PHILOSOPHICAL AND RELIGIOUS TEACHINGS OF CHINA AS THE BASIS OF ART AND ARCHITECTURE

Abstract

The social life of China, its culture and art were determined by the local religion of Taoism, and the main postulates were laid out in the treatise "Daodejing" ("The Book of Tao and De", 6th century AD). Accordingly, a person with the whole way of life became a participant in the cycle of phenomena in nature, and therefore felt that he was not the main creation of God, as it was in Christianity, but only one of the components of the universe.
 Unlike Christianity, the phenomenon of Buddhism consists in the absence of a "logos" – the deity at the heart of the religion, since initially the image of the Buddha was interpreted as the image of a person who has achieved enlightenment. In Buddhism, there was no thesis about the value of human existence, which was interpreted as one-moment and changeable.
 Now let's trace how the specific philosophical and religious teachings of China influenced art and architecture.
 This is clearly visible both in secular buildings and in the temples of the three religions. The phenomenon of the transformation of the borrowed religion of Buddhism on local soil can be illustrated by the example of the unique cave temple complex of Dunhuang, the creation of which lasted over a thousand years, from the 4th to the 14th century. On the example of the wall paintings of sanctuaries, it is possible to trace how the borrowed subjects and techniques were gradually diversified and improved under the influence of local painting techniques. Moreover, scenes of secular life, portraits of benefactors, as well as a pantheon of Taoist deities were gradually added to the purely Buddhist subjects (fetian – the Chinese version of the heavenly apsaras, lords of Fuxi and NЯwa, etc.).
 The principles of feng shui and established hierarchy were also maintained in secular architecture and landscape design. So, all the main facades were oriented to the south, and the screens acted as barriers for evil spirits (in the gardens, such a function was performed by "natural screens" – "green screens", when one natural picture covered the other and it was impossible to view the entire garden at the same time. Chinese garden became the personification of the harmony of the world, therefore each landscape picture was carefully thought out. It was believed that gazebos – small pavilions in the garden became a place where a person encountered the laws of perfect harmony of nature. 
 An analysis of the relationship between traditional Chinese architecture and art and traditional philosophical and religious teachings proves that architecture and art were subject to the principles of feng shui and local "religious syncretism".