Built in 1392 CE, China's Datong Nine Dragon Wall stretches 150 ft long and 26 ft high, covered in 426 luminous glazed tiles in five colors. The nine four-clawed dragons (five-claw dragons were emperor-only) encircle a central yellow dragon clutching the flaming pearl of enlightenment. Spirit walls were based on Chinese cosmology—spirits move in straight lines and can be blocked.
Datong Nine Dragon Wall: Ming Dynasty Spirit Screen
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Key facts
- Built in 1392 for Prince Zu Gui, son of Ming Dynasty founding emperor
- Wall measures 150 ft long and 26 ft high, 6.5 ft thick
- Covered in 426 luminous glazed tiles in five colors: azure, green, purple, black, and imperial yellow
- Features nine dragons with four claws (five-claw dragons reserved for emperor only)
- Central yellow dragon in frontal pose clutching flaming pearl of enlightenment
- Spirit walls based on Chinese cosmology - spirits move in straight lines and can be blocked
- Earliest known spirit wall dates to 12th century BCE in Shaanxi province
Sources
Nine-Dragon Wall - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
A type of screen wall with reliefs of nine different Chinese dragons. Such walls are typically found in imperial Chinese palaces and gardens.
Explore Datong's Nine-Dragon Wall — Ming Glazed Masterpiece at ...chinawondersguide.com
Built in Hongwu year 25 (1392) for the Dai Prince's mansion, Datong's Nine-Dragon Wall served as a spirit-screen symbolizing imperial authority. The wall is ...
Datong Nine Dragon Screen, Jiulong Bi, Shanxi - Travel China Guidetravelchinaguide.com
It is made up of 426 specially-fired glazed bricks, with a height of 8 meters (about 26 feet), 2.02 meters (6.6 feet) thick and 45.5 meters (149 feet) long.
Datong Nine-Dragon Wallbaike.baidu.com
The wall is 45.5 meters long, 8 meters high, and 2 meters thick. The lower section is a glazed-tile-faced Sumeru pedestal, with its waist section carved with ...
The Nine Dragon Wall | Choose Chicagochoosechicago.com
The Chinatown mural replicates the large dragons and over 500 smaller dragons painted in red, gold and blue signifying the Chinese focus on good fortune.
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