Traditional Chinese Villages: Beautiful Nostalgia 9813361530, 9789813361539

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Linping Xue · Xi Pan · Xin Wang · Honghong Zhou

Traditional Chinese Villages Beautiful Nostalgia

Traditional Chinese Villages

Linping Xue • Xi Pan • Xin Wang Honghong Zhou

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Traditional Chinese Villages Beautiful Nostalgia

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Linping Xue School of Architecture and Design Beijing Jiaotong University Beijing, China

Xi Pan School of Architecture and Design Beijing Jiaotong University Beijing, China

Xin Wang School of Architecture and Design Beijing Jiaotong University Beijing, China

Honghong Zhou School of Languages and Communication Studies Beijing Jiaotong University Beijing, China

ISBN 978-981-33-6153-9 ISBN 978-981-33-6154-6 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6154-6

(eBook)

Jointly published with China Architecture & Building Press The print edition is not for sale in China (Mainland). Customers from China (Mainland) please order the print book from: China Architecture & Building Press. © China Architecture & Building Press and Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publishers, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publishers, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publishers nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publishers remain neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore

Contents

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Introduction: Diversity of Cultures, Villages and Diversity of Cultures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . History
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Emotion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appreciation of Cultures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reviewing and Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Happy Families in Heavenly Dwellings, Huizhou in Southern Anhui Province . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . United by Lineage and Consanguinity . . . . . . . . . . Wealthy Huizhou Merchants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Landscape Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Water Mouths in the Villages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zigzaging Streets and Lanes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Memorial Clan Archways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Horse Head Walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brick, Stone and Wood Carvings . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Merchant Villages . . . . . . . . .

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Lofty Buildings Towering East and West, Kaiping Watchtower Villages in Central and Southern Guangdong Province . . . . . . . Hometown of Overseas Chinese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lofty Buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Buildings in Comb Pattern Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Watchtowers for Defense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A Combination of Western and Chinese Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Round and Square Buildings and Five-Phoenix Villages in Southwestern Fujian Province . . . . . Guarding Against Bandits and Japanese Pirates . . Nestled in Mountains and Embraced by Rivers . . Housing an Entire Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Round Earthen Dwellings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Square Earthen Dwellings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Five-Phoenix Mansions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Location of the Ancestral Hall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Defense Function of Earthen Dwellings . . . . . . . . Ram Earth and Frame Wood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Plaques and Couplets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Drum Towers Against Mountains and over Waters, Ancient Dong Villages in Southeastern Guizhou Province . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Origins of Dong Villages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mountains and Villages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Diverse Spatial Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Mansions, Ancient . . . . . . . . . . .

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Contents

Drum Tower as the Village Center . . . . . Wind and Rain Bridges . . . . . . . . . . . . . Construction of Stilt Houses . . . . . . . . . . Substantial Barns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vocal Music and Philosophical Attitudes . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

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116 120 122 124 126 145

Stilt Houses on Top of Leigong Mountain, Ancient Miao Villages in Southeastern Guizhou Province . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Warm and Humid Mountain Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Descendants of Jiuli Tribe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Miao Families on Hilltop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gates, Squares, Bridges, and Trees in Miao Villages . . . . . . . . . . . . Half Side Stilt Buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pillars Supporting the Roof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Customs in Building Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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147 147 147 148 149 153 156 160

Watchtowers over Gorges, Qiang and Tibetan Villages in Western Sichuan Province . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Watchtowers on Alpine Gorges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Origin of Tibetan and Qiang Ethnic Groups in Northwest Sichuan Province Building Villages in Deep Valleys and on High Mountains . . . . . . . . . . . . Stone and Earth Blockhouses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Types of Watchtowers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Functions of Watchtowers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Structure of Watchtowers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Difference Between Tibetan and Qiang Watchtowers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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173 173 174 176 179 184 186 187 192 201

Deep Merchant Courtyards, Traditional Villages in Central Shanxi Province . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Location of Central Shanxi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mountains and River System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adjusting to Local Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Interdependent Business and Manors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Well Guarded Villages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Solemn in Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Deep Residential Courtyards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Splendid Installation and Decoration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Dwellings for All Walks of Life, Villages on Middle Reaches of Qin River in Shanxi and Henan Province . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cradle of Civilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Merchants and Officials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nestled in Mountains and Embraced by Rivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Layout of Streets and Lanes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Defensive Fortresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Temples in Villages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dwelling Houses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Decorations of Manors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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10 Hakka Round-Dragon Houses Among Green Mountains and Waters, Traditional Meizhou Villages in Guangdong Province . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263 Hakka in Meizhou . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263 Characteristics of Hakka Villages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

Contents

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Round-Dragon Dwellings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Horizontal Hall Houses, Lever-Shape Houses and Enclosed Buildings Building Materials: Earth, Timbers and Stones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Decorative Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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11 Fresh and Diverse Local Life, Traditional Naxi Villages in Yunnan Province . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . An Overview of Naxi Nationality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Migration and Branches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . From Nomadic to Farming Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Military, Agricultural and Commercial Settlements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Matriarchal and Patriarchal Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beliefs and Spiritual Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Evolution of Building Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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279 279 279 281 283 284 293 295 307

Afterword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

About the Authors

Linping Xue is currently an associate professor at the School of Architecture and Design at Beijing Jiaotong University. He graduated from the School of Architecture and Urban Planning of Tongji University with a Ph.D. in 2004. He was a visiting scholar at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom in 2011. His main research interests are rural architecture, traditional dwellings and architectural design with regional characteristics. He has published academic works such as Traditional Chinese Theater Architecture, Series of Shanxi Ancient Villages and Towns (25 volumes have been published at the end of 2015), Traditional Chinese Villages (Volume I): Traditional Beijing Villages and so on, as well as more than 50 academic papers. He has hosted more than 10 vertical research projects including National Natural Science Foundation, National Social Science Foundation and Beijing Natural Science Foundation. He has hosted over 50 practical projects on planning and design and has won three national awards on outstanding urban and rural planning and design. His social academic part-time jobs include member of the committee of experts on traditional residential protection of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-rural Development, deputy head of the working group on traditional residential protection, deputy director of the expert committee on traditional villages and residential protection of Shanxi Province, executive deputy head of the expert group, member of the expert group on the overall protection and utilization of traditional villages of Shanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau.

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About the Authors

Xi Pan is currently an associate professor in the School of Architecture and Design, Beijing Jiaotong University. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in architecture and Ph.D. in engineering from Tsinghua University. In 2012, she spent half a year at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom as a visiting researcher. She is also the member of ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites), ICOMOS China, Academic Committee of Traditional Dwelling of the Architectural Society of China and working group on traditional residential protection of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-rural Development. Her research focuses on vernacular architecture and traditional villages. She has published more than 30 articles in journals such as Architectural Journal, Architect and New Architecture. She is the author of Building Paradigm of Naxi Vernacular Architecture, Architecture and Cultural Anthropology, and the translator of An Anthropology of Architecture. Funded by National Natural Science Foundation, National Social Science Foundation, Ministry of Culture and other institutions, she has carried out quite a few research projects in this area. And she is also active as a practitioner and volunteer in rural China; one of her projects, the IUCN Streamshoots Environmental Education Centre won the WA Social Equality Award in 2018. Xin Wang, Ph.D. in Architecture from Tsinghua University, is currently teaching at the School of Architecture and Design in Beijing Jiaotong University. His main academic interests are traditional settlements and regional architecture. He has published dozens of academic papers in journals such as Architectural Journal, Community Design and Huazhong Architecture. He has participated in the translation of the academic works, such as Shangzhuang Ancient Village, 20th-Century World Architecture: The Phaidon Atlas, Herzog & de Meuron 1989–1991: the Complete Works (Volume 2), National Geographic-Around the World in 125 Years. As a key researcher, he has participated in the Research on Environmental Adaptability Design Patterns and Strategies from the Perspective of Architectural Regionality, supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China. He is now a member of the working group of the Traditional Dwelling Conservation Expert Committee of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and of the expert committee of the Traditional Village Conservation and Development of Shanxi Province. He has completed more than ten practical projects on traditional village protection and development and regional architectural design.

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Introduction: Diversity of Cultures, Villages and Architecture

Diversity of Cultures It is undeniable that human culture is an extremely diversified phenomenon. But when it comes to the judgment of value, some questions are still under consideration. For example, are cultures equal in status despite their differences, or could one culture be taken as superior to another? Can we label cultures with “superiority” or “inferiority” and even replace the “inferior” cultures with the “superior” ones? Is the diversity or the unity of cultures more beneficial for the long-term development of human beings? Here, we take a strong stand in this book that cultures should be diverse but equal. Each culture is a unique product of a certain society and has its own historical trace in its birth and development which cannot be measured by a single evolutionary law of “advanced” or “unadvanced”. There are various possibilities for human behavior. In the face of these possibilities, people make their own choices, using different ways to understand and interpret the world, generating different outlooks and values, and then interact with nature and society in different modes. These choices are influenced by a variety of factors, and there is also a certain contingency. The diversity of cultures results from that of regions, peoples, and choices. Once a culture is formed and continued, it becomes a system that adapts to the people in the area. Therefore, there is no absolute superiority or inferiority in a culture. It is untenable to judge one culture according to the value system of another or to replace one by the other in the name of superiority or inferiority. People can only live in harmony when they understand that all cultures are the common heritage enriching human life which are equal to one another without any distinction of advancement or backwardness, and should be treated in an inclusive and respectful way. In Declaration on Cultural Diversity (2001), UNESCO clearly stated that cultural diversity is “a source of communication, innovation, and creation” and “the common heritage of mankind”, and that “cultural diversity has

increased the selection opportunity for everyone and is one of the sources of development, which is not only a factor that promotes economic growth, but also a means to create a satisfactory intellectual, emotional, and moral life.” In terms of ethics, defending cultural diversity is also an urgent need to respect human rights and provide basic freedom.

History
Culture
Emotion Cultural diversity needs to be respected and maintained, so does that of traditional villages and dwellings, which is one of the manifestations of cultural diversity. There are various forms of traditional villages and dwellings. Their shapes and structures have come into being and gone on to adapt to the needs of the corresponding people in the environment. These villages and dwellings have not only enriched the human landscape, but also benefited the diversified and sustainable development of culture. However, this diversity is disappearing rapidly. In previous years, the phenomenon of “identical cities” has aroused people’s attention. The cities have grown complicated and complex, but they all look the same and cannot be distinguished from one another. In the process of continuous urbanization, this phenomenon is also infiltrating into rural areas, in which the villages replicate the cities and lose their diversity and vividness gradually. The vanishing of traditional villages has brought about great negative impacts on the continuation and inheritance of traditional culture (Fig. 1.1). First, China has been an agricultural society for thousands of years. Even up to now, the rural areas and farmers remain the main part of the grassroots of the society. “Most of the Chinese culture, including the legal systems, customs, industry and commerce, etc., stems from the countryside and sets up for the countryside.”1 We need to have a profound 1

Liang Shuming. Theory of Rural Construction. Shanghai: Shanghai People's Publishing House. 2011: 10.

© China Architecture & Building Press and Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 L. Xue et al., Traditional Chinese Villages, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6154-6_1

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Fig. 1.1 Nuodeng Village in Yunlong County, Yunnan Province: Gradually Hollowed Villages. In rural China, “hollowed villages” have become a common phenomenon. Because of the low income from agricultural production and the transfer of educational resources, a large number of young adults leave their villages to make a living in cities. Thus “hollowed villages” are formed, losing their vitality gradually.

understanding of the rural society that represents the general lives of the broad masses of the civilians. Chen Zhihua regards “cognitive value” as one of the most important values of vernacular architecture, “From vernacular architecture we can learn about rural China and the entire China, about Chinese farmers and the whole Chinese nation.”2 The disappearance of traditional villages means the disappearance of the history of the broadest civilian life, which affects the integrity of our understanding of rural China. Second, traditional villages and dwellings in which people live are the continuous carriers of local culture. They are closely related to the lifestyle, production mode, customs and habits of the local people. If the sites disappear, so does the culture attached to them. A Dongba priest of Lijiang once gave me a vivid example. According to the custom of Naxi People in Labo Rural Township, Ninglang County, a fire ceremony is to be held to honor the deities after a family moves into a new house. Once he was asked by a Naxi family to hold the fire ceremony for their new house in the city. However, in this modern suite, there were no proper places to hold the ceremony, so the priest had to sacrifice the God of Water beside the tap, and the God of Domestic Animals in a nearby chicken farm. The ceremony could not go on in the traditional way. Having moved into the suites, most families had to cancel these ceremonies altogether. He sighed and said that living in the city, there will be no place to set up a mourning hall when their parents pass away. In addition, traditional villages and dwellings are closely related to the regions where people live. The locations and

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patterns of the villages and the architectural forms, structures, colors, and decorations of the dwellings are closely integrated with the material lives and spiritual needs of the local people, full of local characteristics and emotional beauty. The memories and emotions contained in the traditional villages belong to millions of people and to the whole nation. Liang Sicheng once said affectionately, “Our people have grown up in the architectural environment we constructed. We will consciously or subconsciously love the traditional types of our architecture and the social significance they combine with our lives in thousands of years. We will also consciously or intuitively love the architectural aesthetic value of our buildings. The ancient grave stone tablets, the short walls and a few scattered huts in the village are so lovely and meaningful to us. They have enriched our lives and thoughts and become the inseparable emotional content.”3 Our nostalgia will have no place to cling to if we lose these traditional villages.

Appreciation of Cultures “Appreciate the cultures of others as do to one’s own, and the world will become a harmonious whole.” This is Fei Xiaotong’s summary of different cultural relations, which also applies to the diversity of traditional villages. Because of the differences of climate, geographical environment, resource materials, social forms, modes of production, and spiritual beliefs, the traditional villages in various parts of our country have formed rich and diverse features, which together constitute a diversified native China. The diversity of villages and dwellings comes first from that of climatic conditions that must be dealt with. The basic purpose of building villages and houses is to provide shelters from wind and rain and create a physical environment suitable for human survival. According to China’s climate zoning, the whole country can be divided into 12 temperature zones, and according to the building climate zoning standards, the country is divided into seven first-class zoning areas, belonging to five types of climate zones. In order to cope with the climatic characteristics of various places in the building of shelters, people in different places have developed a variety of response methods in their long-term practice, and have constructed a rich variety of traditional villages and buildings. The most important way to adapt to the climate for villages and houses in cold regions is heat preservation and heating in winter. Most of the villages in these areas are

Liang Sicheng. “Great Architectural Tradition and Heritage” from Collected Works of Liang Sicheng. Volume V. Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press, 2001: 92.

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Chen Zhihua. North Window Notes. Zhengzhou: Henan Science and Technology Publishing House. 1999: 48.

Introduction: Diversity of Cultures, Villages and Architecture

Appreciation of Cultures

located in sunny positions, and the houses are also facing south in order to maximize the capture of sunlight. Most of the houses use thick walls to increase heat storage. Heating is also applied in many places. For example, using kang, a heatable brick bed, is a common heating method in the north (Figs. 1.2 and 1.3). The climate of the hot summer and warm winter zone is warm and humid, and the main consideration in dealing with the climate is shading and ventilation in summer. For example, both Xiangang Village and Licha Village in Gaoyao, Guangdong Province, adopt a very distinctive radiation layout, which is high in the center and low on the periphery. This layout ventilates effectively in each season and offers efficient drainage in the rainy season. The situation in hot summer and cold winter zone is the most complicated. It is necessary to consider both the heat preservation and heating in winter and shading and ventilation in summer. For example, the residential buildings in the south of the Yangtze River not only use the hollow brick walls to increase the heat storage capacity of the building, but also use cold alleys, patios, cornice corridors, and so on to achieve the effect of shading and ventilation. Comparatively speaking, residents in this area take more consideration of the demands in summer because in the traditional society with limited technology, they can keep warm in winter by putting on more clothes and heating; while the means to keep cool in summer is relatively limited. Therefore, when demands in two seasons come in conflict, people would pay more attention to the latter (Fig. 1.4). Second, the diversity of villages and dwellings also roots in the diversity of geographical conditions. Most of the traditional villages and buildings, as residences for people, are rooted in the land and cannot be moved. Therefore, people must deal with the relationship between the villages and houses they build on the land and the topography as well as geomorphology, so that the mountains and rivers can be better adapted to serve people’s needs. China has a vast territory, and the overall terrain, in three levels, is high in the west and low in the east. The diverse topography and landscape, and a variety of villages and buildings have come into being on the three-level terrain ladders and the transitional zones between them. With flat terrain and convenient transportation, the plain area may be one of the most suitable terrains for the construction of villages and houses. For example, the streets and lanes in many villages on the North China Plain are horizontal and vertical in a regular pattern. However, if the water network is stretched across the plains, the pattern of the villages will not be so regular. The Yangtze River Delta region is located in one of the four major plains in China— the Middle-Lower Reaches of Yangtze Plain. Numerous lakes and rivers make it particularly suitable for rice paddies and freshwater fish, hence its designation of “land of fish and

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Fig. 1.2 Village Facing the Sun: Cuan Dixia Village in Mentougou District, Beijing

Fig. 1.3 Village Facing the Sun: Dachang Village in Yu County, Shanxi Province. Sunshine is the cheapest and most convenient heating mode in the cold northern regions in winter, so most villages there would face the sun as much as possible under the condition of adapting to the terrain.

rice”. Water systems are not only an important source for domestic use, but also an important network for transportation. The houses here are often arranged along the waterways, and the layout of villages is closely related to the water system (Figs. 1.5, 1.6 and 1.7). In the mountainous region, people have to make greater efforts to deal with the terrain. Villages on the gentle slopes of hilly areas are often located in relatively gentle areas at the foot of the mountain, back on the slopes and adjacent to water sources and arable land, which is called “storing the wind and obtaining the water” in fengshui or geomancy. But villages in steep mountainous areas are nestled among hills. People have developed many different architectural forms such as mountain terrace courtyards, cave dwellings and stilt buildings to flexibly cope with the topography of high mountains, steep slopes, and a shortage of large flat land (Figs. 1.8, 1.9 and 1.10).

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Fig. 1.4 Patio of the Folk House in Luxiang Village, Suzhou Province. In southern China, the need for shading and ventilation in summer is more urgent than that for heating in winter. The patio provides effective sunshade and ventilation in the courtyard, and is a common spatial form in the relatively warm southern regions.

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Introduction: Diversity of Cultures, Villages and Architecture

Third, the diversity of resources and materials also creates a variety of villages and dwellings. Construction materials are a must in building villages and houses. In traditional society with limited traffic and transportation technology, making full use of local materials has become the most common and practical strategy in construction. Due to the different climate and geographical conditions, the materials available for construction vary from place to place. These, together with different construction techniques, result in a rich variety of villages and architectural forms. Wood is one of the most commonly used materials in traditional buildings in China. It is used in almost all the forest-covered areas. It is widely distributed, easy to process, with good tensile properties and a certain degree of compression and shear resistance and proves to be a good building material. Dong and Miao People living in the areas

Fig. 1.5 Regular Village Pattern in North China

Fig. 1.6 Winding Water Lane in Yuecheng District, Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province

of Hunan, Guangxi and Guizhou Province have utilized the rich forest resources and developed superb wooden skills. They build exquisite and amazing drum towers, stilt buildings, and wind and rain bridges. In addition to building structures, wood is also widely used in residential buildings for building components and sculptures (Figs. 1.11, 1.12, 1.13 and 1.14). Raw soil is also a widely used material. In Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and Qinghai Province, where the climate is relatively arid, people use rammed soil or adobe brick techniques to build cave dwellings for residences, forming a variety of types such as cliff kiln and pit kiln. In the mountainous area in western Zhejiang Province, people draw materials locally, using rammed soil technique to build thick and solid walls to create a residential space that is

Appreciation of Cultures

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Fig. 1.7 Folk Dwellings by the Water Lane in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province

Fig. 1.8 Village “Storing the Wind and Obtaining the Water” in Yulong County, Yunnan Province Fig. 1.9 Tier upon Tier of Mountain Terraces in Guangou Village, Suburban Area of Yangquan City, Shanxi Province

warm in winter and cool in summer (Figs. 1.15, 1.16 and 1.17). In some areas, people also use stones to build houses. Stones, durable and widely distributed, are the first choice for building houses in many areas. For example, people living in the lower reaches of the Nanxi River master superb techniques to build houses with smooth pebbles from river banks. In the mountainous areas of Shanxi Province, people extract stone from the mountains and cut them into square blocks to build cave dwellings (Figs. 1.18, 1.19 and 1.20). Since Ming and Qing dynasties, bricks have been widely used to build traditional villages and folk dwellings. The firmness and durability of the walls have been greatly improved through using bricks as the main building material or wrapping the tamped earth walls with bricks. With the

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Fig. 1.10 Tibetan Village on Mountains in Deqin County of Yunnan Province. Northwest Yunnan is located in the area of Hengduan Mountains with alpine valleys. The Tibetan villages here are built on the mountain terraces to obtain relatively flat arable land and more abundant sunshine.

Fig. 1.11 Stilt Buildings of Miao Ethnic Group in Jiubai Village in Taijiang County of Guizhou Province

Fig. 1.12 Column-and-tie-beam Wood Construction of a Folk Dwelling in Furong Village, Yongjia County of Zhejiang Province

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Introduction: Diversity of Cultures, Villages and Architecture

popularization of bricks, the construction of the fire-sealing gable walls has greatly improved the fire resistance of residential communities. Additionally, the fine-grained bricks are also pretty good materials for carving decorations (Figs. 1.21, 1.22 and 1.23). When people are able to deal with climate and topography, to use proper materials to build a suitable physical space for survival, they will go on to carry out production activities to maintain survival, which is the most important part of traditional social life. Therefore, the demand for different production methods will also have an impact on villages and buildings. Agriculture is the most common mode of production with land being the most important means, which must be taken into account wherever villages and dwellings are under construction. In Hengduan Mountains of Yunnan Province, the flatland between north–south mountain ranges has become an important source of cultivated land. Therefore, most of the villages here are built at the foot of the mountains. When the population grows, the villages and dwellings will move upwards to retain the flat farmland for cultivation. Whereas, Zhuang People of Longsheng County in Guangxi Province live in the middle of their fields where the whole village is surrounded by terraced farmland, forming a core area for production and daily life (Figs. 1.24 and 1.25). In areas with abundant materials or convenient transportation, business supports many people’s lives. There are a large number of such traditional villages and towns in the area of Han Nationality in Sichuan Province. In these villages and towns, streets for commercial exchanges have become extremely important structural elements of settlements, and many linear settlements have arisen from them. In order to share as much street-facing space as possible, people build “shop-houses” which are narrow in width but deep in depth. These shop-houses serve both for commerce and residence where people do business downstairs and live upstairs, or have a store in the front and living space at the back. In regions of rivers and lakes, people inhabit and do business on the commercial street by water (Figs. 1.26 and 1.27). In addition to agriculture and commerce, there are other types of production modes. For example, some Tibetans and Mongolians live on nomadism. In order to adapt to mobility, they live in tents that are easy to build and disassemble. For “Dan People” in the coastal areas of South China who rely on fishing for their livelihood, their house is the ship and the ship is their house, and the cluster of ships is their village. Tibetan and Naxi People in Yanjing Township in Tibet have been making salt for generations. They have built layers of salt pans along the banks of Lancang River, and their villages are located behind the salt fields (Fig. 1.28).

Appreciation of Cultures

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Fig. 1.13 Door and Window Carvings of the Folk House in Shanxiayang Village, Songyang County of Zhejiang Province Fig. 1.14 Wood carvings in Yangjiatang Village, Songyang County of Zhejiang Province

Fig. 1.16 Rammed Soil Houses in Yangjiatang Village in Songyang County of Zhejiang Province

Fig. 1.15 Pit Kiln in Shan County of Henan Province

In addition to industry, defense is also an important aspect of life. Tibetans and Qiang People in the northwest of Sichuan Province build villages on top of high mountains or on river bends and erect watchtowers for lookout and

Fig. 1.17 Rammed Soil Houses in Nuodeng Village in Yunlong County of Yunnan Province. Raw soil is one of the most widely used building materials in China because it is widely distributed and it does not need complicated techniques or tools to obtain and process and it has good heat storage properties.

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Fig. 1.18 Pebble Wall in Cangpo Village in Yongjia County of Zhejiang Province

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Introduction: Diversity of Cultures, Villages and Architecture

Fig. 1.21 Rammed Soil Wall Wrapped by Black Bricks in Shanxiayang Village, Songyang County of Zhejiang Province. Although raw soil has many advantages such as cheapness, heat preservation, and ease of processing, it is poor in moisture and damp resistance. Wrapping the tamped earth wall with black bricks can effectively improve its moisture resistance.

Fig. 1.19 Stone Cave Dwellings in Lijiashan Village in Lin County of Shanxi Province

Fig. 1.22 Brick Cave Dwellings in Shijiagou Village, Fenxi County of Shanxi Province

Fig. 1.20 Stone Dwellings in Yingtan Village in Xingtai City of Hebei Province

defense; many villages along Qin River of southeastern Shanxi Province are enclosed by fortress walls and guarded by watchtowers; in many parts of Guangdong Province, people build watchtowers in their houses. In times of material scarcity and social turbulence, people built defensive buildings to protect their families and property (Figs. 1.29 and 1.30). In a traditional society dominated by agriculture, people mostly live in groups so that they can collaborate in production and life. In such a life, there is a social structure in the community, and people live together in a certain form of organization.

Appreciation of Cultures

9 Fig. 1.26 Commercial Street in Wangyu Township, Ya’an City of Sichuan Province

Fig. 1.23 Brick Carving in Sanjiadian Village, Mentougou District, Beijing. While sharing some similarities with stone in appearance, the texture of brick is relatively fine and soft, which makes it easy to process elaborate and complicated decorative patterns.

Fig. 1.24 Agricultural Village at the Foot of Mountains in Tengchong City of Yunnan Province

Fig. 1.25 Agriculture Village in Longsheng County of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (taken by Wei Shiyu)

The Hakka usually live in groups and their houses consist almost of a small community. The Hakka of west Fujian Province live in large earth buildings called Tulou. This large-scale construction reaches tens of meters in diameter,

covering thousands of square meters. The function of each floor is different and each family occupies a number of rooms from the bottom up, leading a highly public life. An extended family of several generations living together is a common social unit in the Han area. The famous Shanxi merchant manor is an architectural complex occupied by a big family in which there are rooms serving various functions such as halls, bedrooms, ancestral halls, maids’ houses, chariot yards, storage rooms, and so on. The courtyards in Suzhou City are more poetic and picturesque. These dwellings are composed of regular main yards as well as gardens in relatively free forms. The refined scholars express their literary grace on the landscape. Mosuo People adjacent to Lugu Lake also live in the form of an extended family, but their lineage calculation is based on the maternal system. People live with their maternal relatives, and the number of people in the family can reach dozens. Grandmother’s house, scripture hall, flower house (for adult women), and grass house (for adult men) constitute a typical maternity courtyard. In some areas, the children of the family split up after marriage, with the nuclear family as the main living unit. This small family pattern results in a relatively small scale of housing (Figs. 1.31, 1.32 and 1.33). In addition to material production and social organization, spiritual life is also an important part of life. People’s diverse cultures and beliefs are also widely reflected in villages and folk dwellings. Han People in Jiangsu and Zhejiang Province generally have a strong cultural tradition of patriarchy and stress “respecting for the ancestors”. Since the middle of Ming Dynasty, due to the transformation of the ancestral worship ritual and the development of the economy, the construction of ancestral halls has flourished. Located at the entrance of the village, these grand-scale and soaring ancestral halls are the symbol of the village and the glory of the clan. Some of them located in the middle of the village, together with the

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Introduction: Diversity of Cultures, Villages and Architecture

Fig. 1.27 Commercial Street by Water in Yantou Village, Yongjia County of Zhejiang Province

Fig. 1.28 Salt Pans in Yanjing Township, Mangkang County of Tibet Autonomous Region

Fig. 1.29 Tibetan Village on Mountain Ridge of Songgang Village, Ma’erkang County of Sichuan Province. Songgang Village is a defensive settlement on the mountain ridge equipped with high watchtowers. People in the village can get a good view from all directions to discover the enemy and send out an alarm.

Fig. 1.30 Watchtower and Folk Dwellings in Dashuitian Village, Shenzhen City of Guangdong Province. The aborigines of Dashuitian Village are Hakka of Han Nationality. This is a folk group that has historically experienced war and migration but still maintains strong ethnic identity. Hakka have a very strong clansman concept and usually live together. Although the buildings and settlements are not necessarily the same, most of them have high defensive capabilities. The earth buildings in Fujian Province and the enclosed houses in Jiangxi Province are examples of defensive buildings.

Fig. 1.31 Private Garden in Suzhou City of Jiangsu Province

Appreciation of Cultures

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Fig. 1.32 Tibetan Dwellings for Small-scale Families in Shangri-La of Yunnan Province. This picture was taken in 2013. The ancient city in the picture is named Dukezong. Its history can be traced back to the seventh century AD. The city was destroyed in a big fire in January 2014, and the damaged houses have been successively rebuilt since then.

Fig. 1.34 Ancestral Hall in Furong Village, Yongjia County of Zhejiang Province Fig. 1.33 Han Dwellings for Small-scale Families in Dachang Village, Yu County of Shanxi Province

cultural buildings such as the academies, the literary clubs, village temples, etc., constitute the public centers for a clan to hold sacrificial ceremonies, etiquette, and social activities. These ancestral halls tend to be the center of the spiritual space of the village. In the village of Dong Nationality, its core is the drum tower, which is the place for people’s social entertainment and festival gatherings, and where the village people gather and have discussions when something important occurs. In Tibetan Villages, there are often Mani piles of stones of different sizes. The stones are engraved with six words of truth. People walk piously around the Mani piles and add a stone to pray for God (Figs. 1.34, 1.35 and 1.36). There is also space to contact God and to place beliefs inside the residential buildings. Hakka People in Meizhou pin their wishes in the round dragon house to pray for the protection of gods and the continuation of descendants. In Hakkas’ earthen buildings, the round house in the rear and the horizontal hall of the round dragon house are combined into a semicircular inner courtyard called “Huatai”, which is the most important area of Hakka’s traditional dwellings, symbolizing stability in geomancy. This courtyard is

Fig. 1.35 Dong People’s Chorus in the Drum Tower of Gaoqian Village, Congjiang County, Guizhou Province. One family builds a new house in the village, so the village “singing group”, composed of young men and women, gathers in the Drum Tower to sing a chorus to show their blessing.

Fig. 1.36 Mani Pile in Zhibo Village, Ma’erkang County, Sichuan Province

covered with cobblestones standing for fertility. On one side of “Huatai”, a dragon hall is set up to pray for continuity of the family line. The Qiang ethnic group generally worships the middle column and fire pond. The latter is the main area for living and eating and is regarded as the place where the

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Introduction: Diversity of Cultures, Villages and Architecture

ancestors and gods remain. The middle column is the bridge for Qiang People to communicate with gods. There are many taboos around the fire pond and the middle column, and many rituals in life also take place there. In the Tibetan dwellings in Yanjing Township, Mangkang County in Tibet, on the roof of every family, there is an incense altar with cypress branches and prayer flags. The altar is regarded as the residence of the protector, called Mingchuonai in the Tibetan language. In Yangquan of Shanxi Province, there are two shrines in every household: one is for the god of earth and the other is for the god of heaven. People will worship these two gods and pray for peace and harmony for their household on New Year’s Day or other festivals (Figs. 1.37 and 1.38).

Reviewing and Learning Decades ago, the architect Liang Sicheng held a somewhat tragic attitude on the study of traditional Chinese architecture. In the frenzy of destroying old buildings, he called on scholars to “awaken the society and encourage the preservation trends of the old buildings through academic investigations and research. Even if the damage cannot be stopped completely, it can be reduced gradually.” He regarded the research and preservation of traditional architecture as “the power of inverse times” and a “sacred duty” of the architects.4 Up to now, the emphasis on traditional culture has gradually become the consensus of the people. The value of traditional villages and dwellings in history, culture, science, art, society, and economy has been re-recognized. Our social cognition has made great progress since the time of Mr. Liang. These lovely villages and folk dwellings are the historical records of rural China, the carrier of colorful traditional culture, reflecting the superb scientific and artistic level of our ancestors. They are also an important guarantee for social stability and security in the process of social transformation. There is no doubt that defining and acknowledging our own cultural identity as well as constantly recognizing and understanding our own culture is an embodiment of cultural self-consciousness and self-confidence. Of course, being self-confident never means resting on our laurels. The era is constantly moving forward, and the diversity of traditional villages and folk dwellings should also be a dynamic one. If people are forced to stick to tradition and reject all the changes and developments in the name of preservation, then what remains is only a rigid

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Liang Sicheng. Chinese Architecture History
Preface. Tianjing: Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House, 2005.

Fig. 1.37 Incense Altar on the Roof in Yanjing Village, Mangkang County, Tibetan Autonomous District

Fig. 1.38 God of Earth Shrine in the Folk Dwelling in Yangquan City of Shanxi Province. The shrine of the god of earth, decorated with brick carvings, is usually located on the screen wall or on the wall of the gatehouse at the entrance. Together with the shrine of the god of heaven on the wall of the main house, they bless the household with safety and prosperity.

specimen, which is a violation of the original intention of free choices and basic human rights in the pursuit of cultural diversity. In the past century, the discussion of “Chinese

Reviewing and Learning

character” in architectural creation has been an important topic in the field of architecture. Chinese architects have been constantly exploring their own path in architectural creation from the first generation focusing on “the inherent architectural form of China” to the call of “socialist content and national form” in the 1950s, to the diversified thinking and practice from the perspectives of context, symbol, and regionalism in the 1980s, even to the call today of “local architecture” and “regional architecture”. “Learning from the past” and having a profound understanding of traditional

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architecture are undoubtedly the solid foundation for the exploration of “Chinese character” in architectural creation. Taking region as a clue, this book introduces traditional Chinese villages in ten typical areas in China, most of which have been included in World Cultural Heritage List or the Tentative List and reflect the diverse rural and traditional life prominently. We hope that this book can increase the reader’s understanding of traditional architectural culture and provide some inspiration for architectural creation as well.

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Happy Families in Heavenly Dwellings, Huizhou Merchant Villages in Southern Anhui Province

Huizhou refers to the administrative area of Huizhou Government in Ming and Qing Dynasty. There are six counties under its jurisdiction, including She, Xiuning, Yi, Qimen, Jixi, and Wuyuan (now belonging to Jiangxi Province). Geographically, Huizhou has been an independent unit since ancient times. In Southern Song Dynasty, Huizhou was described by Chunxi in his Chronicles of Xin’an (Huizhou, formerly known as Xin’an) as a place where “the geographical environment was relatively closed and people developed their own independent culture and unique customs”. Huizhou locates in the “rugged mountains and hilly areas”, which make up of nine-tenths of its land. Since Tang Dynasty, it has enjoyed relatively stable organizational systems as well as independent culture and folklore. A large number of delicately constructed ancient villages have been preserved. The ancient villages of Southern Anhui, represented by Xidi and Hong Village, were listed in the World Cultural Heritage List in 2000. These villages are famous for their pastoral scenery, well-preserved village forms, exquisite works of Huizhou-style folk dwellings, and profound historical and cultural connotations.

United by Lineage and Consanguinity The development of Huizhou originated from Eastern Jin Dynasty when aristocrats in the Central Plains moved southward to escape from wars. After enjoying the breeze and clear waters, the scholar-bureaucrats had to reconsider the construction of their physical and spiritual homeland for survival. They chose to live together and build villages with people from the same family clan. Zhao Jishi, a scholar of Qing Dynasty, wrote in his work “The Miscellany of Gulao” in The Thoughts of Jiyuan, “Each village in Xin’an (the former name for Huizhou) is occupied by residents of one single surname, united by consanguinity. This custom is quite similar to that in ancient times.”1 Thus Hu Family built their village in Longchuan Village and Xidi Village; Wang

Family lived in Hong Village, Wu Family in Changxi Village, Luo Family in Chengkan Village, Cao Family in Xiong Village, Shi Family in Shijia Village, Ni Family in Zhukou Village, and Jiang Family in Jiang Village… Each family clan developed and proliferated on their respective land. People of the same surname inhabited one village and attached great importance to patriarchal tradition. They recorded their history by genealogy, which is well-documented and almost complete (Fig. 2.1). Since the middle of Ming Dynasty, due to the support of Huizhou merchants, the construction of ancestral halls has flourished in Huizhou. Each village built a tall and majestic ancestral hall in which the portraits and the memorial tablets of its ancestors were kept, the genealogy of the village was preserved, and deliberate rituals for sacrifice took place. “… Each clan has its own ancestral hall. In the last month of the lunar Chinese year, thousands of people of the same surname in the same village gather to sacrifice their ancestors politely by observing Zhu Xi’s Rules of Family Etiquette (Zhu Xi also referred to as Zhu Wengong). It is often said that Xin’an has many customs that are better than those elsewhere. For example, tombs are well protected for thousands of years; the clan consisting of thousands of people still lives together; the genealogy recording the history of the clan for thousands of years is neatly in order; the etiquette between masters and servants remains strict and is kept for decades; and the villains dare not act recklessly.”2 The families in Huizhou adopted clan regulations to standardize and restrain people’s behavior. “To be honest in life, to love with virtue and to be in peace even in poverty is to respect one’s ancestors; to be self-effacing, to work wholeheartedly, to understand reasons and to respect morality makes dutiful posterity.”3 The 1

[Qing Dynasty] Zhao Jishi, The Thoughts of Jiyuan. Volume 11, Page 872, Hefei: Huangshan Publishing House, 2008. 2 [Qing Dynasty] Zhao Jishi, The Thoughts of Jiyuan. Volume 11, Page 872, Hefei: Huangshan Publishing House, 2008. 3 Couplets on the hall of dutiful son Wenchang (Xiaoyou Hall) in Jiang village, Jingde County.

© China Architecture & Building Press and Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 L. Xue et al., Traditional Chinese Villages, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6154-6_2

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Happy Families in Heavenly Dwellings, Huizhou Merchant …

Fig. 2.1 Plan of Xidi Village in Yi County of Anhui Province (Adapted from Space Research 1: Analysis of the Space of Ancient Xidi Village of the World Cultural Heritage, p. 249)

faithful worship of ancestors and the strict and detailed clan regulations have restrained the offspring and united all the clan members tightly under the name of the ancestors, forming a close lineage relationship. As the family grows larger, there are branches, and the dwellings of branch members are relatively concentrated. Each branch builds its own branch ancestral hall, serving as a psychological and ritual center for the branch members, also centered on the ancestral hall, forming a series of hierarchical clan relationships (Fig. 2.2). In Xidi Village, there were more than 20 ancestral halls and branch ancestral halls in Ming and Qing dynasties: Qizhe Hall, Jiexiao Hall, Mingjing Hall (Benshi Hall),

Airugong Hall, Yiyi Hall, Peizhi Hall, Chujing Hall, Liufang Hall, Changchun Hall, Sanfang Hall, Zhuimu Hall, Xiawufang Hall, Honggong Hall, Yuanxuan Hall, Zhongde Hall, Jing’ai Hall, Sicheng Hall, Xiaxin Hall, Zhibaogong Hall, Wukui Familial Temple, Shihuagong Hall, Ningxiu Hall, Zhonghe Hall, Changfang Hall, Xianyuan Hall, etc. (Figs. 2.3, 2.4). The ancestral hall is generally separated from the residence and becomes the symbol of the village and the glory of the clan with its magnificent scale and towering image. Some of them are located at the head of the village, like Dunben Hall, Qingyi Hall and Shixiao Hall (Fig. 2.5) still standing at the entrance of the Tangyue Village today. Some

United by Lineage and Consanguinity Fig. 2.2 Clan Development Model of Hong Village in Yi County of Anhui Province (Adapted from Space Research 4: Analysis of the Space of Ancient Hong Village of the World Cultural Heritage, p.46)

Fig. 2.3 Jing’ai Hall in Xidi Village

Fig. 2.4 Zhuimu Hall in Xidi Village

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Happy Families in Heavenly Dwellings, Huizhou Merchant …

Fig. 2.5 Dunben Hall, Shixiao Hall and Qingyi Hall in Tangyue Village in She County of Huangshan City (Copied from History of Chinese Architecture, the fifth edition, p.105)

of them are located in the middle of the village, combined with the cultural buildings such as the academies, the literary clubs, village temples, etc., to constitute the activity centers for a clan to hold sacrificial ceremonies, etiquette, and social activities. These ancestral halls tend to be the center of the spiritual space of the villages. As the most important and striking building for a clan in the village, the ancestral hall is of the highest constructive form (Figs. 2.6, 2.7, 2.8). The ancestral tablets or the ancestral portraits consecrate in the offering hall, which is the place where the clan members commemorate their ancestors and conduct clan affairs. Some of the ancestral halls are large enough to accommodate thousands of people, where the

living can communicate spiritually with the deceased to obtain blessings or punishment from their ancestors. The clan also achieved the control over the village through the possession of land. In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, a large amount of land in Huizhou villages was concentrated under the possession of ancestral halls in the name of sacrificial fields, ancestral fields, clan-owned fields, school-owned fields, charitable fields, etc. In principle, these lands could not be bought or sold; therefore, the land property rights in Huizhou were relatively stable, which was conducive to the agricultural production and maintained the scale of the Huizhou settlement. The clan’s administration of the land gradually improved the cohesiveness of the clan and the structure of the villages, which resulted in complete village forms.

