shàng'áng 上昂

Note (full)

Shang’ang is one of the components of the bracket-set (dougong 斗栱 or puzuo 鋪作) in traditional Chinese timber architecture. As an architectural term, shang'ang first appears in the Tongdian 通典 (801) as 上枊 (also pronounced shang'ang), and was subsequently used in the Yingzao fashi (1103) as a type of fei'ang 飛昂 or ang 昂. As a part of the bracket-set, shang'ang is an oblique component joined into an interior bracket arm with its head angled upward. It can be used to support a pingqi 平棊 ceiling structure at a higher level than is usually possible with huagong alone. Most scholars believe that shang'ang are used in the inner side of waiyan puzuo 外簷鋪作 (eaves bracketing), pingzuo puzuo 平坐鋪作, and the puzuo inside a palatial hall (diantang 殿堂).5

However, Chen Mingda and Pan Guxi have pointed out that shang'ang were not used in the inner side of waiyan puzuo (Chen 1981, 135; Pan 2005, 103). In extant buildings, several kinds of oblique elements are used in the inner side of waiyan puzuo. Furthermore, new scholarship has emerged regarding two terms mentioned in Yingzao fashi with shang’ang: tiaowo and angting. Zhu Yongchun has suggested that the angting is an oblique timber which does not have an end emerging from the bracket cluster, and would look very much like a shang’ang in actual examples (2018). Therefore, if shang’ang is part of the inner side of waiyan puzuo, it would be difficult to distinguish it from tiaowo and angting. Although scholars are researching this issue, no consensus has been reached.6

上昂是中國傳統建築大木作的構件之一。作為建築術語在文獻中首見于《通典》（801）寫作“上枊”，此後主要出現于《營造法式》（1103）（李 2009, 1.8b, 4.6a-4.7b），作為與下昂相對應的另一種飛昂類型（李 2009，4.6a）。上昂的形態為組織在鬥栱中的斜向構件，昂頭外出，昂身斜收向裡。昂腳應立於下跳栱心之上。上昂的作用是可使鋪作出跳短，高度大，並能夠提高平棊的位置。用於室内可解決斗栱兩側藻井高低不一的問題。上昂的使用位置，目前一般認爲用於外簷鋪作裡跳、殿身槽內鋪作或平坐鋪作。5

但陳明達、潘谷西等學者都認為上昂並不用于通常所說的外檐舖作裏跳（陳 1981，135；潘 2005，103）。與其相關，有關“上昂”的文字中還出現“挑斡”與“昂桯”。在實例中，外檐鋪作裏跳的斜向構件有數種相似又有區別的情況（張 2002）。此外，在新近的研究中有學者認爲昂桯是一種不出昂頭的斜向構件，在實例中與通常認爲是上昂的构件形态接近（朱 2018）。因而學者也對三者進行辨析，以圖明確區分上昂、挑斡與昂桯，但目前尚沒有一致的觀點（朱 2018；林 2017；謝 2020）。6

Related concepts

下昂 xià'áng

挑斡 tiǎowò

昂桯 ángtīng

Broad Match: bracketing