I have had this photo of a “Pai Lou” (牌楼) which has been sitting on my hard drive for ages. I snapped the image of this particular one, a few years back while buying salvaged wooden architectural elements, which we would then restore and create matching stands for providing them with a second life. This particular one was from northern China, likely Shanxi or Shandong provinces. Due to Chinese export restrictions on certain types of antiques, its difficult to ship something like this abroad in its entirety, so I assume this one eventually found its way to a park, restaurant or maybe even a private home. But individual carvings are less of a problem and often find a new lease on life on someone’s mantle. On the image above, I have added some carvings we restored – can you see where each one might have originally fit into the completed puzzle?
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Unlike this one (above) which comes from Yunnan province in the far southwest. Notice the difference in style?
But I often find myself explaining to people what theses wood carvings were originally used for /where they came from. So when I came across these model images of the traditional method of joining these brackets and supports together, I reminded me to get these photos finally uploaded. Known in Chinese as “dǒugǒng” (斗拱), this unique structural system of interlocking wooden brackets places emphasis on supports rather then the walls themselves and has been in use in China for centuries.
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