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Happy Families in Heavenly Dwellings, Huizhou Merchant …

Fig. 2.6 Ancestral Hall of Luo Family in Chengkan Village in Huizhou District of Huangshan City. The full name of Luo’s Ancestral Hall is “Hall of Upright Mr. Luo Dongshu”. This is a picture of Baolun Pavilion. In the period of Wanli during Ming Dynasty (1573–1620), the emperor issued an order to build this pavilion to worship the imperial

Wealthy Huizhou Merchants Since Tang Dynasty, the population of Huizhou had gradually increased. However, there were relatively few arable lands since the mountains and hills accounted for nine-tenths of the whole territory. In Record of Huizhou Government of Hongzhi period during Ming Dynasty, the author states, “Huizhou lies among mountains where wagons and carriages cannot drive. The few arable lands support a large population with small local production and little tribute to the government. From the perspective of daily demand, Huizhou is rich, but once it encounters small disasters or large epidemic diseases, it will find itself in a very difficult position.” Due to the “shortage of arable land”, most Huizhou boys had to engage in business or enter official careers. In the middle of Ming Dynasty, Huizhou merchants gradually became a business group.4 The famous scholar Hu Shi once said, “Like the Scottish in the British Isles, Huizhou People go out to do business and their footprints are all over China. At first, they started their businesses with small capital and gradually became so rich that they settled down in various parts of the country. Therefore, if you travel

4 Records of Huizhou
Foods and Goods in the period of Jiajing in Ming Dynasty.

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edicts and to collect treasures granted by the emperor, so the pavilion was named Baolun, meaning “treasure”. This nine-bay building expresses the superior and noble status of the ancestral hall by its relatively large number of bays.

around the country, you can always find that many people are originally from Huizhou.” At the beginning, Huizhou merchants dealt in mountain products and grain from outside. Until Ming and Qing Dynasties, in addition to the traditional business of tea, bamboo, wood, porcelain clay, raw lacquer, and other local products, as well as “scholar’s four jewels” (writing brush, ink stick, ink slab, and paper), they also focused on the salt industry, pawn, cloth industry and overseas trade. Their footprints spread not only across the China from the corner of mountains and sea to lonely villages, but also foreign countries such as Japan and others in Southeast Asia. United by marriage between two clans, the Huizhou merchants observed the doctrine of Zhu Xi, respected and stressed Confucianism and Taoism, helped each other and stuck to the moral criteria of “loyalty, credit, righteousness, and benevolence”. There were also many other business combinations for Huizhou merchants, such as the son helping his father, the son-in-law cooperating with his father-in-law, the elder brother going hand-in-hand with the younger brother, and men of the same clan working together. In their business, Huizhou merchants established guild halls similar to chambers of commerce in various places, which provided accommodation and expenditure for Huizhou People, who would participate in the imperial examinations, and laid a broad foundation for the contacts between businessmen and officials. Such a nationwide and pervasive

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for Huizhou People to earn half of the wealth of the world”—the salt merchants in She County, the pawnbrokers in Xiuning County, wood merchants in Wuyuan County, and tea merchants in Qimen County were all famous for their enormous wealth and distinctive regional characteristics.5 Linked by clans, Huizhou merchants formed a profoundly important flood surging forward in Chinese history due to their scale and influence. Especially during Chenghua period in Ming Dynasty, Huizhou merchants became one of the four major business groups6 in ancient China because of their salt industry. These wandering businessmen devoted themselves to the building of their hometown with amazing enthusiasm; as a result, the prosperity of Huizhou villages was inevitable.

Landscape Environment

Fig. 2.7 Drum-shaped Bearing Stones in the Branch Ancestral Hall of Ye Family in Nanping Village in Yi County of Huangshan City. The drum-shaped bearing stones stand at both sides of the gate to fix the door leaves and to balance the weight of the door. Some scholars believe that the design of the drum-shaped stones refers to the acoustic effect of sound in the “beating the drum to hold a court” situation of Yamen, the government office in feudal China. Some people hold that the ancient Chinese put drum-shaped stones at the door because the grand drumming sound, like thunder, could drive away ghosts and exorcise evil spirits. The drum-shaped bearing stones in front of the branch ancestral hall of Ye Family are high and majestic, expressing the family’s emphasis on the construction of the ancestral hall.

business network created a miracle that “there was no town without Hui merchants”. “Business was the first-class career

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The salt merchants in Huizhou reflected the close relationship between government officials and businessmen. Because of the monopoly of the salt industry and the close relationship with the government, salt merchants were often government officials who possessed both the capital and the power. During Qianlong Period in Qing Dynasty, Wang Yinggeng, Wang Tingzhang, Jiang Chun, Bao Zhidao, etc. were all big merchants in the areas north and south of Huai River. It was said that Jiang Chun, a well-known salt merchant in Huizhou, built a white pagoda overnight on the Slender West Lake in Yangzhou to welcome Emperor Qianlong.

“Seven out of ten lands are mountains, and the remaining three tenths are rivers, roads and fields.” This is the typical environment of Huizhou villages. In the mountainous areas, there are more forest lands than arable fields, and the land plots are small and scattered. Therefore, Huizhou villagers pay special attention to the layout of the environment. “Huizhou People attach great importance to fengshui.”7 They make full use of the surrounding landscapes and choose to build villages in an ideal “geomantic treasure land” according to the concept of “unity of man and nature”. In terms of geomantic theory, the village should be built at the foot of a hill, surrounded by waters and facing a screen, which will not only solve the problem of food and clothing, but also bless the offspring (Figs. 2.9, 2.10, 2.11). In Genealogy of Ren School of Hu Clan in Ming Dynasty, eight scenes are recorded around Xidi Village, including landscapes, forests, and pastoral places, expressing people’s recognition and understanding of the inhabited environment of local settlements. Hong Village serves as another example. At the north of the village is Leigang Mountain (an extension of Huangshan Mountain), in the west is Sanyi Stream and Yangzhan River. The water paths of more than 400 years run through this ancient village, forming two lakes of different sizes in the center and at the south of the village—the Moon Marsh and the South Lake respectively, deciding the shape of the village. During Yongle Reign of early Ming Dynasty (about 1405AD), the patriarch Wang Siji and his son, Wang

6

Generally refers to Shanxi merchants, Huizhou merchants, Zhejiang merchants (including Huzhou and Ningbo merchants), and Guangdong merchants (including Guangzhou, Chaozhou, and Hakkas merchants). 7 [Qing Dynasty] Zhao Jishi, The Thoughts of Jiyuan. Hefei: Huangshan Publishing House, 2008.

Landscape Environment

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Fig. 2.8 Enshrined Tablets in Sixiao Hall of the Branch Ancestral Hall of Ye Family in Nanping Village, Yi County, Anhui Province

Fig. 2.9 Village Map in the Pedigree of Xidi Village (Quoted from Space Research 1: Analysis of the Space of Ancient Xidi Village of the World Cultural Heritage, p. 33)

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Fig. 2.10 Bird’s-eye view of Xidi Village

Fig. 2.11 Environment of Chengkan Village in Huizhou District of Anhui Province

Shengping asked a geomancer to introduce Xixi Stream into the village and expanded the Moon Marsh by about 1,000 m2 (Fig. 2.12). The water system was dredged during Wanli Reign (Ming Dynasty) to form the South Lake (Fig. 2.13), and a complete river and spring system was finished. On this basis, the pattern of a village with a flourishing water system has been gradually developed. Aggregated by consanguinity and geography, the village keeps a fresh vitality in the arms of green mountains.

Huizhou People take landscape into consideration for the construction of courtyards. The setting of the small and exquisite courtyards is flexible and compact, mostly in the forecourt, and some on both sides of the building or in the backyard. The West Garden of Xidi Village is a long and narrow courtyard formed by integrating three courtyards into one. When flowers and trees are planted, flowerbeds, artificial hills, fishponds, and bonsais are settled, the courtyards share the beauty of the tranquil and profound landscape. In

Landscape Environment

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Fig. 2.12 Moon Marsh of Hong Village

Fig. 2.13 South Lake of Hong Village

southwestern Chengzhi Hall of Hong Village, the space is dominated by a fishpond around a corner of the partition. Beneath the eaves to the north and the gallery to the east of the pool, there are arm-chairs, facing out towards the handrails that overlook the fishpond where the sunlight and thousands of shadows of the fish are floating. There are several steps in the north of the fishpond going deep into the water for the convenience of taking water. Such a small place reflects a big and broad view (Figs. 2.14, 2.15).

Water Mouths in the Villages Water mouths, where waters to and from a village flow in and out, are the typical utilization of the environment in Huizhou villages (Figs. 2.16, 2.17). They are often located in places between mountains, surrounded by streams, and

are regarded as a source of wealth for the villages because of their communication function as a hub. At the same time, the water mouths play a certain defensive role as a pass for the villages to access to the outside world. The water mouths of Huizhou villages take advantage of the natural surroundings, with mountains as the background and waters as the skeleton. People adjust measures to local conditions, forming significant landscapes at the village entrances by planting trees and building pavilions, temples, towers, rafts, water-mills, etc. “Huge trees grow at the entrance of my hometown, leaving deep shade in blue water outlets. The passers-by take a good view from the red pavilion, and find themselves in a flower lake.” This Xin'an Folk Poem, written by Fang Xichou in Qing Dynasty, outlines the common landscape of the water mouths in Huizhou villages, which is full of interest and natural charm.

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Fig. 2.14 West Garden of Xidi Village Fig. 2.15 Chengzhi Hall of Hong Village

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Happy Families in Heavenly Dwellings, Huizhou Merchant …

The water mouths are also considered to be a place for people to communicate with nature in the villages. Written in Letters about Water Mouths, “Water mouths gather all the trees, bridges, tea kiosks, and lodges and protect the atmosphere of the villages.” Associated with traditional culture, folk customs, and garden art, they are a tranquil and peaceful place “where villagers gather to work, rest and entertain”. They maintain harmony between man and nature and perfectly interpret the concept of the “Unity of Man and Nature”. The water mouth in Tangmo Village is very distinctive. At the east, there is a clear stream running across the village from west to east, and a stone road leading into the village from the opposite direction. At the downstream part of the water mouth, a towering three-eave pavilion (named Shadi Pavilion) stands at the turning of the road which marks the entrance of the village. There is a fengshui forest around the pavilion and a winding bridge leading to a hill on the south bank of the stream. All these buildings and landscapes constitute a “water mouth”. Going through the pavilion, a lofty stone archway comes into view with four Chinese characters meaning “Admonisher of the Holy Court” and “Highest Academicians” carved on the head of each side, showing off the superior status of the village in politics and culture. Within the archway, there are facilities such as the Xu’s Cultural Center, ancestral halls and “Xiaoxihu (little west lake)”. Gaoyang Bridge (also known as Guanyin or

Water Mouths in the Villages

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Fig. 2.16 Water Mouth in Hong Village (Quoted from Space Research 4: Analysis of the Space of Ancient Hong Village of the World Cultural Heritage, p. 38)

Avalokitesvara Bridge), marks the end of the village entrance, consisting of stone arches. The five galley houses on the bridge are a place for rest and entertainment whenever it is sunny or rainy. Crossing the bridge marks the entry into the village (Fig. 2.18); the flow of water continues into the village along with the babbling brooks.

Zigzaging Streets and Lanes Most of the streets in Huizhou villages are divided into two grades (Figs. 2.19, 2.20). The main roadways string up the secondary roadways and courtyards and turn into small

squares for gathering when encountering important buildings. There are two types of secondary lanes: standby alleys and living lanes. The standby alleys are often straight and long, which are of the same length with the houses on both sides. They are so narrow and oppressed that even in sunny days, the standby alleys are quite gloomy. The living lanes are winding and rich in design and contents. There are high stone carving gatehouses, courtyard walls with carved stone windows, simple kitchens and backyard entrances and exits, full of the alteration of light and shadow and the leisure of life. Most of the roadways are paved with blue stones. The general paving method is perpendicular to the direction of the road. The entrance of the building is elaborate, with one

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Fig. 2.17 Water Mouth in Xidi Village (Quoted from Space Research 1: Analysis of the Space of Ancient Xidi Village of the World Cultural Heritage, p. 27)

to three sets of slabs laid parallel with the sill, and slates laid perpendicular to slabs. Usually, there are single-sided drainage ditches in the lanes connected with the underground drainage ditch in the patio. Following the slope of the terrain, the drainage channel discharges rainwater or domestic waste water into the creek and flows out of the village (Figs. 2.21, 2.22, 2.23).

Memorial Clan Archways During Ming and Qing Dynasties, a number of archways,8 symbolizing the clan’s glory, were built in Huizhou villages, most of which were located in the guiding space of the building group, the entrance to the village and the turning of the roadway to advertise the ancestors’ merits and promote the feudal rituals. The archways in Huizhou villages are a monument to the clan that express the highest honor of the feudal society. These archways are beautifully shaped and

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The archway gradually evolved into a commemorative building with hanging plates and plaques in the late period of ancient Chinese society. In Ming and Qing Dynasties, the recognition function of the archway was developed to the utmost. This commendation must be approved by the emperor, to honor ministers who had meritorious service to the country or to memorialize hardworking men, and to promote the traditional Chinese family virtues of obeying filial piety and respecting the husband.

often become the symbolic landmarks of the villages (Figs. 2.24, 2.25). The famous archway group of Tangyue Village has a total of seven archways built with the emperor’s consent,9 respectively expressing the significance of “loyalty, filial piety, chastity, and righteousness”. “Bao Can’s Filial Piety Archway” was built in the first year of Jiajing Reign of Ming Dynasty, which was engraved “Commending filial piety of Bao Can, the right assistant minister of Ministry of War”. According to Record of She County, Bao Can was good at learning but did not seek to be an official. His mother had foot afflictions and sought no cure for years. Bao took good care of his mother and sucked the bloody pus of her feet until she was eventually recovered. His filial piety moved the township and villagers asked to build this memorial archway with the consent of the emperor. The “Archway for Affectionate Father and Filial Son” was built to honor the intelligent hermits Bao Zongyan and his son Bao Shouxun in the late Song Dynasty. They were captured by the rebels in the war. The rebels let them choose who would live and who would die. Unexpectedly, the father and son both volunteered to die so as to save the other. Afterwards, the royal court gave order to build this memorial

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The building of memorial archways is not a simple civil architecture activity. It should be approved by the emperor to award someone for their outstanding achievements. The approvals were widely used for different purposes like “enci”, “enrong”, “yuci” and “shengzhi” etc.

Memorial Clan Archways Fig. 2.18 Landscape of Water Mouth in Tangmo Village, Qiankou Township in Huizhou District of Anhui Province (drawing copied from History of Chinese Architecture, the fifth edition, p. 210)

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Fig. 2.19 Grades of Streets in Xidi Village (Quoted from Space Research 1: Analysis of the Space of Ancient Xidi Village of the World Cultural Heritage, p. 20)

archway to honor them. Emperor Yongle of Ming Dynasty wrote a poem for them, “The father was imprisoned and threatened with death, when life was hanging by a thread… Bao’s family was benevolent and filial, setting a role model for later generations.” The “Chastity and Filial Piety Archway for Wang, Bao Wenling’s Wife” was built during Qianlong Reign of Qing Dynasty, engraved with “shi zhen quan xiao” (keep chaste and filial) and “li jie wan gu” (one must not remarry after the death of the husband, and one must bring up their children), to honor Wang of Tangyue Village for keeping chaste for 20 years. There is another chastity archway in Tangyue Village, called the “Chastity and Filial Piety Archway” for Wu, Bao Wenyue’s second wife” carved with “jie jin san 10

Wu married and moved to Tangyue Village at the age of 22. When her husband’s younger sister was sick, she looked after her day and night. When her husband died at the age of 29, she kept chaste and raised the son of his first wife with all her heart till he established his own family and career. Wu lived in widowhood for 31 years until she died at 60.

dong” (kept chaste for three decades) and “mai cun yi xian” (brought up the only son), which was built in the 32nd year of Emperor Qianlong in Qing Dynasty to praise Wu’s chastity and enthusiasm in withstanding the hardships of the long years and raising and educating the former wife’s orphan as her own son.10 The “Filial Piety Archway” of Bao Fengchang was built in the second year of Jiaqing of Qing Dynasty to praise his filial behavior. Bao’s father fled from the chaos at the end of Ming Dynasty and there was no news of him. In the third year of Shunzhi’s Reign, the 14-year-old Fengchang begged along the road for thousands of miles to find his father. Finally, he met his father in Yanmen and took him home. Later, his mother was seriously ill. He climbed the cliff and searched in the caves to collect medicinal herbs, and even cut his thigh to treat his mother. The “Minister Archway of Bao Xiangxian” was built in the eighth year of Jiaqing in Qing Dynasty to commend Bao Xiangxian who had performed meritorious service in guarding Yunnan and Shandong provinces.

Memorial Clan Archways

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Fig. 2.20 Grades of Streets in Hong Village (Quoted from Space Research 4: Analysis of the Space of Ancient Hong Village of the World Cultural Heritage, p. 19)

The “Righteousness Archway” was built in the twenty-fifth year of Jiaqing Reign in Qing Dynasty. It was said that Bao family had built archways of “loyalty”, “filial piety” and “chastity” at the time, but lacked a “righteousness” archway. Bao Shufang of Bao family was in charge of the transportation of salt in Huainan and Huaibei area, mastering the lifeline of the salt industry in regions south of Yangtze River. He desired to ask the emperor to grant him a “righteousness” archway to glorify and illuminate the ancestors, so he donated 100,000 dan (weight unit, equals to about 50 kg) of grains and 30,000 liang (weight unit, equals to 50 g) of silver, built a riverbank of 800 li (length unit, equals to 500 m) and distributed military supplies for three provinces. Therefore, an archway of righteousness on “benevolent charity” was added to the archway group at the entrance of Tangyue Village. The archways reflect the achievements of Huizhou People in their scholarly honor or official careers, as well as the difficulties and hardships they have experienced. The archways also witness the excellent quality of Chinese traditions

followed by Huizhou People such as loyalty, filial piety, chastity, and righteousness. (Figs. 2.26, 2.27).

Horse Head Walls Horse head walls are an important feature of Huizhou village dwellings. The fire seal walls are built on the left and right sides of the house, which are higher than the roof and over the ridge, and fall down layer by layer, making the gable walls varied with ups and downs. They are commonly called “horse head walls” because they look like horse heads. The horse head walls are generally two-fold or three-fold. In some high and deep houses, the horse head walls can reach as many as five folds, commonly known as “wu yue chao tian” (five sacred mountains worship the sky). The horse head walls have the function of fire prevention. The territory of Huizhou is small while the population is large. There is almost no gap among the crowded civil buildings. Fires occur one or many times every year or once in a few years.

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Happy Families in Heavenly Dwellings, Huizhou Merchant …

Fig. 2.21 Typical Streets and Lanes in Huizhou Villages—Chengkan Village in Huizhou District of Anhui Province

Fig. 2.22 Typical Streets and Lanes in Huizhou Villages—Lu Village in Yi County of Anhui Province

The fire can spread to dozens of households or hundreds or even thousands. This tragic disaster has made people miserable and suffer greatly. He Xin, the county magistrate of Huizhou, adopted the method of “putting five households in a group and building high walls” to prevent fire. The high horse head walls play the role of blocking the fire source in case of a fire in adjacent residential buildings. Therefore, the horse head walls are known as the fire seal walls. They have been instrumental for hundreds of years and have formed a unique image of Huizhou folk dwellings (Fig. 2.28).

stone carvings to create a unique artistic style and make the villages an architectural art gallery. Brick sculptures are often put at the head of gates. The carving techniques of high relief, openwork relief, and semi-circular carving are adopted, with the help of line engraving. The contents of the engraving are rich and varied. The one-inch thick terrazzo is engraved with vivid figures, lifelike fish and worms, spectacular landscapes, graceful flowers and so on with the favorable folk patterns such as fretwork and moiré clouding as the lacework and substrate. (Figs. 2.29, 2.30). Most of the stone carvings are concentrated on the column bases, the stone fences, permeable screen panels on the wall, etc., mainly adopting relief, openwork relief, and round carving techniques. The bluestone column bases below the door are engraved with lotus petals, Ruyi clouds, and ganoderma, and some are engraved with “continuous little melons” and “squirrels and grapes” patterns. The themes of the decorative windows are rich, such as geometric patterns

Brick, Stone and Wood Carvings Huizhou People take the local brick, wood, and stone resources to decorate buildings according to their own understanding and experience. They intend to inherit the beauty and richness of wood carvings, the freshness and elegance of brick carvings, and the vigor and freedom of

Brick, Stone and Wood Carvings

Fig. 2.23 Typical Streets and Lanes in Huizhou Villages— Huangtian Village in Jing County of Anhui Province

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Fig. 2.24 Yuliang Old Street in She County of Anhui Province. The street gets its name because it looks like the shape of a fish and there is a famous Yuliang dam nearby. With shops stand on both sides, the whole street is paved with pebbles, just like fish scales.

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Fig. 2.25 Archway in Xidi Village

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Happy Families in Heavenly Dwellings, Huizhou Merchant …

Brick, Stone and Wood Carvings

Fig. 2.26 “Dazhongcheng Archway” in Xiong Village. The archway of Xiong Village is located near the Zhushan Academy, also known as “Guang fen lie jue Archway”. Names of several members of Cao family

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who had received recognition were carved on the archway to honor the glory of the family.

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Fig. 2.27 Panorama of Tangyue Village in Zhengcun Township in She County of Anhui Province (Quoted from Huizhou Ancient Architecture Series—Tangyue Village, p. 8)

Brick, Stone and Wood Carvings

Fig. 2.28 Archway group of Tangyue Village in She County of Anhui Province

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Fig. 2.29 Ubiquitous horse head walls in Huizhou Folk dwellings (picture taken in Hong Village)

Brick, Stone and Wood Carvings

Fig. 2.30 Brick carvings on the gate of folk dwellings in Hong Village

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Fig. 2.31 Brick carvings on the gate of folk dwellings in Hong Village

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Brick, Stone and Wood Carvings

Fig. 2.32 Stone carving in Xidi Village

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Fig. 2.33 Wood carving on the partition in Hong Village

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Brick, Stone and Wood Carvings

Fig. 2.34 Wood carving on the beam in a folk dwelling in Hong Village

Fig. 2.35 Wood carving on the beam in a folk dwelling in Hong Village

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Fig. 2.36 Wood carving in a folk dwelling in Chengkan Village

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Brick, Stone and Wood Carvings

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Fig. 2.37 Wood carving in a folk dwelling in Lu Village

like curves, links, fretwork, wheels, and diamonds; natural patterns like moiré, leaves, vines, and petals; tree and fruit patterns like pine and cypress, plum and bamboo, and peach; animal patterns like bats, deer, horses, and unicorns. All these patterns, together with frames, lintels, and eaves add color to the outer walls (Fig. 2.31). There are wood carvings on different parts of the building, such as beams, short columns, eave rafters, decorated brackets, flower windows, humps, owl’s tails, partitions,

railing boards of the floor, and slabs between columns, etc. The carving techniques adopted are relief, round carving, open carving, and so on, assisted by line engraving. Various patterns such as dragon, phoenix, unicorn, pine, crane, cypress, deer, waterside pavilions, characters in operas, birds and beasts, orchids and flowers are engraved on these structures to give the building a sense of beauty and comfort (Figs. 2.32, 2.33, 2.34, 2.35, 2.36, 2.37).

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Lofty Buildings Towering East and West, Kaiping Watchtower Villages in Central and Southern Guangdong Province

“Diaolou (Watchtower)” is a unique type of traditional Chinese dwelling. As its name implies, it is unique in shape and resembles a fortress. In general, watchtowers are the land-saving, multi-story houses, integrating daily life and defense functions, that are widely distributed throughout the southern Qinghai plateau, western and central Guangdong, western and northern Sichuan, south of Jiangxi, central and southeastern Tibet, and other areas. Due to differences in construction materials, life appeals, and cultural backgrounds, watchtowers in different places exhibit strong regional characteristics. Among the numerous traditional villages with watchtowers, the villages in Kaiping, Guangdong Province, are the most famous and have the reputation of “the model of overseas Chinese culture”. The watchtowers and villages of Kaiping were officially listed on the World Heritage List in 2007 and also the 34th World Heritage Site in China. There are 1,833 towers currently registered in Kaiping, which are distributed in various towns. Among them, there is a total of 1421 watchtowers in Tangkou Town, Baihe Town, Chikan Town, Xiangang Town, and Changsha District, which are distributed in villages such as Jinjiangli Village, Majianglong Village, Zili Village, and Sanmenli Village.

Hometown of Overseas Chinese Kaiping is located in the south-central part of Guangdong Province and is affiliated to Jiangmen City. The establishment of Kaiping was late. The area was originally under the jurisdiction of the county of Enping, Xinxing, Xinhui and other counties. At the beginning of Wanli Reign in Ming Dynasty (1573 AD), Kaiping Tun (small village) was set up hoping to open occluded places and maintain peace. Later, counties such as Enping, Xinxing, Xinhui, and Taishan were

subordinated to Kaiping Village to expand Kaiping into a county, which is why it is often referred to as the “the area of four counties”.1 The eastern part of Kaiping is dominated by plains and the northern and western parts of the county are hilly, mostly less than 50 m above sea level. According to the Records of the Kaiping County written in the 22nd year of the Republic of China, “seven tenths of Kaiping was occupied by mountains and valleys, three tenths by coasts, and was called ‘the land of the west ridge’ during Ming Dynasty”. Most of the watchtowers are concentrated in the central plains and only a few of them are located in the northern and southern hilly areas. The area belongs to the south subtropical monsoon region where it is warm and humid with abundant rainfall, and the water system is densely distributed. Tanjiang River runs from the southwest to the northeast, acting as an important resource for the water supply, transportation, and aquaculture for coastal villages and towns (Figs. 3.1 and 3.2). Kaiping is located in the Lingnan (south of the Five Ridges) area of China. There are three major ethnic groups in the surrounding area, including Guangfu People, Hakka People, and Chaoshan People. Among them, Guangfu Ethnic Group is the largest. Kaiping residents belong to “Siyi Ethnic Group”, a branch of Guangfu Group, living in Xinhui District, Kaiping City, Enping City, Taishan City and other areas under the jurisdiction of Jiangmen City. Inhabitants communicate in “Siyi dialect”, also known as “Guangzhou dialect”, which is widely used by more than 3.9 million people with coverage of more than 9,000 square kilometers. Kaiping is known as the “hometown of overseas Chinese”. There are about 3.8 million overseas Chinese living in more than 100 countries around the world. Siyi area is adjacent to the South China Sea and is convenient for overseas business. In Xianqing sixth year of Tang Dynasty

1

Since Heshan City was merged into Jiangmen City after 1983, so Kaipin is also known as “the area of five counties”.

© China Architecture & Building Press and Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 L. Xue et al., Traditional Chinese Villages, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6154-6_3

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Lofty Buildings Towering East and West, Kaiping Watchtower …

Fig. 3.1 Map of Kaiping County (Quoted from: Complete Map of Guangdong in 23rd year of Guangxu Emperor of Qing Dynasty, p. 57)

Hometown of Overseas Chinese

Fig. 3.2 Map of watchtower distribution in Kaiping. The drawing shows the number of watchtowers in each area according to the administrative divisions of the town and district. Tangkou Town, Baihe Town and Chikan Town in the central part have the largest number of watchtowers. Later, the number changed slightly according to the successive census. The actual number is larger than those shown in the figure. (Quoted from: Watchtowers in Kaiping—Combination of Western and Chinese Cultural Landscape of Overseas Chinese Villages, p. 83)

(661 AD), shiboshi (Minister of Maritime Foreign Trade) was set in Guangzhou to collect tariffs and regulate trade business. In Kaibao fourth year (971 AD) of Northern Song Dynasty, Guangzhou shibosi (Administration of Maritime Foreign Trade) was set up to carry out ship management of entry and exit of the harbors. Later in Yuan Dynasty, shibotijusi (Bureau for Foreign Shipping, tiju refers to management) was founded; shibosi was closed in Hongwu seventh year in Ming Dynasty (1374 AD) and reset in the first year of Yongle in Ming Dynasty (1403 AD). Qianlong 22nd year in Qing Dynasty (1757 AD), the emperor ordered that “overseas trade should only be allowed in Guangdong”, the so-called “one-port trade”, restricting overseas business to Guangdong only. Since Tang Dynasty, the residents of Siyi have traveled from the South China Sea to Southeast Asia and become the

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earliest expatriates. The implementation of the “prohibition of sea trade” during Ming and Qing dynasties restricted coastal residents to make their living, so some residents were forced to move overseas. In addition, European countries executed colonial rules in Southeast Asia and recruited laborers from South China, which objectively lead to the increase of overseas immigrants. In the middle of the nineteenth century, residents of Kaiping went to work in North America, Europe, and Australia. At the beginning of the twentieth century, there was a peak of returning home. The overseas Chinese came back and bought land in their hometowns to build houses. In the middle and late nineteenth century, the overseas emigrants from Siyi continued to increase mainly for two reasons. First, life of the residents was unsustainable because of the decrease of the arable land per capita and the turbulence of the society; second, the demand for labor in overseas countries increased. During the reign of Emperor Shunzhi in Qing Dynasty, the per capita arable land in Guangdong was more than 7 mu (unit of area, 1 mu is about 0.0667 hectares), later it fell to 1.3 mu in the 25th year under Emperor Daoguang in Qing Dynasty (1845 AD).2 The United States began to expand westward in the “Westward Movement” and the “Gold Rush” that started in the early nineteenth century, and at the same time the construction of infrastructures such as railways, highways, and waterways desperately needed a large amount of labor, which objectively brought about the large-scale overseas immigration from China, with labor output as the main form. The immigration area had shifted from Southeast Asia to North America. In 1868, Anson Burlingame, the former ambassador to China, was appointed by the Qing government to sign the “Sino-US Tianjin Renewal Treaty” (also known as Anson Burlingame Treaty) with the US government, which stipulated that “Any Chinese or Americans will not be forbidden if they are willing to live permanently in one country for citizenship, or come and go at any time.” This became the legal basis for the United States to recruit Chinese workers. However, the Chinese Exclusion Act issued in 1882 had an impact on Chinese immigrants to enter the United States. The act was not abolished until 1943. For decades, the expatriates were hindered from immigrating and their families were not able to live with them. A large amount of living expenses was remitted by the expatriates into Siyi area, which became a source of funds for the construction of watchtowers and contributed to the large scale construction to a certain extent.

2

Li Shengsheng. Overseas Chinese and Chinese Society in Canada. Translated by Zong Li. Hong Kong: Sanlian Bookstore, 1992.

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Fig. 3.3 Yinglonglou in Sanmenli Village. Yinglonglou faces southeast, covering a floor space of about 450 square meters. It is a three-story high building made of brick and wood and the one-meter thick walls are made of red mud bricks. The building was formally known as “Yalonglou”. Rebuilt in the Republic of China, the Western-style doors and windows were added to it and it was renamed “Yinglonglou”.

Lofty Buildings The construction of the watchtowers in Kaiping can be traced back to the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. The earliest known watchtowers are Yinglonglou (also known as “Yalonglou”) in Sanmenli Village of Tuofu, Ruiyunlou in Jingtouli Village of Tuofu, Fengfulou in Longtian Village of Nayou, and Zhailou in Yuerenli Village of Tanghong.3 Among them, Yinglonglou was built in Jiajing period of Ming Dynasty. At that time, robberies often occurred in Liangjinshan area (now the downtown of Kaiping City). In order to prevent robbers and thieves, people of Guan family

3

Qian Yi. Modern Rural Architecture—Watchtowers in Kaiping. Beijing: China Forestry Publishing House, 2015:50.

clan worked together to build this building. Records of the Kaiping County (the 22nd year of the Republic of China) describes that “Ruiyunlou, … built by Guan Zirui in the early Qing Dynasty. This watchtower is three stories high, and the walls are three feet and six inches thick and all made of large bricks to prevent thieves.” The building materials of Kaiping watchtowers are rich and diversified in forms, reflecting the inheritance and diachronic development of the traditional architectural culture. The watchtowers in Kaiping combine construction techniques from different periods and regions and present rich and colorful historical, social, and cultural values (Figs. 3.3 and 3.4). According to different construction functions, watchtowers in Kaiping can be roughly divided into three categories: the first type is jointly constructed by neighboring villagers and used collectively, and is called “zhonglou” or “zhongrenlou” (public watchtower); the second type is built by individual households for daily living and is called “jvlou” (residential watchtower); the third type is used for defense, which is financed and built by villages collectively, which, according to their locations, are called “menlou”

Lofty Buildings

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Fig. 3.4 Watchtower group in Zili Village

(gate tower), “genglou” (night watch tower), “denglou” (lighthouse tower), etc.4 Currently, there are 473 public watchtowers listed on the record in Kaiping, 1,149 residential watchtowers, and 221 night watch towers, lighthouse towers, and gate towers.5 No matter what type of watchtower, most of them are multi-storey buildings with more than three stories, taking into account both defensive and flood preventive functions. The thickness of the wall can reach about 1 m, with only small windows, and there are fences and iron plates on the walls to strengthen the defensive function. On top of the building, there is a fortress-like structure (locally known as the “swallow nest”) with shooting holes in it.

Zhang Fuhe, Qian Yi, Li Bing. “Preliminary Study of Watchtowers in Kaiping, Guangdong Province, China” in Huang Jiye, Zhang Guoxiong, et al. ed. Research on Watchtowers and Villages in Kaiping. Beijing: China Overseas Press, 2006: 47–48. 5 Cheng Jianjun. Kaiping Watchtowers–Combined Chinese-Western Cultural Landscape of Overseas Chinese Villages. Beijing: China Architecture and Building Press, 2007:105. 4

The public watchtower resembles the modern aggregated dwelling house. When the villagers suffer from robberies or floods, each household hides there for safety. In peacetime, it is usually used as a storehouse. Since many families will live together, there are a large number of floors and rooms in the public watchtower (Figs. 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 3.10, 3.11 and 3.12). The builders of jvlou (residential watchtower) are more affluent and their affinity for defense is even stronger. Residential watchtowers are mostly located at the rear or side of the village. The building is big and tall with thick walls and spacious rooms, integrating the functions of defense and daily living (Figs. 3.13 and 3.14). Known as the “first watchtower of Kaiping”, Ruishilou is a nine-storey building with a height of approximately 28 m built by Huang Bixiu in the 12th year of the Republic of China (1923 AD). The main construction materials of the building were mostly shipped from Hong Kong and cost about HK$30,000, and it took three years to complete. Ruishilou was designed by Huang Zinan, the nephew of Huang Bixiu, and the craftsmen perfected and modified it during the construction process (Fig. 3.15). Gatehouse towers, night watch towers, and lighthouse towers are located at the entrances of villages or in the peripheral highlands from which people can report time, and

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Fig. 3.5 Jinjianglou in Yong’anli in Maxianglong Village

illuminate the towers during nighttime, and take a lookout and have joint defense among villages. For example, there are gatehouse towers in the northwest and southwest of Qinglinli in Majianglong Village, and the north gatehouse tower was built in late Qing Dynasty with a two-storey reinforced concrete structure. The north and south gatehouse towers are also known as the “Beizha (North Gate)” and “Nanzha (South Gate)” respectively, which are the only way to enter the village. There are lookout towers on the top floor (Figs. 3.16, 3.17, 3.18 and 3.19).

Buildings in Comb Pattern Layout The traditional villages of Kaiping attached great importance to planning. Before construction, the layout and building areas of streets and lanes were stipulated through the

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Fig. 3.6 Jinjianglou in Yong’anli in Maxianglong Village. Built in 1918, the building is made of reinforced concrete and is of five stories. The first through fourth floors are for residential use. Each floor is in an open-space arrangement. The height of each floor decreases from bottom up. The first floor is about 3.5 m high and the fourth floor is 2.7 m high. The fifth floor has a balcony that is cantilevered around. The facade of the building is simply decorated with rectangular windows and shooting holes.

regulations and drawings. For example, in Qinglinli of Maxianglong Village there preserved the Construction Regulations of Qinglin Hall in the First Year of Xuantong in Qing Dynasty, attached with the Homestead Demarcation Plan. According to the rules, “the construction of dwellings starts from the front of the village in rows, and when the first row of the ten buildings of similar size is completed, the construction of the second row starts, so on and so forth.” Besides, there were also regulations concerning the villagers’ participation in shares, and affluent households could hold more shares. But the amount of space each share holds

Buildings in Comb Pattern Layout

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was equivalent so that the established roadway pattern should not be affected and the integrity and continuity of the overall layout were ensured. The planning of Kaiping villages was early but most of the watchtowers were constructed in the later period and were often located at the back or sides of the villages. Thus, even when the watchtowers were large and numerous, they did not have much impact on the original spatial pattern. The rules and illustrations reflected the features of the layout of Kaiping watchtower village: There was a pond at the front of the village, which was artificially excavated; the main body of the village was the neatly arranged households, divided into grids to make the most effective use of the land, and there were two co-financed and jointly built “lighthouse towers” on each side of the village (Fig. 3.20). The layout of Kaiping watchtower village is neatly arranged, inheriting the settlement characteristics of Guangfu dwellings, that is, the so-called “comb pattern”, which means that the residential houses are closely arranged along the matrix grid, the streets are vertically orthogonal to each other, and the space between buildings is small, which is conducive to the rapid passage of airflow, reflecting the adaptation to the hot and humid climate. The villages integrate the functional needs of the traditional construction and real life demand, which are embodied in three aspects: the overall composition, the layout of streets and lanes, and the location of the watchtowers.

