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Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Landscape esthetic characteristics

2.3. Humanistic connotations achieving immortality” (Jiang, 2003). The Daoist survey

Esthetic activity is an emotional and subjective experience the terrain and use geomantic omen or hemerology
deeply ingrained in human life. It serves as a reflection of (Kanyu, 堪舆术) to determine the optimal site for
an individual’s spiritual essence. The same is true of the constructing Daoist buildings (Wang, 2013). Figure 3
illustrates the site selection and layout of the Qingxu
esthetic experience of Mount Jingfu. The esthetic subject Temple. It features the historic map of Mount Jingfu from
observes the landscape’s surrounding environment, the the Qing dynasty and the traditional Chinese “geomantic
spatial structure, and the architectural style of Qingxu omen (Fengshui, 风水)” map, depicting the reasons behind
Temple. Then, it interprets the spirit of the social milieu, the site selection based on the geomantic omen principles.
which, in turn, evokes the subject’s emotional experience
and pleasure, allowing one to engage with the world of Qingxu Temple nestles in a basin in the northeast of Mount
the spirit and meaning. One of the authors of the present Jingfu with mountains on the east, south, and west,
respectively, representing Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird,
study, Tang Xiaoxiang, believes that “people’s esthetic and White Tiger, and also with water on the south
experience of architecture is always based on such representing Black Tortoise which is beneficial in gathering
sequences of time and space, as well as emotional process. wind and qi (气) and nurturing spirits. In addition, its
The emotional process starts with the visual impact and spatial layout also ingeniously incorporates the
continues with the emotional pleasure generated from mountainous terrain and effectively embodies the esthetic
admiring the architectural form. Furthermore, the central culture of Daoist geomantic omen through the “journey to
focus of the sequences and process is the recognition heaven.” Mount Jingfu symbolizes heaven, its foot
and attention to the oriented value and cultural spirit represents earth, and the first archway is “Changhe (阊阖),”
conveyed by the appearance, layout, spatial combination, the boundary between heaven and earth. Mount Jingfu has
and environmental landscape of the architecture.” The been further divided into three tiers by the setting of rest
appreciation and comprehension of the spiritual value of platforms, namely, the lower tier “Fantong (樊桐),” the middle
Mount Jingfu’s landscape also follow this temporal and tier “Xuanpu (玄圃),” and the upper tier “Tianting (天庭)”
spatial sequence, accompanied by an emotional journey (Li, 2014). Therefore, in Daoist esthetic culture, the process of
(Wu & Jin, 2021), which is also the process of generating ascending to heaven involves entering through the southern
its images beauty. It reveals that the study on cultural gate of the mountain, ascending and passing the three tiers
connotation should emphasize esthetic ideals, emotions, through Zhushen Path, and finally arriving at Qingxu
and psychology. Temple.

3. Results 3.1.2. Skillful combination of space borrowed from
3.1. Regional and technical characteristics reasons
The landscape’s regional and technical characteristics Mount Jingfu’s landscape expresses the magnificent
stem from its consistent and stable natural geography and mysterious esthetic ideals of Daoism by skillfully
and topography, which have significantly influenced the intertwining architecture, courtyards, and gardens in an
creation and growth of Daoist esthetic culture. interdependent manner (Li, 2014). The main axis connects
different elements such as palaces, courtyards, pavilions,
3.1.1. Site selection and layout based on local and the surrounding landscape at Qingxu Temple, creating
conditions a sequence of spaces with varied sizes. Within the temple,
The location and layout have been carefully chosen to the sizes of these spaces are continuously changing, and the
blend the mountainous features with Daoist geomantic elements are skillfully placed to alternate between being
omen esthetic culture. The landscape is nestled against the visible and concealed, which is well-placed.
mountain and overlooks the river, creating a harmonious Figure 4 shows the main topographical sequence of
balance of yin and yang, a feature of a well-selected location. Mount Jingfu’s landscape on an adapted Google Map. As
Regarding the layout, the landscape is encircled by “Azure one approaches the landscape’s main axis, the spatial
Dragon on the left, White Tiger on the right, Vermilion sequence begins with an archway and leads to a transition
Bird in the front, and Black Tortoise at the back” (Chen, in the form of pavement. The space gradually narrows
2011). It was pointed out that “yearning for returning to down before finally arriving at the mountain gate. The
the harmonious unity of heaven and earth, The Daoist entrance plaza and Fangsheng Pond (a pond to liberate
searched for caves or used geomantic omen to discover captive animals) create an open space that cleanses the
“caverns,” and setup palaces and temples to cultivate mind and soul of the people from the mundane world,
immortals with a wish to return to the original state, thus acting as a transitional zone for immersing oneself in the

Volume 5 Issue 2 (2023) 4 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.407