Editing Chinese culture (section)

=== Paifang ===
{{Main|Paifang}}
''Paifang'', also known as a ''Pailou'', is a traditional style of [[China|Chinese]] [[Chinese architecture|architectural]] [[arch]] or gateway structure that is related to the [[India]]n ''[[Torana]]'' from which it is derived.<ref>{{cite book |author=A.H. Longhurst |title=Story of the Stupa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gs1sFlMGy2AC&pg=PA17 |year=1995 |publisher=Asian Educational Services |isbn=978-81-206-0160-4 |pages=17– |access-date=1 November 2017 |archive-date=22 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022223518/https://books.google.com/books?id=gs1sFlMGy2AC&pg=PA17#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> The word ''paifang'' ({{zh|c=牌坊|p=páifāng}}) was originally a collective term for the top two levels of administrative division and subdivisions of ancient Chinese cities. The largest division within a city in ancient China was a ''fang'' ({{zh|c=坊|hp=fāng|labels=no}}), equivalent to a current day [[ward (electoral subdivision)|ward]]. Each fang was enclosed by walls or fences, and the gates of these enclosures were shut and guarded every night. Each fang was further divided into several ''pai'' ({{zh|c=牌|hp=pái|l=placard|labels=no}}), which is equivalent to a current day (unincorporated) community. Each pai, in turn, contained an area including several [[hutong]]s (alleyways). This system of urban administrative division and subdivision reached an elaborate level during the [[Tang dynasty]], and continued in the following dynasties. For example, during the [[Ming dynasty]], [[Beijing]] was divided into a total of 36 fangs. Originally, the word ''paifang'' referred to the gate of a fang and the marker for an entrance of a building complex or a town; but by the [[Song dynasty]], a paifang had evolved into a purely decorative monument.