Que (tower)

A stone-carved que, 6 m (20 ft) in total height, located at the tomb of Gao Yi in Ya'an, Sichuan province, Eastern Han dynasty.[1] Notice the stone-carved decorations of roof tile eaves, despite the fact that Han dynasty stone que (part of the walled structures around tomb entrances) lacked wooden or ceramic components (but often imitated wooden buildings with ceramic roof tiles).[2]
Eastern Han stone-carved que pillar gates of Dingfang, Zhong County, Chongqing that once belonged to a temple dedicated to the Warring States period general Ba Manzi

The que (simplified Chinese: 阙; traditional Chinese: 闕; pinyin: què; Jyutping: kyut3) is a freestanding, ceremonial gate tower in traditional Chinese architecture. First developed in the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC), que towers were used to form ceremonial gateways to tombs, palaces and temples throughout pre-modern China down to the Qing dynasty (1644–1912).[3] The use of que gateways reached its peak during the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD), and today they can often be seen as a component of an architectural ensemble (a spirit way, shendao) at the graves of high officials during China's Han dynasty. There are also some que found in front of temples. Richly decorated, they are among the most valuable surviving relics of the sculpture and architecture of that period.[4]

  1. ^ Liu, Xujie (2002). "The Qin and Han Dynasties" in Chinese Architecture, 33–60. Edited by Nancy S. Steinhardt. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-09559-7. p. 55.
  2. ^ Steinhardt, Nancy N. (2005). "Pleasure tower model," in Recarving China's Past: Art, Archaeology, and Architecture of the 'Wu Family Shrines', 275–281. Edited by Naomi Noble Richard. New Haven and London: Yale University Press and Princeton University Art Museum. ISBN 0-300-10797-8. pp. 279–280.
  3. ^ Han, Zhao; Li, Ku; Zhang, Lei; Jia, Qiang (2004), "古代闕門及相關問題 (Ancient Que Gates and Related Issues)", Archaeology and Cultural Relics (5), ISSN 1000-7830
  4. ^ Paludan, Ann (1991), The Chinese spirit road : the classical tradition of stone tomb statuary, Yale University Press, pp. 31–35, ISBN 0-300-04597-2