This, it is said, was because yellow is the color of the Yellow River, once believed to be the cradle of the Chinese civilization. Probably for the same reason the earliest leader of the alliance of the tribes in prehistoric legend was named Huangdi or the Yellow Emperor, whose descendants all Chinese are supposed to be. In the meantime, the ancients believed that the physical universe was composed of five elements-metal, wood, water, fire and earth, and the yellow color represented earth which lay at the centre of the universe. Yellow, therefore, was taken as the cardinal color of the core and became the royal color to be used exclusively by the rulers.

It can be seen that the colors of the roof tiles indicated the positions of the people who lived in the house. Even in the same part, as for instance the Summer Palace of Beijing, differently colored tiles were used for different houses. The groups of halls and pavilions used by the monarch and his family, visitors will notice, have yellow roofs whereas the quarters for the court officials have green roofs. As for other structures erected for landscaping or for the accommodation of people without a senior rank, they have as a rule black tiles.

Yellow tiles were reserved for use on the roofs of royal palaces, mausoleums, imperial gardens and temples. This, it is said, was because yellow is the color of the Yellow River, once believed to be the cradle of the Chinese civilization. Probably for the same reason the earliest leader of the alliance of the tribes in prehistoric legend was named Huangdi or the Yellow Emperor, whose descendants all Chinese are supposed to be. In the meantime, the ancients believed that the physical universe was composed of five elements-metal, wood, water, fire and earth, and the yellow color represented earth which lay at the centre of the universe. Yellow, therefore, was taken as the cardinal color of the core and became the royal color to be used exclusively by the rulers.

It can be seen that the colors of the roof tiles indicated the positions of the people who lived in the house. Even in the same part, as for instance the Summer Palace of Beijing, differently colored tiles were used for different houses. The groups of halls and pavilions used by the monarch and his family, visitors will notice, have yellow roofs whereas the quarters for the court officials have green roofs. As for other structures erected for landscaping or for the accommodation of people without a senior rank, they have as a rule black tiles.

Another example is the buildings of the Temple of Heaven. They were roofed with blue tiles, for the evident reason that blue is the color of Heaven.

Incidentally, mention should be made of the red enclosure walls that invariably go with the yellow roofs of imperia palaces. Red has always been the color of happiness and festivity in China; ever today red lanterns and red streamers are still dominant features on occasions of public enjoyment. Red walls, however, could only be built for palaces and temples and, in combination with the yellow glazed roofs, they were meant to play up the atmosphere of solemnity and happiness.
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Confucius

Confucius (551-479 B.C.) or Kung Tze is one of the greatest ancient Chinese sages. He is a great thinker, politician, educationist as well as the founder of Confucianism.

Guanyu

Guanyu (160-220 A.D.) was a great general of the Shu Kingdom (221-263A.D.) during the Three Kingdoms Period (220-280A.D.). He was loyal to his sworn brothers, fought brave in the wars, was good at strategies and had a heart of gold. After he was killed by the enemy, he was raised to an emperor by the rulers in the successional dynasties. He has been worshiped as a god since the ancient times, now many temples of Guan Yu still can be found in all over China.