Fig. 3.7 Tianlulou in Yong’anli in Majianglong Village Fig. 3.8 Layout of the First Floor of Tianlulou in Yong’anli in Majianglong Village (Redrawn from Kaiping Watchtowers— Combined Chinese-Western Cultural Landscape of Overseas Chinese Villages, p. 88)

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Fig. 3.9 Vertical view of Tianlulou

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Fig. 3.10 Sectional view of Tianlulou (Redrawn from Kaiping Watchtowers—Combined Chinese-Western Cultural Landscape of Overseas Chinese Villages, p. 88)

Buildings in Comb Pattern Layout

Fig. 3.11 Yunhuanlou in Zili Village

First, in terms of the overall composition, Kaiping watchtower villages are composed of several sub-units (i.e. natural villages), each unit is arranged along the axis, and the unit itself is self-contained, often referred to as “li”. For example, Majianglong Village is located in Baihe Town, Kaiping City, with Baizu Mountain on the back and Tanjiang River on the front. The whole village is composed of Yonganli, Nan’anli, Hedongli, Qinglinli, and Longjiangli. Each of them is a self-contained system in a grid pattern with the ordinary residential buildings located in the middle of the village and the watchtowers at the corners of the periphery. Another example is Zili Village, located in Tangkou Town of Kaiping City, about 12 km northwest of Kaiping City center. Zili Village includes three natural villages called He’anli (和安里), He’anli (合安里), and Yonganli (永安里, another village having the same name with the one in Majianglong Village). In the land reform of the 1950s, the

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Fig. 3.12 Yunhuanlou in Zili Village. The watchtower is five-stories high and the top floor is an open-gallery style platform. It was built by Fang Wenxian. Fang Wenxuan’s given name is Boquan, one alias is Lvheng and another alias is Yunhuan, hence the name of the building is “Yunhuanlou”. Fang Wenxian once left home for Southeast Asia to do business. In 1921, he remitted lots of money to his wife Guan to build the watchtower.6

local association of farmers was established, and the “Zili Farmers6 Association” jointly associated the previous three villages with Lianxingli and Dongchengli, and later the village was named after it.7 (Figs. 3.21, 3.22 and 3.23). Second, each natural village is arranged by orthogonal grids, and the buildings are arranged closely along the depth direction to form lanes between different columns. There is often an open space in the front of the village—a threshing floor used to dry the grain, called “heping”. There are ponds next to it, which can be used for fish farming, irrigation, fire prevention, etc. Jinjiangli Village, for example, is part of the

6

Zhang Guoxiong, Mei Weiqiang. Field Investigations of Watchtowers and Villages in Kaiping. Beijing: China Overseas Chinese Press, 2006: 42–44. 7 Zhang Guoxiong, Mei Weiqiang. Field Investigations of Watchtowers and Villages in Kaiping. Beijing: China Overseas Chinese Press, 2006:34.

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Fig. 3.13 Ruishilou in Jinjiangli Village

Fig. 3.14 Ruishilou in Jinjiangli Village

Xiangang Town of Kaiping City. The village is facing south from the north and is slightly deflected to the east, close to Tanjiang River. The entire village is a comb pattern layout consisting of a total of ten roadways, with a width of approximately 1.5 m each. There are three watchtowers in the village, respectively named Ruishilou, Jinjianglou and Shengfenglou, which are located on the north side of the village. Among them, Ruishilou and Shengfenglou are the highest and are located on the two ends of the village separately. Jinjianglou is relatively low and is located in the middle. The three towers form a tactical shelter for the village (Figs. 3.24, 3.25 and 3.26). Third, Kaiping watchtowers are in a prominent position in the village due to their multiple stories and strong defensive functions. The towers are often located in the middle or at the north, providing a panoramic view of the village and the surrounding area. At the same time, each watchtower work together to form a tactical joint force to enhance the village’s overall defense capabilities. The spatial

relationship between the watchtowers and the overall pattern of village can be roughly divided into three categories: first, the watchtowers are located at the back of the village and become the visual center of the spatial form; second, the watchtowers are located on both sides of the village, forming a united defense position; third, the watchtowers are scattered in various places (Fig. 3.27).

Watchtowers for Defense Kaiping watchtowers are built to avoid “disturbance”, so the watchtowers have a defensive significance to the villages. Specifically, there are multiple meanings to “defensiveness”. One is to prevent invasion by foreign enemies; another is the fight and defense between “Tu” (Guangfu People) and “Ke” (Hakka People), and the third is to prevent flood disasters. First, the defense against bandits was related to the geographical location of Kaiping, which was located between

Watchtowers for Defense

Fig. 3.15 Vertical View of South Side of Ruishlou in Jinjiangli Village

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Xinhui, Taishan, Enping, and Xinxing counties, and all of them were neglected in management. The local chronicles once recorded that it was a “chaotic place in Ming Dynasty”. The area was far away from the administrative center and had been neglected for a long time, which objectively led to local banditry, bothering inhabitants and even threatening their lives and property. Therefore, strengthening the defense of residential buildings and villages was of extreme importance. Records of Enping County written in Xuantong Reign in Qing Dynasty reads, “This area was impecunious with barren land and few buildings. There were rampant bandits and frequent robberies. Only by living in a tall building could people avoid the banditry. And bandits also had concerns about people living nearby in high-rises. Therefore, wealthy people and those who returned from foreign countries did everything they could to build houses, learning from the ancient people to build up solid walls to resist robberies.” As a result, villagers, especially those returning from overseas, constructed watchtowers to protect their own assets. Second, it was inevitable that there were conflicts between the aborigines and outsiders. According to Records of Kaiping County (22nd year of the Republic of China), “since the county was established in the sixth year of Shunzhi in Qing Dynasty, people moved in from many other places like Changju and Jingde in Enping Village, Shuangqiao in Xinxing Village and Dengming, Gubo, Pingkang, and Dexing in Xinhui Village, etc.” Since Kaiping was originally under the jurisdiction of Enping, Xinxing, and Xinhui counties, the traditions and customs of each place were different, so disputes easily occurred. During Yongzheng Period of Qing Dynasty, residents from Huizhou, Chaozhou, and Jiaying were invited to Kaiping, Enping, Heshan and other places to open up the wasteland for

Fig. 3.16 Location of Gatehouse Towers in Majianglong Village (Adapted from Materials from Protection and Management Office of Watchtowers and Villages in Kaiping)

56 Fig. 3.17 North Gatehouse Tower in Majianglong Village

Fig. 3.18 South Gatehouse Tower in Majianglong Village

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Watchtowers for Defense Fig. 3.19 Vertical and sectional view of the lighthouse tower of Fang Family in Zili Village. The lighthouse tower is located on a mountain about 1.5 km south of Zili Village and was built by the Fang Family. It is about 18 m high with five stories. The top of the building is a circular dome elegantly decorated and beautifully designed. (Redrawn from Kaiping Watchtowers— Combined Chinese-Western Cultural Landscape of Overseas Chinese Villages, p. 91).

Fig. 3.20 Homestead demarcation plan of Qinglinli (Quoted from Kaiping Watchtowers—Combined Chinese-Western Cultural Landscape of Overseas Chinese Villages, p. 31)

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Fig. 3.21 Location and layout of Majianglong Village (Quoted from Google Earth)

farming, the number of outsiders kept increasing, as did the complications between the native villagers and the outsiders, which resulted in several fierce fights with weapons. Third, Siyi area had a dense water network and a lot of precipitation, and it was close to the estuary. Floods and water-logging occurred frequently since the district was often affected by typhoons, especially in summer and autumn. According to Records of Kaiping County, a typhoon could “pull up the trees” and cause the “collapse of the temples and houses”. Therefore, residents of Siyi built tall houses and thickened walls to resist natural disasters. In addition, Kaiping watchtower villages possessed the characteristic of systematic defenses and formed joint defense through watchtowers, lighthouses, etc. In a village, from the front to the back, the gatehouse, the lighthouse tower, and the watchtower worked with one another and jointly defended against the enemy. Inside every watchtower, there were security doors and windows, shooting holes, searchlights, alarms and other elements. According to the “Map of South Border” in Records of Kaiping County of the third year of Daoguang Reign in Qing Dynasty, both Shagang Village and Chikan Cave had built watchtowers located on both sides of Jiaoluo River to form tactical joint forces to attack enemies. In addition, forts and blockhouses had been built at various water outlets, such as the Niaoshixun, Huangchongxun, Changshaxun, and Sanhexun,

forming a complete defense system (Figs. 3.28, 3.29 and 3.30).

A Combination of Western and Chinese Culture The watchtowers in Kaiping are the material carrier of the culture of overseas Chinese. The returning overseas Chinese entrusted themselves with what they had seen and heard abroad in buildings and villages, thus forming rich and colorful architectural forms with a blend of Chinese and western styles. Most of the existing buildings were residential houses, and they did not stick to one pattern in planning and construction, reflecting the individual wishes of the designers and inhabitants. In terms of space construction, there are not only halls, rooms, and chambers of the traditional dwellings, but also the space types such as porches, living rooms, and gardens of modern dwellings. For example, Liyuan Garden in Genghua Village, Tangkou Township is the home of Xie Weili, a Chinese-American merchant, which combines the characteristics of traditional Chinese gardens and the European and American gardens (Figs. 3.31 and 3.32). The diachronic development of the watchtowers in Kaiping experienced three stages: the initial stage, the

A Combination of Western and Chinese Culture

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Fig. 3.22 Overall layout of Yonganli in Majianglong Village with Tianlu Building and Bao’an Building at the Northeast and Southwest (Adapted from Kaiping Watchtowers—Combined Chinese-Western Cultural Landscape of Overseas Chinese Villages, p. 25)

prosperous stage, and the late stage. Among them, the early period of the Republic of China was the peak for the construction of watchtowers. The architecture form in this period was significantly different from that of the traditional forms, which was blended with Western styles in terms of decoration. The construction materials were also changed from the original bricks and stones to concrete and the raw material was cement, mostly imported from abroad at that time. The outward appearance of the watchtowers took on pillars and other decorative

techniques of western classical architecture. For example, there were nine watchtowers and six residential towers in Zili Village. The former ones were high, up to eight or nine floors and used for defense, while the latter ones were mostly three or four floors for daily living. These 15 buildings were built mostly in the period of the Republic of China. Among them, the Longsheng Watchtower in He’anli was the earliest, built in the sixth year of the Republic of China (1917 AD), owned by Fang Wenlong and his brother Fang Wensheng.

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Fig. 3.23 Watchtower group in Zili Village

Fig. 3.24 Overall layout of Jinjiangli Village (Adapted from Kaiping Watchtowers—Combined Chinese-Western Cultural Landscape of Overseas Chinese Villages, p. 33)

A Combination of Western and Chinese Culture

Fig. 3.25 Ruishilou, Jinjianglou, Shengfenglou in Jinjiangli Village

Fig. 3.26 A bird's eye view of Jinjiangli Village from North

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Fig. 3.27 Supplementary village defense mode of watchtowers (Quoted from Study on the Characteristics of the World Cultural Heritage Kaiping Watchtowers and Village Space Organization)

Fig. 3.28 “Map of South Border” in Records of Kaiping County of the 3rd Year of Daoguang in Qing Dynasty

A Combination of Western and Chinese Culture

Fig. 3.29 Shooting holes on the wall of the watchtower

Fig. 3.31 Liyuan in Genghua Village in Tangkou Town

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Fig. 3.30 Security windows in Linlu in Majianglong Village

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The watchtowers in Kaiping are of a “compromised” style, which is reflected in both the layout and the decorations of the building. The exterior of the building blends elements such as ancient Roman columns, towers of European castles, and Baroque pediment, presenting a “fragmented” combination.8 Although the outward appearance of Kaiping watchtowers incorporates architectural styles of different nationalities and regions, the inner layout still follows the pattern of “three rooms and two corridors” in Guangfu dwellings, which adopts the courtyard layout. The principal room is separated to three bays. The central part is called tangwu (hall), a public place for daily living where memorial tablets of ancestors are set, and the two rooms on both sides are used as bedroom; the patio is opposite to the principal room, and the stoves are set at either side on one end. The plane size of Kaiping watchtower is not large and

Fig. 3.32 Liyuan in Genghua Village in Tangkou Town

Zhang Guoxiong. “Types, Characteristics and Naming of Kaiping Watchtowers”, Huang Jiyie, Zhang Guoxiong, et al. Research on Watchtowers and Villages in Kaiping. Beijing: China Overseas Chinese Press, 2006:91.

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the walls are able to bear the weight, so it is not necessary to set pillars (Figs. 3.33, 3.34, 3.35 and 3.36). The decorations concentrate mainly on the foyer, window, portico, and pediment, not only following the traditional themes to repose best wishes and to represent the characteristics of the residents, such as inscriptions, couplets on the pillars, auspicious patterns, but also blending the decorative themes of different countries and regions to reflect the oversea experience of the designers and the builders, such as columns, scrolls, and geometric patterns. The decoration on the roof is the most remarkable and became the visual focus because the pediments, parapet walls, handrails, and the belvedere are all concentrated on the overhanging roof (Figs. 3.37, 3.38, 3.39, 3.40, 3.41, 3.42, 3.43, 3.44, 3.45 and 3.46).

A Combination of Western and Chinese Culture

Fig. 3.33 “Three Rooms and Two Corridors” of Guangfu Dwellings (Quoted from Folk Dwellings in Guangdong Province, p. 74)

Fig. 3.35 Interior space of Junlu Building in Zili Village

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Fig. 3.34 Dwelling House of Wu Family in Baohuafang, Bayi Township, Changsha District, Kaiping County (Quoted from Folk Dwellings in Guangdong Province, p. 208)

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Fig. 3.36 Interior space of Junlu Building in Zili Village

Fig. 3.37 Decoration detail on the roof of Mingshi Building in Zili Village

A Combination of Western and Chinese Culture

Fig. 3.38 Decoration detail on the roof of Mingshi Building in Zili Village Fig. 3.39 Decoration on the roof of Guihuan Building

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68 Fig. 3.40 Decoration on the roof of Yaoguang Villa

Fig. 3.41 Decoration on the roof of Qiu’an Residential House

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A Combination of Western and Chinese Culture

Fig. 3.42 Decoration on the roof of Yongqing Building

Fig. 3.43 Couplet decoration on Yinglong Building

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Fig. 3.44 Couplet decoration on Guihuan Building

Fig. 3.45 Inscription of Yongqing Building

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References

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Fig. 3.46 Inscription of Yaoguang Villa

References Huang, J., & Zhang, G. (2006). Research on watchtowers and villages in Kaiping. Beijing: China Overseas Chinese Press.

Qian, Y. (2015). Modern vernacular architecture—Kaiping watchtowers. Beijing: China Forestry Publishing House. Zhang, G., & Mei, W. (2006). Fieldwork on watchtowers and villages in Kaiping. Beijing: China Overseas Chinese Press.

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Round and Square Buildings and Five-Phoenix Mansions, Ancient Villages in Southwestern Fujian Province

Tulou, literally “earth buildings”, are mainly distributed throughout Fujian, Jiangxi, and Guangdong provinces in southeast China, among which in southwest Fujian Province, with a total of more than 3000, are the largest in number, the most widely distributed, and the best preserved.1 These large-scale, rustic, and peculiar earthen dwellings met the requirements of the community life and defense at times in the past and form a unique and beautiful village by blending with the surrounding mountains and rivers. In location, Tulou is situated in poetic landscapes of mountains and waters, with natural conditions such as topography, geomorphology, climate, and environment fully taken into account. In appearance, it is a combination of round and square, diverse in form and size, beautifully shaped with exquisite architectural imagination, leaving a strong ocular impact. In material selection, it is ecological and natural to apply the most primitive and the simplest local earth, wood, and stone. In construction, it is a combination of earth and wood, with the rammed earth outer wall and the wooden frame inside being the main supporting structure. In space utility, people of the same clan live together and emphasize uniformity, harmony, and equality in space allocation. From the outside, the scale of Tulou is huge and shocking, but the internal design is pleasant and considerate. In 2008, “Fujian Tulou” was registered as a World Cultural Heritage, and 46 Tulou were included in the list.2

1 Editorial board ed. Fujian Earthen Dwellings. China Encyclopedia Publishing House, 2007, p. 24. 2 It includes 10 earthen dwellings of Chuxi Tulou Group, 7 earthen dwellings of Hongkeng Tulou Group and 4 earthen dwellings of Gaobei Tulou Group in Yongding County as well as Yanxiang Lou, Zhenfu Lou, 5 earthen dwellings of Tianluokeng Tulou Group, 13 earthen dwellings of Hekeng Tulou Group in Nanjing County as well as Huaiyuan Lou and Hegui Lou, and 3 earthen dwellings of Dadi Tulou Group in Hua’an County in Fujian Province.

Guarding Against Bandits and Japanese Pirates The construction of Tulou in southwestern Fujian Province lasted for a long time, starting from Jiajing Reign of Ming Dynasty (1521–1566) and lasting till the 1980s. These earthen dwellings were originally built to meet the needs of defending against bandits and fighting against Japanese pirates in southwestern Fujian. During Jiajing Period, bandits, raiders, and Japanese pirates came one after another, causing so much turbulence there that it could be described as “nowhere without bandits”.3 Li Ying, a Zhangzhou native of Ming Dynasty, once said, “Fujian suffers the most terrible turbulence, many garrisons, state organs, governments, counties, and fortresses have been breached in ten years. The bandits and the pirates massacre all residents of a conquered city and burn down the farmhouses. People are fleeing, crying, and screaming.” In such turbulent times, the government could only take care of itself, so the poor civilians had to learn from the practice of military fortresses, sparing no efforts to erect the earthen dwellings with the power of the whole clan. The Records of Zhangzhou—on Military Defense written in the first year of Wanli in Ming Dynasty (1573) recorded the situation and the reasons for the appearance of Tulou in early times, “There were few earthen forts in Zhnagzhou in the ancient time and the earthen forts were only built in thickly settled areas and in Xunjiansi, a government organization of Ming Dynasty. However, since the fortieth year of Jiajing Period (1561), people began to build more and more earthen enclosures and forts, especially along the coast, due to the bandits and pirates.” The names and distribution of them were also clearly recorded in this record, which is the only early literature discovered so far to record earthen

Records of Shizong Emperor of Ming Dynasty reads: “Bandits invaded Fuzhou, Xingzhou, Zhangzhou, Quanzhou and so on. There was nowhere without bandits.”

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© China Architecture & Building Press and Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 L. Xue et al., Traditional Chinese Villages, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6154-6_4

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dwellings. Seven years later, Lin Xiechun (1537–1604), a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination held in the palace under the emperor’s supervision) from Zhangzhou wrote in the Records of Zhangfu County—Summary of Military Defense that “the most effective way to resist the enemy and to protect civilians is to build earthen forts and to organize and train militia. Several dozens of households are supposed to gather in an earth building and support each other when there is an attack. Once the alarm is triggered, all people in the fort will unite to revolt against the invaders. The bandits, even in tens of thousands and crossing the land many times, dare not to attack any one of the forts for fear of the formidable battle efficiency.” It is obvious that due to the social unrest at the time, people had to build earth buildings to ensure safety. The Records of Zhangfu County written in Kangxi Reign of Qing Dynasty stated that “The earthen citadels are built by civilians to protect themselves from the invasion of bandits and pirates.” Even Zuo Zongtang, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang Province, admitted in the fourth year of Tongzhi of Qing dynasty (1865) that the building of earthen citadels was to fight against bandits and pirates.4 In the periods of Kangxi and Qianlong of Qing Dynasty, the construction of earth buildings was widespread and reaching maturity on account of the following three reasons. The first reason was the turbulent social environment. In southwestern Fujian, the barren land and impoverished and fierce people bred bandits, the conflict between the clans and between the aborigines and the outsiders led to social unrest and constant fighting. In the second year of Yongzheng of Qing Dynasty (1734), the emperor ordered, “I have heard of people of Zhangzhou and Quanzhou in Fujian Province had strong folk customs and were brave and good at fierce fighting. The big families often relied on its force to bully the small ones and occasionally a trifle matter would lead to fighting among the local parties with weapons… such unique and strong customs were well known but also greatly despised both in the small cases when neighboring clans or villages fought with each other, or in the large scale ones when several villages and even counties joined to fight with weapons.” The second reason was the solid economic foundation. In Qing Dynasty, the great development in trade of tobacco, tea, and other business, which had been sold throughout the country and to Southeast Asian countries, had promoted the economic growth of the region and laid the economic foundation for the construction of earthen dwellings. The third reason was the ensemble model of familial settlement. In Qing Dynasty, the explosive growth of population led to the expansion of housing demand. In order to

4

Tang Yuxian, The Setting Sun in the Southern Territory, Fujian Education Press, 2009, p. 241.

4 Round and Square Buildings and Five-Phoenix Mansions …

adapt to the family development, people began to build earth buildings and families of the whole clan lived together. After the middle of Qing Dynasty, with the improvement of public security, the earth buildings began to reflect their habitability, although they still possessed the defensive function. It was obvious that at that time, the residential function of Tulou far exceeded the defensive function and had even become a symbol of family wealth and status. However, these earthen dwellings were inherited as a culture and erecting earth buildings became a kind of inertia. In the 1960 and 1970s, there was a small upsurge in the construction of the earthen dwellings. This was mainly due to the peak of fertility after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, which led to a sharp population increase and the urgent need for a large amount of housing. In the meantime, after three years of economic hardship, the recovery of the rural economy made it possible to build new earth buildings. Therefore, under the background of advocating collective ideas and promoting interconnection and cooperation, as long as people work in the field to earn the “work points”, they could realize the “collective life” of settlement without spending too much money. The earthen dwellings erected in this period were simple and practical in structure without much decoration.

Nestled in Mountains and Embraced by Rivers The decision on village location has its general principles; that is, it generally takes into consideration the adjacent mountains and rivers, fertile soil, sufficient sunshine, convenience of cultivation, ease of defense, and other factors. Ringed by high mountains and covered by lush vegetation, southwestern Fujian is warm with abundant rainfall in summer and cold and damp in winter. These villages are mostly located in small flat areas of mountains, nestled on rivers, standing in the countryside, facing the sun and avoiding the wind, which shows integration with nature. There are streams flowing through the villages that not only meet the needs of daily life and agriculture, but also help to enrich the visual landscape of the villages. Surrounded by hillside terraces, the villages are harmonious with the surrounding natural environment. The large-scale earthen dwellings, either standing alone or gathered in groups, combine into large and small villages with the local traditional dwelling houses, scattering among the mountains and rivers of southwestern Fujian. Inhabited by the Xu Clan, Chuxi Village in Yongding County is surrounded by mountains. The two mountain streams run through the village respectively from east to west and from south to north, and meet in the north of the village, then go westward. Big and small pebbles are scattered all over the valley floor, which become an excellent

Nestled in Mountains and Embraced by Rivers

building material. The earthen dwellings are built on a gentle hillside in the south of the stream, the closer to the stream, the older and larger the buildings are. Thus, it can be judged that the village expands along the mountains from the stream up to the south (Fig. 4.1). Hongkeng Village in Yongding County is inhabited by the Lin Clan. The winding Hongchuan Stream runs through the village from north to south with mountains standing on both sides. Thirty-five earthen dwellings, round or square, in different forms and of different periods, are distributed along the stream. These lofty earth buildings merge with the mountains and landscape nearby, as well as the clear streams and the small bridges, painting a beautiful and artistic picture (Figs. 4.2, 4.3). Inhabited by the Huang Clan, Tianluokeng Village in Nanjing County is located on the slope of Hudong Mountain, surrounded by mountains on the east, north, and west, with large terraces on the south. There are five earthen dwellings in the village, the square Buyun Lou and the round Zhenchang Lou, Ruiyun Lou, Hechang Lou and Wenchang Lou, scattered high and low in the mountains, close to or separated from each other, like UFOs descending from the sky (Fig. 4.4). Hekeng Village of Nanjing County, inhabited by the Zhang Clan, is surrounded by mountains on the east, west, and south. A stream flows through it from the east to the west converging into Qujiang Stream in the northwest of the village. The 14 earthen dwellings (7 round and 7 square) are distributed on both sides of the stream over a length of less than half a kilometer (Figs. 4.5, 4.6). Shiqiao Village in Nanjing County is composed of four natural villages, all lying on hills and facing waters, among which Xibeiyang Village is the largest in scale with the most concentrated earthen dwellings. The village lies on the mountain on the south and faces the river on the other three sides, which is a piece of rare and precious flat land on the banks of the stream, hence the name “Xibeiyang (溪背洋)”. There are nearly ten earthen dwellings in the village distributed on both sides of the stream (Figs. 4.7, 4.8).

Housing an Entire Clan An earthen dwelling usually houses an entire clan. They work in unity, getting out of troubles together and maintaining common interests and honor. Each earthen dwelling is a small community. “When one family is in happiness, the whole clan cerebrates; when one is in trouble, every individual in the house gives a hand.” A couplet in the hall in Chengqi Lou reads, “we are of the same clan and of the same root; we live in one house and cherish each other”, which depicts the harmony and happiness of the people in an earthen dwelling (Fig. 4.9).

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An earthen dwelling generally covers an area of more than 1,000 square meters, 3 to 5 stories high, and the total number of bays varies. More than 80% of the 246 earth houses surveyed in Nanjing County have 20 to 40 bays on each floor.5 Shunyu Lou, for example, in Shiqiao Village of Nanjing County is a large-scale earth building with an outer diameter of 74.1 m, four stories high, the underlying soil wall as thick as 1.6 m, 72 bays on every floor and 288 bays in all, a main entrance and two side doors, and four staircases. There would be another two-story ring building being built in the inner courtyard, but only a quarter was completed due to financial constraints. Once there were more than 900 people living in Shunyu Lou. Some other earthen buildings are smaller in scale, such as Rusheng Lou in Hongkeng Village, with three stories, a diameter of only 17.4 m and 16 bays, whose area is only 1/18 of the former. (Figs. 4.10, 4.11 and 4.12). The earthen dwelling adopts a central axis symmetrical plane layout, which is tall and regular, closed and independent, simple and rough outside, but spacious and distinctive inside. There are several characteristics on the design of space in Tulou. First, “a large quantity of rooms”—there are so many rooms that can accommodate a great number of people, such as Chengqi Lou in Yongding County once inhabited more than 600 people. Second, “endocentric unity”—all the rooms in the building are facing the spacious inner courtyard in the middle serving as a public space of the families. Third, “equal space allocation”—the size of the rooms is equal and all the rooms are equally distributed regardless of age and social status. Fourth, “central axis symmetry”—the distribution of rooms and staircases, the location of the gates and ancestral halls adhere to a strict symmetrical pattern and public space is concentrated on the central axis (Figs. 4.13, 4.14). Another prominent feature of earthen dwelling is the vertical distribution of space, that is, the ground floor is the kitchen; the second floor serves as a barn and the third floor and upper floors are bedrooms. The reason why the barn is on the second floor is that the fire produced by cooking every day is conducive to dry the air and to prevent pests. The bedrooms are on the upper floors because it’s better for the bedrooms to have windows, but windows on the lower floors are a disadvantage for defensive purposes. The inner courtyard, usually paved with pebbles, is used for drying laundry and grains. There must be one or two public wells with three or four boreholes on the manhole cover so that several people are able to draw water at the same time (Fig. 4.15).

5

Dai Zhijian, Fujian Folk Dwellings, China Architecture & Building Press, 2009, p. 234.

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Fig. 4.1 Chuxi village in Yongding County. Lying on the mountains and standing by the streams, the village is mainly comprised of five round buildings and dozens of square buildings. The names of these earthen dwellings are also very characteristic, because they all have the

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Chinese character “Qing (庆)”, such as Jiqing Lou, Yuqing Lou, Shengqing Lou, Huaqing Lou, Gengqing Lou, Xiqing Lou, Fuqing Lou, Gongqing Lou, Fanqing Lou, and Shanqing Lou, etc., which are included in the World Heritage.

Fig. 4.2 General plan of Hongkeng Village in Yongding County

The lower two stories of the earthen dwelling have no fenestration, but there will be small hole-like chimneys and cracks of about 20 cm as ventilation ports. Small windows, about 70–90 cm high and about 40–50 cm wide, are set in the wall along the third and fourth story. These large and

small windows are cut through one after another, scattered in the wall and none of them is aligned with each other vertically or horizontally, because they are often excavated by different households at different times. But at the same time, they are similar in shape and in proportion. Instead of being

Housing an Entire Clan

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Fig. 4.3 Partial aerial view of Hongkeng Village in Yongding County

Fig. 4.4 Bird’s-eye view of Tulou Group in Tianluokeng Village in Nanjing County

messy and disorderly, these lively and lovely windows have a rhythmic beauty and a sense of coordination when placed in a large-scale wall (Figs. 4.16, 4.17, 4.18 and 4.19). The traffic organization of the earthen dwelling can be mainly divided into two types: the corridor type and the unit type. According to Huang Hanmin’s statistics, among more than 1,100 round buildings, the corridor type accounts for about 80%, while the unit type accounts for about 20%. Among the 2,100 square ones, the corridor type occupies

6

Huang Hanmin, Fujian Earthen Dwellings (revised edition), Sanlian Bookstore Press, 2009, p. 37 and p. 55.

about 90% and the unit type 10%.6 So, the corridor type is more common. The so-called corridor style is that a corridor is set up to organize horizontal traffic by contacting all the rooms on the same floor, and there is a public staircase to organize the vertical traffic. This form is mainly adapted in Hakka’s earthen dwellings in western Fujian Province, the obscure boundary between households reflects strong sociality and publicity. The serious interference between the households and the poor sound insulation are the disadvantages of this kind of dwelling, but the occupants are used to this lifestyle. For example, Yuqing Lou in Chuxi Village of Yongding County is a typical corridor-style.

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Fig. 4.5 Plan of Hekeng Village in Nanjing County Fig. 4.6 Bird’s-eye view of Hekeng Village in Nanjing County

The unit type means that the entire earthen dwelling is divided vertically into several units. Each household occupies the rooms on the same vertical direction and has a

separate staircase. This type of dwelling mainly exists in southern Fujian Province. Each household has an independent entrance and exit, which reflects more privacy and

Housing an Entire Clan

Fig. 4.7 Plan of Shiqiao Village of Nanjing County (Quote from Architecture of Fujian Tulou, p. 113) Fig. 4.8 Bird’s-eye view of Xibeiyang Natural Village in Shiqiao Village of Nanjing County

Fig. 4.9 Bird’s-eye view of Huanxing Lou in Hongkeng Village of Yongding County

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80 Fig. 4.10 Bird’s-eye view of Shunyu Lou in Shiqiao Village of Nanjing County. This earthen dwelling was built during the period of Republic of China. It was built by raising funds, therefore, there was no ancestral halls of an individual clan, only the temples to sacrifice land and Guanyin Buddha.

Fig. 4.11 Interior of Shunyu Lou in Shiqiao Village of Nanjing County

independence, such as the Eryi Lou in Dadi Village of Hua’an County. There are some unit type Hakka earthen dwellings in western Fujian as well, such as Jiqing Lou in Chuxi Village of Yongding County (Figs. 4.20, 4.21, 4.22, 4.23, 4.24, 4.25 and 4.26).

Round Earthen Dwellings According to its shape, the earthen dwellings can be divided into round, square, and five-phoenix mansion dwellings. According to Huang Hanmin’s statistics, there are 3,373 Tulou, 1,193 of which are round, 2,165 square, 25

five-phoenix mansions, and 125 in other forms, such as elliptical, concave and semi-circular.7 The main reason for the appearance of the other forms is the restriction of terrain, for example, the elliptical Tulou is built when it is impossible to construct a round one on a piece of narrow land. Round earthen dwellings are the most distinctive and have the strongest visual impact. The 46 Tulou included in the World Cultural Heritage are dominated by round ones, which possess some obvious advantages. First, all the rooms are equal in size and position, which is convenient to

7

Huang Hanmin, Fujian Earthen Dwellings (revised edition), Sanlian Bookstore Press, 2009, p. 35.

Round Earthen Dwellings

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Fig. 4.12 Small-scale Rusheng Lou Built in Guangxu Reign of Qing Dynasty in Hongkeng Village of Yongding County

Fig. 4.13 Interior scene of Chungui Lou in Hekeng Village of Nanjing County. This Tulou was built in 1963–1968, with three stories and 32 rooms on each floor and four staircases. There are wells in the courtyard.

distribute among families. Second, compared with buildings of other shapes, the inner courtyard of a round earthen dwelling covers the largest area. Third, the building components are unified, which facilitate the preparation of timber. Fourth, it is timber-saving, because the earth wall bears the weight of the long outer ring while the wood structure bears the weight of the short inner ring, so that the round Tulou saves wood compared with a square one of the same size. Fifth, the regular roof makes the construction simple, because the two-slope roof of round Tulou are much simpler

in construction process than the hipped gable roof of the square earth building. Sixth, the earthquake resistant capability is good, because the round building has no edges and no corners, which is easy to divert strong wind from the mountains or even the typhoon, and can distributed the horizontal seismic force evenly during an earthquake. Qiaofu Lou in Gaobei Village of Yongding County is a typical round Tulou. This three-story high, corridor-type building, facing south, with a diameter of 45 m, was built in 1963. Each floor has 30 bays, of which one is occupied by

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Fig. 4.14 Interior Scene of the Corridor of Chungui Lou in Hekeng Village of Nanjing County Fig. 4.15 Well of Zhencheng Lou in Hongkeng Village of Yongding County

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Fig. 4.16 Hole-like Chimney of Shunyu Lou in Shiqiao Village of Nanjing County

Round Earthen Dwellings

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Fig. 4.17 Façade of Zhenyang Lou in Nanjiang Village of Yongding County, with arbitrary window design

Fig. 4.18 Façade of Yong’an Lou in Shiqiao Village of Nanjing County, with arbitrary window design

the gate, another by the ancestral hall, two others by the stairs on the east and west, and the remaining 26 bays are rooms. The corridors on the second and the third floor are covered by the overhanging wooden structure. And the overhanging part is larger on the third floor and a waist eave is set; the space under the eave is enclosed by wooden boards as storeroom (Figs. 4.27, 4.28).

Square Earthen Dwellings The square earthen dwellings are the largest in number and characterized by vertical axis symmetry, good hierarchy and regular rooms. Many of them have a square enclosure in the front, that is, the front yard.

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Fig. 4.19 Façade of Yangzhao Lou in Hekeng Village of Nnajing County, with lively windows of different Sizes

Fig. 4.20 Yuqing Lou in Chuxi Village of Yongding County. The three-story corridor-style Tulou was built in the 7th year of Yongzheng Reign of Qing Dynasty (1729).

Hegui Lou (cf. Figure 4.29) in Pushan Village of Nanjing County is a representative of the square earth buildings. It was built in the tenth year of Yongzheng in Qing Dynasty (1732), backed on the green hills and facing east, with rice fields surrounding the other three sides. It is five stories high and has a square plane with a width of 36.6 m and a depth of 28.6 m and each floor has 28 rooms. The gate faces east and is the only access to the building. There is a front yard outside the building. There are four staircases in each of the four corners. Each household occupies the bays in the same

vertical position, with the ground floor serving as the kitchen, the second floor as the barn, and the third to fifth floors being the bedrooms. The ancestral hall and study are in the inner court on the central axis. There are two wells in the square courtyard, the one with clear water is for drinking and the other with turbid water is for washing. A couplet inscribed on the gate reads, “harmony brings happiness; virtue fosters offspring” to warn the future generations that harmony and virtue are most precious.

Square Earthen Dwellings Fig. 4.21 Plan of the 2nd floor of Yuqing Lou in Chuxi Village of Yongding County (cf. Fujian Earthen Dwellings, p. 128). Each floor of this Tulou has 34 rooms and there are four staircases, the ancestral hall is in the middle of the courtyard.

Fig. 4.22 Interior Façade of Chungui Lou in Hekeng Village of Nanjing County. Each household occupies the rooms vertically from the first story to the third.

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86 Fig. 4.23 Jiqing Lou in Chuxi Village of Yongding County. The four-story high Tulou was originally corridor style and converted into unit style when it was repaired in the ninth year of Qianlong Reign in Qing Dynasty (1744).

Fig. 4.24 Staircase of each unit in Jiqing Lou in Chuxi Village of Yongding County

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Square Earthen Dwellings Fig. 4.25 Bird’s-eye view of Eryi Lou in Dadi Village of Hua'an County. Built in Qianlong Reign of Qing Dynasty, this is a double-ring circular building with a four-story outer structure and a one-story inner ring. Each unit has an individual staircase.

Fig. 4.26 Plan of Eryi Lou in Dadi Village of Hua’an County (quoted from Architecture of Fujian Tulou, p. 239). There are 52 bays in the outer ring with the main entrance, two side doors and the ancestral hall occupying four bays. The remaining 48 bays are divided into 12 units including 10 four-bay units, one three-bay unit and one five-bay unit.

87

88 Fig. 4.27 Three-story Qiaofu Lou in Gaobei Village of Yongding County. Built in 1963, the lower two stories of the building have no fenestration, but small windows are cut in the wall on the third floor.

Fig. 4.28 Plan of Qiaofu Lou in Gaobei Village of Yongding County (quoted from Architecture of Fujian Tulou, p. 197). There is only one gate and one well in the courtyard and there are 30 rooms on each floor.

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Square Earthen Dwellings

89

Fig. 4.29 Bird’s eye view of Hegui Lou in Pushan Village of Nanjing County

In addition, Shengqing Lou in Chuxi Village of Yongxi County and Yangzhao Lou in Hekeng Village of Nanjing County are also typical square earth buildings (Figs. 4.30, 4.31 and 4.32).

Five-Phoenix Mansions In addition to the relatively regular round and square earth buildings, there is also a kind of earthen dwelling that is high at the back and low in the front, called five-phoenix mansion in the southwestern part of Fujian Province. This mansion-type earth building is affected greatly by the traditional house-style dwellings and mainly located in Yongding County. Most five-phoenix mansions adopt the central axis layout, with three halls, front hall (also being the entrance hall), middle hall and main hall (i.e. upper hall), placed vertically along the main axis from the front to the back. For some, there are only two halls placed vertically along the main axis with connecting structures called “horizontal room” on both sides. The upper hall is generally the highest with three or four stories. The middle hall is mainly used for sacrificial offerings, family gatherings, weddings and funerals, and other public activities, with well-decorated couplets and horizontal plaques on its door to indicate the owners’ literacy, fame, and status. The shrines of the ancestors are usually consecrated in the middle hall, a place for family members to honor their forefathers. Fuyu Lou in Hongkeng Village of Yongding County is low in front and high at the back and facing west, adopted the pattern of five-phoenix mansion. However, this dwelling is not a typical five-phoenix mansion, but one with some

variations. Although the appearance seems integrated, the interior of the building is divided into three major units. There are three doors in the front of the building, namely the central main gate, two “etiquette door” on both sides. From the front to the back, there are open space, front hall (also entrance hall), middle hall (i.e. ancestral hall,) and upper hall placed vertically along the main axis. The open space is narrow and long, paved with cobblestones, and the door of the courtyard is set on one side. The direction of the gatehouse is rotated to diagonally oppose the “water mouth”, to make it auspicious in fengshui. There are two stories in the front hall, the ground floor serving as the entrance hall and the wing-rooms and the second floor as bedrooms. The middle hall is three stories high with the ground floor serving as ancestral hall and wing-rooms, the second and the third floor as Guanyin temple and bedrooms. The upper hall is the highest, with the kitchen and living room on the ground floor, the granary on the second floor and the bedrooms on the third floor and upwards. As the ancestral hall, there is a couplet on the door of the middle hall, which reads, “keep the family going by accumulating merits, take the first priority as acquiring knowledge”, to warn and guide descendants to do good things and to keep learning (Fig. 4.33).

