architecture: Asia and the Pacific 65 and has the added benefit of creating a surface with beautiful effects of light and shadow Cuzco has some of the best examples of this complex use of stonework Structures such as the main temple, called Qorikancha (also spelled Coricancha), or “Golden Courtyard,” are demonstrative of the architectural style that was seen as fit for elite and religious use Examples such as Qorikancha, which also served as an observatory, emphasize the special sacred nature of the site Machu Picchu, which was constructed on a ridge high above the slopes of the Andes along the Urubamba River, seems to be an almost impossible location for building architecture Owing to its location and the types of building, the site most likely held tremendous religious importance for the Inca In fact, it has been suggested that the site functioned as a royal estate An elaborate site despite its smaller size, Machu Picchu contains terraces, stone buildings, gardens, baths, and a large oblong-shaped plaza On the northeast side of the site are a series of elite residences whose designs were variations on a plan consisting of rectangular units within stonewalled, open-air patios These royal compounds feature the same impressive stonework that was utilized in Cuzco, and they begin to incorporate the use of windows Temples were also built of stone at Machu Picchu for ceremonial rituals Asia and the Pacific by Kirk H Beetz The architecture of the region of Asia and the Pacific in medieval times was enormously varied, with styles varying according to the kind of shelter required for the particular environment and to the available building materials as well as to people’s tastes, as influenced by religion and tradition That the Chinese, Japanese, and Indians developed the most influential architectural styles should not suggest that the styles of other cultures were somehow inferior: There is awesome beauty in the boat-shaped structures of Sumatra, ingenious design in the yurts of central Asia, and a strong binding influence on communities by the longhouses of Southeast Asia In almost every area of Asia and the Pacific people showed impressive ingenuity in their architectural solutions to their needs for shelter, community, and spirituality China A great deal is known about medieval Chinese architecture through a book published in 1103, called Ying zao fa shi (Treatise on Architectural Methods) and written by Li Jie This book was a manual that the imperial government wanted architects throughout China to use One of the most impressive effects of its distribution was that builders were able to prefabricate parts in one place in China and have the parts fit together with other parts built thousands of miles away By following the instructions in the book, Chinese builders were able to bestow their structures with a distinctively Chinese look On the other hand, the dictates of Li Jie’s book were not slavishly followed; medieval Chinese architects were by and large practical people who adapted the designs in the book to suit various environments and terrains For instance, walls that were designed as perfectly rectangular in the book might have been realized with dips and swerves, as appropriate to rocky or sloping ground One aspect of Chinese building that began in the ancient era and continued into the medieval era was that all structures followed the same basic pattern, from small peasant houses to grand imperial palaces: They were frame structures, meaning that the load-bearing parts were frames consisting of posts with beams laid across Walls rarely bore any weight other than their own, which meant that builders could experiment with materials and ornamentation Also, posts had to be thick and sturdy, and the interiors of large buildings often needed many posts to bear the weight not only of the stories above but also of the typically very heavy Chinese roof As such, multiple stories were usually reserved for special buildings such as pagodas, with most other buildings, whether small homes or palaces, being one story only Posts were usually wooden and were painted with a mixture of hemp, oil, and brick dust to protect them from insects and weather Sometimes, in expensive buildings, lacquer was used to coat the posts It was probably out of this practice intended to preserve wooden posts that the custom of decoratively painting posts was derived The color was most often red but could be other hues In the far north of China buildings tended to have wooden walls as thick as 40 inches, for protection from the bitter cold In southern China, where heat was more of a problem than cold, walls could be much thinner, being composed of wooden boards or even just paper Whether a building was in the north or in the south, an open space between the walls and roof would allow smoke to escape, as the medieval Chinese did not build fireplaces Windows in walls were built not to allow light into the interior but to allow air to circulate Often the windows were covered by no more that paper that could be raised to allow fresh air to enter The spectacular medieval Chinese roof often draws the most attention from observers The heavy posts of the frame had lintels laid across their tops; a lintel is a horizontal beam laid across the tops of vertical posts On these lintels, smaller vertical posts would be set, with additional lintels laid atop them Those lintels would have yet smaller posts set on them, with again more lintels atop Each level of the roof would be narrower than the previous one, and this pattern could con-