Chiwen
Encyclopedia
Chiwen is one of the Nine Young Dragons in Imperial roof decoration
s and an ornamental motif in traditional Chinese architecture
and art
.
This Chinese dragon
name chiwen 螭吻 compounds
chi 螭 "hornless dragon
; young dragon" and wen 吻 "(animal's) mouth; lips; kiss". The chishou 螭首 and chitou 螭頭 (both literally meaning "hornless-dragon head") are related architectural ornaments or waterspouts, comparable with Western gargoyle
s.
Chiwen 螭吻 is alternatively written chiwen 鴟吻 ("owl mouth"), using the homophonous Chinese character
chi 鴟 "owl; sparrowhawk; bird of prey". The chiwei 鴟尾 ("owl tail") and chimeng 鴟甍 ("owl roof-ridge") are additional birdlike roof decorations.
The chiwen is listed second or third among the Long sheng jiuzi 龍生九子 ("dragon gives birth to nine young") Nine Young Dragons, which are traditional Chinese architectural decorations. According to the Ming Dynasty
Wuzazu 五雜俎 (tr. Visser 1913:101), "The ch'i-wen, which like swallowing, are placed on both ends of the ridgepoles of roofs (to swallow all evil influences)."
Welch describes chiwen as "the dragon who likes 'to swallow things'".
In Fengshui theory, a chiwen or chiwei supposedly protects against not only fire, but also flood and typhoon.
The Japanese language
borrowed these names for architectural roof decorations as Sino-Japanese vocabulary. Shibi
鴟尾 "ornamental roof-ridge tile" is more commonly used than chifun 螭吻 or shifun 鴟吻. In Japanese mythology
, the Shachihoko
鯱 "a mythical fish with a carp's arched tail, tiger's head, and dragon's scales" roof decoration is believed to cause rain and protect against fire. This 鯱 is a kokuji "Chinese character invented in Japan" that can also be read shachi for "orca
".
Image:Chishou.JPG|A chishou gargoyle
Image:Nagoya Castle Golden Shachi-Hoko Statue01.jpg|A golden shachihoko
on the roof of Nagoya Castle
Image:KongmiaochishouTainanTaiwan.jpg|chishou at Taiwan Confucian Temple
.
Imperial roof decoration
Chinese imperial roof decoration or roof charms or roof-figures or or was only allowed on official buildings of the empire. Chinese roofs are typically of the hip roof type, with small gables...
s and an ornamental motif in traditional Chinese architecture
Chinese architecture
Chinese architecture refers to a style of architecture that has taken shape in East Asia over many centuries. The structural principles of Chinese architecture have remained largely unchanged, the main changes being only the decorative details...
and art
Chinese art
Chinese art is visual art that, whether ancient or modern, originated in or is practiced in China or by Chinese artists or performers. Early so-called "stone age art" dates back to 10,000 BC, mostly consisting of simple pottery and sculptures. This early period was followed by a series of art...
.
This Chinese dragon
Chinese dragon
Chinese dragons are legendary creatures in Chinese mythology and folklore, with mythic counterparts among Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Bhutanese, Western and Turkic dragons. In Chinese art, dragons are typically portrayed as long, scaled, serpentine creatures with four legs...
name chiwen 螭吻 compounds
Compound (linguistics)
In linguistics, a compound is a lexeme that consists of more than one stem. Compounding or composition is the word formation that creates compound lexemes...
chi 螭 "hornless dragon
Chi (mythology)
Chi means either "a hornless dragon" or "a mountain demon" in Chinese mythology. Hornless dragons were a common motif in ancient Chinese art, and the chiwen 螭吻 Chi means either "a hornless dragon" or "a mountain demon" (namely, chimei 螭魅) in Chinese mythology. Hornless dragons were a common...
; young dragon" and wen 吻 "(animal's) mouth; lips; kiss". The chishou 螭首 and chitou 螭頭 (both literally meaning "hornless-dragon head") are related architectural ornaments or waterspouts, comparable with Western gargoyle
Gargoyle
In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between...
s.
