CHINESE ARCHITECTURE — BOERSCHMANN. 549 



two forces, there active, which rule the world; thereby closely ap- 

 proximating the thought in the round central figure of the trigrams. 

 And when one is convinced that in life as well as in nature, in the 

 conflict of two forces, absolute wisdom and truth are forever unattain- 

 able, then this triad represents the commonplace but profound ex- 

 pression, "Truth is in the middle." The reality is only the reflex 

 of the Divine. The chief priest in the temples loves to be depicted 

 with two other priests, fully aware that this will convey a living im- 

 pression of the triad. I saw this in many temples, one, for instance, 

 in that of the southern sacred mountain Hengshan in Hunan, which 

 is 900 meters high. 



From another point of view, that of the four cardinal points, north, 

 south, east, and west, the world is divided into four parts, and by 

 subdividing we got the number 8, the number which in the preceding 

 was obtained in another way, and, further, the number 1G. These 

 rhythmic numbers were known to Buddhism, too, which at the time 

 of the birth of Christ penetrated China and amalgamated with 

 Chinese thought. Besides Buddha there are 4 great Bodhisatvas, 

 making together 5 ; and we find 5 great Buddhas during one period. 

 The Chinese not only reckon with the 4 cardinal directions but also 

 include the center; that is, they reckon with 5. In the diagram of 8, 

 if we include the center, we have 9. The Chinese have embodied this 

 number 9 in their god of eternal life, Shouhsing and his 8 genii, the 

 Pa Hsien. 



A famous statue of this god of longevity represents the symbol of 

 eternity by the well-known 8 trigrams in the center of a plate which 

 he holds in his hands. 



The well-known 8 trigrams are also displayed on the wall behind 

 the statue, together with the sacred numbers 1-8. The symbol is 

 called T'ai-chi-t'u, the drawing of the high majestic pole of life. 

 This image of the god in its composition is of a very special style; 

 the massive cranium indicates the mass of wisdom concentrated in the 

 high forehead of the hoary god. The white hair, beard, eyebrows, 

 and mustache express the great age of the god, who is practically 

 identified with the wise Lao-tze. 



The statue is placed in one of the most beautiful temples in China, 

 at Kuan-hsien in Szech'uan. The temple is dedicated to Li Ping, an 

 eminent hydraulic engineer, who by his clever skill, at about the time 

 of the birth of Christ, corrected the mighty Min River, by conducting 

 it through hundreds of canals over the plains near the capital 

 Ch'engtu, by which he converted a dangerous swampy region, that 

 was overflowed, into the most fruitful and richest land in China. 

 The temple is built on a slope close by the river. The main hall 

 shows Li Ping deified, with the statue of the god of longevity far- 

 ther back, to signify that this great man emanated from him and had 



