| 摘要: | This paper aims to discuss the Tay Ninh Holy Tower, the first and the most important temple of Caodaism in Vietnam. This temple is located in Tay Ninh province in southwestern Vietnam, approximately 90 km to the northwest of Ho Chi Minh City. Caodaism is one of the most special religions in Vietnam, as it originated in this country in the early 20th century and can be seen as a combination of many other religions including Buddhist, Catholic, Brahmin, Confucianism, Muslim and so forth. Consequently, Caodaism has also been strongly influenced by the theological and ideological ideas of these different religions.
On the basis of the paradigm of ‘architecture as a representation of realities’, this paper tries to analyze the complicated relationship between the architectural form of the Tay Ninh Holy Tower and the religious ideas of Caodaism. The ground plan, the façade, the spatial arrangement, the layout, the decorations and the symbols of different parts of this building can all be seen as representations of various cosmic, religious, social and political realities. In this paper, the analysis frame of the ‘Axis Mundi & Cosmic Cross’, the ‘Including & Excluding Structures’ and the ‘Holy & Unholy Zones’ are applied for the exploration of the significant meanings of the Tay Ninh Holy Tower.
There are many articles on Caodaism and Caodaism architecture. However, there have not been any research going to analyze Tay Ninh Holy Tower by the systematic way yet. Based on the methodologies, the paper helps the readers know more about the study objects that the author wants to analyze in the following sections, especially based on the Organization of Caodaism, Caodaism rituals. Then, there are the comparisons between Caodaism and Caodaism Architecture with other religions to prove that this religion is a combination of many religions in the world. |
