The home environment differed greatly between the
rich and the poor. The wealthy lived an extremely comfortable life.
All households had a special place where the family would pay respect
to their ancestors. When someone passed away, they were given a
funeral ceremony, which varied considerably from family to family
depending on their financial state. It was a custom to wear white
for it was the color of mourning.
A noble's house was separated into sections with courtyards.
The first thing that a person encountered when walking through the
main entrance was an outer courtyard, which was lined by guest rooms.
Next came the inner courtyard containing the main building that
housed the immediate family where additional quarters could be built
for close relatives. After the main building immediately came the
kitchen and the servant's wing. Some of the more prosperous families
had beautiful gardens located within the outer wall that encompassed
the entire estate. The extravagant houses of the aristocrats were
composed of wood and usually red tiled roofs; they were usually
ordained with red pillars, decorated window frames, and marble staircases.
Around the 9th century, the wealthy located in Chang-an had houses
with baths, heaters, mechanical fans, and ice-cooled rooms. The
upturned roofs of ancient Chinese buildings developed from the belief
that curved rooftops drove away evil spirits that traveled in straight
lines.
The number of buildings differed from estate to estate
as well as the materials and decorations used, however, the royal
palace and temples, by far, used the best of everything. Less fortunate
families lived in very simple houses made of mud bricks with thatched
roofs. Whether a temple or a house, all types of buildings were
built using the same methods and architecture. Generally, all buildings
had pillars and flared eves, which are both characteristic of Chinese
architecture.
During the Tang period, people began putting pictures
of guardian "menshen", or door spirits, on their doors to drive
away demons. It was believed that shrieking ghosts were throwing
bricks outside Emperor Tai-tsung's room when he was sick. General
Chin Shu-pao and another general stood outside his door to protect
him and immediately, the noise ceased. When the emperor recovered
he painted the generals on his palace doors and that was how the
guardian "menshen" came about.
The major cities of China were always large and well
organized. Chang-an, the capital of the Tang dynasty, known today
as Xian, had a population of an estimated 1 million inside the cities
walls and about 2 million if you included the outskirts during the
beginning of the 8th century. Built as a model of Heaven, it was
the biggest and most advanced city in the world at that time. Chang-an
was the center of China and foreign relations led to a very diversified
capital. A traveler would see many different religious buildings
for Christians, Muslims, Daoist, and Buddhist. The streets were
filled with foreign merchants, dancers, and monks, particularly
from Korea and Japan.
Basically,
it was a massive, rectangular shaped piece of land with thick, tall
walls that surrounded the 22 mile perimeter, 6 miles from east to
west and 5 miles from north to south. These walls had 4 tall gates,
all of which were closed during the night, the most important being
the opening to the south, the holy direction. Chang-an had a grid
pattern that was sectioned off for different social classes. Short
walls with gates that were locked during the night hours surrounded
each section. More than 480 feet wide and 5 miles long, the main
street led the way from the south gate to the imperial palace, also
called the "Great Luminous Palace". Inside the holy court were places
of worship, pavilions, libraries, barracks, lakes, and even a polo
field. The city had canals that all connected to the Wei River,
2 main markets located in the eastern and western part of the city,
and parks, graveyards, and open fields in the southern area.
