In Chinese architecture, an edifice is judged beautiful not only by its outward form, function, or structure, but even more by its underlying symbology, which is often embodied in a building's name, numerology, decoration, and design prototypes. One may even go so far as to posit that a building's symbology is its mark of authenticity. This thesis examines the Chinese conception of architectural symbology and its connection to the "imperishable word." Knowledge is recorded in writings, and is ordered in libraries. In the Ch'ing dynasty Ssu-k'u ch'uan-shu OOOO, the largest book compilation ever produced in dynastic China, the library books and halls came to manifest imperial ritual. The 1776 Wen-yuan-ko XOO library in the Forbidden City, Peking, was specially constructed to house the chief set of the Ssu-k'u books. Contrasting this hall's ideal design with its built reality affords a unique opportunity to observe the close interaction between architecture and "imperishable words."; It is commonly asserted that the timber-frame Wen-yuan-ko imitates the Tien-i-ko private library in southern China. Even imperial records cite this connection, yet a comparison of the two buildings reveals differences. Moreover, imperial libraries and archives in the late Ming and early Ch'ing were predominantly built of masonry for fire protection. The return to a timber-frame typology, thus, represents a significant reversal. The differences between the Wen-yuan-ko and Tien-i-ko library halls, and the return to a timber-frame library type, can be explained by the need to accommodate the ritual functions of an imperial library, palace building regulations, and architectural and institutional typologies for library halls and their agencies. The Wen-yuan-ko hall design also had to conform to the dictates of the bibliographic ordering of knowledge implicit in the Ssu-k'u ch'uan-shu compilation.; For this study, Ch'ing imperial archives and statutes, private accounts, building documents, and modern building surveys of the Wen-yuan-ko hall allow us to reconstruct the hall as it was actually erected. Prior to the beginning of construction, however, imperial building records and poems for the Ssu-k'u halls specify an ideal design whose symbology was tied to the bibliographic order of the Ssu-k'u books and concerns for dynastic authority. Discrepancies between the ideal and actual designs can be traced to imperial building codes, provisions for imperial ceremonies, and to a long-standing imperial library typology with roots as early as the Northern Sung dynasty Tai-ch'ing-lou XOO library as seen in a surviving painting and written descriptions.
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