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.

Que in the Han Dynasty

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).

Tower

A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures.

Towers are specifically distinguished from "buildings" in that they are not built to be habitable but to serve other functions. The principal function is the use of their height to enable various functions to be achieved including: visibility of other features attached to the tower such clock towers; as part of a larger structure or device to increase the visibility of the surroundings as in a fortified building such as a castle; or as a structural feature as an integral part of a bridge.

Towers can be stand alone structures or be supported by adjacent buildings or can be a feature on top of a large structure or building.

History

Towers have been used by mankind since prehistoric times. The oldest known may be the circular stone tower in walls of Neolithic Jericho (8000 BC). Some of the earliest towers were ziggurats, which existed in Sumerian architecture since the 4th millennium BC. The most famous ziggurats include the Sumerian Ziggurat of Ur, built the 3rd millennium BC, and the Etemenanki, one of the most famous examples of Babylonian architecture. The latter was built in Babylon during the 2nd millennium BC and was considered the tallest tower of the ancient world.

No Pocky for Kitty

No Pocky for Kitty is Superchunk's second studio album. It was recorded April 21-23, 1991, at the Chicago Recording Company by Steve Albini and released on Matador Records in 1991, and reissued by Merge Records in 1999.

Albini is not credited in the liner notes, which read "Produced with eyes closed by Laura, who sat in the right chair." The reference is to Laura Ballance, the group's bassist.

Pocky is a popular Japanese snack food.

Track listing

B-Sides include "Fishing", "Cool", "The Breadman", "It's So Hard to Fall in Love", "Brand New Love", and "I Believe in Fate".

External links

Tower (album)

Tower is the twenty-fifth album by the Finnish experimental rock band Circle. It was recorded in collaboration with Mika Rintala, who appears here under the alias Verde.

Members of Circle have been regular guests on Rintala's albums as Verde, often released on Jussi Lehtisalo's Ektro Records imprint. Here Rintala repays the favour on a collection of six keyboard-led instrumentals, occasionally reminiscent of Bitches Brew era Miles Davis. The tracks' names are the surname of a member of the group, including the sound engineer Tuomas Laurila, with the first letter replaced by a G.

Track listing

Personnel