Que (tower)

Que (simplified Chinese: 阙; traditional Chinese: 闕) is a freestanding, ceremonial gate tower in traditional Chinese architecture. First developed in the Zhou Dynasty, que towers were used to form ceremonial gateways to tombs, palaces and temples throughout pre-modern China down to the Qing Dynasty. The use of que gateways reached its peak during the Han Dynasty, and today they can often be seen as a component of an architectural ensemble (a spirit way, shendao) at the graves of high officials during China's Han Dynasty. There are also some que found in front of temples. Richly decorated, they are among the most valuable surviving relics of the sculpture and architecture of that period.

It is thought that the que familiar to us are stone reproductions of the free-standing wooden and/or earthen towers which were placed in pairs in front of the entrances to the palaces, temples, and government buildings of the period (already known during the Qin Dynasty). Such free-standing towers, serving as markers of the symbolic boundary of a palace's or temple's premises, had developed from gate towers that were an integral part of a building or a city wall. None of such que in front of buildings have survived, but images of buildings with such towers in front of them can be seen on extant brick reliefs in Han Dynasty tombs, such as the one in Yinan County, Shandong).

At the spirit roads, the que also appeared in pairs, one on each side of the road. During the time of their popularity, the que were usually the largest and most expensive component of the spirit way; such a tower could cost 4 times as much as a stone lion, or 10 times as much as a memorial stele.

The symbolic meaning of a tomb que may have been based on that of the que in front of a palace and building. Here, it would symbolize the passage of the soul into the world of the spirits. A tall vertical structure, que would at the same time symbolize a link with heaven.

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