Location of the Ancestral Hall There are usually two locations for the ancestral halls in the earth buildings, at the center of the dwelling courtyard or opposite the main gate on the ground floor. The general rule is that in the unit-type earthen dwellings or the lately constructed corridor-type ones, the ancestral hall is located

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Fig. 4.30 Plan of Hegui Lou in Pushan Village of Nanjing County (Quoted from Architecture of Fujian Tulou, p. 290)

opposite the main entrance on the ground floor while in the early corridor-type dwellings, especially those exquisite ones, the ancestral hall is in the middle of the inner courtyard. As the spiritual center of the dwelling, the ancestral hall is used not only for worshiping ancestors, but also for weddings, funerals, and other family activities. Therefore, the ancestral halls are generally elaborately decorated, some even attached to a living room and winding corridors. Sometimes they double as a private school for the younger generation of the family with the elderly or the most learned people as the teacher, hoping that the younger generation could leave Tulou and set up their own official careers in the future.

For many large-scale earthen dwellings constructed by the rich merchant families, the ancestral hall situates in the courtyard, such as Zhencheng Lou in Hongkeng Village of Yongding County. It was built in the first year of the Republic of China (1921), consisting of two rings inside and outside. The ancestral hall is in the north of the inner ring on the central axis, square in shape with a single pyramid roof and four western classic columns in the front (Figs. 4.34, 4.35 and 4.36). The ancestral hall of Chengqi Lou in Hongkeng Village of Yongding County stands in the middle of the four rings, which occupies a prominent position and is the core of the entire building. The four-story earthen building was built in

Location of the Ancestral Hall

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Fig. 4.31 Shengqing Lou in Chuxi Village of Yongding County. This Tulou was built in the fourth year of Jiajing Reign in Qing Dynasty (1799). It consists of two square earth buildings, inside and outside. The outer building is four stories high and the inner one two stories high. Both buildings adopt the corridor type with four shared stairs.

Fig. 4.32 Interior scene of Yangzhao Lou in Hekeng Village of Nanjing County. The earth building was built in the first year of Guangxu Reign in Qing Dynasty (1875). It is a corridor type three-story square building with a width of 39 m and a depth of 34 m.

the 48th year of Kangxi Reign of Qing Dynasty (1709), which is composed of the outside ring, middle ring, central ring, and inner ring on four concentric circles. The whole building follows a well-proportioned pattern with the highest in the outer ring and the lowest in the inner ring. The ancestral hall is opposite the main gate, facing south, with a half circle of enclosures on both sides, meaning “everything centering on the core”. The ancestral hall adopts the hipped

gable roof and is beautifully decorated with carved beams and painted rafters. The ancestral hall of Jiqing Lou in Chuxi Village of the same county is also located in the center of the earthen dwelling (Figs. 4.37, 4.38 and 4.39). Huaiyuan Lou in Kanxia Village of Nanjing County was built in the first year of Xuantong Reign in Qing Dynasty (1909). There is a concentric ancestral hall at the center doubling as a study and private school for the younger

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Fig. 4.33 Fuyu Lou in Hongkeng Village of Yongding County. It was built in the eighth year of Guangxu Reign in Qing Dynasty (1883) by the three bothers from Lin Family.

Fig. 4.34 Bird’s-eye view of Zhencheng Lou in Hongkeng Village of Yongding County. The outer ring is four stories high and the inner ring is two stories high. The ancestral hall is the main component of the inner ring with its first floor serving as the study, accounting room, and

living room, and the second floor as bedrooms. The rings of the corridor on the second floor are equipped with delicate iron cast railings carved with plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum, very rare at the time.

generation of the clan. Along the central axis, two low walls in front of and at the back of the ancestral hall separate the space into two small patios. The gate of the ancestral hall faces the entrance of the dwelling directly. A plaque is hung over the ancestral hall with vigorous and powerful inscription “斯是室” on it. The interior of the ancestral hall is classic and elegant with carved beams and painted rafters. It

is said that when Huaiyuan Lou was built, the four-story exterior wall cost ten thousand silver dollars, and the hall which serves as the ancestral hall and private school (cf. Figure 4.42) cost more than twice that amount (Figs. 4.40, 4.41). Kuijv Lou in Hongkeng Village of Yongding County is a square earthen dwelling built in the fourteenth year of

Location of the Ancestral Hall

93

Fig. 4.35 First floor plan of Zhencheng Lou in Hongkeng Village of Yongding County (Quoted from Architecture of Fujian Tulou, p. 191). The outer ring is divided into 8 units by grey brick firewalls. Each unit and the inner ring patio form a courtyard. Fig. 4.36 Zhencheng Lou in Hongkeng Village of Yongding County. The ground and second floors are kitchen and granary respectively, with no windows in the wall; the third and fourth floors are bedrooms with small windows, and the projected part in the middle of the inner ring is the ancestral hall.

94 Fig. 4.37 Chengqi Lou in Gaobei Village of Yongding County. The ancestral hall is at the center of the building.

Fig. 4.38 Plan of Chengqi Lou in Gaobei Village of Yongding County (Quoted from Architecture of Fujian Tulou, p. 179). The dwelling comprises four circles and has nearly 400 rooms. The inner circle has only one floor with 21 rooms used as studies for descendants; the middle circle has two floors, with 40 rooms on each floor used as guest rooms; the outer circle is four stories high with 72 rooms on each floor.

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Location of the Ancestral Hall

95

Fig. 4.39 Interior scene of Jiqing Lou in Chuxi Village of Yongding County with Ancestral Hall in the Center

Fig. 4.40 Façade of Huaiyuan Lou in Kanxia Village of Nanjing County

Guangxu Reign in Qing dynasty (1834). It faces south, with three stories in the front part and four stories at the back. The spectacular pavilion-style ancestral hall locates on the central axis of the building in the rear, with four layers of double-eave roof stretching forward (Fig. 4.43). The ancestral hall of some earthen dwellings only occupies one bay in the ring. For example, in Dadi Village of Hua’an County, the ancestral hall of Eryi Lou is in the ring

opposite the gate, instead of in the courtyard. On both sides of the door of the ancestral hall there stand the drum-shaped bearing stones, with auspicious patterns such as the lock of good wishes and four dragons playing with the pearl. There are a lot of gorgeous colored paintings on the beams, especially on the architrave, and in each unit. The ancestral hall of Nanyang Lou of the same village also locates in the ring opposite the main gate (Figs. 4.44, 4.45, 4.46 and 4.47).

96 Fig. 4.41 Plan of Huaiyuan Lou in Kanxia Village of Nanjing County (Quoted from Architecture of Fujian Tulou, p. 174). There are 34 bays in the circle of the corridor-type dwelling with four stairs evenly distributed and the ancestral hall at the center.

Fig. 4.42 Interior scene of Huaiyuan Lou in Kanxia Village of Nanjing County with ancestral hall at the center

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Defense Function of Earthen Dwellings

97

Fig. 4.43 Interior scene and Ancestral Hall of Kuijv Lou in Hongkeng Village of Yongding County

Fig. 4.44 Mural on the beam of ancestral hall of Eryi Lou in Hua’an County

Defense Function of Earthen Dwellings The function of defense is the most important reason for the popularity of the earthen dwellings in southwestern Fujian. For example, in Dapu County, adjacent to southwestern Fujian, Xiao Suicai explained the legitimacy of the construction of “Mingfeng Lou”, “The country builds walls and digs pools to protect civilians and the whole country, and the villagers build earthen citadels to protect themselves, which is also conducive to guard the country.” Therefore,

defensiveness is a priority to be considered in the construction of the earthen dwellings. The high and thick outer wall is the first line of defense, which is generally three to five stories high, about 15 to 16 m, and one to two meters thick. For example, the wall of the “Zaitian Lou” in Zhao’an County is 2.4 m thick. The kitchen on the ground floor and the barn on the second floor generally have no fenestration, and windows only cut in the wall of the third floor upward. The lower part of the wall is composed of stones, which are intentionally placed by the craftsmen with the big head of the pebble in and the small

98 Fig. 4.45 Mural in the room of Eryi Lou in Hua’an County

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Defense Function of Earthen Dwellings Fig. 4.46 Bird’s-eye view of Nanyang Lou in Dadi Village of Hua’an County

Fig. 4.47 Plan of Nanyang Lou in Dadi Village of Hua’an County (Quoted from Architecture of Fujian Tulou, p. 248). This unit-type earth building, built in the 22nd year of Jiaqing Reign of Qing Dynasty (1817), consists of a one-story inner ring and a three-story outer ring. There are 32 bays, a main gate and two side gates in the outer ring. The whole outer ring is divided into four units; every unit consists of five bays. The ancestral hall is directly opposite the main gate.

99

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head out. This masonry method makes it extremely difficult to pry off the pebbles from outside. In order to increase the defensiveness, the windows of the earth building are generally trumpet-shaped embrasures, which are small outside but large inside. Such shape is conducive to observing and shooting as well as hiding to reduce injury (Figs. 4.48, 4.49, 4.50 and 4.51). The gates of earthen dwellings are weak links, so their defensive capacity is crucial. There is usually only one main gate in the building, and even for very large buildings, there are no more than three gates. Door frames are often built with slates. The door planks are generally spliced with solid wood panels approximately 13-cm thick and wrapped by iron sheet. There is a horizontal bolt on the back of the door to hold the door planks. In order to prevent fire attack, not only iron sheet is nailed outside the wooden door, but also “water trough” is often set at the lintel on the top of the door, which can be filled with water from above to form a water curtain to cool down and prevent the door from being burnt out. For example, the gate of Eryi Lou in Hua’an County is equipped with this water spraying system (Fig. 4.52). Observation towers are set on some earthen dwellings in order to observe bandits and have a good command of the surrounding circumstances, besides, blunderbuss can also be put on them. On the fourth floor of Jiqing Lou in Chuxi Village of Yongding County, nine lookout towers jet out of the outer wall.

Fig. 4.48 Façade of Eryi Lou in Dadi Village of Hua’an County Fig. 4.49 Zhenfu Lou in Xipian Village of Yongding County. Built in the second year of the Republic of China (1913), it has three stories with no fenestration in the wall of the ground floor and the second floor, only small windows in the wall of the third floor.

Defense Function of Earthen Dwellings

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Fig. 4.50 Small window of Huaiyuan Lou in Kanxia Village of Nanjing County

The earthen dwellings, with their granary, wells and all kinds of living facilities, are soild and sturdy. Once besieged by bandits, people can close the gate and live for months without setting foot outside (Fig. 4.53).

Ram Earth and Frame Wood

Fig. 4.51 Embrasure of Tulou in Chuxi Village of Yongding County

The construction of earthen dwellings depends on local materials such as soil, wood, and pebbles. The perfect combination of these materials makes the earthen dwellings stand for hundreds of years. So, how are such large-scale earthen dwellings built? The construction of the earth building generally goes through seven procedures, namely selecting and preparing for the building site, digging out the foundation trench, raising the stone base, forming and pounding the tamped earth wall, raising beams to form the wooden frame structure, designing the sewage system, and interior and exterior decoration. In the choice of location, the homestead should face south to expose to the sun and to shelter from the wind, be surrounded by mountains and waters. When restricted by some special circumstances such as taboo or for the avoidance of evil spirits, the building can face east or west, but never north. Before the actual construction, a geomancer will be invited to determine the position of the main gate, which is the midpoint of the threshold, and then determine the central axis of the building, at the end of which a wood stake for location will be placed and the center of the whole building will be pinpointed. The craftsmen will adjust the location of

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Fig. 4.52 Water injection hole of Eryi Lou in Dadi Village of Hua’an County

Fig. 4.53 Observation towers of Jiqing Lou in Chuxi Village of Yongding County

the building and the position of the main gate according to local geographical conditions. For example, when located in the mountains, the main gate should avoid facing the strong and cold wind directly, which is harmful to the residents’ health in winter. The direction of the gate of the earthen dwellings always changes in accordance with the river nearby. If there is water running in front of the door, it would be convenient for people to use the water in their daily life, but the earthen building should not face the streams and waters straightly. If so, the angle of the door should be

changed for the sake of avoiding water rushing into the earthen dwelling during the flood. Neither of the gates of Zhenfu Lou in Xipian Village and Yanxiang Lou in Xinnan village of Yongding County face straightly to the streams (Figs. 4.54, 4.55 and 4.56). If it is a round building, after the center is defined, people will draw a circle around it with a rope and divide the circle into bays. Then, the outline of the foundation trench will be sketched according to the width of the foundation, commonly called “putting in lines”. Once the outline is sketched

Ram Earth and Frame Wood Fig. 4.54 Zhenfu Lou in Xipian Village of Yongding County. There is a stream at the west of the building, but its gate faces south rather than facing the stream.

Fig. 4.55 Bird’s-eye view of Zhenfu Lou in Xipian Village of Yongding County. The flow of the stream is not vertical to the central axis of the three-story building, but its gate faces the direction along which the stream flows.

Fig. 4.56 Bird’s-eye view of Yanxiang Lou in Xinnan Village of Yongding County. Built in the 22nd year of Daoguang Reign in Qing Dynasty (1842) the four-story building stands by a stream on its west. Instead of facing the stream, its gate faces southwest, the direction along which the stream flows.

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Fig. 4.57 Outer wall of Huaiyuan Lou in Kanxia Village of Nanjing County. The foot of the wall is made of stones and the higher part is made of rammed earth.

Fig. 4.58 Outer wall of Yangzhao Lou in Hekeng Village of Nanjing County. The lower wall is made of stones and the higher part is made of rammed earth.

on the ground, the foundation is to be excavated on an auspicious day, commonly known as “opening the foundation”. This trench will then be filled with tightly packed stones and rubbles, often referred to as “patting stone foot”. The wall base is generally constructed with large pebble blocks and the cracks are filled with small pieces of pebbles. After the wall trench is filled, a stone wall is raised. The stones are intentionally placed by the craftsmen with the big head of the pebble facing in and the small head facing out, commonly called “hooking stone”. This masonry method ensures that the pebbles will be difficult to pry off from outside. The wall base is usually built with dry pebbles with the surface mortared. The dry-laid stone wall prevents the capillary action so that the groundwater will not penetrate the earth wall (Fig. 4.57). The rammed earth wall is the most crucial part of the construction of the earth building. After the lower stone wall is completed, the formwork is set up and the forming and pounding of the wall can begin, commonly called “forming

wall”. The soil in southwestern Fujian is mostly lateritic red loam, whose texture is sticky and resilient. Mixed with bamboo ribs and fir branches that act as a reinforcement, the hybrid material of soil and plant fiber is used as stubs of the earth building. Earthen buildings along the coast of southern Fujian are often made of “three in one soil”, a mixture involving loess, lime, and sand. Brown sugar water and glutinous rice pulp are used in order to increase the durability of the composition so that the tamped earth can stand for hundreds of years. Such tamped earth walls of the existing earth buildings in southwestern Fujian Province reveal the original texture but look slightly mottled because of the cracks of different sizes, reflecting the vicissitudes of the years and the simple and rough character of the building (Fig. 4.58). There are many technical essentials for ramming earth walls. For example, when tamping the earth wall, the side exposed to the sun and the wind is dried and hardened quickly, while the other side is still relatively wet and soft. As a result, under the great weight of its own, the earth wall

Ram Earth and Frame Wood

will fall slightly towards the wet and soft side. This phenomenon is commonly known by the locals as “the sun pushes the wall”. Therefore, the wall needs to slightly incline to the easily dried side at the beginning of construction and the grasp of the measurement relies on the craftsmen’s rich experience accumulated over the years. The outer wall of the earth building is generally 1–2 m thick. In order to increase the stability and reduce the burden of the wall foundation, the outer wall is thick at the bottom and thin on the top. The thickness of the bottom layer is generally 1.5–2 times that of the top layer. The common

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practice is that the outer wall gradually batters inward and the inner wall adopts a retracted pattern (Fig. 4.59). The wood columns and the wood beams will be erected after the wall is rammed to one story high, commonly known as “constructing timber framework”. When the desired height is reached, both the interior structure and the earthen encircling wall are capped by a prominent tiled roof, commonly called “rainwater drainage”, with generous exterior overhanging and relatively small interior overhanging, which can effectively protect the earth walls from rain erosion (Fig. 4.60).

Fig. 4.59 Sectional View of Hegui Lou in Pushan Village of Nanjing County (Quoted from Architecture of Fujian Tulou, p. 293). The bottom of the outer wall is 1.3 m thick with each floor upwards diminishes 0.1 m.

Fig. 4.60 Beam frame of Yuchang Lou in Hekeng Village of Nanjing County

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Fig. 4.61 Footing and drainage system of Yanxiang Lou in Xinnan Village of Yongding County. In southwestern Fujian, there is generally a stone channel outside the outer ring of the building.

Fig. 4.62 Cobbled pavement of Hegui Lou in Pushan Village of Nanjing County. This kind of pebbles is often used in the pavements in the courtyards of the earth buildings in southwestern Fujian Province.

After the earth building is capped, the interior and exterior decoration includes paving floor slabs, installing railings and stairways, opening windows, building stone steps and making plaques etc. In order to prevent the erosion of rain and floods, the outer walls of the earth buildings are circled

by cobbled roads to aid drainage. The ground inside and outside the earth building is also paved with pebbles. Weathering by the wind and sun and the pedestrians’ rubbing these pebbles showing cute textures and the traces of time (Figs. 4.61, 4.62).

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Fig. 4.63 Plaque of Eryi Lou in Dadi Village of Hua’an County.

It takes one year to build one story of a large-scale earthen dwelling, so three to five years are needed to construct a whole building and some even last for a dozen years.

Plaques and Couplets Each earthen dwelling has an elegant name. In daily life, people call it so-and-so building instead of so-and-so house. The name of most buildings adopts auspicious words to reflect people’s yearning and pursuit, or express their expectations for future generations. For example, the name of Eryi Lou of Hua’an County means good environment and good family. Some names of the earthen dwellings indicate their characteristics, such as Rusheng Lou in Hukeng Village of Yongding County which indicates that the diameter of this building is short, meaning “as small as a rice measure”. Many couplets reflect “farming culture”. The reason is easy to understand, because reading and farming are the most noble and sacred things in traditional society (Fig. 4.63).

The name of the building is often combined with couplets as family precepts to encourage clansman to struggle ahead. Many names of the earth buildings are the first words of the couplets which further interpret the meaning. For example, the couplets on both sides of the gate of Zhencheng Lou in Hongkeng Village of Yongding County aim to warn descendants that only if they obey discipline can they have both ability and political integrity. The couplets on both sides of the gate of Kuijv Lou in Hongkeng Village of Yongding County are written by Wu Yifu of Qing Dynasty, a member of the Imperial Academy, which reads “Bright stars illuminate civilization; New atmosphere refreshes the whole clan.” (Figs. 4.64, 4.65). Some of the words in the couplets on the gate of Huaiyuan Lou in Kanxia Village of Nanjing County stem from classics and poems like the Analects of Confucius, and the Book of Changes. The first scroll means cultivating one’s moral character and putting one’s family affairs in order by stressing on moral and obeying the ancestors’ instructions. And the other scroll praises the natural environment and

108 Fig. 4.64 Couplets of Zhencheng Lou in Hongkeng Village of Yongding County

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Plaques and Couplets

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Fig. 4.65 Couplets of Kuijv Lou in Hongkeng Village of Yongding County

emphasizes the cultivation of profound culture by relying on mountains and waters (Fig. 4.66). The couplets on the gate of Chengqi Lou in Gaobei Village of Yongding County reads, “Follow the industrious and economical ancestors; Become productive and

well-learned descendants”, which include the virtues of diligence and frugality as well as the causes of plowing and reading, hoping the descendants can follow the ancestral teachings to plow, nurture offspring, and become righteous men (Fig. 4.67).

110 Fig. 4.66 Couplets of Huaiyuan Lou in Kanxia Village of Nanjing County

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Plaques and Couplets Fig. 4.67 Couplets of Chengqi Lou in Gaobei Village of Yongding County

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Drum Towers Against Mountains and over Waters, Ancient Dong Villages in Southeastern Guizhou Province

“Dong Village” is the shorter form of the village of Dong Ethnic Group, which is distributed through Guizhou, Guangxi, Hunan and other provinces in China. In January 2013, the Unesco World Heritage Committee added 22 Dong Villages to the World Heritage “Tentative Lists”, most of which are concentrated in southeast Guizhou Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefectures (hereafter referred to as southeast Guizhou).

Origins of Dong Villages The ancestors of Dong People can be traced back to Baiyue Ethnic Group in pre-Qin Period, mainly distributed in Pearl River Basin and the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River, an active area of Chu and Yue culture. After Qin and Han Dynasties, the ethnic integration was strengthened, and Baiyue Ethnic Group evolved into Dong, Shui, and Buyi Ethnic Groups. Since Tang and Song Dynasties, Dong Ethnic Group has gradually become an independent and single national ethnic group, and their ethnic culture has completed an important integration. The Tusi System in Yuan Dynasty and the reform of “abolishing native chieftains and appointing government officials” in Ming Dynasty objectively promoted the integration of Dong and Han culture, and the policy of using the migration to open wasteland further accelerated the transformation of social organization and culture. At the beginning of Ming Dynasty, the Publicity Department of Guizhou, a government agency for delivering court messages, was set up, and Dong People were mainly distributed in areas of Liping, Sizhou and Zhenyuan Prefecture. In addition, some Dong People moved to western Hubei Province in late Qing Dynasty. According to the data of the sixth national census in 2010, the total population of

Dong People is about 2.88 million,1 mainly distributed across the borders of Guizhou, Hunan, and Guangxi Province. Southeast Guizhou is one of the main areas where Dong People live. There are a large number of Dong villages in Liping County, Congjiang County, and Rongjiang County. The distribution of Dong People is characterized by their overall settlement and locally mixed living. The population is relatively concentrated with 50% in Guizhou Province and there are about 1.01 million Dong People in the southeastern Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, accounting for 35% of the total (Fig. 5.1). Dong People once lived in the mountains for a long time, so they were called “Cave People” in local records, and this is the origin of the current Dong People. In Dong ethnic language, Dong People call themselves “Gaeml” and the “village” is referred to as “senlxaih”. The spatial scope of their village is relatively large and often includes several stockade villages.2 The transformation of the village reflects the development of the social economy; the former villages have evolved into “administrative villages”, and the stockade villages have been preserved. The drum towers, wind and rain bridges, farmlands, river sections, etc. are mostly distributed according to the stockade villages, and the role of “village head” still falls on the most respected senior in the village who affects numerous villagers in both daily life and spiritual beliefs (Fig. 5.2).

1

State Council’s census office, department of population and employment statistics, national bureau of statistics. 2010 China’s census data. Beijing: China statistics publishing house, 2012. 2 Wu, Hao. Culture of Chinese Dong Villages. Beijing: Nationalities Publishing House, 2004:2. © China Architecture & Building Press and Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 L. Xue et al., Traditional Chinese Villages, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6154-6_5

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Fig. 5.1 Geographic map of Publicity Department of Guizhou. Taken from the Government Distribution Map of Guizhou sketched in Hongzhi Reign of Ming Dynasty.

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distributed in the ridges, foothills, intermontane basins, and other places in southeast Guizhou. Built in accordance with the waters, the villages are surrounded by cedar trees, bamboo forests, camphor trees, and maple trees, with fish ponds inside. Dong Villages are closely linked to the landscape environment. The location of the village reflects the multiple needs of military defense, production, and daily life. The mountain is a natural barrier to the village and can be converted into terraces for rice cultivation. Streams flowing through the villages not only provide a source of water for daily life, but also contribute to external defense. There are wind and rain bridges built over the rivers, together with the drum towers, constituting the landmark structures of the villages (Figs. 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, and 5.7).

Fig. 5.2 Bird’s-eye view of Tangan Village in Liping County of Guizhou Province

Mountains and Villages Southeast Guizhou is located in the mountainous area of the eastern Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, with rolling hills and ravines, and many rivers in the territory. The main rivers are Qingshui River, Wuyang River, and Duliu River, which belong to Yangtze River System and Pearl River System respectively. The villages are covered with lush vegetation and located in the intersection of cold and warm air, where the mild and humid climate with abundant rain is suitable for rice cultivation. There are relatively flat valleys between the mountains called “Bazi (intermontane basin)” usually with streams flowing through. Dong Villages are widely

Diverse Spatial Forms Due to their unique national culture and historical evolution, Dong Villages are characterized by cohesion, identification, and defensiveness in terms of spatial patterns. The drum tower and its surrounding open space are the center of the village. The tower can be seen anywhere in the village because it is the highest building with most beautiful decoration in the village and the height of other residential buildings should not exceed it. Dong People have a very strong clansman concept, living together, and the spatial pattern is in line with the social structure. With boundaries

Diverse Spatial Forms

Fig. 5.3 Terraces in Congjian County of Gguizhou Province. Guizhou owns the title of “eight-tenths of mountains, one-tenth water and one-tenth land”, and the construction of mountainous settlements has

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become an important issue for Dong Villages. The villagers remodeled the terrains and converted the mountains into terraces for rice farming.

Fig. 5.4 Bird’s-eye view of Yintan Village in Congjiang County of Guizhou Province

defined by the village gates and wind and rain bridges, and the drum tower being the center, an introverted spatial pattern with a strong sense of order comes into existence. The villages can be roughly divided into three categories according to their spatial form, namely, strip villages, cluster villages, and scattered villages. The strip villages can be subdivided into the river strip and slope strip ones according to their different locations. Zengchong Village from Congjiang to Dongxiang County is a typical cluster village which includes more than 20 smaller stockade villages, with a total of more than 200 households. “Zengchong” was originally called “Zhengtong”, meaning “the richest place of the local area”. The ancestors of the village moved here from Liping County in Longqing Reign of Ming Dynasty. The village is

surrounded by water on the south, west, and north, with wind and rain bridges built in the northeast, southeast, and northwest. The grandmother hall and the opera stage are located in the southwest corner. The drum tower stands in the south of the village center, with the altar and the opera stage to the southwest of it. Yangli Village is a strip village; its two drum towers are close to each other; the paddy fields are located at higher elevations. The folk dwellings sit on the flat land between mountains and are arranged along the topographic contours. Gaoqian Village originally was in a scattered layout with three drum towers distributed in the form of a double-pronged attack. Due to the continuous expansion of each stockade, the village is now integrated into a cluster layout (Figs. 5.8, 5.9, 5.10, and 5.11).

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Fig. 5.5 Bird’s-eye view of Dong Village in Zhaoxing Township in Liping County of Guizhou Province

Dong People attach importance to collective life. The neighboring villages have frequent contacts, close cooperation and mutual integration. The villages present a form of multi-centered community. Zhaoxing Dong Village in Liping County is a large village with a large population where the town government is located. The village is in the lowland of the mountains and covers an area of about 18 hectares, including Zhaoxing Village, Middle Zhaoxing Village, and Upper Zhaoxing Village, with a total of more than 860 households. The village is generally strip-shaped and lies along the stream. Although the villagers share the same surname of “Lu”, they are divided into five independent communities and live independently according to the “the five constant virtues as specified in the feudal ethical code”, respectively: benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, and faith. Each community has its own independent public buildings, so there are five wind and rain bridges, five drum towers, and five opera stages in the village. The stream flows through the village, connecting the five stockades into one whole with the wind and rain bridges setting along the stream and the drum towers and the opera stages scattered on both sides, forming an orderly spatial sequence (Fig. 5.12).

Drum Tower as the Village Center

Fig. 5.6 Stream flowing through Dali Village in Rongjiang County of Guizhou Province

The public buildings in Dong villages have the functions of connecting inside and outside, offering sacrifices, and holding meetings, including the gates of stockades, wind and rain bridges, drum towers, the altar of Goddess Sa (the almighty heroine of Dong Ethnic Group), and the opera

Drum Tower as the Village Center

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Fig. 5.7 Washing in the village. Most Dong villages are built along the streams. To protect the water source, the streams are divided into sections and the water is used for drinking, washing and irrigating according to the degree of cleanliness.

Fig. 5.8 Plan of Zengchong Village in Congjiang County of Guizhou Province

stages. Different types of public buildings have different forms and functions, and together with the residential buildings constitute the living space of Dong Villages. The drum tower, a multi-angled wood tower with dense eaves, is the most important public building and often located in the center of Dong Villages. The drum tower and

its surrounding areas are the living center and the dual center of the material space and social culture of the village. Its functions include holding meetings, resolving disputes, recreations, welcoming guests, and disseminating information, etc. There is a fire pit in the center of the elevated drum tower where old people in the village often sit around to chat

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Fig. 5.9 Bird’s-eye view of cluster Zengchong Village in Congjiang County of Guizhou Province

Fig. 5.10 Bird’s-eye view of Yangli Village in Congjiang County of Guizhou Province

while warming themselves by the fire, or playing chess outside the drum tower. In addition, the drum tower is the most important ceremonial space to carry out important activities. For example, the boys and girls in the village will dress up and gather in the drum tower to sing and dance under the command of the musician in the important occasions such as house building, wedding ceremonies, and greeting guests (Fig. 5.13). The drum tower is a combination of tower and pavilion and is stabilized with mortise and tenon crossbeams, with a cowhide drum called “Drum of the Stockade” hung on it. The drum tower is in the shape of a quadrangle, hexagon, or octagon and is of either the single-column or the

multi-column type.3 The fir-wood is generally used as a supporting structure, which omens favorable weather and good luck. The construction of the drum tower is related to the family names. Generally, a drum tower is built independently by a clan, so the number of drum towers reflects the number of clan groups in a large village. In small villages, however, there is often one drum tower standing for the only one clan. The drum tower, built by each clan individually, becomes the symbol of Dong Villages. In case

3

Yang Zhuhui. Custom Records of Dong Nationality. Beijing: Central University of Nationalities Press, 2006:40.

Drum Tower as the Village Center

Fig. 5.11 Bird’s-eye view of Gaoqian Village in Congjiang County of Guizhou Province

Fig. 5.12 Bird’s-eye view of Zhaoxing Township in Liping County of Guizhou Province

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Village, Shudong Village, Tang’an Village and Dali Village. Some villages may have five or more drum towers. For example, there are five drum towers in Zhaoxing Village, which are called Benevolence, Righteousness, Courtesy, Wisdom and Faith, respectively. Huanggang Stockage Village has five drum towers as well. And there are two drum towers in Lower Yintan Stockage Village and Yangli Village. The drum tower in Zengchong Village was built in the eleventh year of Kangxi Reign in Qing Dynasty (1672). It is a five-story wood tower with thirteen eaves and an octagon pyramidal heavy tile roof. The wood frame has a net height of about 17 m and a total height of more than 20 m. On the double gourd pagoda roof, the ceramic bead spire stands tall, straight, and grand (Figs. 5.16, 5.17, 5.18, 5.19, 5.20, 5.21, 5.22, 5.23, 5.24, and 5.25).

Wind and Rain Bridges

Fig. 5.13 Façade of the drum tower in Zaiyang Stockade Village of Gaoqian Village in Congjiang County of Guizhou Province

of important events or festival celebrations, the villagers will beat the big drum and gather in the drum tower to listen to the elders giving orders. In daily life, the drum tower is a public place to pass leisure time around the fire pit in the center of the tower hall. In front of the drum tower in Dali Village, there is a small square and a cairn standing for the goddess. In front of the drum tower in Zengchong Village, there is a pond to take precautions of fire. There is almost always a fire pit in the center of the elevated drum tower where old people in the village get together chatting and warming themselves by the fire in the cold days (Figs. 5.14 and 5.15). The number of drum towers varies from village to village. For example, there is only one drum tower in Zengchong

The wind and rain bridge is also known as the “covered bridge”, which is a combination of corridor and bridge as the name implies. The architrave under the eaves is painted with color paintings, and the top of the bridge is deliberately decorated with cornices, carved dragons, and painted phoenixes, so the wind and rain bridge is also known as the “flower bridge”. The wind and rain bridges built across the river are of various types, made of stone, timber, or brick. The wood corridors of the bridge are mostly multi-tiered roofs, which are symmetrically distributed with the center of the bridge as the axis. The wind and rain bridge has many functions. First, it connects the village with the outside world, helping the villagers to avoid wading into the water; second, the bridge is built across the water, making the two foothills into a whole and enhancing the defensive nature of the village; third, there is a pavilion built over the bridge that provides a shelter from wind and rain; fourth, as an important space of belief and rite, the wind and rain bridge is a place to greet guests, hold collective meetings, and worship the gods and ancestors for it is mostly located at the entrance of the village or beside the drum tower, or sometimes it is built together with the temple. Wind and rain bridges can be divided into two categories according to their different locations. One is built inside the village, also known as “flower bridge”, with the nearby drum tower and the opera stage constituting the public space at the center of the village. The other kind of bridge is built across the water outside the village gate, becoming a landmark building at the entrance or exit of the village.

Wind and Rain Bridges

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Fig. 5.14 Drum tower in Dali Village in Rongjiang County of Guizhou Province

Fig. 5.15 Altar of Goddess Sa in Dali Village in Rongjiang County of Guizhou Province

The wind and rain bridges in Zhaoxing Village are a typical example of the first type. There are five drum towers and five wind and rain bridges built along the stream inside the village, connecting the residents on both sides of the “Water Street” and becoming important nodes of “Water Street” linear space. The second type of wind and rain bridges can be found in Gaoqian Village, Lower Yintan Village in Congjiang County, and Tang’an Village in Liping County. The wind and rain bridge of Gaoqian Village is a stone arch bridge located about 500 m to the north of Zai’e Village (of Lower Gaoqian Village). The stream runs through the middle arch hole of the bridge, and there are three pavilions seated on the bridge, with wood pillars and railings placed directly on the stone base. A Bodhisattva temple is built at the southeastern end of the bridge as a public space at the entrance of the village for people from nearby villages to pray for a son and blessing. There are three wind and rain bridges in Zengchong Village, which are located at the south, northwest and northeast of the village. The three bridges are different in form and design. The southern bridge is simple with a double slope roof and a total length of 7 bays; while the two bridges in the northwest and northeast are ornately decorated with a quadrangle pyramidal roof on the top of the bridge in the center with a gourd-shaped dome on it. The wind and rain bridge in Gaoqian Village is not only the connection between the inside and outside the village, but also combines the local terrain and water potential to form a “dragon shape”, which satisfies the ancestors’ demands for the construction of a complete space environment.

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Construction of Stilt Houses

Fig. 5.16 Drum tower of Zaiyang Stockage Village in Gaoqian Village in Congjiang County of Guizhou Province

The wind and rain bridges in the ancient Dong Villages in southeast Guizhou have been continuously renovating and renewing, and as the scale of the village expands, some villages build new wind and rain bridges. In general, the bridges in this area are simple in appearance and well-knit in shape and structure and are different from the gorgeous style of the adjacent Sanjiang Area in northern Guangxi Province (Figs. 5.26, 5.27, 5.28, and 5.29).

Dong Villages in southeast Guizhou are built in mountainous area. The basic principles for the construction and expansion of the villages are the adaption to local conditions and reliance on local materials. Before the construction of residential houses and public buildings, the villagers used local stones to build roads and slope protections, which are the foundation of the village, providing the basic guarantee for daily life (Fig. 5.30). Single unit is the basic unit of the traditional residences of Dong People. Compared with the northern dwellings, the orientation and sunshine are not the most influential factors —the positional relationship between the residence and the neighboring buildings has become the pivotal issue to the settlement and residential construction. Most of the buildings in Dong Villages are made of fir-wood, and the height of the building is usually two to three stories. Among them, the houses built on the waterfront and mountains are mostly in the style of stilts. There are also a small number of buildings adopting the layout of courtyard house, such as Yang’s Mansion in Dali Village (Figs. 5.31 and 5.32). The stilt building is the common construction form of the traditional residential building in mountainous area, also called “pile dwelling”, which has its own characteristics in different areas and houses. First, there is a four-side or single-side cantilevered veranda on the second floor of most stilt-style Dong dwellings, generally installed with railings or guardrails. Second, the main living space of the stilt dwellings is generally on the second floor, which is divided into an open hall and an inner room. The former is the place for daily working because the daylight is good and the latter is equipped with a fire pit, which functions as the place for cooking and worshiping the ancestors. The first floor serves as an auxiliary space for raising livestock such as pigs and cattle. In terms of vertical connection, the right side of Dong People’s residence is connected to the second floor by staircase, and the circular overhanging corridor is the main traffic space connecting all the rooms on the second floor. However, with the development of the times, the space for raising domestic animals in the stilt dwellings has been gradually moved to the periphery of the village, and the sheds are settled collectively and sometimes combined with

Construction of Stilt Houses Fig. 5.17 Interior wood frame of the Drum Tower in Zaiyang Stockage Village in Gaoqian Village in Congjiang County of Guizhou Province

Fig. 5.18 Double drum towers in Lower Yintan Village in Congjiang County of Guizhou Province

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The drum towers and the wind and rain bridges are the main carriers of decoration. The stories that depict the history and culture of Dong People are often painted on the cornices, such as the Dong’s bullfighting, wedding ceremony, the hero Lu Dahan, etc. The colors of the painting are bright, the lines are simple, and jade green, lake blue, and Chinese red are the commonly used colors. Dong People take fish as the main auspicious pattern (Figs. 5.36, 5.37, 5.38, 5.39, 5.40, 5.41, and 5.42).

Substantial Barns

Fig. 5.19 Drum tower of Lower Yintan Village in Congjiang County of Guizhou Province

the barn, and the stilt building is transformed into a relatively pure living place (Figs. 5.33, 5.34 and 5.35). In terms of construction, the materials used in the Dong stilt buildings are relatively rough and substantial. Most of the stilt buildings adopt a column-and-tie wooden construction, with the center pillar falling into the ground. The truss structures are symmetrical in their depth. In addition to the central floor pillars, some vertical columns are placed on the rafters, which are different from the practice of the stilt dwellings of Miao Nationality, whose pillars all land on the ground.

