Vistors to an age-old Chinese alcazar anteroom generally accept their absorption fatigued to the centre of the ceiling. The zaojing or caisson beam is a characteristic affection of classical Chinese architecture, if not different to it.It is usually in the anatomy of a alveolate case belted in a square, a polygon or a circle, busy with elaborately carved or corrective desigh. This architectural adornment dates a continued way aback for it has been begin in tombs of the Han Dynasty 2,000 year ago.
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One of the alotof arresting zaojing is that of Taihedian (Hall of Supreme Harmony) in the old alcazar of Beijing. Carved and complete with able skills, its splendour has remained undiminished by time. The caisson consists of three locations of altered depths. The axial or centermost allotment is the annular ¡°well (jing)¡±, and the exoteric part, advancing down to the aforementioned akin as the blow of the ceiling, is a square. The accomplished architecture symbolizes the age-old Chinese acceptance that ¡°Heaven is aloft and the Earth below¡± and that ¡°Heaven is annular and the Earth square.¡± Dominating the centre of the caisson is a coiled dragon analytic down into the anteroom and captivation abeyant in its aperture a huge silver-white pearl. It vies for allure with the gilded dragons on the columns, giving the head anteroom a colourful yet austere dignity not to be begin elsewhere.
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The Chinese name for the caisson ceiling, zaojing, agency ¡°aquatic plants¡± (zao) and ¡°well¡± (jing), both accepting to do with water. It was so called because there was connected anguish about blaze which ability abort the alcazar buildings. With baptize from the zaojing, so the ancients believed, the blackmail of blaze would be averted.
