Yue Guanchao observed carefully that the meadow was surrounded by forests. Only the side near the river was very empty. The lake seemed to have an extra green shore, which was extremely clear around the meadow.
The style of Chao Yuntai was completely different from all the ancient buildings today!
As mentioned before, Chaoyuntai is very special among the palaces of Xian Chu. It is a half temple and half palace style building, all built on a square stone platform.
This stone platform is built into a regular rectangular platform with no railings on all sides. There are only steps extending on one side to connect to the "ji"-shaped corridor on the shore. Most of the corridors are in the ancient Chu style, with bright and lively colors. It is exquisite, with a flying corridor every ten meters and a terrace every five meters.
The table is about half a meter away from the water. You can see the supporting edges of the pillars. The edges are inlaid with bronze mirrors. The mirrors reflect the surrounding clouds and mist, making it look like the clouds are surrounding the building in a suspended state.
On this platform, the main palaces are distributed in a "convex" shape on the three-level platform. The three levels of steps are connected with each other in the middle. There are straight steps extending upward from the platform to the highest platform.
Among them, the steps on the third floor are in the style of a verandah, extending straight around the four sides. On the steps on the second floor, there are "concave"-shaped towers on the left and right. Two curved corridor bridges are shaped like arms arching upward, connecting the two towers. Pavilions protruding from the steps began to appear on all sides.
Most of these pavilions are distributed straight along the mesa. There is no distinction between primary and secondary. They only exist as auxiliary halls of the tower. The part protruding from the mesa is just placed on the third-floor verandah. It is supported by the pillars of the veranda and suspended in mid-air.
On the top floor is the main hall of Chaoyuntai!
The style of this main hall is mainly ancient Chu style. The buildings mostly use blue and gray fish scale tiles. The roof has straight ridges, short and flat eaves, rammed earth and stone, and is red and simple. The que tower on the second floor is just level with it and slightly higher. There are verandas on three sides, directly connected to the arch bridge of the tower, just bypassing the main hall, forming an enclosed building complex with a single opening on the front of the main hall!
In front of the hall is a medium-sized bluestone square, about the same size as the main hall. There are stairs connecting the three floors at the corner, which can lead directly to the tower. Standing on the tower, you can also use the arch bridge to reach the palace. Go to the verandahs surrounding the main hall.
On the stairs connecting the three steps, there is also a standing bronze statue, holding a sword in hand, looking cold and serious.
Generally speaking, the building mostly uses suspended verandas, flying pavilions, verandas, and covered bridges to bypass the main palace at each level, bringing a light and agile feeling. At the same time, the three-step platform gradually becomes wider from top to bottom, which also It makes the palace complex a little thicker and prevents it from shaking easily. It can be said to be a very typical Jingchu building.
However, after all, this building is thousands of years old and has been repaired countless times. Except for the main body of the ancient Chu style, most of the other architectural elements have been changed, integrating different styles from the Qin, Han and even the Five Dynasties, creating a unique beauty. .
In addition, it has long been used as an occasion to worship the goddess of Wushan. The windows of verandas and arch bridges are often covered with banners and banners. When the wind blows, the ribbons fly around in an elegant and mysterious manner.
However, there was one thing that Yue Guanchao really didn't understand, so he asked: "This lake is on the top of the mountain, far away from the ancient Chu palace. It has been at least a few years ago. How can we ensure that the lake does not dry up, or how can we ensure that the lake is not polluted. "
Ask where the canal can be so clear, so that there is a source of living water. The most difficult problem to solve for a man-made lake like this is the problem of living water. As long as there is no flowing water, it will be overgrown with green algae and bugs in just half a year.
Not even the imperial palace can solve this problem. The Jinshui River in the Forbidden City must regularly introduce external water sources to ensure its clarity. Otherwise, it will soon be overtaken by algae and turn into smelly stagnant water. The lake in front of you is not only There is no fishy smell at all, and there is a slight aroma of grass and wood. It looks like living water at first glance.
If it were on flat ground, perhaps we could draw living water by relying on the drop in the mountain. Since Goddess Peak is the highest peak, it means that it is the highest among the surrounding mountains. Even if we really want to attract living water, we can't go against the flow of water to the lower place. rules.
Banshu looked at the lake and explained: "It's a culvert!"
"Underdrain? Just having an underdrain is not enough. This is the highest point."
Song Siyuan also noticed that the lake seemed very strange.
"Do you believe that water can flow to higher places!" Ban Shu's eyes became mysterious.
Yue Erpao shook his head: "When people go to higher places, water flows to lower places. This is an old saying. Unless you carry buckets up the mountain, there is no way you can let the water flow to higher places!"
Ban Shu shook his head and said: "It is impossible for ordinary people to do it, but it is possible for Lu Ban. At that time, the descendants of Lu Ban personally dug this lake, and it is an important part of Chaoyuntai."
At that time, building a lake was not only important, but also a top priority - this lake determined whether Chaoyuntai could be levitated. When creating the drawings, Goddess Peak was already taken into consideration as the highest peak. If the water source problem was not solved, even if the pond was dug, it would be impossible. A stagnant lake will soon form, which is a great disrespect to the goddess of Wushan.
In order to solve this problem, Lu Ban's descendants personally inspected the nearby peaks. The first idea was to dig a canal with different levels between the peak and the river, and then turn the water wheel to raise the river water step by step from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain. This flows into the lake to form a continuous stream of living water.
But there is a problem with this. A living person is required to operate the waterwheel. Under ancient conditions, it was almost impossible to make the waterwheel rotate. This meant that the waterwheel had to be maintained in time, which would be too troublesome in the long run.
Once, Lu Ban's descendants dug a deep pit on the Goddess Peak. Seeing that clean water quickly accumulated in the pit, they immediately had an idea.
In his opinion, the clear water accumulated quickly after digging the pit, which means that there are many dark caves in the rock formations on the Goddess Peak. As long as these cracks in the dark layers are opened, the water in the rock formations can continuously flow into the canals through the drop to bring living water!
To achieve this goal, the lake must be dug as deep as possible to allow enough water flow to flow into the lake. At the same time, the cracks must be opened and completely penetrated to form a stable water source.
These things are simple to say, but not easy to do. The highest peak around the Goddess Peak, even the mountain connected to the Goddess Peak, is slightly lower than it. It is not easy to dig a culvert.
Later, the descendants of Luban first asked craftsmen to dig the pond thirty meters deep, and then caught thousands of pangolins. After they gave birth to their cubs, they put all the cubs at the bottom of the pond, and then brought the mother pangolin to the bottom of the pond. The water-rich mountains near Goddess Peak directly send these pangolins into dark caves, sealing the entrance.
Afterwards, smoke was used to drive away these pangolins. They are the most protective of calves. Seeing that the entrance is blocked, they are afraid that their calves will be killed by humans. They will use their claws to dig holes in the soil, constantly smelling the scent of their calves, and move towards them. Digging in areas with strong smell.