Dong People mainly live on agriculture, and there are grain drying frame and grain warehouses in the village for drying and storing grain. As the name suggests, “grain drying frame” is the fence-like covered frame for drying cereal and “grain warehouse” is the warehouse for storing the cereal. Grain drying frame and grain warehouse have various forms, such as independent fence-like covered frames, consisting of vertical bars, cross bars, and diagonal braces. There are also modular frames that are integrated with the warehouse, with some in the periphery of the barn, and some on top of the barn (Fig. 5.43). The early grain drying frames and barns were close to the household, most of which were next to the dwellings. Later the villagers moved the grain drying frame to the outside of the village adjacent to the entrance, because the grain can easily ignite and cause a fire. The grain drying frames are arranged collectively, showing the concept of “partition” planning. For example, the grain drying frames and barns in Lower Yintan Village are concentrated on the west side of the village, with the wind and rain bridge as the boundary. The grain drying frames and the barns are separated on both sides of the main road of the village (Figs. 5.44, 5.45, 5.46, and 5.47). The development of traditional villages and residential houses is dynamic, and the function distribution and construction methods are constantly changing. In Gaoqian Village, it can be found that the former spatial pattern, that is, the first-floor for penning domestic animals, second-floor for living, and the attic for storage, has changed. In the overall planning of the village, the grain drying frames and barns are no longer adjacent to the residence, but are concentrated on

Substantial Barns Fig. 5.20 Drum tower in Zengchong Village in Congjiang County of Guizhou Province

Fig. 5.21 Drum towers and the Altar of Goddess Sa in Tang’an Village in Liping County of Guizhou Province

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126

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Fig. 5.22 Wisdom drum tower in Zhaoxing Township in Liping County of Guizhou Province

Fig. 5.23 Spire of the righteousness drum tower in Zhaoxing Township in Liping County of Guizhou Province

the periphery of the village. Pigsties and stables are located on the first floor of the barn and rooms of different functions are arranged in different zones, located on the periphery of the village, adjacent to the village gate. The folk dwellings are arranged around the drum tower in the center of the village.

and old people resting around the fire pit. The optimistic and open-minded atmosphere is diffused in the air. Dong People’s enthusiasm for life and the unpretentious expressions are moving. Many villages situate in the mountains, and people have to get around the town on foot because there are no roads. Even so, the villagers do not give up their residences, but work hard in the fields and live a substantial life. Dong People are kind and hospitable. Whenever they have guests, they will invite the tourists to join them and eat together. The distinction between the tourists and the locals is dissipated immediately. Dong People have strong collective consciousness, and all kinds of activities are accomplished by the collective efforts of the whole village. For example, relatives and

Vocal Music and Philosophical Attitudes The most indispensable part of Dong Villages is the lively scene of human habitation. When observing the daily life of the villagers, one’s eyes are met by the long table banquets on the side of the street, boys and girls in gorgeous clothes,

Vocal Music and Philosophical Attitudes Fig. 5.24 Fire pit in the drum tower in Zhaoxing Township in Liping County of Guizhou Province

Fig. 5.25 Interior structure of the drum tower in Huanggang Village in Liping County of Guizhou Province

127

128 Fig. 5.26 Wind and rain bridge in Zengchong Village in Congjiang County of Guizhou Province

Fig. 5.27 Wind and rain bridge in Tang’an Village in Liping County of Guizhou Province

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Drum Towers Against Mountains and over Waters, Ancient …

Vocal Music and Philosophical Attitudes Fig. 5.28 Benevolence drum tower and the wind and rain bridge in Zhaoxing Township in Liping County of Guizhou Province

Fig. 5.29 Wind and rain bridge in Chengyang Village in Sanjiang County of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region

129

130

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Drum Towers Against Mountains and over Waters, Ancient …

Fig. 5.30 Stone road and slope protection of Tang’an Village in Liping County of Guizhou Province

friends of both their own village and neighboring villages will gather with congratulatory gifts for “month celebrations” to cherish collective fellowship, for “three-day banquets” to celebrate the birth of newborns, and for the completion of building a house (Figs. 5.48 and 5.49). The open-minded outlook on life and the collective lifestyle are reflected in daily etiquette and customs. Dong Nationality has formed rich and diverse festival customs under the influence of regional traditions and of Han Nationality. There are festivals in almost every month from the first to the twelfth lunar month. The traces of life have not disappeared with the evolution of the times, but are firmly imprinted on the land of the villages (Table 5.1). Vocal music accompanies Dong People permanently, just like the saying goes, “food for the body, songs for the soul”. The ancient songs of Dong People like “the head in Guzhou and the foot in Liuzhou” describe the history of the ethnic group being forced to migrate due to the distresses of life.4 The villagers experienced many hardships and finally settled down in the present residence, transforming the sufferings into a hope for a better life. They play music and sing while working diligently. According to the New Annals of Guizhou

sketched in Hongzhi Reign of Ming Dynasty, Dong People “gather to drink and sing for wedding ceremonies” and “play reed pipes, wood leaves, Chinese lute, and gue in their spare time”.5 Vocal music has become the lifelong habit of Dong People. Children have been practicing singing with the older singing teachers since childhood, and singing and music have been passed down from generation to generation. The songs of Dong People include chorus, solo, accompaniment, and a cappella. The most famous one is the non-accompany, multi-part and non-conductor Dong’s chorus, which is listed in the first batch of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List together with Chinese lute song, Dong opera, and the manufacturing skills of the Yuping flute. Dong’s chorus is widely sung in the areas of Rongjiang County, Congjiang County, Liping County in southeastern Guizhou, and Liuzhou County, and Sanjiang County in Guangxi. Lu Dayong, born in Zhaoxing Village in Liping County, is known as the “Song Saint”. He integrated anecdotes, legends and traditional culture into the songs, studied the composition and lyrics, and expanded the popularity and influence of Dong songs. It was at noon when I was making

4

5

Long Chaoyun. Mountains and Buildings: Dong Buildings in Guizhou, Hunan and Guangxi. Guiyang: Guizhou Press Group. 2011:12.

Shen Xiangxiu, Zhao Zanzuan. New Annals of Guizhou (Printed edition in Hongzhi Reign of Ming Dynasty). Printed copy of Guizhou library.

Vocal Music and Philosophical Attitudes

Fig. 5.31 Plan and Façade of Yang’s Mansion in Dali Village in Rongjiang County of Guizhou Province

131

the survey in Gaoqian Village in Congjiang County, I was invited to have lunch at a villager’s home. A group of Dong girls and boys with gorgeous headgear, silver ornaments, and leggings began to sing a moving melody hand in hand with smiles on their faces. The singing of Dong’s chorus is impromptu according to the identity and characteristics of the guests. For example, if the guest is a university teacher, the lyric words are “erudite and versatile”; if the guest is tall, the lyrics sing “handsome and tall”. These ordinary villagers dress up to entertain guests with the most solemn ceremony. The Dong’s chorus is divided into five parts, which are randomly generated according to the starting girl. The starting tune can be high or low, and there is no fixed rule. In fact, before the toasting and singing at lunch, the girls had sung and danced in the Zaiyang Drum Tower to celebrate the construction of new houses in the village (Figs. 5.50, 5.51, 5.52, and 5.53). If the Dong’s chorus and the reed pipes condense the villagers’ enthusiasm for the daily life, the Shouting to Heaven Festival is an epitome that villagers’ show piety and respect to the Gods. The festival was once widely popular among all Dong villages, but it has only been inherited in a few areas such as Huanggang Village in Liping County. The Shouting to Heaven Festival takes place every June 15th of the lunar calendar, just before the arrival of the rainy season. The leader of the village and his apprentice stand on the wooden frame in the square in front of the drum tower with one of them reading the lyrics and the other singing loudly in hope that by sincere songs and shouting, the Dragon King on earth and the God of Thunder in the heaven will be moved to bring rain to Dong villages (Figs. 5.54, 5.55, and 5.56). In addition to singing and dancing, Dong People also hold folklore activities such as bullfighting, firework grabbing, and month celebration during the slack season. Bullfighting is the most influential activity that has been held on

132 Fig. 5.32 Interior of Yang’s Mansion in Dali Village in Rongjiang County of Guizhou Province

Fig. 5.33 Plan and sectional view of Dong stilt building (adopted from Guizhou Folk Dwellings, p. 108)

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Vocal Music and Philosophical Attitudes Fig. 5.34 Stilt building in Zhaoxing Township in Liping County of Guizhou Province

Fig. 5.35 Folk dwelling in Dali Village in Rongjiang County of Guizhou Province

133

134 Fig. 5.36 Dong People’s dwellings under construction

Fig. 5.37 New house being built in Tang’an Village in Liping County of Guizhou Province

Fig. 5.38 Painting on the drum tower in Gaoqian Village in Congjiang County of Guizhou Province

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Vocal Music and Philosophical Attitudes Fig. 5.39 Painting on the drum tower in Gaoqian Village in Congjiang County of Guizhou Province

Fig. 5.40 Painting on the benevolence wing and rain bridge in Zhaoxing Township in Liping County of Guizhou Province

135

136 Fig. 5.41 Painting on the benevolence wing and rain bridge in Zhaoxing Township in Liping County of Guizhou Province

Fig. 5.42 Decoration on the drum tower in Tang’an Village in Liping County of Guizhou Province

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Drum Towers Against Mountains and over Waters, Ancient …

Vocal Music and Philosophical Attitudes

Fig. 5.43 Sketch of common barns (quoted from Guizhou Folk Dwellings, p. 126)

Fig. 5.44 Barns in Huanggang Village in Liping County of Guizhou Province

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138

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Fig. 5.45 Grain drying frames in Dali Village in Rongjiang County of Guizhou Province

Fig. 5.46 Barns in the West of Lower Yintan Village in Congjiang County of Guizhou Province

Vocal Music and Philosophical Attitudes Fig. 5.47 Barn cluster in Huanggang Village in Liping County of Guizhou Province

Fig. 5.48 Expenditure publicity on the construction of new house in Zhaoxing Township in Liping County of Guizhou Province

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Fig. 5.49 Neighboring villagers crossing the wind and rain bridge with gifts in Gaoqian Village in Congjiang County of Guizhou Province

Table 5.1 Major festivals of Dong Nationality

No

Title of the festival

Dong language

Time

1

Month Celebration

man we q’ek

The first lunar month

2

Bridging Festival

man ja jiu

The second day of the second lunar month

3

Fireworks Grabbing Festival

man peuhua

The third day of the third lunar month

4

Cattle Washing Festival

man apsurn

The eighth day of the forth lunar month

5

Dragon Boat Festival

janduonwu

The fifth day of the fifth lunar month

6

Bullfighting Festival

man guedao

The Hai Day in lunar month

7

Harvest Festival

janqoumhay

The fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month

8

Pact Vowing Festival

man qapkuon

The eighth day of the eighth lunar month

9

Double Ninth Festival

man cong yang

The ninth day of the ninth lunar month

10

Group Wedding Festival

11

Spring Festival

The first Mao Day of the tenth lunar month man nyin

The thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month and the first day of the first lunar month

Vocal Music and Philosophical Attitudes Fig. 5.50 Dong’s Chorus in Gaoqian Village in Congjiang County of Guizhou Province

Fig. 5.51 Chorus singing and dancing around the fire pit

141

142

Fig. 5.52 Dedicated singers

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Fig. 5.53 Boys playing reed pipes

Vocal Music and Philosophical Attitudes

143

Fig. 5.54 Leader (the middle one) of Huanggang Village in Liping County of Guizhou Province

Hai Day (the 12th day in succession) in winter. From far and near, the villagers come all the way to gather in the special bullring where the audience can reach 30–40 thousand. The bullfighting event will be broadcast live on TV. The villagers attach such an importance to the bullfighting that they will go to the distant Zhejiang Province to buy buffalo in order to win in the activity. The villagers nearby will come from far away to watch bullfighting, and people from as far as Guangxi will also arrive as scheduled. The price of a bull can reach as high as one hundred thousand yuan, which is much

higher than the price of cattle and beef cattle. In order to organize the competition, the villagers established a bullfighting association and post notices in various villages to invite everyone to attend. The folks also compiled the words of bullfighting, as follows. It’s the slack season on the cold winter day. After some wine, people chat on the Bull King. Bullfighting is such an exciting entertainment, That all the villages compete to buy the best bull. It occurs that lunar November 9th being the Hai Day, Welcome to Jvdong Pond to fight for the Bull Kings.

144 Fig. 5.55 Manuscript of Shouting to Heaven Lyrics (copied by the leader of Huanggang Village in Liping County of Guizhou Province)

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Vocal Music and Philosophical Attitudes

145

Fig. 5.56 Village square. The Shouting to Heaving Festival takes place at the square of the village. There is a wooden frame at the center of the square, facing the opera stage and the drum tower.

The philosophical living attitude and the adaptive village environment closely intertwine to demonstrate Dong People’s open-mindedness and their ability to adapt to nature. For thousands of years, the villagers opened up a unique paradise in this landscape by diligent work and their contentment toward life.

References 1. Wu, H. (2004). Culture of Chinese Dong Villages. Beijing: Nationalities Publishing House. 2. Yang, Z. (2006). Custom records of Dong Nationality. Beijing: Central University of Nationalities Press.

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Stilt Houses on Top of Leigong Mountain, Ancient Miao Villages in Southeastern Guizhou Province

There are a large number of Miao Villages in the Leigong Mountain area of Qiandongnan Prefecture of Guizhou Province. Miao People are widely distributed in southwestern China and those in Qiandongnan Prefecture belong to their middle dialect area. Due to the frequent wars historically and their mountainous settlement, Miao People choose to live in the high mountains to obtain an open view and to cultivate on the relatively flat slopes. The villages are usually free in form. Most of them possess some structural elements such as village gates and bronze drum square. In order to cope with the slope topography, Miao People apply the column and tie beam wood structure to the residential form of stilt dwellings and develop a flexible and diverse housing construction.

Warm and Humid Mountain Regions Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture is located in the southeast of Guizhou Province, bordering on Hunan Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The location happens to be the transition zone between the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and the Hilly Basin of Hunan-Guangxi District, where the topography is complex with rolling mountains and undulating peaks. Miaoling Mountains extend roughly from northwest to southeast across the Prefecture with the main peak, Leigong Mountain, reaching 2,179 m above sea level, forming the mountain-dominated topographical features in Miao settlement area, which further affects the form of settlements and buildings.1 Many rivers in Qingshui River Basin provide abundant water sources for the villages in this area. The prefecture belongs to subtropical monsoon climate. It is mild all year round, warm in winter and cool in summer with abundant precipitation and short sunshine hours. Such

warm and humid climate, and fertile soil, are conducive to the growth of crops, enabling Miao People to develop agricultural production and thrive among Leigong Mountain area. At the same time, there are rich forest resources in the prefecture, especially the species of fir and pine trees, which provide sufficient materials for the construction of houses (Fig. 6.1).

Descendants of Jiuli Tribe Miao Nationality is the fourth largest ethnic group in China. In the 2010 census, the total population of Miao Nationality was 9,426,007, nearly ten million. The origin of Miao Nationality is closely related to “Jiuli”, “Sanmiao” and “Nanman” tribes. During the Yellow Emperor period, Jiuli tribe led by Chi You was defeated by the alliance of Yan Emperor and Yellow Emperor, then the tribe crossed the Yellow River and moved southward. During the period of Yao, Shun, and Yu, a new three-tribe alliance “Sanmiao” came into being. One of its branch migrated to the south of Yangtze River, which is also known as “Nanman”. All the three tribes include the ancestors of Miao Nationality.2 Up to now, Miao People still regard Chi You, the leader of Jiuli, as their ancestor, and it was recorded in Yan Jiao Ji Wen (Record of the South) that, “Miao People are the descendants of the ancient Sanmiao tribe.3” Today, Miao Nationality is widely distributed in Guizhou, Hunan, Yunnan Province, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Chongqing City and other places. According to language differences, Miao language can be divided into three major dialects: West Hunan Dialect, East Guizhou

2 1

Editing Group. Overview of the Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture in Southeast Guizhou. Guiyang: Guizhou People’s Publishing House. 1–7.

Editing Group. Brief History of Miao Nationality. Guiyang: Guizhou Ethnic Publishing House. 2008: 10. 3 Tian Rucheng. Annotation of Yan Jiao Ji Wen. Nanning: Guangxi People’s Publishing House. 2007: 109.

© China Architecture & Building Press and Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 L. Xue et al., Traditional Chinese Villages, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6154-6_6

147

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Stilt Houses on Top of Leigong Mountain, Ancient Miao Villages …

Dialect and Chuanqiandian Dialect (the one in Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan Province). West Hunan (Eastern) Dialect refers to the Miao language speaking in western Hunan, northeastern Guizhou, Enshi of Hubei Province and Chongqing City. East Guizhou (Central) Dialect is spoken in southeastern Guizhou, Guangxi, Jingzhou and Huitong of Hunan Province, as well as Anshun of Guizhou, and part of southwest and south Guizhou Province. Chuanqiandian (Western) Dialect refers to the Miao language in central, western, southern, northern part of Guizhou, southern Sichuan and Yunnan Province.4 Miao Ethnic Group in southeastern Guizhou Province belongs to the Central Dialect area of Miao Nationality, which is formed by the westward migration of Miao People in western Hunan, and Wuxi Area of Wuling Mountains in eastern Guizhou, especially with Leigong Mountain Area being the central region of their residence. Since 2006, Miao Villages in Taijiang County, Jianhe County, Rongjiang County, Congjiang County, Leishan County and Jinping County have successively been included in China’s World Cultural Heritage Tentative List5 (Fig. 6.2).

water; Gelao live in hard rock corners.” This feature of site selection is age-old and is related to a variety of reasons. On one hand, Miao People have suffered greatly from wars in history. The selection of village sites on steep slopes in high mountains can occupy a good view to lookout for the enemies, which takes the advantage of the danger of the landscape and is beneficial for the defense of the villages. In Qiandongnan Prefecture of southeastern Guizhou, the Tusi System had been established since Southern Song Dynasty, but later was replaced by the Secretary for Political Affairs in the period of Yongle of Ming Dynasty. Then the reform of “abolishing native chieftains and appointing government officials” began in the period of Yongzheng of Qing Dynasty. Due to the deepening of the central government’s administration, some ruling measures had aroused ethnic conflicts. During Ming and Qing dynasties, Miao People in Qiandongnan Prefecture frequently encountered conflicts with the central government due to heavy donation, land reclamation, and other reasons. For example, Qing Government had stationed troops in southeastern Guizhou for six years and set up six halls. Miao People launched a large-scale “Yongqian Uprising” against the policy of levying excessive taxes, grains, labour and horses. However, these uprisings were suppressed by Qing Government and ended in failure. Finally, Miao People had to retreat into Leigong Mountain Area. More than a thousand villages were burned down in the war and countless people became homeless.6 As a result of continual wars, defensiveness became an extremely important factor for the decision on the location of Miao Villages.

148 Fig. 6.1 Mountains and terraces in Liangjiaozhai in Shayi Village of Congjiang County of Southeast Guizhou

Miao Families on Hilltop Miao People in southeast of Guizhou used to build their villages on steep slopes in the mountains. There are folk songs in Guizhou: “Miao live in mountains; Dong live by

4

Miao Nationality. Portal Website of the Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China. [2015-1-11]. 5 China’s World Cultural Heritage Tentative List. Portal Website of State Administration of Cultural Heritage. [2015-1-11].

6

Editing Group. Brief History of Miao Nationality. Beijing: Nationalities Publishing House. 2008: 113–119.

Miao Families on Hilltop

149

Fig. 6.2 Wedding ceremony of Miao People in Lazi Village of Jianhe County of Guizhou Province. After the wedding banquet held in the groom’s house, the groom and the group accompanying the bride sends the bride back to her family, and then return her to her husband’s house after a few days. Only after several round trips will the bride officially become a member of her husband’s family and live together with them.

Under the rule of the Central Government, the cultivable land in the gentle and fertile dam areas were mostly occupied by the government troops, or Han Nationality, which is a passive factor for Miao People to live on the steep slopes in the mountains. This has led to the folk saying: “the Hakka live on the streets; the Yi live by the water; and the Miao live in the hills.” On the other hand, the arable land in the mountains is rare, and the construction of the village on top of the mountain or on the steep slope can maximize the use of relatively gentle slopes or flat land for cultivation. In addition, the buildings are arranged on steep slopes to avoid the gullies and the impact of natural disasters such as mountain torrents. The location of the Miao Villages on high mountains is the result of comprehensive considerations in all aspects. It requires an open view, which is conducive to lookout and defense. It needs to be close to the water source and arable land to facilitate agriculture production. At the same time, it must be taken into account the demand to block the wind, face the sun, and avoid natural disasters. For example, people in Jiubai Village in Taijiang County developed their residential center downward from the top of the mountain along the ridge, and opened the flat land in the mountains for farmland. The old man in the village said that their ancestors travelled long distance to avoid corvee, deportation, and exorbitant taxes and levies, and their selection of village location took into account the needs of defensiveness, production and daily life. Basha Village in Congjiang County centers along the ridge road, and below the living area of the

village are terraces distributed in the mountains tier upon tier (Figs. 6.3, 6.4, 6.5 and 6.6). In addition to the alpine villages, there are also some Miao Villages located by the stream or on the flat dam area. For example, Jidao Village located at the junction of Kaili City and Leishan County is built on the gentle slope of the river bay. Bala River passes through the village, and the wide riverbank provides villagers with a large area of arable land. Upper Langde Village in Leishan County is also located at the foothills of the river bay which is suitable for farming and living. There is a saying that “fish live in the bay, and people live on the bank”. It is believed that the mountains and the waters stand for the descendants and fortune. The lofty mountains symbolize the thriving offspring and the meandering rivers symbolize rich financial resource (Figs. 6.7, 6.8, 6.9 and 6.10).

Gates, Squares, Bridges, and Trees in Miao Villages Miao Villages in Qiandongnan Prefecture of southeastern Guizhou are mostly built on the mountains in relatively free forms of settlement. Most of the houses in the settlement are nestled in mountains and are aligned along the contour lines. The roads and lanes are winding and coiled, with the main roads perpendicular to the contour lines connecting the tablelands of different heights and the branch roads extending along the contour lines connecting the houses in similar heights. In the seemingly free village forms, there are

6

Stilt Houses on Top of Leigong Mountain, Ancient Miao Villages …

some structural elements playing a very important role in the spatial organization of the villages (Fig. 6.11). Village gates are an important node of Miao Villages. Most of Miao Villages in southeastern Guizhou have gates. Although most of the villages have no physical boundaries (some village gates even have no door panels), village gates are an important symbol of publicity that make the “internal” and “external” of the village distinct. The village gate serves

as a place to welcome and farewell guests, where the villagers would hold the gate to sing ethnic songs and drink alcohol. It is also an important node in some ritual behavioral sequences. The forms of the village gates are different in size and design. The gates are large or small, complicated or simple, on account of their symbolic functions (Fig. 6.12). Another important core public space in Miao Villages is the bronze-drum square. Miao People regard the bronze drum as a

150 Fig. 6.3 Location of Jiubai Village in Taijiang County of Guizhou Province

Fig. 6.4 Location of Basha Village in Congjiang County of Guizhou Province. Basha Village is a typical defensive settlement. The village occupies a commanding position, and the houses of several residential groups are located from high to low along the ridge. The men in the village still follow the custom of carrying a gun with them.

Gates, Squares, Bridges, and Trees in Miao Villages

151

Fig. 6.6 Location of Wenquan Village in Jianhe County of Guizhou Province

Fig. 6.5 Jiubai Village in Taijiang County of Guizhou Province. The houses distributed along the ridge are the old buildings in the village. By building the houses on the steep slope, people can have a vantage point, avoid the gully, and use the relatively gentle slopes or the flat land at the mountain foot for cultivation.

sacred object. The square is a place for all the villagers, old and young, to sing and dance in the rhythm of the bronze drums, also called “treading the bronze drum”, during important festivals such as the Harvest Day, Miao’s New Year, and Guzang Festival. The bronze-drum square is where the treading occurs. The square is round and usually paved with cobblestones in the radial sunlight pattern, similar to that on the drum head, which makes the square look like a huge bronze drum. There is a bronze drum column at the center of the circle with a horn-shaped rod on the top to hang the bronze drum. The column is also the place where the traditional Miao sports project “climbing knife ladder” takes place (Fig. 6.13). There are many bridges in Miao Villages. Some villages located by water build “wind-and-rain bridges”, which are functional and used for transportation. Some other bridges possess a high degree of symbolic significance, for villagers to pray for offspring, which are usually constructed with the odd number of fir trees, such as three, five, seven, etc. These

fir trees lie across the river ditch in the same direction with their roots pointed toward the household who have built the bridge and a shrine of the Land God will be built at the head of the bridge. Leafy fir trunks with no broken branches are the best material for this kind of bridge. Every year, the owners of the bridge will worship the bridge and the Land God Shrine. The folks believe that the soul that has passed the fir bridge will be reincarnated into the household that built the bridge, and the Land God will lure the soul to cross the bridge7 (Figs. 6.14, 6.15 and 6.16). Miao Villages in southeastern Guizhou are surrounded by green trees, among which fengshui trees are the most characteristic vegetation, including maple, fir, and pine trees with maple being the most common one. In the ancient songs of Miao Nationality, it was believed that the first ancestor of Miao People, the Mother Butterfly, also known as “Meipangmeiliu”, was grown out of the maple tree. Meanwhile, “a maple tree” in Miao Language of Qiandongnan Prefecture also has the meaning of “an ancestor” and “a backbone”.8 Therefore, people here regard the maple tree as 7

Ethnic Research Institute of Guizhou Province. Social and Historical Survey Data of Miao Nationality in Zhangpi Village, Qiaogang Rural Township, Leishan County, Guizhou Province. 1965: 48. 8 Wu Xinfu. On Religious Belief and Worship of Miao Nationality. Journal of South-Central University for Nationalities (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), 1988(02): 21–25.

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Stilt Houses on Top of Leigong Mountain, Ancient Miao Villages …

a symbol of their ancestors with special respect. They believe that enshrining the maple trees can protect the peace of the village and ensure the health of the family members and bring forth large grain harvests. But damaging or cutting down these sacred trees can bring disasters. Fengshui trees grow into a forest or individually at the entrance of the village, behind or in the middle of the village. The flourishing and lush fengshui trees that surround the households are an important part of the natural environment of Miao Villages (Fig. 6.17). The drum tower is generally considered to be a symbol of the Dong Villages, but occasionally it can be seen in some

Miao Villages as well. For example, there is a drum tower in Jiubai Village in Taijiang County. When this drum tower was originally built is unknown, but the existing tower was rebuilt during the reign of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty and was repaired and listed as a cultural relic protection unit in Taijiang County in 1987. The drum tower is of double-eave gable and hipped tile roof. In its center stands a large central pillar, surrounded by 16 pillars. The drum tower is located on the open space high up the village. It is a place for worship during festivals such as Guzang Festival and for villagers to have discussions, entertainment, and social interactions (Figs. 6.18 and 6.19).

152 Fig. 6.7 Location of Jidao Village in Kaili City of Guizhou Province

Fig. 6.8 Location of Upper Langde Village in Leishan County of Guizhou Province

Half Side Stilt Buildings

153

Fig. 6.9 Layout of Upper Langde Village in Leishan County of Guizhou Province (adopted from Folk Dwellings in Southwest China, p. 14)

Half Side Stilt Buildings Most of Miao People in southeastern Guizhou live in a line-style single-family house. The scale of the house is not large, which is related to the local family structure and natural environment. On the one hand, the family structure of Miao Nationality is relatively simple. Big families with several generations living in the same household are not common in Miao Villages, because the children in the family will live alone after marriage. Young children and their parents live in the ancestral house, or the parents take turns to live with their sons’ families. Therefore, it is not necessary to have large dwellings. On the other hand, most Miao Villages are in the mountainous area where it is difficult to find a large piece of flat land to build large-scale houses (Fig. 6.20).

The width of the main house ranges from three bays to seven bays, but mostly three to five bays. Many dwellings have wing rooms added to one side or both sides of the main house to gain more effective space on the limited land. These small wing rooms serve as auxiliary rooms or aisles where looms, awls and other production tools are stored. The houses are mostly of two or three stories. Since the Miao houses are mostly located on steep slopes, the relationship between the house and the terrain has to be dealt with on the ground floor, thus forming a unique form of “stilt dwelling” or “half-landed dwelling”. The foundation of the house is divided into two parts. The back of the foundation is at the same height as the second floor, and the front part lands on the ground through the support of pillars, forming a story of elevated space. This kind of “even up and uneven down” method greatly reduces the workload of foundation treatment on the slope. Some supporting pillars just stand on narrow

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Stilt Houses on Top of Leigong Mountain, Ancient Miao Villages …

stones on the slope, looking quite precipitous. There are also some houses that do not adopt the stilt-style building form. For example, the residences of Tunzhou Village in Jianhe County seldom adopt the stilt type because the abundant stone resources there provide enough material for foundation construction. And a few wealthy people build courtyard style houses. There are also some houses located on the flat land, whose main building is a bungalow or a multi-story building for daily living, with the auxiliary rooms such as the livestock pens built separately. In this kind of dwelling, the entrance to the main room is often set back to form some retreat space in the front of the main house (Figs. 6.21, 6.22, 6.23, 6.24, 6.25, 6.26 and 6.27). Functionally, the first floor of the house is relatively low and is enclosed by wooden boards and fences, making it transparent and open. This area is mostly used for penning domestic animals, such as pigs, cattle, and other livestock. The second and third floors are relatively dry and tidy, the first half of the second floor serves as the hall, and the rest serves as bedrooms. The attic on the top floor is used for storing grain and firewood with a movable wooden ladder connecting to it. Sometimes the gable wall is opened to

facilitate ventilation and desiccation. The second floor is the major living space, the entrance of which is usually located on its side or at the back. The hall on the second floor is the living space for the family as well as the place to entertain guests, and also a ritual space for weddings and funerals. There is no wall in the front of the hall, so it is open to the outside. People can dry laundry and field crops, such as corn and peppers under the cornice, and there is also a bench with curved railings, called “beauty leaning”, which is a prominent architectural feature in the Miao stilt dwellings. In the middle of the hall, there is a square stone fire pit, with a tripod or stones inside for the fire. The ancestors’ shrine is consecrated in the back wall. Some households have no shrine, but set a stone in the corner of the fire pit as the symbol of the ancestors’ soul. Some households do not have fire pit in the hall, but set it in the side room instead. In traditional life, the fire pit is a very important place in the house for cooking food, making smoked meat, heating, and lighting. Nowadays however, with the popularization of electricity and the strengthening of the awareness of fire prevention, some families no longer keep fire pits (Figs. 6.28, 6.29 and 6.30).

154 Fig. 6.10 Xijiang Town in Leishan County of Guizhou Province. The farmland along the riverbank has disappeared with the development of the village, which has been used to build houses.

Half Side Stilt Buildings Fig. 6.11 Typical layout of Miao Villages (adopted from Pile Dwellings of Miao Nationality, p. 25)

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chiseling out a row of parallel holes on two or three pillars that are placed side by side, and crossbars are penetrated into the holes to connect the pillars. In Basha Village, the number of crossbars also represents the number of people in the family. If someone in the family dies, the third bar from below of the frame will be taken out to carry the dead, which is regarded as the bridge leading the soul to the paradise. The granaries in most Miao Villages are scattered around each household. In some other villages, the granaries and grain drying frames are grouped together and located outside the residential area, so that the safety of the grain will not be threatened in the event of a fire in the residential area due to some improper usage. Some granaries are placed above the water to prevent rodents. In addition, there are annexes such as pens and toilets built separately outside the main house (Figs. 6.31 and 6.32).

Pillars Supporting the Roof

Fig. 6.12 Village Gate of Upper Langde Village in Leishan County of Guizhou Province. There are no physical boundaries like walls in Miao Villages. The village gate, as a symbolic element, is a distinction between the “internal” and “external” of the village.

In addition to the main house, there are also some auxiliary buildings, such as granaries and grain drying frames. The former is used to store grain and the latter is used to dry grain. The granary is generally a stilt house, with the second floor for food storage and the ground floor for relatively free usage. For example, some are elevated; some are used for penning domestic animals; some are for storing agricultural implements; and some are so skillfully spanned on the road that the elevated space beneath serves as passages. This kind of design vividly reflects the idea of land conservation of Miao People to “use the space in the sky and save the space on the ground”. The grain drying frames are constructed by

Most of the Miao buildings in southeastern Guizhou are based on the stone foundation with a pillar and tie wooden framework construction supporting the weight of the whole building. The walls are made of planks or split bamboo panels. The roofs are mostly in overhanging gable and hipped gable style capped with tiles or fir bark. The construction process is usually in the charge of a line-drawing carpenter of the village or from a nearby village invited by the owner, with the assistance of relatives and friends to complete the building. The main structure of the house is composed of bent frames, horizontal rafters connecting the bent frames and roof purlins. The bent frame is generally pile-style or half-pile-style (stilt) column and tie beam wood framework. The adoption of pile-style copes with the terrain flexibly, saves the land, prevents moisture and keeps ventilation effectively. There are two ways to elevate the house. One is that the pillars of the bent frames stand on the ground directly with no exterior enclosure on the ground floor. The other is that the structure of the second floor and above forms a whole construction being supported by the pillars beneath it. The characteristics of the column and tie beam framework are that the columns or short columns support the roof purlins directly, and horizontal tie beams are mortised into or tenoned through the columns to form an interlocking matrix. Compared with the

Pillars Supporting the Roof

157

Fig. 6.13 Bronze Drum Square in Upper Langde Village in Leishan County of Guizhou Province. There are many holes in the bronze drum column. At the festival time, knives are inserted into the holes, and the traditional Miao’s project “climbing knife ladder” is performed.

Fig. 6.14 Wind and Rain Bridge in Upper Langde Village in Leishan County of Guizhou Province

pillar and beam structure, the column and tie beam framework can use timers of smaller diameter and has better integrity, and is also relatively free in space partition (Fig. 6.33). The bent frame is measured by “pace”, which is a basic unit of bent frame. Eight paces with nine purlins is the most common form of the wooden framework, usually with five columns reaching the ground and four short columns resting on the horizontal tie beams, which is known as “five long four short”. The pace of bent frame can be changed

depending on the terrain conditions and usage requirements. For example, the number of the pace can be altered to “three long four short”, “five long six short”, “seven long six short”, or “seven long eight short” while keeping the same specifications of the framework. It is possible to vary the depth of the house by increasing or decreasing the pace on the frame without changing the specifications of the components. This fixed, modularized bent frame pattern matched with the tenon and mortise node makes the design of the house simple and flexible to cope with different terrain conditions (Fig. 6.34).

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Fig. 6.15 Tang’s Bridge of Brotherhood in Fanpai Village in Taijiang County of Guizhou Province

The bays are formed by connecting the bent frames with horizontal tie beams. The common size of the bay is one zhang (length unit approximately equals to 3.33 m) and one chi (length unit approximately equals to 33.3 cm), or one zhang and two chi for the main room, and one zhang or one zhang and one chi for the side rooms. The total height of the middle pillar from the bottom to the top is usually one zhang six chi eight cun (length unit approximately equals to 3.33 cm), one zhang seven chi eight cun, or one zhang eight chi eight cun, the length of the pillar ending in eight, which is an auspicious number in Chinese culture. The height of the ground floor is about six chi, the height of the main hall of the living floor is about one zhang, and that of the other rooms is about eight chi.9 The roof forms of most dwellings are overhanging gables and hipped gables. The cardinal number of the slope of the roof is 0.5, based on which the pitch of the eave pillars of some houses rise up one cun. The other way to give the roof curvature is to regulate the pace of the bent frame in different slope of 5, 5.5, 5.8 and 6 from the cornice to the ridge.10 The latter approach is very close to the method of sloping in house construction in Qing Dynasty while the former is somewhat similar to the method of folding in Song Dynasty. These two methods have something in common, that is, the

9

Fig. 6.16 Land God Shrine at the Bridgehead in Lazi Village in Jianhe County of Guizhou Province

Li Xiankui. Pile Dwellings of Miao Nationality. Beijing: China Architecture and Building Press. 2005:74. 10 Li Xiankui. Pile Dwellings of Miao Nationality. Beijing: China Architecture and Building Press. 2005:75.

Pillars Supporting the Roof

159

Fig. 6.17 Fengshui Forest in Lower Langde Village in Leishan County of Guizhou Province

Fig. 6.18 Drum Tower in Jiubai Village in Taijiang County of Giuzhou Province

height of the partial node is adjusted after the overall slope is determined. In addition to the folding line in the direction of the roof, the two ends of the ridge and the cornice are slightly higher than the middle, and the wing angles of the hipped gable roof are also slightly upward sweeping, which gives the whole roof a vivid and beautiful shape (Figs. 6.35 and 6.36).

The construction of the stilt dwelling can be divided into several steps, including laying the foundation, processing the wooden framework, laying the roof and installing floor slabs and wallboards. The treatment of the foundation is tailored to the local conditions. Generally, the foundation is built with stones at a high ground level, the yellow mud and glutinous rice pulp mixture is used as bonding cement. The

160

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rafters, and lays tiles or cedar bark to protect the timber frame from the rain. The tiles in the middle of the ridge are often laid in the shape of a copper coin, and the ends of the ridge are slightly tilting up. After laying the roof, the main structure of the house is basically completed and stabilized, and then the floor slabs and walls are gradually installed. The wall for setting the ancestor shrines and the floor slabs and exterior walls of the residential floor are usually installed first, followed by the installation of the floor slabs and walls of the third and the ground floor. The installation order is related to the needs of usage. Wealthy people will also decorate the house, such as carvings on hanging pillars, cornices, doors, and windows. The tiles on the roof should be replaced every year. With regular maintenance, the life span of the dwelling extends to over one hundred years. The construction of the house in the village, different from that in the city, is not completed by the professional construction team in a continuous period, but by the mutual assistance of the neighboring villagers in the slack season when there is little field work. The construction of the house is also closely related to the economic situation of the household concerned. Therefore, the different construction stages are dispersed at different times, and the entire construction period usually lasts for several years. Some people even live in the uncompleted house while building the rest parts. The house construction in the village is not a professional technical activity, but is closely intertwined with people’s production and life (Figs. 6.37, 6.38, 6.39, 6.40 and 6.41). Fig. 6.19 Paved Ground of Drum Tower in Jiubai Village in Taijiang County of Giuzhou Province

part of the foundation where the pillars are to stand is laid with large stones, and the rest is made of small stones. In the low-lying areas, the pillars reach directly to the ground on simply padded stones. The processing of the timber frame is done by specialized carpenters. The line-drawing carpenter is responsible for determining the use and location of the timber and designing the position, shape, and size of the tenons and mortises and drawing them out in ink on the wood one by one. Other carpenters process wood and make the tenons and mortises according to the ink lines. The data from the survey in Xijiang and Langde Village indicate that, the construction of a three-bay three-story stilt dwelling requires 24 pillars, 40–50 sleepers, 39 purlins, 28 tie beams, 135 rafters, 600 square pieces, and 600 planks.11 After processing the wood components, the householder completes the erection and assembly of the frame with the help of neighbors and other villagers, and then installs purlins and 11

Zhang Xin. Traditional Construction Skills of Stilt House of Miao Nationality. Hefei: Anhui Science and Technology Press. 2013: 103.

Customs in Building Construction For Miao People in southeast Guizhou, building construction is not only a technical behavior, but also includes rich cultural connotations, reflecting people’s perceptions of the world and expectations of life. Miao Nationality has the saying that “the grave faces the mountain and the house faces the col” on the site selection of the house. After the initial decision on the location, it is necessary to put a handful of the soil from the site into the glutinous rice and make rice wine with the mixture. The sweet and delicious rice wine produced proves the building site to be a good one. Otherwise, the site should be abandoned. When the location of the foundation is decided, the wood will be prepared. The tree trunks that will be used as the central pillar and the middle beam should be carefully chosen. The best choice goes to the straight trunk with lush foliage and bearing fruits, but with no ant nests, no broken branches, and no lightning strikes. Many people use the sacred maple tree for the central pillar. When the tree trunks are used as pillars, the tree tips must face upward and the roots down, because it is a big taboo to use the wood

Customs in Building Construction

161

Fig. 6.20 Layout of Folk Miao Dwelling in Leishan County of Guizhou Province (adopted from Pile Dwellings of Miao Nationality, p. 33)

reversely. When timber is prepared, an auspicious day needs to be chosen to carry out the ink line painting ceremony. On the day of the ceremony, the host needs to prepare some carps, a rooster, some rice, rice wine and incense paper. The line-drawing master will make a speech and paste the chicken feathers and incense paper on the wood to be used as the central pillar with chicken blood as a sacrifice. Then the householder and the line-drawing master hold one end of the inked line respectively and flip the first ink-line on the timber. It is regarded as propitious if the ink line is even and straight. After the ceremony, the timber with the first ink-line should be properly preserved before processing on other timbers. The beam raising ceremony is the most important ceremony in the construction process after the completion of timber processing. Taking Xijiang Village as an example, before the raising of the beam, the line-drawing carpenter master draws a diamond in the middle of the ridge beam. The middle of the diamond and the four corners are nailed with a silver coin. A pair of chopsticks, a pen and a book will be wrapped in red cloth and placed on the beam. After that, the carpenter master burns the incense and incense paper on the ground, offers the meat and wine, and breaks the rooster cock and dots the middle of the beam with the blood, and then gives the rising beam remarks, whose

general meaning is that “the ridge beam is a good timber, and the rooster is a sacred one. I hope that the ancestors and the gods will bless the household, the guests and the craftsmen to have plenty of children and a prosperous future.” When the remark is finished, the beam will be raised and beam cakes will be cast. After the ceremony, the host will throw a long table banquet to entertain the craftsmen and guests. At the banquet, those who are good at singing and the elders will take the lead in singing the house building song. The lyric sings, “In such a good day, the fathers put up new houses for their offspring. The younger generations are blessed to have good harvest and prosperous future. The line-drawing carpenter master is invited to build the new house, friends and relatives come to congratulate, and wish all the guests long-lived, happy, rich, and prosperous.12” After raising the beam, the owner also needs to pick up an auspicious day to install the gate. A rooster is killed and incense is lighted for the sacrifice. The incense paper and chicken feathers are glued to the crossbar of the gate with rooster blood. There is a custom of “stepping on the

12

Wu Yubiao, Feng Guorong. Research on Thousands of Households in Miao Villages in Xijiang. Beijing: People’s Publishing House 2014: 77–87.

