中國與印度傳統建築朝向原則之比較研究

A Comparative Study on the Chinese and Indian Traditional Principles of Architectural Orientation

人類對於建築朝向之關注乃重要普世現象，世界各個文化與宗教傳統中，皆可輕易找到多樣的建築朝向原則；這些原則要求人們在建造各式建築時，須使其正面或主入口對準某個（些）特定方向。從眾多案例來看，建築朝向原則至少呈現兩種主要分類，第一類與「四正向方位系統」有關，第二類與「環境中特定對象」有關；前者要求人造空間能夠朝向東、西、南與北之中的某一個方向；後者則要求人造空間能夠朝向外部環境中的特定重要對象，如一座山、聚落中心、或遙遠的聖山與聖城。在中國與印度方面，由於風水與Vāstu-Shāstra這兩套歷史久遠之建築理論傳統的深厚影響，傳統朝向原則早已發展出更加多元與複雜的型態，已非上述兩種分類所能涵蓋；即便如此，從中國與印度的傳統建築理論與觀念中，我們仍可找到許多較具簡單與基本之型態、且符合上述兩種分類的古老朝向原則，它們將成為本文主要探討對象。本比較研究以「世界軸及宇宙十字」作為比較分析之架構，藉由檢視這些中國與印度的傳統朝向原則，探討人類建築朝向觀念的原始寰宇意涵。

 

Human concern about ‘architectural orientation’ is a significant worldwide phenomenon. A great many principles of architectural orientation can be easily found in many cultural and religious traditions. These principles instruct people, during the construction of buildings, to orient their front side or main entrance to a (or several) particular direction(s). As shown in many examples, it seems likely that the principles of architectural orientation can be categorized into two groups at least. The first group is related to the ‘directional system based on the four cardinal points’, while the second group is concerned with the ‘particular object(s) in the physical environment’. The former usually stipulates thata built space should be orientated towards the east, west, south or north, while the latter normally prescribes that a built space should be pointed to a mountain or hill, the center of a settlement, or a holy city/mountain located far from the site. In China and India, due to the profound influence of Feng-Shui and Vāstu-Shāstra, two age-old traditions of architectural theories, most of the traditional principles of architectural orientation have developed into diverse and complicated forms, which cannot easily be categorized as either of the above-mentioned two groups. Nevertheless, we still can discern quite a few old principles which have simpler and more fundamental forms and aregenerally in accordance with the characteristics of the two groups. This research aims to conduct a comparative analysis of theses Chinese and Indian traditional principles of architectural orientation in the frame of the ‘Axis Mundi & Cosmic Cross’, so as to explore the original and universal meaning of the human ideas about architectural orientation.