Chiwen 螭吻 is alternatively written chiwen 鴟吻 ("owl mouth"), using the homophonous Chinese character
Chinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
chi 鴟 "owl; sparrowhawk; bird of prey". The chiwei 鴟尾 ("owl tail") and chimeng 鴟甍 ("owl roof-ridge") are additional birdlike roof decorations.
The chiwen is listed second or third among the Long sheng jiuzi 龍生九子 ("dragon gives birth to nine young") Nine Young Dragons, which are traditional Chinese architectural decorations. According to the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
Wuzazu 五雜俎 (tr. Visser 1913:101), "The ch'i-wen, which like swallowing, are placed on both ends of the ridgepoles of roofs (to swallow all evil influences)."
Welch describes chiwen as "the dragon who likes 'to swallow things'".
This is the fish-like, hornless dragon with a very truncated body and large, wide mouth usually found along roof ridges (as if swallowing the roof beams). His presence on roofs is also said to guard against fires. A paragraph in the Tang dynasty book Su Shi Yan Yi (苏氏演义) by Su E (苏鹗) says that a mythical sea creature called the chi wen [sic] was put on the roofs of buildings during the Han dynasty to protect the structures from fire hazards. This dragon is still found on the roofs of traditional Chinese homes today, protecting the inhabitants from fires. (2008:122-3)
In Fengshui theory, a chiwen or chiwei supposedly protects against not only fire, but also flood and typhoon.
The Japanese language
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
borrowed these names for architectural roof decorations as Sino-Japanese vocabulary. Shibi
Shibi (roof tile)
A is a Japanese ornamental tile set on both ends of the ridgepole that tops a shingled roof. The kanji for the word mean "kite" and "tail" respectively...
鴟尾 "ornamental roof-ridge tile" is more commonly used than chifun 螭吻 or shifun 鴟吻. In Japanese mythology
Japanese mythology
Japanese mythology is a system of beliefs that embraces Shinto and Buddhist traditions as well as agriculturally based folk religion. The Shinto pantheon comprises innumerable kami...
, the Shachihoko
Shachihoko
A is an animal in Japanese folklore with the head of a tiger and the body of a carp. It was believed that this animal could cause the rain to fall, and as such, temples and castles were often adorned with roof ornaments crafted in the form of a shachihoko, in order to protect them from fire.The...
鯱 "a mythical fish with a carp's arched tail, tiger's head, and dragon's scales" roof decoration is believed to cause rain and protect against fire. This 鯱 is a kokuji "Chinese character invented in Japan" that can also be read shachi for "orca
Orca
The killer whale , commonly referred to as the orca, and less commonly as the blackfish, is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. Killer whales are found in all oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas...
".
Gallery of Images
Image:Chishou.JPG|A chishou gargoyle
Gargoyle
In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between...
Image:Nagoya Castle Golden Shachi-Hoko Statue01.jpg|A golden shachihoko
Shachihoko
A is an animal in Japanese folklore with the head of a tiger and the body of a carp. It was believed that this animal could cause the rain to fall, and as such, temples and castles were often adorned with roof ornaments crafted in the form of a shachihoko, in order to protect them from fire.The...
on the roof of Nagoya Castle
Nagoya Castle
is a Japanese castle located in Nagoya, central Japan. During the Edo period, Nagoya Castle was the center of one of the most important castle towns in Japan—Nagoya-juku— and it included the most important stops along the Minoji, which linked the Tōkaidō with the Nakasendō.-History:In...
Image:KongmiaochishouTainanTaiwan.jpg|chishou at Taiwan Confucian Temple
Taiwan Confucian Temple
The Taiwan Confucian Temple is a Confucian temple on Nanmen Road in Tainan City, Taiwan. -History:The Tainan Confucius Temple, also called the Scholarly Temple was built in 1665 when Cheng Ching, son of Koxinga approved of the proposal by Chief of General Staff Chen Yung-hua to construct the...
.
External links
- The Nine Dragon Scroll, The Circle of the Dragon