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Stilt Houses on Top of Leigong Mountain, Ancient Miao Villages …

Fig. 6.21 Slope building strategies in Folk Miao Dwellings (adopted from Pile Dwellings of Miao Nationality, p. 51). The houses on the gentle slopes generally take advantage of the terrain to form split-level

rooms; if the slope is too steep to be completely treated by the split-level, the supporting pillars on the front side of the house will be extended downward to fall on the cliff to support the house.

162

Fig. 6.22 Treatment of the supporting pillars. Stones are sometimes placed at the foot of the pillar to increase the solidity of the support structure.

Customs in Building Construction

Fig. 6.23 Treatment of the supporting pillars

Fig. 6.24 Stilt houses in Taijiang County of Guizhou Province

163

164 Fig. 6.25 Stilt houses

Fig. 6.26 Folk Miao Dwellings in Tunzhou Village in Jianhe County of Guizhou Province

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Stilt Houses on Top of Leigong Mountain, Ancient Miao Villages …

Customs in Building Construction Fig. 6.27 Elders embroidering in the retreat space in Balang Village in Jianhe County of Guizhou Province. The retreat space can not only shelter from the wind and rain, but also have good ventilation and lighting, which is an important living space for the Miao people. At the same time, this semi-private space also serves as a place for social activities like neighborhood contacts.

Fig. 6.28 Beauty leaning bench in Xijiang Village in Leishan County of Guizhou Province

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166

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Fig. 6.29 Beauty leaning bench in Lower Langde Village in Leishan County of Guizhou Province

Fig. 6.30 Fire pit in Fanpai Village in Taijiang County of Guizhou Province. Today, few of the fire pits remain in Miao villages in southeastern Guizhou. In consideration of fire prevention and hygiene, most fire pits have been filled in and the function of cooking has been replaced by other energy sources such as electricity and gas.

Customs in Building Construction Fig. 6.31 Granary Group in Basha Village in Congjiang County of Guizhou Province. The granaries in a village are often separated from the residences and are concentrated on the edge of the village to guard against fires.

Fig. 6.32 Group of grain drying frames

167

168 Fig. 6.33 Perspective drawing of the wood frame of the stilt building (adopted from Pile Dwellings of Miao Nationality, p. 72)

Fig. 6.34 Sectional view of pile-style wood framework (adopted from Pile Dwellings of Miao Nationality, p. 72)

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Stilt Houses on Top of Leigong Mountain, Ancient Miao Villages …

Customs in Building Construction Fig. 6.35 Overhanging gable roof in Balang Village in Jianhe County of Guizhou Province

Fig. 6.36 Overhanging gable roof in Lazi Village in Jianhe County of Guizhou Province

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170

Fig. 6.37 Stone foundation

Fig. 6.39 Stilt dwelling under construction in Xijiang Village in Leishan County of Guizhou Province. The construction of the stilt building requires a lot of manpower, which is usually carried out in winter when the weather is relatively dry and there is less farm work. In Xijiang, the newly built houses are not completely in wood structures. People usually build the ground floor with reinforced concrete, and then construct the wood structure upon it, to increase the stories of the house.

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Stilt Houses on Top of Leigong Mountain, Ancient Miao Villages …

Fig. 6.38 Column and tie beam frame

Customs in Building Construction

171

Fig. 6.40 Laying the roof of the stilt dwelling in Xijiang Village in Leishan County of Guizhou Province

Fig. 6.41 Decoration technique on the ridge in Lower Langde Village in Leishan County of Guihzou Province

threshold” after the installation of the doors and windows. A “whole” person who has both parents, sons, and daughters will be invited to visit the household holding a bowl of rice

with eggs on it as a gift, which brings good wish to the family, hoping people flourish and auspicious in the new household.

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Watchtowers over Gorges, Qiang and Tibetan Villages in Western Sichuan Province

The Tibetan and Qiang villages in Aba Prefecture and Ganzi Prefecture of Sichuan Province lie at a strategic geographical location and have experienced frequent wars and conflicts in history. As a result, watchtowers and blockhouses have been built everywhere, forming a special characteristic of these villages. Tibetan villages are mostly scattered on the tableland in the river valley, while the Qiang villages are mostly centralized on top of the mountains. Except for some Qiang People who built earthen blockhouses, both Tibetans and Qiang People live in watchtowers made of stone. The materials, forms, ownership, and functions of the watchtowers are diverse, but their most important function is for defense, such as lookout and guarding against enemies.

Watchtowers on Alpine Gorges The watchtower villages of Tibetan and Qiang ethnic groups are mainly distributed in the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefectures and the Ganzi Tibetan Prefecture of Sichuan Province. There are 225 watchtowers and 15 villages that are applying for World Culture Heritage. The watchtowers are in Ma’erkang County, Jinchuan County, Wenchuan County, Li County, and Mao County of Aba Prefecture and Kangding County, Danba County, and Daofu County of Ganzi Prefecture. The villages include Buwa Village (6 watchtowers) and Luobo Village in Wenchuan County, Taopingqiang Village (2 watchtowers) in Li County, Heihu Village (7 watchtowers) in Mao County, Zhibo Village and Songgang Village in Barkam County, Kegeyi Village, Xiarenyi Village, Boselong Village, Han’eyi Village, Zuobi Village, Moluo Village, Dongfeng Village, Gongbu Village, and Jiajv Village (151 watchtowers) in

Danba County, Zengdaguan watchtower group in Jinchuan County, Kangding ancient watchtower in Kangding County, and Daofu ancient watchtower in Daofu County.1 Aba Prefecture is located in the transitional zone between the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the northwestern Sichuan Basin. It is high in the northwest, low in the southeast, and complex in terrain. The plateau area in the northwest is about 3500–4000 m above sea level, which falls in the continental plateau climate. Most Tibetan and Qiang watchtower villages are located in the southeastern part of Aba Prefecture. These villages bear monsoon climates and are surrounded by high mountains and deep valleys, with distinct dry and wet seasons and significant vertical differences. The valley has a minimum elevation of 780 m and the highest peak Four Maidens Mountain is 6250 m.2 Ganzi Prefecture is located on the southeastern edge of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and is the transitional zone among Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Sichuan Basin and Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, which is also the main body of the Kangba region. A large number of alpine mountains and deep valleys locates in the territory, mainly running from north to south. The highest peak Gongga Mountain reaches 7556 m above sea level, and the lowest point is 1000 m above sea level.3 The Tibetan and Qiang watchtower villages are mainly distributed in the deep valley area of Dadu River. In general, the distribution of the Tibetan and Qiang watchtower villages are at an altitude of 1500–5000 m above sea level. High snow-capped mountains, such as Four Maidens Mountain and Jiajin Mountain, crisscross deep

“Tibetan and Qiang Watchtowers and Villages” World Heritage. 2014 (Z1): 95–97. 2 Editor Group of the Local Chronicles of Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province. Local Chronicles of Aba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Beijing: Nationality Publishing House. 1994: 1. 3 Edition Group. A Survey of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Beijing: Nationality Publishing House. 2009: 1–3. 1

© China Architecture & Building Press and Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 L. Xue et al., Traditional Chinese Villages, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6154-6_7

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Fig. 7.1 Terrain Crisscrossed by Alpine Valleys in Northwest Sichuan Province

valleys and rivers like Dadu River and Min River. The area features a monsoon climate with significant vertical differences (Fig. 7.1).

Origin of Tibetan and Qiang Ethnic Groups in Northwest Sichuan Province The Tibetan watchtower villages in Sichuan Province mainly situate in Jiarong area. The Jiarong Tibetans are mainly distributed along Jinchuan River Basin west of Qionglai Mountain in Barkam County, Jinchuan County, Xiaojin County, Li County, Heishui County, Wenchuan County, Rangtang County, Danba County, Baoxing County, and Kangding County. Many legends of Jiarong Tibetans tell that their distant ancestors were from Qiong Tribe in the northwest of Lhasa who migrated to northwestern Sichuan due to the increase of population and the barren land, and gradually multiplied and occupied the vast territory now distributed. The ancient historical materials of Jiarong Tibetans are relatively scarce,

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Watchtowers over Gorges, Qiang and Tibetan Villages …

and the academic circles have not yet reached a consensus on their early ethnic origins. However, it is generally believed that Jiarong Tibetans were a mix of the aboriginal inhabitants such as “Jialiangyi” and “Goki People” in the northwest of Sichuan and the Tibetan during the process of the Tubo eastward immigration. For example, according to the Chuosijia’s pedigree calculation of native chieftains, the earliest time that Jiarong Tibetan lineage moved into this area was in Tang Dynasty.4 Since Ming and Qing dynasties, especially in Qing Dynasty, the history of the Jiarong Tibetans was relatively clear due to the establishment of the Tusi (native chieftain) System. It was said that there were 18 native chieftains in Jiarong, all of which were given their titles by the Qing court in the eighteenth century. Among them, the people who were under the administration of 14 native chieftains had similar languages and were known as Fourteen Native Chieftains of Jiarong. According to the lineage relationship of each native chieftain, Jiarong Tibetans could be divided into two tribes. One was Jiarong Tibetan Tribe proper, including three sub-tribes respectively, Situ Tribe formed by Suomo, Zhuokeji, Songgang and Dangba native chieftains, Dajin Tribe formed by Chuosijia, Cujin, Badi, Bawang, and Dandong native chieftains, and Xiaojin Tribe formed by Zanla, Wori, and Muping native chieftains. The other was Jiarong Chong Tribe, including the three branches of Liasu Tribe, Zagu Tribe, and Wasi Tribe5 (Figs. 7.2, 7.3). Qiang People in Sichuan mainly live in the mountainous areas of Minjang River, and they call themselves “Er’ma”. The name “Qiang” appeared very early in history. The oracle bone inscription has recorded abundant contacts and wars between Han and Qiang People6 in Shang Dynasty. It is recorded in the Interpretation of Chinese Characters: Sheep Tribe written in Eastern Han Dynasty that “Qiang People are the sheepherders in Xirong”,7 and The Historical Records: the chronology of the Six Kingdoms said that “Yu was originated from Xiqiang.”8 According to the epic poem The Great War between Qiang and Geji, Qiang People originally lived on the prairie, and later began to migrate because of natural disasters and 4

Southwest Nationality Research Institute of Southwest University for Nationalities. A Social Survey on Tibetan and Qiang Nationality in Northwest Sichuan Province. Beijing: Nationality Publishing House. 2008: 21. 5 Southwest Nationality Research Institute of Southwest University for Nationalities. A Social Survey on Tibetan and Qiang Nationality in Northwest Sichuan Province. Beijing: Nationality Publishing House. 2008: 22–23. 6 Editor Group. A Brief History of Qiang Nationality. Beijing: Nationality Publishing House. 2008: 7–8. 7 Xu Shen. Interpretation of Chinese Characters. Changsha: Yuelu Publishing House. 2006: 78. 8 Sima Qian. The Historical Records (unabridged edition). Beijing: Overseas Chinese Publishing House. 2011: 124.

Origin of Tibetan and Qiang Ethnic Groups …

175

Fig. 7.2 Official Mansion of Zhuokeji Native Chieftain in Xisuo Village in Barkam County of Sichuan Province. The official mansion of Zhuokeji native chieftain was built in 1918. It is a courtyard building enclosed by four groups of watchtowers and is connected with another watchtower outside the courtyard. Its main building is five stories high, having its back to the north and facing south, and is connected to the east and west buildings through wooden corridors.

Fig. 7.3 Inner Courtyard of the Official Mansion of Zhuokeji Native Chieftain in Xisuo Village in Barkam County of Sichuan Province

wars. One branch migrated southward to Rezi (now belonging to Songpan), and because of the wars against the Geji People, they continued to migrate and multiply and were distributed along Minjiang River and some areas of Peijiang River, including Songpan County, Mao County, Wenchuan County, Li County and Heishui County. During the migration, Qiang People began to worship white stones in return to the gods who had helped them by transforming the white stones into snow-capped mountains. From the literature and territorial settings of Han Dynasty, Qiang

People had been active along Minjiang River during Han Dynasty.9 During Three Kingdoms Period, the area of Qiang Nationality was under the jurisdiction of Shuhan with Wenshan County and five surrounding “circles (Wei)”.10 In Jin Dyansty, the setting of Wenshan County continued,

9

Editor Group. A Brief History of Qiang Nationality. Beijing: Nationality Publishing House. 2008: 26–28. 10 “Wei” was a military institution during Shuhan Period.

176

which governed eight counties. However, unlike Shuhan Period, there were frequent conflicts between Qiang, Han, and Hulu People in Western Jin Dynasty, and the governmental control of this area in Eastern Jin Dynasty was extremely weak. In Sui Dynasty, except Wenshan County, the power of the imperial court expanded to Suomo River, Da Jinchuan County and Xiao Jinchuan County. In Tang Dynasty, with the rise of Tubo forces, the Qiang area became a contested territory between Tang and Tubo for a long time. Qiang People continued to suffer from the chaos of wars and at the same time accepted a large amount of Tibetan culture. The administrative setup of Northern Song Dynasty in this region basically followed that of Tang Dynasty, establishing over ten states like Weizhou, Maozhou, and so on. The relationship between Weizhou and the court was moderated, while Maozhou had more conflicts.11 In Yuan Dynasty, Tusi System was carried out, and Military and Civilian Pacifism Department, Military and Civilian Battalion, and some other government agencies were set up. In Ming Dynasty, Tusi System was further established, and many native chieftains were appointed, such as Changning, Jingzhou, Yuexi, Longmu, and Mutuo, which were under the jurisdiction of the Maozhouwei Commander’s Division, and Yuji native chieftain, which was under the jurisdiction of the Department of Diexi Defence. Qiang People outside the jurisdiction of Tusi System had gradually become the common registered households in the states and counties, such as Baicao Qiang, Caopo Qiang, Heihu Qiang, and so on under the conquest of the court. During the implementation of Tusi System, the exchanges between different ethnic groups were frequent, and the social and economic development of Qiang People was remarkable. At the end of Ming Dynasty, many Han People began to move into Qiang’s territory, bringing in the production technologies of Han Nationality. In the middle of the seventeenth century, the court of Qing Dynasty gradually weakened the power of the native chieftains and implemented the policy of “abolishing native chieftains and appointing government officials”. The Qiang area gradually entered the feudal landlord economy, and the exchanges

11

Geng Shaojing. General History of Qiang Nationality. Shanghai: Shanghai People’s Publishing House. 149–152, 156–158, 197–200, 208–210, 229–245, 250-, 279. 12 Editor Group. A Brief History of Qiang Nationality. Beijing: Nationality Publishing House. 2008: 29–50.

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between Qiang and Han Nationalities were further strengthened.12

Building Villages in Deep Valleys and on High Mountains Due to the differences in production, life, and religious beliefs between Jiarong Tibetans and Qiang People, there are great differences in the locations and layouts of their villages. Jiarong Tibetans are mainly engaged in agricultural production, believing in Tibetan Buddhism and Bon Religion. When selecting their village location, they will take into consideration the topography, production resources, and religious beliefs. First, the dry and wet seasons in western Sichuan are distinct—mudslides and mountain collapses are of frequent occurrence. In deciding the village settlement, places should be avoided such as gullies that are prone to disasters, and relatively flat places are preferred on gentle hillside slopes with abundant sunlight. Second, daily life and agricultural production depend on water resources, so most Jiarong Tibetan villages are close to water sources. For example, in Danba County, where Jiarong Tibetans are concentrated, the county town locates at the intersection of several rivers and expands along the rivers. A great quantity of Tibetan Villages distributes on both sides of the valleys of many rivers. People obtain water from the rivers and many snow-capped mountains for production and life. Third, the villages need sufficient arable land to provide food from agricultural production. However, Jiarong Tibetan region is rich in mountains and valleys, and the land to cultivate is rare. Therefore, most of the buildings in the village scatter out to leave as much fertile land as possible for farming. Each household is surrounded by their fields, and the buildings of the entire village are scattered along the terrain in the hillsides. For example, in Moluo Village in Danba County, with the most concentrated distribution of

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177

Fig. 7.4 Tibetan Villages in Dadu River Valley

Fig. 7.5 Decentralized layout of Tibetan Villages

the watchtowers, the layout of the village is loose without obvious settlement boundaries. More than 20 ancient watchtowers of various shapes are scattered among the valleys and mountains where the village is located, which is very spectacular. In Tibetan Buddhism and Bon religion of the Jiarong Tibetan faith, people worship holy mountains. For example, the Mordo Mountain in Aba Prefecture is one of the thirteen holy mountains of the Yongzhong Bon Religion. It is an important Tibetan camp of Yongzhong Benists of the eastern Tibetan and western Sichuan Plateau, and Yongzhong Laxiang Temple is located at its foot. All the buildings in Jiajv Village and Zhonglu Village in Danba County face the holy mountain, and all the villagers face the holy mountain during religious ceremonies. (Figs. 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8). Different from Tibetan villages that are mostly distributed in the valleys and mountain slopes, Qiang villages are mostly distributed on the higher hillsides or on the tableland of the mountains, thus Qiang People are called “the ethnic group on the clouds”. And compared to the scattered layout of Tibetan villages, the buildings in Qiang Villages are more

concentrated. The location and layout characteristics of Qiang Villages are based on the comprehensive consideration of production, living conditions, and defensiveness. First, in the river valley, with a dense network of rivers and steep mountains, the area of arable land is small and the sunshine hours are short. By building the village on the alpine tableland, relatively large pieces of gentle slopes can be obtained to provide a centralized layout for cultivated land and house construction. Due to the high terrain and long sunshine hours, the tableland is more favorable for lighting and heating in daily life and for agricultural production. The water source of this type of village comes mostly from the melting of snow from the snow-capped mountains. Second, Qiang People emphasize the defensive function when deciding on the location of the village. In the area along Minjiang River, they experienced frequent wars in history. Since the rise of Tubo, Mingjiang River area fell into the scene of a seesaw battle between Tubo and Han Nationalities. During Ming and Qing dynasties, there had been conflicts between the aboriginal inhabitants and the central government. Limited resources and frequent clashes between

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Fig. 7.6 Relationship between buildings and cultivated land in Zhonglu Tibetan Village in Danba County of Sichuan Province. Surrounded by the cultivated land, the watchtowers and houses in the village are scattered on the tableland of the high mountain, and the boundaries between the villages are not obvious.

Fig. 7.7 Overlook of Moluo Village in Danba County of Sichuan Province. Moluo Tibetan Village is adjacent to Dadu River in the west, and belongs to Suopo Township of Danba County, which is one of the areas that remains the largest number of watchtower buildings in the most concentrated distribution.

the tribes aroused Qiang People a strong sense of defensiveness. Compared with the river valley, where transportation is convenient, the mountain tableland enjoys the advantages of defensiveness, for it is not easily harassed by thieves and bandits and is convenient to observe and overlook the surroundings. Concentrating the buildings in the village and setting up the watchtowers overtake the scattered villages to defend enemies. For example, Luobo Qiang Village is located on the high tableland. There is a large piece of gentle arable land and woodland outside the village. The village is enclosed by binding walls with the residence buildings concentrated in highlands, which are extremely defensive (Fig. 7.9, 7.10, 7.11).

Taoping Village in Li County is also a village with strong defensiveness. There are three watchtowers in Taoping Village, all of which are made of stones. Centered on the watchtowers, the entire village spreads along the terrain in a fan shape with eight exits and thirteen lanes. The buildings stand close to each other, high and low, in a group, with the roofs connecting into a whole. The street network on the ground and the interconnected roofs form a complex three-dimensional transportation system in the village, together with the secret passages and bridge galleries between the buildings, endowing the village with extremely strong defensiveness. At the same time, the compact layout plays an effective role of windshield in winter and sunshade

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Fig. 7.8 Blockhouses and Watchtowers in Moluo Village in Danba County of Sichuan Province

Fig. 7.9 Location of Luobo Village in Wenchuan County of Sichuan Province. Luobo Village is located on the tableland, enclosed by parapets with buildings concentrated in high places to achieve excellent defensiveness. There are large areas of arable land and woodland outside the village.

in summer. In addition, Taoping Village adopts a well-designed river system. The stream is introduced into the village, divided into two paths after passing the stone roller and the mill, and finally flows out from four outlets to irrigate the farmland. The upstream of the river system is for domestic use, and the downstream is used for washing and irrigation, a considerable part of which being the culvert, flowing through every household, where the villagers can open the cover and take the water in the household (Figs. 7.12, 7.13, 7.14, 7.15 and 7.16).

Stone and Earth Blockhouses The residential buildings of Jiarong Tibetan and Qiang Nationalities are often referred to as blockhouse locally. The Tibetan blockhouses are basically stone dwellings, supported by the walls made of irregular stones and clay, with the thickness gradually decreasing from the bottom to the top. The load-bearing stone walls of the blockhouse support a flat roof directly, which is of the “purlin and rafter”

180

Fig. 7.10 Parapets of Luobo Village in Wenchuan County of Sichuan Province Fig. 7.11 Centralized Layout of Luobo Village in Wenchuan County of Sichuan Province

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structure. First, rows of purlins are laid on the walls, then rafters are laid atop the purlins, followed by a layer of chopped wood and branches. On the top of the wood and branches, a mixture of mud and gravel is spread and patted. When wood board is placed upon the mixture, the floor is completed; and when another layer of slightly dried yellow mud is spread and tamped on the mixture, the roof is done. In the area of Barkam, some Tibetans will build a simple wood frame slope on the flat roof, and the gable wall will be open to put in food, farm tools, and so on. The plane of the blockhouse is a regular rectangle whose ground floor covers an area of more than 100 m2. The interior of the building is partitioned by stone walls. The bays of upper and lower layers are basically the same; the one or two layers of the top floor are partially open, and the building forms a retracted pattern as a whole. Functionally, the ground floor is used to keep livestock. The main room with the hearth on the second floor is served as the living room, with the other parts of the floor as the kitchen, bedrooms, and various storage rooms. On the third floor, there are the scripture room, beautifully decorated with murals and Buddhist altars, and guest rooms, as well as the Lama’s bedrooms. The top floor is a flat roof, on which a semi-open line-shape, L-shape, or concave shape room is built along the wall for temporary storage and for keeping farm tools. Sometimes a watchtower is built next to the blockhouse by the household, called a private watchtower. The walls of the Tibetan blockhouses are often painted white or with patterns of Swastikas or white conches. The window covers are painted with white or black patterns. The cornices are decorated with red, white, and black belts, with

Stone and Earth Blockhouses

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Fig. 7.12 Location and Layout of Taoping Village in Li County of Sichuan Province (Sketch adopted from The Architecture of Qiang Ethnic Group in China, p.128)

colorful prayer flags on the roof (Figs. 7.17, 7.18, 7.19, 7.20, 7.21 and 7.22). The Gelujiage House, a combination of blockhouse and watchtower in Moluo Village, is a typical representation of Jiarong Tibetan dwellings. It is located at the intersection of the entrance roads to the village, covering an area of 128 m2, with five stories and a total height of 14 m, with the quadrangle watchtower connected to the blockhouse at 35 m high. The ground floor of the house is a pen for domestic animals, and the entrance on the second floor leads to the main space of the blockhouse. The second floor of the blockhouse is divided into four quarters by stone walls, which respectively serve as the main room with the hearth,

the kitchen, and the guest rooms (later used as storage rooms). From the main room, one can enter the watchtower. The floors of the tower are separated by dense wooden beams. There is a small opening on each floor, which is connected to each other by a wooden ladder. The bedrooms and the granary are on the third floor. According to the tradition of Danba County, the walls of the granary are made into the well-framed structure, the interior of which is divided into small spaces by wooden boards to store all kinds of foods, meat, oil, and so on. The walls of the scripture room on the fourth floor are in the well-framed structure as well to keep Buddhist altars, on which some exquisite and vivid carvings and paintings such as the sun, moon, and the

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Fig. 7.13 Houses and Lanes in Taoping Village in Li County of Sichuan Province. The dense houses and the winding streets make the traffic in the village very complicated, together with the commanding watchtowers that overlook the whole village, making the village extremely defensive.

Fig. 7.14 Lanes in Taoping Village in Li County of Sichuan Province

Fig. 7.15 Bridge Gallery in Taoping Village in Li County of Sichuan Province

Stone and Earth Blockhouses

183

Fig. 7.16 Blockhouses and Watchtowers in Taoping Village in Li County of Sichuan Province

Fig. 7.17 Tibetan Blockhouses

Buddhist wheel are still visible. The overhanging corridor outside the scripture room is a drying rack, and at the end of the corridor is the traditional Tibetan open type overhanging toilet. On the fifth floor is a large roof drying platform and an open house for storage (Figs. 7.23, 7.24, 7.25, 7.26 and 7.27).13

13

Wu Zhengguang, Chen Ying, Zhao Kui. Southwest Folk Dwellings. Beijing: Tsinghua University Press. 2010: 69–75.

The plane of the Qiang blockhouse is roughly rectangular. The whole building is about 10 to 20 m high, usually with three to four stories. The ground floor of a four-story blockhouse is generally used as a pen for domestic animals, and the second floor is divided into a hall, a kitchen, and a main room for daily activities. The bedrooms are on the third floor, and the storage rooms are on the fourth floor. The roof, referred to as “covered floor”, is used for drying grains and storage. The bedrooms on a three-story blockhouse are separately arranged on the second and third floors. The main entrance is set on the second floor, and the upper and lower

184

Fig. 7.18 Double-slope Tibetan Blockhouses in Xisuo Village in Barkam County of Sichuan Province

floors are connected by a single wood ladder or a movable wood ladder (Figs. 7.28, 7.29, 7.30 and 7.31). In Qiang blockhouses, the hall on the second floor is the core space because it is the center connecting the other rooms on the second floor and linking the space of the upper and lower floor together, and at the same time the hall is a space for daily living, entertaining visitors and dining. There is a fire pit, a shrine, and a center pillar in the hall. The fire pit is the core space that shouldn’t be trampled or crossed over, the seats around which are divided by the upper eight seats, the lower eight seats, the upper group and the lower group respectively, occupied by men and women, children and the elders from the hosts’ and the guests’ sides according to their age, gender, and social status. On one side behind the fire pit is the hearth and the other side is the shrine. Qiang People regard the central pillar and the beam above it as gods and worship them. Some scholars believe Ren Hao. “Architecture and Villages of Qiang Nationality”. Architectural Journal. 2003(08): 62–64.

14

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Watchtowers over Gorges, Qiang and Tibetan Villages …

that this may be the cognition formed in the continuation of ancient tent-style accommodation.14 In addition, a white stone should be place on the roof of the blockhouse, and in every morning and evening and on annual festival or the occurrence of a disaster, people will make sacrifices to it. In some Qiang areas close to Han Nationality, there is a “Taishan Shigandang” (Taishan tablet) placed at the entrance of the house to exorcise demons (Figs. 7.32, 7.33). Some blockhouses of Qiang People are made of stone and some rammed earth, which are generally built by their residents. The stone walls are mainly constructed with stone slabs and are mortared with mud. The thickness of the wall can reach 70–80 cm, with the inside vertical to the ground and the outside gradually battering inward. Wooden slats are cast into the wall to increase the transverse duration. In some stone blockhouses, the walls load the weight of the whole building and the ends of the wood beams are inserted into the wall. The beams are covered with wood slabs or roof. Some others are supported by wooden frames, and the stone walls only serve as an enclosure. The roofing method is like that of the Tibetan blockhouses. The wood beams are covered with boards and fine branches, then by a layer of loess. The structure of the earth blockhouse consists of a wood framework and the rammed earth walls. Compared with the stone blockhouse, the anti-seismic performance of the earthen blockhouse is poor. The earth blockhouses in Wenchuan County were seriously damaged in the earthquake in 2008. The decoration of the Qiang blockhouse is relatively simple, the walls are generally not painted, but some are decorated with crosses or Swastikas in a hollow-out pattern. The paintings on the window frame of the stone blockhouses near the Tibetan area will simply imitate that of Tibetan blockhouses (Fig. 7.34, 7.35).

Types of Watchtowers The numerous and diverse watchtowers are the most characteristic element of the landscape of Tibetan and Qiang Villages in northwest Sichuan Province. In terms of material, there are stone and earth watchtowers. In terms of the remaining quantity, the stone watchtowers are in the majority, a large number of which is clustered especially in the area of Danba County which enjoys the reputation of “the kingdom of watchtowers”. The most concentrated stone watchtowers are distributed in Suopo Township, Zhonglu Township and Pujiaoding Village. The number of remaining earth watchtower is relatively small, mainly distributed in Wenchuan County, and a small number of them use stones in the lower part of the wall, such as the watchtowers in Buwa Village in Wenchuan County (Fig. 7.36, 7.37).

Types of Watchtowers

185

Fig. 7.19 Plan of Tibetan Blockhouse in Jiajv Village in Danba County of Sichuan Province (Adopted from Folk Dwellings in Southeast China, p. 84)

Fig. 7.20 Façade of Tibetan Blockhouse in Jiajv Village in Danba County of Sichuan Province (Adopted from Folk Dwellings in Southeast China, p. 84)

Morphologically, watchtowers fall into quadrangle, pentagon, hexagonal, octagonal, twelve-angle, thirteen-angle and so on. The internal space is partitioned into several floors, connected by wood staircases. Among them, the quadrangle watchtower is most common. All the earth watchtowers are quadrangle, so are most of the stone ones, with the length of one side at the bottom generally ranging from five to eight meters and the height from 20 to 40 m. The octagonal watchtower is also common, with a round interior and the exterior in an octagonal prism. The length of one side at the bottom is about two meters and the height

mostly 20 to 40 m. The other types of watchtowers are relatively small in number (Figs. 7.38, 7.39, 7.40 and 7.41). In terms of ownership, there are private, village, and official watchtowers. Private watchtower is owned by a household for storage foods, meats, and some other supplies. It also has a defensive function during wartime. It is usually low and adjacent to the blockhouse. Village watchtower is a public building owned by a village or a few neighboring villages. It is generally high and standing independently at the village entrance or at the commanding place of the village. It is funded, built, and guarded by villagers under the

186

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Fig. 7.21 Decoration on Tibetan Blockhouses

Fig. 7.22 Decoration on Tibetan Blockhouses

organization of the leaders of the village or the native chieftain. Official watchtower is built by chieftains at all levels and local officials at their official residences and bureaus. It is integrated with the main building. In peacetime, it is a symbol of power and status of the chieftain or used as an altar for worshiping gods and divination. In wartime, it is used as a bastion for military defense and provides temporary shelter for family members and serves for storing valuable supplies and so on (Figs. 7.42, 7.43 and 7.44).

facility for each village. Some watchtowers, such as beacon towers and observation towers used for communication and alarms, are often located on mountain ridge, tableland on river bends, alpine mountain slopes and other places with good visions. Once the enemy is spotted, beacons will be lit to transmit signals, which are clearly visible far away. A series of towers echo each other and the warning signals can be effectively transmitted to alert the villages to get prepared. There are also some watchtowers located along the major thoroughfares or at important strategic passes and ferries as war towers. In the event of a war, these tall towers can accommodate military supplies such as sergeants and stones, bows and arrows, as well as daily supplies such as food, water, and livestock, and it is also a shelter for the elderly and the weak, women and children in the village. Each war tower is a firepower point, and several war towers can cooperate to form a powerful firepower network (Figs. 7.45, 7.46, 7.47). In addition to providing defensive functions, the watchtower is also a symbol of family fortunes and status of the household. In the Da Jinchuan and Xiao Jinchuan counties,

Functions of Watchtowers The function of the watchtowers in Tibetan and Qiang Villages was mainly for military defense in early times. The Tibetan and Qiang region in northwest Sichuan Province is of strategic and dangerous terrains due to the high mountains and canyons. Throughout history, various forces and tribes were mixed here, and chaos and wars occurred frequently. As a result, watchtowers became an important defensive

Functions of Watchtowers

Fig. 7.23 Gelujiage House in Moluo Village in Danba County of Sichuan Province

there was once a popular custom that when a boy was born, the family would start preparing the materials to construct a watchtower. The boy couldn’t get married until the watchtower was built. A few watchtowers are for religious or geomantic purposes. For example, there are scripture watchtowers specialized for Buddha-worshiping respectively in Wori Township in Xiaojin County and in Zhonglu Township in Danba County. In some villages, geomantic watchtowers are built to ward off the devils and ghosts that harm humans and animals.15 Some other watchtowers stand on the borders of tribes and native chieftain ligeance as the boundary watchtower to avoid disputes and conflicts. There are towers built to commemorate the merits as well (Figs. 7.48, 7.49).16

187

Fig. 7.24 Interior of Watchtower of Gelujiage House in Moluo Village in Danba County of Sichuan Province

Structure of Watchtowers The watchtowers are thin and tall with large dead-weight, and located in the mountainous area with complex geological conditions; therefore, their foundation is mostly composed of stones and earth to form a plate-shaped overall basis, which is similar to raft foundation and can minimize the equilibrium bearing capacity of the foundation.17 Whether made of stone or rammed earth, most of the watchtowers are of wall load-bearing systems, which are built layer by layer. The beams on each floor rest directly on the walls, and are covered with small purlins and slabs. After the whole layer is complete dry, the upper walls will be constructed on it, and different layers are connected by movable wood ladders. When reaching the highest level, the beams, chopping wood, branches, and frost-resisting hard

15

Shi Shuo. Research on Watchtowers on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Beijing: China Social Science Press. 2012: 60. 16 Shi Shuo. Research on Watchtowers on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Beijing: China Social Science Press. 2012: 62.

17

Shi Shuo. Research on Watchtowers on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Beijing: China Social Science Press. 2012: 303.

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Fig. 7.25 Plan of Gelujiage House in Moluo Village in Danba County of Sichuan Province (Adopted from Southwest Folk Dwellings, p.72)

grass are placed one on top of the other on the walls, and then the surface of the roof is burnished with sandy soil, forming a slant drainage slope, and trenches are cantilevered along the slope on the parapet to drain rainwater. There is sometimes a hole for the stairway on the top floor of the watchtower, which is usually covered with wood or thin stone slabs, because of the limited rainfall in northwest Sichuan. In order to lower the overall gravity of the watchtower and to increase the overall stability, the walls of the tower are often different in thickness, that is, the lower walls are thicker and the upper walls are thinner, so the outline of the tower is not exactly in a straight line.18 In order to increase the stability of the walls, traverse timbers are placed in the walls as wall ribs. Qiang People have a mnemonic poem on the construction of the watchtower, “Horizontal beams over vertical walls, one layer upon another. Lay big stones, wedge in small ones, glued fast by loess and clay. Bigger down, smaller up, straight in, battered out to build the watchtowers (Figs. 7.50, 7.51).”19

18

Ji Fuzheng. Architecture of Qiang Nationality in China. Chengdu: Southwest Jiaotong University Press. 2000: 244–245. 19 Wang Wang. “On Architectural Culture Connotation of the Folk Dwellings of Qiang Nationality in Taoping”. Beauty and the Times 2013(08): 61–63. Fig. 7.26 Sectional View of Gelujiage House in Moluo Village in Danba County of Sichuan Province (Adopted from Southwest Folk Dwellings, p. 73)

Structure of Watchtowers Fig. 7.27 Interior of Scripture Room of Gelujiage House in Moluo Village in Danba County of Sichuan Province

Fig. 7.28 Plan of the Ground Floor of a Qiang Blockhouse in Taoping Village (Adopted from Architecture of Qiang Nationality in China, p. 362)

189

190 Fig. 7.29 Plan of the Second Floor of a Qiang Blockhouse in Taoping Village (Adopted from Architecture of Qiang Nationality in China, p. 362)

Fig. 7.30 Plan of the Third Floor of a Qiang Blockhouse in Taoping Village (Adopted from Architecture of Qiang Nationality in China, p. 363)

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Structure of Watchtowers Fig. 7.31 Sectional View of a Qiang Blockhouse in Taoping Village (Adopted from Architecture of Qiang Nationality in China, p. 364)

Fig. 7.32 Fire pit of Qiang People in Taoping Village in Li County of Sichuan Province. There is a fire pit, a shrine, and a center pillar in the hall. The fire pit is the core space of the room that shouldn’t be trampled or crossed over. On one side behind the fire pit is the shrine.

191

192

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Difference Between Tibetan and Qiang Watchtowers

Fig. 7.33 Shigandang in Taoping Village in Li County of Sichuan Province. In some Qiang areas close to Han Nationality, there is also a “Shigandang” (stone tablet) placed at the entrance of the house opposite to the intersection of the roads to exorcise demons.

Fig. 7.34 Stone Blockhouse of Qiang People in Taoping Village in Li County of Sichuan Province

Although the watchtowers of Jiarong Tibetan and Qiang share a high similarity due to the close exchanges between the two ethnic groups, they still have their own characteristics. First, construction on the top of Tibetan watchtower is relatively simple. Most of the watchtowers are quadrangle whose tops are generally in a half-moon shape, similar to the tops of the local folk dwellings. The tops of the Qiang watchtowers are diverse. For some of them, half of the front wall on the top floor is removed, forming an open retreat, such as the one in Taoping Village in Li County (cf. Fig. 7.53); for some others, the overhanging platform is set up for outlook and observation (Fig. 7.52). Second, due to different national beliefs, the decorative symbols on the walls of Tibetan and Qiang watchtowers are also different. In addition to white stone on the tower, Tibetans often draw religious symbols such as Swastikas, the sun and the moon on the walls, while Qiang People rarely use such symbols. Moreover, the functions of Tibetan watchtowers are more diverse, such as private watchtowers, war watchtowers, beacon watchtowers, boundary watchtowers, geomantic watchtowers and so on. The functions of Qiang watchtowers are mostly concentrated in residence, storage, and military defense. Finally, the walls of Tibetan watchtowers are made of stones, while in some of the Qiang Villages, such as Buwa Village, the walls of the watchtower are made of rammed earth.

Difference Between Tibetan and Qiang Watchtowers

193

Fig. 7.35 Earth Blockhouse of Qiang People in Buwa Village in Wenchuan County of Sichuan Province. Compared with the stone blockhouse, the anti-seismic performance of the earth blockhouse is poor. In the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, the villages with the earth blockhouses were the worst-hit.

Fig. 7.36 Stone Watchtowers in Ma’erbang Township in Jinchuan County of Sichuan Province

Fig. 7.37 Earth Watchtower in Buwa Village in Wenchuan County of Sichuan Province

194

Fig. 7.38 Quadrangle Watchtower in Pujiaoding Village in Danba County of Sichuan Province

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Watchtowers over Gorges, Qiang and Tibetan Villages …

Fig. 7.39 Pentagon Watchtower in Moluo Village in Danba County of Sichuan Province

Difference Between Tibetan and Qiang Watchtowers

Fig. 7.40 Octagonal Watchtower in Zhibo Village in Barkam County of Sichuan Province

195

196 Fig. 7.41 Form and Plan of Watchtowers (Adopted from Research on Blockhouses in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, p.49). The quadrangle watchtowers are most common in Tibetan and Qiang villages in western Sichuan Province. All the earth watchtowers are quadrangle, so are most of the stone watchtowers. The octagonal watchtowers are also common, with round interior and the exterior in an octagonal prism. The other types of watchtowers are relatively few.

Fig. 7.42 Private Watchtower in Zhonglu Township in Danba County of Sichuan Province

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Difference Between Tibetan and Qiang Watchtowers

Fig. 7.43 Private Watchtower in Pujiaoding Village in Danba County of Sichuan Province

Fig. 7.44 Official Watchtower of the Chieftain in Xisuo Village in Barkam County of Sichuan Province

197

Fig. 7.45 Defensive Watchtower on the Ridge in Zhonglu Township in Danba County of Sichuan Province

198 Fig. 7.46 Defensive Watchtowers on the River Bend in Zhibo Village in Barkam County of Sichuan Province. The watchtowers on the river bend are built along the mountain ridge where people can obtain a good view from every direction to observe enemies and transmit alerts.

Fig. 7.47 Echoing Watchtowers Located on Each Bank of the River

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Difference Between Tibetan and Qiang Watchtowers Fig. 7.48 A forest of Watchtowers in Pujiaoding Village in Danba County of Sichuan Province

Fig. 7.49 A forest of Watchtowers in Zhonglu Township in Danba County of Sichuan Province

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Fig. 7.51 A Stone Watchtower with Wall Ribs in Moluo Village in Danba County of Sichuan Province

Fig. 7.50 Sectional View of a Qiang Watchtower (Adopted from Architecture of Qiang Nationality in China, p. 253)

References

201

Fig. 7.52 The Top of Tibetan Watchtower

Fig. 7.53 The Top of Qiang Watchtower

References

2. Shi, S. (2012). Research on watchtowers in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Beijing: China Social Sciences Publishing House. 3. Wu, Z., Chen, Y., & Zhao, K. (2010). Folk dwellings in Southwest China. Beijing: Tsinghua University Press.

1. Ji, Z. (2000). Architecture of Qiang Nationality in China. Chengdu: Southwest Jiaotong University Press.

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Deep Merchant Courtyards, Traditional Villages in Central Shanxi Province

Shanxi Province is one of the birthplaces of Chinese civilization. Known as “the strategic area of four strongholds with rivers and mountains being the natural defense”, and with its prominent location and special value, Shanxi has formed a unique living environment in northern China after the baptism of time. Human settlements and activities are especially active in Central Shanxi where a large number of villages built in Ming and Qing dynasties are well-preserved. On one hand, Fen River system flows through central Shanxi, and forms the alluvium valley plain, which becomes important fertile farmland. On the other hand, there are many commercial roads along the banks of the river that are densely populated with well-developed culture and education. Especially in Ming and Qing dynasties, Shanxi merchants traveled all over the country and accumulated fortunes to build villages in their hometowns. In general, the numerous traditional villages in Central Shanxi are densely distributed. The abundant space of the courtyard, the exquisite design and the elegant decoration are the important material carrier for understanding the rustic history and culture of Ming and Qing dynasties.

Location of Central Shanxi Central Shanxi locates in the middle of Shanxi Province and boasts an advantageous geographical location, linking the east to the west. This area collapsed in the early Pliocene and formed Taiyuan Basin, with Fen River flowing through the basin and many tributaries distributed along the line, such as Wenyu River, Changyuan River and Longfeng River. The basin provides flat and open arable land resources and the water system brings convenience to irrigation, therefore, many villages gradually come into being, rise, and develop. In the course of human history, Central Shanxi is the center of regional politics, culture, and economy and has long been a place where different cultures merge with each other since pre-Qin Period. Generally speaking, “Central

Shanxi” is a cultural geographical concept, which is bounded by Yangqu County in the north and Lingshi County in the south, by Taihang Mountain in the east and the Lvliang Mountain system in the west, including Taiyuan City, Jinzhong City, and Lvliang City as well as the neighboring counties. Traditional villages are most concentrated in Qi County, Taigu County, Pingyao County, Jiexiu City, and Lingshi County, which are home to many “Jin Merchants’ Manors”. For example Qiaojiabu Village, Jingsheng Village, and Beiguang Village have become an important carrier for the inheritance and spread of the history and culture of Shanxi Province. By the end of mid-2015, there were more than 1400 traditional villages registered and archived in Shanxi, among which a quarter locates in central Shanxi1 and nine villages are ranked as national historical and cultural towns and villages (Table 8.1) (Figs. 8.1, 8.2 and 8.3).

Mountains and River System Village expansion and population growth depend on the material security of the mountains and river system, because the mountains can resist enemies, the water from rivers can be used for drinking and irrigation, and the plain is convenient for farmland reclamation. Central Shanxi is dominated by basins and plains with Fen River passing through the Taiyuan Basin from north to south, forming an alluvial plain where the terrain is open, the soil fertile, and the cultivated land continuous. This area faces the middle section of Taihang Mountain to the east, links to Lvliang Mountain System on the west, lies on Taiyue Mountain in the south, and approaches Xinding Basin on the north, which is known as “the vital communication line between Qin State and Jin State, the military stronghold between Shanxi Province and

1

Data Source: National Traditional Village Management Information System, https://village.mohurd.gov.cn/.

© China Architecture & Building Press and Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 L. Xue et al., Traditional Chinese Villages, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6154-6_8

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8 Deep Merchant Courtyards, Traditional Villages …

204 Table 8.1 National Historical and Cultural Towns and Villages in Central Shanxi (from the first batch to the sixth batch)

No.

Cities and Counties

01

Taiyuan City

Jinyuan District

Name

Jinzhong City

Lingshi County

02 03

Diantou Village Jinci Town Jingsheng Town

04

Xiamen Village of Xiamen Town

05

Lengquan Village of Liangdu Town

06

Qi County

Gulian Village of Jialing Town

07

Taigu County

Beiguang Village of Beiguang Town

08

Jiexiu County

Zhangbi Village of Longfeng Town

09

Pingyao County

Liang Village of Yuebi Town

Fig. 8.1 Zaizhong Hall in Qiaojiabu Village in Qi County of Shanxi Province

Shaanxi Province”.2 The southern margin of the area is connected with the south of Shanxi. The southern foot of Lvliang Mountain and Taiyue Mountain suddenly narrow down, forming a canyon zone with rapid currents and dangerous terrain. Fen River is the longest river with the largest basin area in Central Shanxi or the whole Shanxi Province. The river originates from Guancen Mountain, flowing into the Taiyuan Basin from the northwest of Taiyuan, and then turning southwest. It passes through Qingxu, Qixian, Pingyao, Jiexiu and other places and enters Linfen Basin from the mountain pass in Lingshi County and finally merges into Yellow River (Fig. 8.4).

Taiyuan Basin is one of the largest basins in Shanxi Province. It is located in the middle of Fen River basin and is an alluvial plain with an area of about 5016 km2 and an altitude of 700–800 m above sea level.3 In addition to Taiyuan Basin, there are also inter-mountain basins in the mountainous hills, which are distributed on the east and west of the area. In general, Central Shanxi area has four distinct seasons and sufficient sunshine where the daily temperature and the annual temperature differences are large. The summer is hot and rainy, and the winter is cold and dry. Although Fen River provides abundant water resources, it is easy to cause waterlogging. Compared with other parts of Shanxi, Central

Li Shuji. “Central Shanxi and the Central Economic and Cultural Band in History”. Vicissitudes of Life 2011(03):115–117.

3

2

Zhang Weibang ed. Economy and Geography of Shanxi Province. Beijing: Xinhua Publishing House. 1987:6.

Mountains and River System

205

Fig. 8.2 Courtyard Complex of Gaojiaya in Jingsheng Village in Lingshi County of Shanxi Province

Fig. 8.3 Courtyard Complex of Sanduotang in Beiguang Village in Taigu County of Shanxi Province

Shanxi is rich in mineral resources and lush in vegetation, providing a natural resource reserve for village construction. Generally speaking, the basin area with flat terrain and abundant water resources is conducive to agricultural

production activities and is a region with high density of village distribution. In mountainous and hilly areas, inconvenient transportation, lack of water resources and inadequate cultivated land will hinder the population

206

8 Deep Merchant Courtyards, Traditional Villages …

Fig. 8.4 Fen River in 1960s (Quoted from Record of Fen River, photograph taken by Chen Keng)

concentration. Therefore, the overall distribution of traditional villages in Central Shanxi has a tendency to be densely concentrated in the center and scattered at both ends.

Adjusting to Local Conditions The climate in Central Shanxi is dry. It is cold, windy and dusty in spring and winter and hot in summer. Therefore, heat preservation in winter and sunlight shading and ventilation in summer are the basic requirements of the villages. In terms of site selection, it is preferable to select the location that faces the water and lies on the mountain, in that lofty mountains block the dry and cold airflow from the northwest and rivers and streams provide water for daily life. The villages can be roughly divided into three categories based on the natural geographical features of the location, namely level land villages, mountainous villages, and waterside villages. The level land villages are mainly distributed along the banks of Fen River, which flows through most of Central Shanxi, forming large plains on both banks, covering Taigu County, Qi County, Pingyao County, Jiexiu County, Xiaoyi County, and other places. The terrain here is flat and the soil is fertile, which is convenient for construction, irrigation and agriculture cultivation. Therefore, many large scale traditional villages with complete forms and dense population have been formed, such as Songjiazhuang Village in Xiaoyi County, Gulian Village in Qi County, Beigaung Village in Taigu County, Liang Village in Pingyao County, and

Zhangbi Village in Jiexiu County. The level land villages have clear axes so that the space layout is symmetrical, and have relatively complete external boundaries, which are separated by castle walls and fort gates (Figs. 8.5 and 8.6). Mountainous villages are mostly distributed on the east and west sides of Central Shanxi, namely the border area between Taiyuan Basin and Taihang and Lvliang Mountains. In the farming society, natural mountains are one of the most important factors influencing the village forms. The overall construction of the village aims to minimize human interventions and takes advantage of the organic components of the surrounding environment like the cliffs, trenches, gullies and ridges. The village tends to be located in the low-lying valley or spread out along the waterway, while the farm land is located at a higher ground on the periphery of the village. For example, the mountainous villages such as Diantou Village of Jinyuan County, Hougou Village of Yuci County, Shang’an Village of Taigu County, Dongjialing Village of Lingshi County, Pudong Village of Pingyao County, etc. all have a positive response to the relationship between built environment, farm land and mountains. The villages are laid out along the tableland contour lines, the orientation of the streets and buildings are no longer confined to the established mode, and the spatial pattern is rich and varied because of the terrain (Figs. 8.7, 8.8 and 8.9). The waterside village reflects the importance of water resources and is the product under the guidance of irrigation in a farming society. Fen River and its tributaries have nurtured many villages. In the areas of Yuci County,

Adjusting to Local Conditions

207

Fig. 8.5 Layout of Songjiazhuang Village in Xiaoyi City of Shanxi Province

Pingyao County and Lingshi County, the villages built along the rivers include Xiangli Village, Liangjiatan Village, Zhaobi Village, Lengquan Village, and Xiamen Village. These villages are all built on higher places far from the

waterway. On one hand, the existing gullies and cliffs are a natural defensive barrier. On the other hand, the smooth flat land on the banks of the waterways can be reclaimed to cultivate land to provide basic living materials for the

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208

Fig. 8.6 Bird’s-eye View of Zhangbi Village in Jiexiu City of Shanxi Province

Fig. 8.7 Layout of Diantou Village in Jinyuan District of Shanxi Province

village. In the over-populated Shanxi Province with limited land, the effective use of the land has become a problem to face in the location selection and construction of the villages (Figs. 8.10, 8.11, 8.12 and 8.13).

Interdependent Business and Manors In traditional villages in Central Shanxi, the most prominent building techniques and the highest artistic value belong to the manors and mansions. The owners of these courtyards

Interdependent Business and Manors

209

Fig. 8.8 Bird’s-eye View of the Southeast Part of Diantou Village in Jinyuan District of Shanxi Province

Fig. 8.9 Dongjialing Village in Lingshi County of Shanxi Province

are the Shanxi merchants who traveled throughout the country in Ming and Qing dynasties, also known as “Jin Merchants”. As one of the important business groups of modern China, Jin merchants, together with Guangdong merchants, Huizhou merchants, Zhejiang merchants, and Jiangsu merchants, are active all over the country. Since Shanxi is located to the west of Taihang Mountains, it was once called the “the land on the right of the mountain”, so the Shanxi merchants are also known as “mountain-right merchants”. As recorded in the Fifth Miscellaneous Group, “The title of ‘the richest’ goes to the

Xin’an merchants south of Yangtze River and the mountain-right merchants in the north.… The mountain-right merchants sell salt and silk, do resale business, and food processing, and they are even richer than the Huizhou merchants.”4 From Song Dynasty to Ming Dynasty, the “town” had been established due to the need of border defense. In Ming Dynasty, the Nine Military Town was established, and troops were stationed in Qin-Jin regions 4 [Ming Dynasty] Xie Zhaozhe. Fifth Miscellaneous Group. Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company. 1959:108.

210

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Fig. 8.10 Layout of Lengquan Village in Lingshi County of Shanxi Province. Lengquan Village is located in the northeast of Lingshi County and is surrounded by mountains on its north, east and south

sides, with the west side adjacent to Fen River where it is the most conducive area to farming.

to acquire cultivated land and to transport and sell salt and grain by “Kaizhong Fa” (the law regulating grain and salt business). Shanxi merchants had accumulated capital due to the geographical convenience and continued to expand their business. Later, because of the reduced appeal on defensive function, many military towns were transformed into commercial ones, thus providing a place for merchants to do business. Since Ming and Qing dynasties, as one of the most important type of the public life, commercial activities have been embodied in the construction of residential villages in terms of material space. Due to the constrains of the patriarchal concepts, the merchants who went out to do business should not take their family nor should they join foreign nationalities, which led to the return of fortune and capital to their hometowns that were used to build private houses and public facilities. This objectively promoted the prosperity of the villages. In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, Shanxi merchants operated a variety of businesses, including trading on

grain, salt, pigments, and cloth. After the middle of the Qing Dynasty, banking dominated the business and spread all over the country, even overseas, gaining the name of “Global Banking”. In the second year of Yongzheng Reign of Qing Dynasty, Liu Yuyi expressed to the throne the ranking of social orientation in Shanxi, first, running business, second, farming, and then having an official career. The New Records of Wutai written in Guangxu Reign of Qing Dynasty recorded that “people in Shanxi have always been focusing on doing business, which is not running after the trifles and neglecting the essentials, but because Shanxi is over-populated and lacks farmland.” The relative surplus labor force provided manpower for business development, and the rich mineral and handicraft products laid down the material foundation. After years of accumulation, many well-known merchant families emerged, with the Qiao Family, Mao Family, Cao Family, and Qv Family being the most famous Shanxi merchants in the area of Qi County, Pingyao County, and

Interdependent Business and Manors

Fig. 8.11 Misty Lengquan Village (Quoted from Record of Lingshi County) Fig. 8.12 Xiamen Village in Lingshi County of Shanxi Province. Xiamen Village is located in the valley, with the Taiyue Mountains to the east and Lvliang Mountains to the west. The village, with Fen River to its east, locates in a canyon zone of the valley running north to south. The village was originally concentrated on the flat land on the cliff on the west side of Fen River. The castle wall has strict control over the shape of the village.

211

212

8 Deep Merchant Courtyards, Traditional Villages …

Fig. 8.13 Liangjiatan Village in Pingyao County of Shanxi Province. About 15 km southeast of Pingyao County, the settlement of the village consists of two parts, a large one and a small one, located on the east and west sides of Liuyin River and connected by arch bridges.

Fig. 8.14 Horizontal Inscribed Board of “Global Banking” of the Bank Rishengchang

Taigu County. These families were not only famous for wealth accumulation and manor construction, but also became the spokesmen and executors of local public affairs (Fig. 8.14). Cao Sanxi of Beiguang Village in Taigu County came to Chaoyang area in Liaoning Province in early Qing Dynasty to make a living. He started from being a tenant, followed by opening a bean-curd mill and a grocery store. The business became booming. After the development during Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong periods in Qing Dynasty, the number of the firm of the Cao Family increased to nearly twenty. In the eight years of Jiaqing Reign in Qing Dynasty, Cao Zhaoyuan and his brothers divided the whole family into six parts in the east and west respectively, of which

“Sanduo Hall” was merged by Chengde Hall, Chengshan Hall, and Chengye Hall of the East Five. In addition, there were Wugui Hall, Shihe Hall, Jiqing Hall, etc. Each of them built a manor courtyard and became an important architectural landscape in the village. Another example was the Wang Family of Jingsheng Village in Lingshi County. Since the tenth generation, the Wang Family had been engaged in the business of cotton, groceries, pawns, etc. Wang Xingwang, the thirteenth generation of the Wang family clan, began to operate the business of livestock sale during Kangxi Reign of Qing Dynasty, and turned to the salt industry during Jiaqing Reign of Qing Dynasty. With the development of business operations, the Wang Family began to use the accumulated fortune on the construction of the ancestral home. The Wang family manors had been successively completed from the period of Kangxi to Jiaqing in Qing Dynasty, including Hongmen Fort, Gongji Fort, Tiemen Courtyard, Gaojiaya Courtyard and so on.

Well Guarded Villages Most traditional villages in Central Shanxi demonstrate strong defensive characteristics, ensuring the safety of the villages through site selection and construction. Villages located in the valley are equipped with water gates at the upper and lower reaches; those located on the cliff build fortress walls on the gentle slope; those on the flat terrain construct a common defense relationship through the

Well Guarded Villages

cooperation of multiple villages. The ultimate result of defensive village construction is the building of baozhai (fortresses). Fortress villages are widely distributed in Central Shanxi. This kind of villages, started from the military and civilian fortress in Ming Dynasty, possesses strong defensive functionality. Even today, there are still many villages that preserve the remains of the fort walls. According to incomplete statistics, there are more than 230 villages in Central Shanxi with the names ending in bu, zhai, tun.5 As a unique representative of the traditional villages in Central Shanxi, fortresses reflect the social changes in the region for hundreds of years. Similar types of villages include whose names ending in bi, wu, tun, such as Jiubu, Jiuxinbu, Xinbu in Beijia Village of Jiexiu City, Changtaibu, Nanqianbu, and Tianshunbu in Liang Village of Pingyao County, and Fenghuangbu and Yongqingbu in Duan Village, and other villages such as Zhangbi Village and Zhaobi Village, etc. There are one or several fortresses in a village. It is recorded in the Comprehensive Textual Research of Historical Documents
Land Tax 7 that “The fortress is built to protect the village, so the villagers farm in peacetime and fight when bandits come”, which reflects the function of the fortified villages that exist on the spectrum between daily life and production and combat defense. Defensiveness is very important for traditional villages, especially in changing times. How to deal with the battles and chaos and invaders has become a problem to be considered at the beginning of each village construction. In addition to building the villages high on the cliffs or deep in mountain valleys to avoid disasters, villagers can strengthen their defense capabilities through the construction of the fortress. According to The Records of Taigu County (the stereotype edition in the 20th year of the Republic of China), there were 27 fortresses in Taigu County in Qing Dynasty. And it is recorded in The Records of Xiaoyi County (written in the 35th year of Qianlong Reign in Qing Dynasty) that “there are more than dozens of fortress-like villages in Xioayi County.” The most notable feature of the fortified village is the enclosing property, which can be divided into artificial enclosure and natural enclosure according to the construction methods. The former is more common in the villages on the plain with the parapets separating the village from the outside world and with gates connecting the inside and outside. The parapets of the fortress are often made of rammed earth, which are of several meters thick and there is a horse track inside the fortress. The latter is more common in the mountainous areas, with the help of natural barriers such as river valleys, cliffs and steep ridges; the living space

5

Wang Xuan. Research on Traditional Fortress Settlements. Doctoral Dissertation of Tianjin University. 2002:38.

213

is arranged in the concave depression, which is connected with the outside world through the mountain passes or the village gates (Fig. 8.15). There are six fort gates in Shang'an Village of Taigu County, with three on the north, two on the south, one on the east and the west side of the village faces the ditch. The site selection and the natural landforms of the village provide natural defense against invasion. The three fort gates on the north side of the village are in linear arrangement, with the mountain as the natural barbican. Outside the far north fort gate is a watchtower, and there are tunnels inside the village. The official manor of the Admiral Department and the Temple of Guan Yu built on the highest position on the north side of the village were demolished (Figs. 8.16 and 8.17). Another example is Zhangbi Village, located about five kilometers south of Jiexiu City, which possesses relatively intact fortress characteristics. According to The Records of Jiexiu County written in Qing Dynasty, the area “faces mountains in the east and has valleys in the west, with hills on the south and Fen River running through its north.”6 Jiexiu County lies on flat terrain, with hills and mountains in the southeast, plains in the north, and valleys in the south. Fen River narrows down after passing through Yitang Town, showing the potential of a stronghold. During Jiaqing Reign of Qing Dynasty, there were forty affiliated fortresses and eight fortified villages in the county.7 Zhangbi Village is about three kilometers west of Longfeng River, a tributary of Fen River, with Mianshan Mountain to the south. The name of the village “bi” has the meaning of defense and partition, which is a self-sufficient village with an ancient well inside and surrounded by the ditches on three sides. The configuration of the village is colloquially termed “mingbao an’dao”, which means that the fortresses are built on the ground and the secret tunnels for escape are built underground. There are fort gates on the north and south of the village, with the Longji (dragon backbone) Street being the central axis, connecting the fort gates at the two ends of the village. The parapets of the fortress are about 240 m long from north to south and 370 m apart from east to west. The area surrounded by the parapet is about one 100,000 m2 (Figs. 8.18, 8.19 and 8.20). In addition to the single fortress village, some villages have several fortresses because new residential buildings are necessary to cope with the growing population. Besides, the various fortresses can support each other in war and form a

6

[Jiaqing Reign in Qing Dynasty] Edited by the Historical Accounts Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference of Jiexiu County. The Records of Jiexiu County from the fifth volume of The Historical Accounts of Jiexiu County. 1994. 7 Li Shuji. A Historical Survey of Ancient Fortress in Zhangbi Village. Taiyuan: Sanjin Publishing House. 2013: 71–72.

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214

Fig. 8.15 Rammed Earth Parapet in Beijia Village in Jiexiu City of Shanxi Province

defense system. Take for example Liang Village in Pingyao County. The village is composed of five fortress units, among which the Donghebu on the northeast and the Xiningbu on the northwest have been abandoned. The residents are now concentrated in Changtaibu, Nanqianbu, and Tianshunbu on the south of the village. Most residents still live in the fortresses, with Donghebu being the oldest, Xiningbu having a good scenic condition, Changtaibu relatively low in construction level, and Tianshunbu and Nanqianbu best preserved (Figs. 8.21 and 8.22).

Solemn in Order The traditional villages in Central Shanxi are not only the carrier of commercial culture, but also closely related to the Confucian ethical culture. In terms of spatial pattern, the buildings are strict in order and the boundary that separate the inside and outside is distinct. First, the external area of the village is separated by the gates and the fortress walls, and the internal social life depends on the streets and lanes and the open space. Because of the flat terrain, the village construction pattern in Central Shanxi can follow the traditional ideal space composition mode—the grid pattern described in the Book of Diverse Crafts. The grid pattern streets and lanes reflect the village’s adaptation to the environment and the common customs of traditional society, which is generally a sense of order and centrality. In New Fig. 8.16 Location of the Fort Gates of Shang’an Village in Taigu County of Shanxi Province

Solemn in Order

215

Fig. 8.17 North Fort Gate of Shang’an Village in Taigu County of Shanxi Province

Pictorial Edition of the Three Rites,8 the Emperor’s palace and kingdom embody this ideal space composition mode that the built environment is in a closed form and the intertwined streets and lanes express a strong sense of cohesiveness, which is strengthened through street organization, building enclosure, and gate orientation. The street pattern of the traditional villages in Central Shanxi is in line with its overall form. The villages are aggregated by the courtyards and there is a clear hierarchical distinction between the streets and lanes between courtyards. Usually, there is a main street connecting the two entrances of the village. The secondary roads are extended along the main street. The main street is the most public place that is accessible to the ancestral halls and temples, while the relatively private secondary lanes lead toward the entrances of the courtyards. Longji Street in Zhangbi Village is a typical main street that divides the village into the east and west two parts, the courtyards face south, and their entrances are opened to the secondary lanes running east to west (Figs. 8.23 and 8.24). The interior layout of streets and lanes in Lengquan Village in Lingshi County is in fish-bone style that the main street runs east–west and has a width of four to eight meters. There are three branch lanes leading to the south and north respectively and intersecting with the main street. The stage is located at the east end of the main street, echoing the entrance gate at the west end. The ancestral hall is located on the northwest side of

8

Edited by scholar Nie Chongyi in Song Dynasty, the existing edition is the carving copy from the second year in Chunxi Reign in Song Dynasty (1175), in which the “Three Rites” refers to The Rites of Zhou, The Etiquette, and The Book of Rites.

the intersection of the main street and the third branch lane on the north. The location and layout of the streets and lanes of the village have responded to the surroundings, with the fort gate on the west side of the village being the main entrance that connects the rear and the front part of the village as well as the outside village. The symmetry axes of the fort gate extends eastward and westward, intersecting with the mountains on both sides of the village, and the extension of the axis coincides with the ridge line of the mountain that runs from north to south (Figs. 8.25 and 8.26).

Deep Residential Courtyards Among the traditional villages in Central Shanxi, the most important architecture complex is the Manors of Shanxi Merchants, because Shanxi merchants are one of the main parts of village and architecture construction and the manors reflect the reproduction of wealth accumulation. The so-called grandeur manor, as the name suggests, is high-profile architecture style, broad pattern and multilevel on one hand, and magnificent building scale and spacious courtyard on the other. The grandeur manor is a general term for the courtyard complex, including multiple individual courtyards with different functions and shapes. From the occupants’ perspective, although the manor is divided into several relatively independent parts, it is a living place for the same family clan. Functionally, the interior of the manor gives consideration to most functions for daily life, including the living rooms, bedrooms, servants’ rooms, courtyard for horses and chariots, storage rooms, ancestral hall, etc. From the

8 Deep Merchant Courtyards, Traditional Villages …

216

Fig. 8.18 Layout of Zhangbi Village in Jiexiu County of Shanxi Province

perspective of space, the internal consistency of the manor shows clear boundaries that separate the inside and outside space; and the high walls, single slopes or long and short sloped roofs and gate buildings that define the boundaries reflect the cohesiveness and defensiveness of the manor. Chronically, the scale of the manor can be gradually extended and has environmental adaptability with the passage of time and the derivation of the family (Fig. 8.27). The layout of the courtyard complex presents unique morphological features according to the geographical environment, but the basic topological space is consistent, with

some extend in the width direction and some extend in the depth direction, forming a multi-path or (or and) multi-level overall shape. The manor on plain land has a strict and regular shape, it is a “courtyard” that shows the characteristics of a “city”, with rectangular outer walls, orthogonal internal corridors, and neatly arranged houses along the axis. The manors in the mountainous area are tableland courtyards, varying in height according to the ups and downs of the landscape. There are some well-preserved complete manors in the traditional villages, including Qiao Family Courtyard in

Deep Residential Courtyards

217

Fig. 8.19 South Fort Gate of Zhangbi Village in Jiexiu County of Shanxi Province

Fig. 8.20 North Fort Gate of Zhangbi Village in Jiexiu County of Shanxi Province

Qiaojiabu Village in Qi County, Wang Family Courtyard in Jingsheng Town in Lingshi County, Chang Family Courtyard in Chewang Village in Yuci District, and the Sanduo Hall in Beiguang Village in Taigu County, and the Fenghuangbu Courtyard Complex in Duan Village in Pingyao County. Qiaojiabu Village is located in the northeast of Qi County, about 54 km south of Taiyuan City and only two kilometers north of Dongguan Town. Qiao Family Courtyard is called “Zaizhong Hall” and is a national key cultural relic protection unit. The courtyard originally belongs to Qiao Zhiyong, the leading figure of the Shanxi merchants. It was built in Qianlong Reign of Qing Dynasty. The layout of the courtyard auspiciously resembles the character 囍 for happiness, and the manor complex comprises six courtyards with more than 300 houses. The courtyard is rigorous in layout and exquisite in construction and is honored as “a bright pearl in the history of northern residential architecture.” (Fig. 8.28).

Wang Family Courtyard is located in Jingsheng Village in Lingshi County. The architecture complex was built from the early Qing Dynasty and formed the spatial pattern of “nine gullies, eight fortresses and eighteen lanes” till Jiaqing Reign of Qing Dynasty. Among them, Gaojiaya Fort and Hongmen Fort are comparatively completely preserved. The main buildings face south and back on north, and are composed of two or even three vertical units with associated courtyards. The main rooms and the wing rooms are all in the form of ground cave dwelling made of bricks. The main rooms are in the form of “three bright and five dark” (three rooms in surface but five rooms in fact), with three-bay wing rooms on both sides; the transitional hall is generally of double-slope pillar and beam structure. As a common form of monomer construction in Central Shanxi, the ground cave dwelling is widely distributed in Jiexiu County, Pingyao County, Lingshi County, and other places. The installation methods of the door and windows on the façade of the cave dwelling are also different in terms of area, some install wood on the whole façade of the cave dwelling and make

218

8 Deep Merchant Courtyards, Traditional Villages …

Fig. 8.21 Distribution of the Fortresses in Liang Village in Pingyao County of Shanxi Province

doors and windows in it, and some others embedded the door and windows in brick walls (Figs. 8.29, 8.30 and 8.31). Chang Family Courtyard situates in Chewang village in Yuci District and was originally the residence of the Chang family clan. The construction of the manor started at the end of Ming Dynasty and was expanded in the middle of Qianlong Reign in Qing Dynasty. There are more than 50 single buildings in the courtyard and private gardens on its northwest. The manor is divided into the northern part and the southern part. The former is the main body of the buildings and there are east–west running paved paths between the north and south courtyard complex. In the east end of the paved path stands the fort gate, which is the main entrance of the courtyard complex. The single courtyards are arranged in a north–south direction, most of which are composed of two vertical units and associated courtyards, and the layout of the wing room is composed of three bays or five bays (Fig. 8.32).

“Sanduo Hall”, also known as Cao Family Courtyard, locates in the west of Taigu County and belongs to the Fifth East Clan of Cao family, a famous Shanxi merchant. The courtyard faces south, and backs on north and can be divided into three parts in width: the west courtyard, the middle courtyard, and the east courtyard. Except for the middle courtyard, there is a lateral courtyard attached to the west and the east courtyard respectively, which is generally in the form of “five horizontal courtyards and three vertical ones”. A paved path is built between the first and the second horizontal unit of the three-vertical courtyards, connecting the east and west entrances. The three-floor main building is located on the north side of the manor with a fengshui pavilion built on the top floor, which becomes the commanding height of the courtyard complex (Figs. 8.33, 8.34, 8.35, 8.36 and 8.37). Located in Pingyao County, Duan Village has a history of more than a thousand years, including Fenghuang Fort,

Deep Residential Courtyards

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Xingsheng Fort, Taihe Fort, Yongqing Fort, Hexun Fort, and Xianning Fort, which constitute the spatial pattern of “six forts and one street”. There are rammed earth walls and gates in each fort. Among them, Fenghuang Fort was the earliest, whose boundary was tortuous due to the topography. Most of the residential buildings in the fort are the courtyards with two or three vertical units, and privacy gains from the outside to the inside. The single buildings are mostly the ground cave dwellings. Most of the main rooms are five-bay structures and the wing rooms on both sides are mostly composed of three bays. There is a fengshui pavilion in the middle of the roof on the main building in some courtyards, which echoes the gate house near the instrument door (Fig. 8.38).

Splendid Installation and Decoration

Fig. 8.22 Gate of Changtaibu in Liang Village in Pingyao County of Shanxi Province

Most original inhabitants of the existing meticulously crafted manors in the traditional villages of Central Shanxi were well-to-do merchants and officials. The installation and decoration of these manors are splendid and elegant. The existing buildings are decorated with exquisite and meticulous works of wood carvings, brick carvings, and stone carvings. The decorative details are merged with the building components, for example, there are screen walls in and out, and instrument door enclosing the courtyard; there are decorations on the roof, such as spinal animals, eaves tiles, and triangle tile edges; on the framework, there are hanging fascia, sparrow brace and bucket arch; there are porch heads on the wall, as well as drum stones, slabs, animal head appliques; and there are windows, tablets, and couplets all engraved with auspicious patterns and decorations. The installation and decoration are not only diversified in technique with exquisite craftsmanship, but also covered a wide range of subjects and with rich meanings, including plant patterns, utensil patterns, animal forms, text symbols, and so on, which not only convey the good wishes of the owners, but also explain the sense of daily life and educate the offspring (Figs. 8.39, 8.40, 8.41, 8.42, 8.43, 8.44, 8.45, 8.46, 8.47, 8.48, 8.49, 8.50, 8.51, 8.52, 8.53, 8.54, 8.55, 8.56, 8.57 and 8.58).

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Fig. 8.23 Layout of the Streets and Lanes in Zhangbi Village in Jiexiu City of Shanxi Province

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Fig. 8.24 Longji Street in Zhangbi Village in Jiexiu City of Shanxi Province Fig. 8.25 Spatial relationship between the West Fort Gate, the Main Street and the Mountains in Lengquan Village in Lingshi County of Shanxi Province

222

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Fig. 8.26 Bird’s-eye View of the Fortresses in Lengquan Village in Lingshi County of Shanxi Province

Fig. 8.27 Layout of Gaojiaya of Wang Family Courtyard in Jingsheng Village in Lingshi County of Shanxi Province (Adopted from Shanxi Folk Dwellings, p. 212)

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Fig. 8.28 Qiao Family Courtyard in Qiaojiabu Village in Qi County of Shanxi Province

Fig. 8.29 Shude Courtyard of Hongmen Fortress in Jingsheng Village in Lingshi County of Shanxi Province

Fig. 8.30 Ground Cave Folk Dwelling in Pengpotou Village in Pingyao County of Shanxi Province

224 Fig. 8.31 Ground Cave Folk Dwelling in Leijiazhuang Village in Lingshi County of Shanxi Province

Fig. 8.32 Paved Path and Fort Gate of Chang Family Manor in Chewang Village in Yuci District of Shanxi Province

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Splendid Installation and Decoration Fig. 8.33 Sanduo Hall in Beiguang Village in Taigu County of Shanxi Province

Fig. 8.34 East Courtyard of Sanduo Hall in Beiguang Village in Taigu County of Shanxi Province

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Fig. 8.35 Northern Façade of the Paved Path of Sanduo Hall in Beiguang Village in Taigu County of Shanxi Province (Adopted from Atlas of Surveying and Mapping of Historical Architecture in Ancient Shanxi Villages, p. 21)

Fig. 8.36 Façade of the Main Building of the East Courtyard of Sanduo Hall

Splendid Installation and Decoration Fig. 8.37 Sectional View of the Main Building of the East Courtyard of Sanduo Hall (Adopted from Atlas of Surveying and Mapping of Historical Architecture in Ancient Shanxi Villages, p. 14)

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Fig. 8.38 Façade of the Main Room of Three Vertical Units of Zuo Family Courtyard in Fenghuang Fort in Duan Village in Pingyao County of Shanxi Province (Adopted from Atlas of Surveying and Mapping of Historical Architecture in Ancient Shanxi Villages, p. 76) Fig. 8.39 Window Wood Carving in Yongcheng Village in Pingyao County of Shanxi Province

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Fig. 8.40 Window Wood Carving in Liang Village in Pingyao County of Shanxi Province

Fig. 8.41 Porch Head of Wugui Hall in Beiguang Village in Taigu County of Shanxi Province

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Fig. 8.42 Porch Head of the Folk Dwelling in Zhangbi Village in Jiexiu City of Shanxi Province

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Fig. 8.43 Porch Head of Zaizhong Hall in Qiaojiabu Village in Qi County of Shanxi Province

Splendid Installation and Decoration

Fig. 8.44 Porch Head of Zaizhong Hall in Qiaojiabu Village in Qi County of Shanxi Province

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Fig. 8.45 Brick Caving Screen Wall of Wang Family Courtyard in Jingsheng Village in Lingshi County of Shanxi Province

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Fig. 8.46 Brick Caving Screen Wall of Zaizhong Hall in Qiaojiabu Village in Qi County of Shanxi Province

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Fig. 8.47 Screen Wall and Brick Caving Niche of Chang Family Manor in Chewang Village in Yuci District of Shanxi Province

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Fig. 8.49 Screen Wall in Leijiazhuang Village in Lingshi County of Shanxi Province. It is carved with deer and pine standing for longevity.

Fig. 8.48 Brick Caving Niche in Liangpodi Village in Pingyao County of Shanxi Province

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Fig. 8.52 Piercing Engraving Screen Window of Chang Family Manor in Chewang Village in Yuci District of Shanxi Province

Fig. 8.50 Screen Wall in Yangyi Village in Taigu County of Shanxi Province. The screen wall is carved with Zhu's family precepts, which are the rules of regulating the family written by the philosopher Zhu Bolu in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. The total text is of 522 words, which elaborates on the traditional ethical concepts of respecting the elders and teachers and leading a frugal life.

Fig. 8.53 Brick Carving on the Gatehouse in Xiamen Village in Lingshi County of Shanxi Province

Fig. 8.51 Piercing Engraving Screen Window of Chang Family Manor in Chewang Village in Yuci District of Shanxi Province

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Fig. 8.54 Horizontal Tablet on Folk Dwelling in Lengquan Village in Lingshi County of Shanxi Province. The four characters “树德务滋” on the tablet are quoted from Book of History—the Oath (2nd volume), meaning the implementation of grace should cover all the people in the world.

Fig. 8.57 Stone Carving Gate Pile at the Entrance of the Folk Dwelling in Xiyuanci Village in Pingyao County of Shanxi Province Fig. 8.55 Horizontal Tablets of Chang Family Manor in Chewang Village in Yuci District of Shanxi Province

Fig. 8.56 Brick Carving on the Ridge of the Folk Dwelling in Gulian Village in Qi County of Shanxi Province

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Fig. 8.58 Stone Carving in Gulian Village in Qi County of Shanxi Province. According to the traditional taboo custom, this kind of stone tablet must be erected at the outer wall or on the side of the road to ward off evil spirits when a house is built facing the intersection of the roads.

8 Deep Merchant Courtyards, Traditional Villages …

9

Dwellings for All Walks of Life, Villages on Middle Reaches of Qin River in Shanxi and Henan Province

The middle reaches of Qin River were mainly under the jurisdiction of Zezhou Prefecture in Ming and Qing dynasties, which is equivalent to Jincheng City in Shanxi Province, governing over five cities and counties such as Zezhou, Qinshui, Gaoping, Yangcheng, and Lingchuan. Surrounded by Taiyue Mountain, Zhongtiao Mountain, and Taihang Mountain, the high terrain has made the middle reaches of Qin River a relatively closed geographical unit and a relatively unique regional culture has been born in the long-term historical development. At the same time, due to its unique geographical location, this region has historically continued to play an important role in linking the political, economic, and cultural centers, like Shaanxi Province, the Central Plains, and North China.1 The full engagement and close interaction with the outside world have created conditions for the continuous development of the villages in the region. During Ming and Qing dynasties, the region soared to a historical peak of village development under the impetus of prosperous industrial and commercial development and advanced imperial examinations. There was an upsurge in the construction of the ornament and magnificent architectures in numerous villages, and a batch of them had developed into towns with thriving business and prosperous markets. By the end of 2014, six of the remaining ancient villages in the region have been declared as national key cultural relic protection units, 18 places have been declared as famous historical and cultural towns and famous villages in China, and 31 places listed as traditional Chinese villages (Figs. 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.4, 9.5 and 9.6).

Wang Ji of Jin Dynasty once said in the poem “Qinshuishan Temple”, The two gorges looked high in the half-round moon; The passengers got up at night to set off in neighs. They had to be on their way on Chang’an Road; Envious of the monks in the temple having a good sleep. Cf. Kong Qingxiang, Wang Xiaosheng ed. Moon-watching Poems of All Generations. Taiyuan: Shanxi People's Publishing House, 2009:154.

1

Cradle of Civilization The middle reaches of Qin River are one of the birthplaces of Chinese civilization, which has been nourished by Qin River and its many tributaries. The discovery of several ancient human ruins, such as Xiachuan Site2 and Tashuihe Site,3 which are more than 20,000 years old, proves the human activities there as early as the Paleolithic Age. Emperor Shang Tang’s “Dance in Mulberry Woods” also took place in Zhecheng Mountain in Yangcheng County. Till Tang Dynasty, “Guo She” near Haihui Temple in Yangcheng County today has appeared in literature; in Song, Jin and Yuan periods, the villages further developed, and the remains of many temple halls and many other early wooden buildings illustrate the development of ancient villages during this period indirectly, such as Emperor Tang’s Temple Hall in Xiajiao Village, Yangcheng Country, Dongyue Temple Hall in Zhou Village, Zezhou Country (Fig. 9.7), Yuxu Temple Hall in Lianghu Village of Gaoping City (Fig. 9.8), Dance Building of Yuan Dynasty in Cuifujun Temple in Guobi Village of Qinshui Country, and the folk dwellings of Yuan Dynasty in Shangzhuang Village of Yangcheng County. Ming and Qing dynasties were the historical peak of the development of the ancient villages in this region. Less affected by the wars at the end of Yuan Dynasty, the scale of 2

Located in the three counties of Yuanqu, Qinshui, and Yangcheng in the eastern part of Zhongtiao Mountain, it is within a range of 20– 30 km. From 1974 to 1978, the Shanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Working Committee and the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences conducted excavations and found that Xiachuan Site belonged to a stone culture with fine stone as the main feature in the late stage of the late Paleolithic Period. Among them, Xiachuan Site of Qinshui County is well protected and the remains are the most abundant. Therefore, it is named “Xiachuan Culture” in archaeology. 3 Located in Lingchuan County, it is a Paleolithic ancient human site and belongs to the 6th batch of National Key Cultural Relic Protection Unit.

© China Architecture & Building Press and Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 L. Xue et al., Traditional Chinese Villages, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6154-6_9

237

238 Fig. 9.1 Map of the distribution of typical Ancient Villages on the Middle Reaches of Qin River

Fig. 9.2 Bird’s-eye View of Yedi Village in Nancun Town in Zezhou County of Shanxi Province

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Cradle of Civilization Fig. 9.3 Bird’s-eye View of Shimo Village in Shimo County of Gaoping City of Shanxi Province

Fig. 9.4 Bird’s-eye View of Zheshui Village in Gujiao Town of Lingchuan County of Shanxi Province

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240

Fig. 9.5 Bird’s-eye View of Guobei Village in Qinshui County of Shanxi Province

Fig. 9.6 Bird’s eye view of Shangzhuang Village in Yangcheng County of Shanxi Province

the villages in this area had gradually increased in size and the pattern of streets and lanes gradually come into being, motivated by the prosperous transportation, thriving handicrafts and commerce and advanced imperial examinations. Commercial streets (Fig. 9.9) appeared in villages along the

ancient trade routes. The emergence of commercial buildings, such as the hand-workshops, stores (Figs. 9.10 and 9.11) and horse cart shops, and so on, further enriched the spatial pattern of the villages. Due to the temporarily intrusion brought about by the peasant revolts in late Ming

Cradle of Civilization

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Fig. 9.7 Main Hall of Dongyue Temple in Zhou Village in Zezhou County of Shanxi Province

Fig. 9.8 Main Hall of Yuxu Temple in Lianghu Village in Gaoping City of Shanxi Province

Dynasty, the harassed villages fought to defend and managed to build some defensive forts, fortresses, watchtowers, and pavilions. Moreover, this defensive ideology affected the construction of the village in this region for a long time and a batch of villages with defensive functions were constructed. Most of these are well-preserved and have become an important part of the village heritage (Figs. 9.12 and 9.13).

Merchants and Officials In the middle reaches of Qin River, there are numerous mountains and few land resources for agricultural production. On the other hand, the region produces abundant iron, sulfur, coal, and other mineral resources. These conditions have led to the early development of iron-metallurgy and

242 Fig. 9.9 Bird’s-eye View of West Dayang Commercial Street in Dayang Town in Zezhou County of Shanxi Province

Fig. 9.10 Plan of Juntai Company in West Dayang Village in Dayang Town, Zezhou County of Shanxi Province

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Merchants and Officials

243

Fig. 9.11 Axonometric drawing of Juntai Company

Fig. 9.12 Bird’s-eye View of Xiangyu Village in Qinshui County of Shanxi Province

ironware making and other handicraft industry and peddler industry in the region. By Ming and Qing dynasties, the business in Qin River region had been well developed, and Zezhou merchants had become an important force of Shanxi

merchants. Businessmen who accumulate huge amount of capital, built manors and courtyards in their hometowns. They also had a passion for public service for the villages and promoting the construction of the village by paving

244

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Fig. 9.13 Bird’s-eye View of Guoyu Village in Beiliu Town, Yangcheng County of Shanxi Province. Guoyu Village was deeply harassed by the peasant revolts in late Ming Dynasty. Zhang Pengyun of that time recorded, “At about six o’clock in the morning of July 16th in the fifth year of Chongzhen in Qing Dynasty (1632), tens of thousands of roving bandits suddenly attacked the village. The villagers risked their lives resisting, but they were outnumbered and defeated. They suffered heavy casualties. The miserable damage and plunder made the day faint and mountains and rivers change. Few people remained in the village, most injured, or disabled, and few rushed out of

the town and traveled far. Oh God! After careful consideration, the villagers decided to construct a fort wall for defense. Everything came from the village. The rich donated their fortune and the poor contributed their labor. The old cypresses beside the temple or on the tombs were cut down for supplement. The project was under the charge of Wang Huanyu and everyone participated. The work began on lunar January 17th in the eighth year of Chongzhen and ended on November 15.4 After the disaster, the villagers quickly united and completed the massive construction project of building the fort wall in less than a year.

roads and building temples. One outstanding example was Wang Chongxin of Guoyu Village, Beiliu Town, Yangcheng County. He generously contributed tens of thousands liang (weight unit, equals to 50 grams) of silver to the restoration of public buildings such as the Tangdi Temple, Xishan Temple and Baiyun Temple in the village as well as the construction of the Fort Wall.5 Because of the low social status of merchants in traditional society, those successful ones hoped that their children could rank ahead in the imperial examinations to improve their familial status. In fact, during Ming and Qing dynasties, the results of the imperial examinations in this area were indeed noticeable. For example, the Zhang family clan in Douzhuang Village in Qinshui County, had become a literary family since Zhang Wudian obtained Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) in the 20th year of Wanli Reign in Ming Dynasty (1592), and there were six Jinshi in the

next ten generations, including Zhang Quan. Although Xiangyu Village in Qinshui County was occupied by only dozens of households, there had been seven Jinshi successively; the Wang family clan of Shangzhuang Village in Yangcheng County had five Jinshi; and Guoyu Village in Yangcheng County had had 15 Jinshi one after another. The number of Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations at the provincial level) and Xiucai (one who passed the imperial examination at the county level) was even greater. The ballad spread abroad among people sings that “Guoyu has only three villages, but produces 2500 scholars.” The song might be somewhat exaggerating but it vividly stated the flourishing of the imperial examination in the middle reaches of Qin River in Ming and Qing dynasties. The officials who had succeeded in the imperial examinations were generally active in building grandiose manors in their hometowns in order to glorify and illuminate their ancestors. They were also active in participating in or presiding over the construction of public buildings such as temples. During the period of social unrest, they became the nuclear force to advocate building fortresses to protect the village, which has objectively promoted the development of ancient villages in this region. Among the eminent officials, Wang Guoguang (Figs. 9.14 and 9.15) in Ming Dynasty and Chen Tingjing (Figs. 9.16 and 9.17) in Qing Dynasty were the leading figures.

4

Zhang Pengyun, Tablet Notes on Constructing the Fort Wall in Guogu, 11th Year of Chongzhen in Ming Dynasty (1638), from Wang Xiaosheng, Lu Jiajian, ed. Tablet Inscription Collection of Ancient Guoyu Village, Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company, 2005:21. 5 Wang Chongxin, Autobiography of Bishan Owner Wang Chongxin, 13th year of Shunzhi in Qing Dynasty (1656), from Wang Xiaosheng, Lu Jiaxuan, Tablet Inscription Collection of Ancient Guoyu Village, Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company, 2005:156.

Nestled in Mountains and Embraced by Rivers

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Nestled in Mountains and Embraced by Rivers Located on top of Taihang Mountain, Zezhou is an area with many mountains and little plain land. The valuable cultivated land is concentrated in the valleys formed by Qin River and its many tributaries and in the gentle slope along the river. Therefore, in order to be close to the cultivated land and water sources necessary for survival, the ancient villages in this area generally chose to nestle in mountains, embraced by rivers and adjacent to the fields. (Fig. 9.18) At the same time, fengshui has also been taken into consideration in terms of spacial environment. For example, Zhou Village in Zezhou County faces Xiaonanling Mountain in the south, and lies on Huangshaling Mountain, with other mountains and hills on its left and right, forming a relatively enclosed space. There is a river running northeast to southwest, running around more than half of the village, which is just located on the highland of the arch-shaped bank on the north of the river. The site selection of the village brightly embodied the essence of traditional Chinese fengshui theory. Besides adjacent to the arable land and water source, good fengshui bestows the village a beautiful environment and a habitable microclimate (Figs. 9.19 and 9.20). In addition, commercial traffic has also laid a significant impact on the location of ancient villages. For example, Xidayang Village in Dayang Town, Zezhou County, has gradually developed along the ancient road leading to Dongdayang Village; North Guobi Village in Qinshui County has been developed along the ancient road along Qin River. Fig. 9.14 Portrayal of Wang Guoguang

Fig. 9.15 Wang Guoguang’s residence “Zhongzhai Mansion”. Wang Guoguang was a capable assistant to Zhang Juzheng in the reform in Wanli Reign in Ming Dynasty. Although in high official position, he lived a frugal life and once donated the money that was bequeathed by

the emperor for the construction of his own manor to Yangcheng County to build the fortress wall. His residence “Zhongzhai Mansion” is unpretentious and less-decorated, but it looks strict in overall layout and extraordinary in appearance.

246 Fig. 9.16 Portrayal of Chen Jingting

Layout of Streets and Lanes The ancient villages in the middle reaches of Qin River are generally in cluster distribution. However, due to differences in natural conditions, scale, and social structure, the villages have a variety of patterns and shapes. The mountainous villages far from traffic arteries are generally small in scale; the dwelling houses often have a decentralized distribution

Fig. 9.17 Chen Tingjing’s Residence “Daxueshi Mansion” and “Huangcheng”. Based on Chen Changyan’s creation of Heshan Tower and the fortress wall in Ming Dynasty, Chen Family reached another peak of development in Qing Dynasty due to Chen Jingting, who was in a high and influential position. A new fortress wall was added to the outside of Chen Jingting’s residence, “Daxueshi Mansion”, forming the

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and the streets and lanes are less developed because of the mountainous terrain. The scale of the villages in open areas is usually large and the streets and the lanes are highly developed. Pavilions are often built at the junctions of the main street and the secondary street. At night, the gates can be closed, and if necessary, there will be someone on duty to guard the gates. It should be noted that due to the numerous mountains and little land in the middle reaches of Qin River, the larger villages are generally located in river valleys and are closely related to the commercial roads along the river. Therefore, they are not only the central villages in certain areas, but also further develop into a commercial street or market street because of the services to the past merchants or the needs to meet the local community for the regular exchange of goods; thus they become a typical representative of the villages in the region. As the main streets of the village, these commercial streets or market streets are usually wide with shops densely arranged along both sides, so that the villages are in a pattern dominated by commercial streets. A typical example is Dayang Town in Zezhou County, in which East Dayang and West Dayang are connected in sequence by an ancient commercial road, forming the main street and the commercial street with lines of shops along it. The secondary streets are mostly perpendicular to the commercial street with a gate and a pavilion built at the junction. The whole pattern is clear and specific (Fig. 9.21) Another example is North Guobi Village in Jiafeng Town in Qinshui

two-layer wall pattern of Huangcheng Village. At the same time, in order to display the “Wuting Mountain Villa” tablet of Emperor Kangxi’s Imperial calligraphy, a gatehouse was built outside the fortress wall. At that point, the pattern of Huangcheng Village fully developed and matured.

Layout of Streets and Lanes Fig. 9.18 Landscape of Douzhuang Village in Jiafeng Town in Qinshui County of Shanxi Province. With Keshan Mountain on its west, Douzhuang Village is embraced by Qin River in the east and north and surrounded by a vast area of fertile land on Qin River valley. The river not only provides abundant water, but also fosters a relatively warm climate and beautiful scenery.

Fig. 9.19 Sketch of fengshui in Zhou Village in Zezhou County of Shanxi Province

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Fig. 9.20 Shicongtou Village in Zezhou County of Shanxi Province Backing on Dragon King Mountain. Shicongtou Village leans on Dragon King Mountain on the north, and faces Phoenix Mountain to the south, with Golden Fish Mountain on its east and Pig Head Mountain on the west. The long river flows from the southwest and runs toward the north of the village after running through over half of the village. The whole village is surrounded by mountains and water and there are ballads in the village, “In the east the golden fish jumps

out of the water, and in the west the golden pig arches over the wall. The Gold dragon lies north while the phoenix flies in the south. Both mountains embrace an auspicious environment in the village.” The locals believe that the location of the village belongs to something called “fengshui from four sides”, which is extremely lucky, with the white dragon pouring out water in the north, the phoenix flying high in the south, the horses running fast on the triangle horse farm in the west and mountains holding up the moon in the east.

Fig. 9.21 Business Street Oriented Pattern in Dayang Town in Zezhou County of Shanxi Province. The local ballad goes, two Dayang villages on the east and west, four fortresses on the north and south, 18 villages along the river, 72 lanes connecting to the ancient street five li (length unit, equals to 500 meters) long. The proverb vividly depicts the pattern

of the whole Dayang Town. The ancient street and the lots of lanes connecting to it constitutes the basic skeleton of the pattern of Dayang Town, and the rows upon rows of shops that line along the street are telling the prosperity of the place in the past.

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Fig. 9.22 Business Street Oriented Pattern in North Guobi Village in Qinshui County of Shanxi Province

County. As the main street, the commercial street passes through the eastern part of the village from south to north with the secondary streets arranged all in east-west direction and connected with the main streets in sequence, form a typical comb-style layout (Fig. 9.22).

Defensive Fortresses The traditional society itself was turbulent. Moreover, during Ming and Qing dynasties when commercial transportation highly developed, these villages were vulnerable to external threats. The closed streets and courtyards were sufficient to guard against ordinary bandits, but to cope with the organized intrusion of the peasant revolts in the late Ming Dynasty, people had to look for something else. In the seventh year of Tianqi Reign of Ming Dynasty (1627), the peasant revolts in Shaanxi ignited the turmoil of social unrest. In order to avoid intrusion or reduce losses, a considerable number of villages built defensive fortifications. For example, Douzhuang Village in Qinshui County had built up fortress in the third year of Tianqi (1623). When Zhang Wudian, the former Minister of the Nanjing Military Department, retired and returned to his hometown, and due to the experience of resisting the bandits in Shandong Province and other places, he decided to take precautions of building high walls and strong fortresses for safety. Till the third year of Chongzhen Reign in Ming Dynasty (1630), when the army of peasant revolts, led by Wang Jiayin, attacked the village to rob provisions for troops,6 the fortress did play an important role in blocking the rebel forces. Wang Jiayin “led more than 6,000 people to invade Douzhuang”, “surrounded the village and tried to break through”, but was resisted “by stones and arrows from inside the fortress”.

Wang was “heavily injured and retreated four days later” to attack other villages.7 After that, Xiangyu Village in Qinshui County, Runcheng Town, and Guoyu Village (Figs. 9.23 and 9.24) and Zhongdao Village (now Huangcheng Village) (Fig. 9.25) in Yangcheng County successively built solid and sound fort walls. Guoyu Village and Zhongdao Village also built watchtowers like Yu Tower and Heshan Tower to overlook, defend and await rescue. When the village was attacked by the peasant revolts, the fortresses did save the lives of the clan. For example, the Heshan Tower in Zhongdao Village had played a role before it was completed8. “The brickwork of Heshan Tower was only completed in July, and the diviner said that July the sixteenth was the auspicious day of wood framework installation. However, on the fifteenth, it was reported that the bandits were getting closer while the tower was only installed with portal without panels and sheds. People rushed to prepare for the stones and arrows, and to store a small amount of grain and coal in the tower while all the baggage had to be left behind. The tower gate was closed that night and there were more than 800 villagers hiding in it. The next morning at three o’clock, the wood framework was installed, then, at seven o’clock, the bandits really came from Dayao Valley. At first there were only a few, but suddenly there were bandits everywhere, about tens of thousands in Guoyu Town along. The bandits broke into the doors and robbed the households. Because they couldn’t capture the tower, they began to set fire to the village houses… They based in the village day and night to harass, and finally left in the afternoon of the 20th. When “winter months approached, the tower was completed gradually which was equipped with bows and arrows, guns,

Guangxu in Qing Dynasty. “Chronicle of Qinshui County”, Volume IX, “Warriors” list. 8 Chen Changyan, Notes of Douzhu House, 7th Year of Chongzhen in Ming Dynasty (1634), from Li Shoutian ed. Huangcheng Stone Inscriptions, 1998:59–60. 7

6

At the end of Ming dynasty, the peasant uprising army did not put forward a clear political slogan, and they plundered all around just for survival, and claimed it as “Daliang” (fight for grain).

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Fig. 9.23 Fort Walls of Guyu Village in Yangcheng City of Shanxi Province. The fort walls of Guoyu Village “with both the internal and external sides in bricks, are up to three zhang (length unit approximately equals to 3.33 m) and six chi (length unit approximately equals to 33.3 cm) high, and one zhang and six chi wide, and a total of 420 zhang in circumference. There are 450 battlements, three gates, 13 watchtowers, 18 shacks, and 556 kilns, which looks strong and

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magnificent.”10 The grand fort wall was not only of large-scale, but also completed in a short time in less than one year. It is worth noting that the main figures in the villages, such as Dou Village, Guoyu Village, and Xiangyu Village, who advocated or presided over the construction of the fortress, were all related to the military department. From this point of view, it is not difficult to understand why the fort wall of Guoyu Village was completed so quickly and so well.

blunderbuss, gunpowder and stones. In October, the bandits repeatedly intruded into the village for four times and burned down all the trees and wood. The villagers guard in the tower and killed many bandits by arrows and stones. More than ten thousand villagers survived the attacks.” “The bandits invaded the village five times successively and could not get what they want. At last, tens of thousands of villagers survived this turbulence.”9 In the intercession with the peasant rebel army, the locals gradually developed a set of defense methods to resist the intrusions, forming a defense system that combines fortification of forts, stockades, and houses as well as the escape passages from underground.

Temples in Villages The traditional society is highly dependent on natural conditions. When encountering natural disasters such as floods and droughts, or when it comes to sickness, plague and other

9

Chen Changyan, Notes of Douzhu House, 7th Year of Chongzhen in Ming dynasty (1634), from Li Shoutian ed. Huangcheng Stone Inscriptions, 1998: 59–60. 10 Zhang Pengyun, Tablet Notes on Constructing the Fort Wall in Guogu, 11th Year of Chongzhen in Ming Dynasty (1638), from Wang Xiaosheng, Lu Jiajian, ed. Tablet Inscription Collection of Ancient Guoyu Village, Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company, 2005:21.

Fig. 9.24 Yu Tower in Guoyu Village in Yangcheng City of Shanxi Province

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Fig. 9.25 Fort Walls and Heshan Tower in Huangcheng Village in Yangcheng County of Shanxi Province. In the social turmoil in late Ming Dynasty, the Chen Family of Huangcheng Village survived by taking advantage of Heshan Tower. Although a building can protect the safety of the family, its space is limited and it is impossible to take into account other property like the living materials and livestock, which are closely related to production and life. Villager Chen Changyan said

with deep sadness that “only a little food and some parcels can be hidden, as to the livestock such as cattle and horses, they had nowhere to hide and were captured or killed every time the village was invaded.” So “the villagers think about how to protect the village day and night. Since towers are effective, so do fortresses and fort walls.”.11 After many efforts and careful planning, the fort walls were finally built.

emergencies, the civilians are often helpless because of lack of11medicine and effective coping mechanisms. Therefore, in the field of ideological consciousness, there is a state of miscellaneous religions; in the construction of villages, there is a phenomenon in which there are villages, there are temples. And some villages even have over ten temples. In Qing Dynasty, Li Linwu of Qinshui County once described this phenomenon: “From the capital to the provinces, prefectures, counties, towns, cities, camps, fortresses, from all directions to even the deserted villages and lanes, wherever there are people, there are temples.”12 And there are temples in numerous names. The typical ones include Tangdi (Emperor Tang) Temple, Cuifujun Temple, Guandi Temple, Dongyue (Mount Tai) Temple, Longwang (Dragon King) Temple, Yuhuang Temple (Jade Emperor Pagoda), Wushen Temple, and Patriarch Temple and so on. In addition to the large number of temples, each ancient village has a temple called the “Big Temple” by the villagers. The so-called big temple is not a specific kind of

temple or a temple in large scale. It is a temple that has become a center of the village in various aspects such as faith practice and public life. Usually, it has a long history and often occupies a prominent position such as the village entrance. And the architectural form, color of the big temple is much more magnificent, which is obviously different from residential buildings. For example, Tangdi Temple in Guoyu Village was built in Zhizheng Reign of Yuan Dynasty (1341–1369).13 In Ming and Qing dynasties, every spring and autumn, all the villagers gathered in the temple to attend the traditional rituals to appeal and pray for the harvest of the year. After the ceremony, the opera performance was carried out in the front of the main hall to reward the gods. If there were folk regulations to be released, a stone tablet would be engraved and placed in the big temple, which also highlighted the central position of the big temple in the ancient village. For example, in the first year of Qianlong in Qing Dynasty (1736) in West Dayang Village of Zezhou County, in order to prevent “chiseling the kiln mouth” from damaging Xianglu Mountain, the source of good geographical position, which was mutually concerned by East Dayang

11

Chen Changyan, Notes of Heshan Tower, 7th Year of Chongzhen in Ming dynasty (1634), from Li Shoutian ed. Huangcheng Stone Inscriptions, 1998: 54–56. 12 Li Linwu, Tablet Notes of Rebuilding Xianshi Temple, 3th Year of Xianfeng in Qing Dynasty (1853), from Chronicle of Jinshi in Jincheng. Beijing: Haichao Publishing House. 1995: 825–826.

13

Chen Changyan, Notes of Rebuilding the Big Temple in Guogu Town, 9th Year of Shunzhi in Qing Dynasty (1652), from Wang Xiaosheng, Lu Jiajian ed. Tablet Inscription Collection of Ancient Guoyu Village, Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company, 2005: 67–68.

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Fig. 9.26 Tangdi Temple in the Middle of West Dayang Village in Zezhou County of Shanxi Province. In Song and Yuan dynasties, this Tangdi Temple was originally the northern boundary of West Dayang Village, and the north of the temple was the main road leading to East Dayang Village. Since Ming Dynasty, under the industrial and commercial development and due to the increased dependence on

transportation, the village had gradually expanded to the north, forming a village development pattern dominated by commercial streets. At the same time, because of the significant increasing of the population, new residential courtyards had been built and expanded based on the new pattern of streets and lanes, and Tangdi Temple had become one in the center of the village.

Village and West Dayang Village, the local villagers carried out a public discussion to forbid the opening of kilns and a stone tablet was erected in the middle of Tangdi Temple (Fig. 9.26). Similarly, Cuifujun Temple in Guobi Village of Qinshui County, White Dragon King Temple in Donggou Village in Big Donggou Town of Zezhou County, Guandi Temple in West Wenxing Village of Qinshui County, Dongyue Temple in Zhou Village of Zezhou County and other big temples are all the centers of spiritual and public life in the villages (Fig. 9.27).

big”—the main room, the wing rooms on the east and west side of the courtyard and the front room and the “eight small”—the ear rooms attached to the “four big”. Among them, the “four big” rooms are mainly for residence. And the “eight small” rooms bear the secondary functions such as storage and for passage. Because there are two ear rooms on both sides of the main room and the front room, there are two secondary ear rooms (linking room) on both sides of the east and west wing rooms connected the wing room and the ear room. Therefore, it is also called “four big four small four linking rooms” (Fig. 9.28). Enclosed by walls and smaller gates and without the front room, the ear rooms, and the linking rooms, the courtyard is low and open in the front and high and closed at the back, which resembles a dustpan, hence is called “dustpan style courtyard”. This kind of courtyard covers a small area and is better adapted to the mountain environment of the region. Moreover, it can not only be built as an independent courtyard but also be flexibly organized into a courtyard with several vertical units, becoming one of the typical types of the folk dwelling in this region (Fig. 9.29). By raising the ear rooms of the “four big eight small” courtyard or the “dustpan style courtyard”, the “chahua courtyard” (flower arranging courtyard) is formed, featured

Dwelling Houses As a joint result of the unique natural conditions, long-term farming life and specific edifying of family, social structure, and cultural education, Zezhou Region has gradually formed a specific way of living, which has condensed into a unique type of residential architecture, and the “four big eight small” construction pattern is of the most typical significance. The so called “four big eight small” construction pattern is a unit of regular quadrangle dwelling that is enclosed by twelve inter-connecting individual rooms, including “four

Dwelling Houses

Fig. 9.27 Guandi Temple at the Entrance of West Wenxing Village in Qinshui County of Shanxi Province. Guandi Temple is the main public building in West Wenxing Village, which is located at the end of the entrance to the village with a high pavilion on its east, maintaining a certain distance from the living space in the village and highlighting the

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sacred nature of the temple building. At the same time, there is a deep valley in front of the temple. The constant maintenance of the temple plays a role in preventing the topography of the village from undergoing major changes under the impact of mountain torrents and has a great effect on the protection of the village pattern.

Fig. 9.28 Cheng Manchang’s “Four Big Eight Small” Courtyard in West Huangshi Village in Zezhou County of Shanxi Province

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Fig. 9.29 Architectural complex of “Four Big Eight Small” Courtyard and “Dustpan Style Courtyard” in Shicongtou Village in Zezhou County of Shanxi Province. The “four big eight small” courtyard and the “dustpan style courtyard” are the basic units of residential buildings in the middle reaches of Qin River. They can be used as an independent courtyard or combined to form a courtyard complex. The individual

unit in the large-scale courtyard complex remains relatively independent and can be adapted to the demand of different terrain conditions and different scales. The villages consisting of basic units and compound courtyards are prominent in primary and secondary functions, clear in texture and pattern, and have a strong sense of order.

in high ear rooms and low main rooms. The towering ear rooms have the defense function of looking for enemies and providing shelter for the household. As the symbol of paying importance to cultural education, the high ear rooms stand for the family’s wish for winning a high position in the imperial examinations and accomplishing both success and fame (Figs. 9.30 and 9.31). Some government officials and giant merchants often construct large-scale manors to demonstrate their identity and status. These manors are not only large-scale, but also have strict layout and complete functions, with a high level of construction technology and rich and beautiful architectural decorations. In terms of architectural shape and form, there are large scale courtyards composed of multiple vertical units or multiple vertical units plus multiple lanes, as well as a “chessboard style courtyard” composed of the individual regular courtyards, such as the “four big eight small” courtyards and the “dustpan style courtyards”. The large scale courtyard usually sets a screen wall opposite to the entrance, and the front and rear courtyard are partitioned and connected by screen wall, hall, and instrument door or lattice wall. For the multiple-unit and multi-lane courtyards, all the courtyards and the lanes are connected by the archery roads, at the end of which stand the lane gate and the fort gate or a wall is built to form a defense system together with the fort gate. In terms of functional configuration, in addition to the main courtyards located inside the architectural

complex for the owners to live in, the outside will generally be equipped with service rooms such as studies, stables, kitchens, mills, and servants’ houses and defense facilities such as the gates (Fig. 9.32). No matter what scale or shape the courtyard is, except for the auxiliary rooms, all the main components of the residential courtyard are the multistory buildings, which constitute the main form of residence in the middle reaches of Qin River.

Decorations of Manors The profound cultural accumulation and the growing wealth owing to the development of industry and commerce have significantly enhanced people’s artistic level and appreciation of the region, which is clearly expressed in terms of the architectural decorative art: the techniques of wood carving, stone carving, and brick carving are developed, and the ironwork is shining. Even the most common gray tiles are endowed with the vitality of art and form the chic decorative tile. These time-honored, life-like, and artistic carving decorations in the ancient villages not only condense the hard work and artistic care of the ancient craftsmen, but also endow the ancient villages with a long-lasting vitality, making these villages able to traverse hundreds of years through history while still having the spiritual power to move people.

Decorations of Manors

Fig. 9.30 Flower arranging Courtyard of Wang Family Courtyard in Xiangyu Village in Qinshui County of Shanxi Province

Fig. 9.31 Vertical sectional view of the architectural complex of Wang Family Courtyard in Xiangyu Village in Qinshui County of Shanxi Province. In addition to fully adapting to the characteristics of the terrain, Wang Family Courtyard has created a rich and varied

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Wood carvings, as the most widely used and most diverse form of decoration, are applied to the crescent beams, bracket arches, handrails, sparrow braces, vertical columns, partition boards, and doors and windows. Depending on the size, shape and structure of the applied components, the wood carvings can be base-relief, high relief, and even hollow into openwork relief. The subjects and the contents of the wood carvings include flowers, artifacts forms, divine birds and animals, the Chinese character 福 (blessing) and 寿 (longevity) and swastikas, which are mainly used to express the auspicious, prosperous, and harmonious scene and expect the vision of a prosperous and promising family. (Figs. 9.33, 9.34 and 9.35) Stone carvings are mostly on window sills, threshold stone, door and window lintels, pedestals, and drum-shaped bearing stones. In general, the stone carvings on these parts are so close to the observers that they are not only visible but tangible as well. Therefore, high relief is the dominant carving technique, and there is a strong three-dimensional sense of the flowers and the divine birds and animals that are carved on the stones. The vivid scenes are the main engraving contents. The themes such as “magpies singing on plums” and “lion playing with silk ball” appear frequently. The carvings are also generally fine, and the animal images have movements and expressions, and the petals and the bud of the engraved flowers are distinct, creating a lively and artistic atmosphere (Figs. 9.36, 9.37, 9.38 and 9.39). Brick carvings are commonly used on screen walls, bricked gates of the single building components as well as in some parts of wood constructions such as the porch head and purlin board and with the screen walls being the most

courtyard space with its systematic organization, high and low combination of individual units, and strong contrast between the real and virtual, attaining a high achievement in architectural art.

256 Fig. 9.32 Recovery plan of Cheng Brothers’ Family Manor in West Huangshi Village in Zezhou County of Shanxi Province. The Cheng brothers were the wealthy merchants in West Huangshi Village. According to legend, the elder brother was doing business outside the hometown, and he handed over the house construction issue to the younger brother. The disingenuous younger brother built himself an ostentatious and magnificent manor, while a frugal and plain manor for his elder brother. However, the elder brother didn’t make it difficult for the younger one, his descendants inherited his wealth and the business was well-run, forming a good family tradition that is still prosperous even today. On the contrary, the profligate descendants of the younger brother led to the bankruptcy and decline of his family.

Fig. 9.33 Wood carving of Yongxian Manor in West Wenxing Village in Qinshui County of Shanxi Province

9 Dwellings for All Walks of Life, Villages …

Decorations of Manors

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Fig. 9.34 Wood carving tablet on the Gate of “Xingyao Tianchong” Courtyard in West Wenxing Village in Qinshui County of Shanxi Province

Fig. 9.35 Wood carving of Phoenix and Peony in West Huangshi Village in Zezhou County of Shanxi Province

concentrated part. The screen wall core is the key part of the brick carving, in which the sculptures are the most gorgeous, and some also engrave large-format macroscopic scenes (Fig. 9.40). The dragon, kylin, phoenix, peony, pine, crane, deer, and other auspicious subjects are the most frequent themes. In addition, the screen wall is often decorated with

wood-like brick carvings; not only the structure components such as bracket arches, beams, and vertical columns are carved out with bricks, but some wood carvings are also the mimic of brick carvings (Fig. 9.41). Because people in the middle reaches of Qin River have been good at metallurgy since ancient times, ironwork has

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Fig. 9.36 Stone carving on the window sill of the Qin and Jiao Family Manor in Dazhou Village in Gaoping City of Shanxi Province

Fig. 9.37 Stone carving on the threshold stone of Juntai Manor in West Dayang Village in Zezhou County of Shanxi Province

Fig. 9.38 Stone carving on the threshold stone of Huo Family Manor in Dayang Town in Zezhou County of Shanxi Province

Decorations of Manors

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Fig. 9.39 Stone carving on the pedestal of Huangcheng Village in Yangcheng County of Shanxi Province

Fig. 9.40 Brick carving on the screen wall of Shilang (assistant minister) Mansion in Lianghu Village in Gaoping City of Shanxi Province

Fig. 9.41 Detail of brick carving on the screen wall of Zhao Zhifu (magistrate of a prefecture) Manor in West Dayang Village in Dayang Town in Zezhou County of Shanxi Province

9 Dwellings for All Walks of Life, Villages …

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Fig. 9.42 Ironwork of Lianghu Village in Gaoping City of Shanxi Province

Fig. 9.43 Ironwork of Dazhou Village in Gaoping City of Shanxi Province

also developed into an important category of architectural decoration, often used on the main gates of the residential buildings. Through a long period of artistic baptizing, ironwork has fully exerted its own characteristics in the expression of flat patterns, with rich expression forms. The

round and square shapes and even the animal images are the common patterns, and the patterns standing for blessing, longevity, wealthy are also widely applied, generating a unique form of decorative art (Figs. 9.42 and 9.43).

Decorations of Manors

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In some villages, tiles are also used creatively as decorations. For example, on the outer wall of Wang Family’s ancestral hall in North Guobi Village, Qinshui County, the Chinese character 忠 (loyalty) and 孝 (filial piety) were arranged with tiles, which are in line with the theme of the ancestral hall. On the wall of Yixi Garden in Zhou Village in Zezhou County, the pattern of pomegranate was cut out in the wall, and the tiles were regularly laid in as the seeds of the pomegranate. The overall image is vivid and unique (Fig. 9.44). The auspicious signs of the architectural decorations have in general created a happy scene of prosperity, harmony, and happiness for the ancient villages, fully expressing people’s satisfaction with the village life. More importantly, the pursuit of harmony, wealth, nobility and family thriving have been repeatedly expressed and stated in various artistic images, and people living in the artistic atmosphere have naturally completed the inheritance of culture.

Fig. 9.44 Pomegranate pattern made of tiles on the Wall of Yixi Garden in Zhou Village in Zezhou County of Shanxi Province. Even the most common materials can be transformed into a pleasing artistic image through artistic means. This tile decoration in Yixi Garden in Zhou Village uses the hollowed-out method and highlights the overall image of the pomegranate by contrasting with the large solid walls around it. And the regular arrangement of the tiles presents the full-grain form of the pomegranate, which successfully expressed the desire of the prosperity of offspring through the artistic image.

Hakka Round-Dragon Houses Among Green Mountains and Waters, Traditional Meizhou Villages in Guangdong Province

By the end of 2015, 39 villages in Meizhou City had been declared as traditional Chinese villages. Most of these villages are gregarious with the strong patriarchal clan idea. The Hakkas who had migrated from the Central Plains must have overcome many hardships during their migration. At that time, it is natural to seek help from the same kinsmen. The unity of the clan is also very important. The form of Hakka dwellings in Meizhou is very rich, with the common ones including round-dragon house, lever-shape house, horizontal hall house, and enclosed houses (square or round buildings). Among them, round-dragon house has the most distinctive architecture, along with the earth building in southeast Fujian Province and the encircling building in Ganzhou, becoming one of the three most typical forms of residential houses of Hakkas.

Hakka in Meizhou Hakka is a unique branch of Han Nationality, mainly distributed in the border area of Guangdong, Fujian, and Jiangxi Province, which is called “the home of Hakka”. The origin of Hakka is still a controversial topic, among which the “Migration Theory”, the “Aborigine Theory”, and the “Fusion Theory” are most popular. The so-called “Migration Theory” means that the Hakka are immigrants who are originally of Han Nationality that came from the northern Central Plains; while the “Aborigine Theory” believes that the Hakka are native to Meizhou; the “Fusion Theory” holds that the Hakka are of a fusion of southern migration of Han Nationality with the indigenous She and Yao Ethnic Groups. At present, the “Fusion Theory” has been recognized by the academic circles, which believes that Han People who moved south to live together with the local indigenous She and Yao People and interacted, infiltrated, and integrated with each other. Therefore, these newly moved in Han People are regarded as “guests” and are called “Hakka” by the aborigines.

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Meizhou in eastern Guangdong Province is one of the main settlements of the Hakka People and enjoys a reputation of “the city of Hakka”.1 During Ming and Qing dynasties, the development of Meizhou was highlighted in two aspects: the thriving culture and the prosperous commerce. People in Meizhou have always been advocating culture and emphasizing education. As early as in Song Dynasty, the culture and education there began to thrive and gradually formed a culture of reading. The Famous Sages of Region: Meizhou compiled by Wang Xiangzhi in Southern Song Dynasty reads, “People in Meizhou do not engage in farming, they make a living by reading”. It can be seen that many people rely on reading as their profession. In Ming and Qing dynasties, especially the latter, cultural education flourished and reading and studying became a vogue. In 10th Year of Yongzheng Reign in Qing Dynasty (1732), Emida, the governor of Guangdong Province, stated in his Zoushu (report to the emperor), “The entire Chengxiang County has benefited from the indoctrination of the court and the learning atmosphere is particularly prevalent. Every year when the exams are held, students actively participate in and rank the highest in the region.” Even in the relatively remote Dapu County, the private schools scattered everywhere and the education was well-developed. It is recorded in the Chronicle of Dapu County—Customs of the 9th year of

1

Meizhou was once known as Jingzhou, but in the 4th year of Kaibao Reign in Song Dynasty (971), in order to avoid the name of Song Taizu’s grandfather Zhao Jing, the name was changed from “Jingzhou” to “Meizhou”, which was the origin of the name. In the 2nd year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty (1369), the name of Meizhou was abolished and changed into Chengxiang County. In the 11th year of Yongzheng in Qing Dynasty (1733), Chengxiang County was promoted to “Jiaying Prefecture”. And in the 3rd Year of Xuantong in Qing Dynasty (1911), Jiaying Prefecture was renamed back to Meizhou.

© China Architecture & Building Press and Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 L. Xue et al., Traditional Chinese Villages, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6154-6_10

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Qianlong Reign in Qing Dynasty that there is a private school even in the small village with only three households, which shows the high popularity of education. In the 22nd year of Qianlong, Wu Hong, the champion of the imperial examination, who was assigned as the educational inspector of Guangdong Province also said, “Jiaying Prefecture is the most developed place in culture and education in Lingnan Area”.2 The Chronicle of Jiaying Prefecture—Customs of Qianlong Reign recorded at the time, “Students like reading and giving lectures and they will never give up learning even though they are living in poverty.” In Ming and Qing dynasties, Meizhou was relatively stable, the economy developed gradually, and the population grew rapidly. The Chronicle of Jiaying Prefecture of the Qianlong Reign recorded that “All the land has been developed, and all the fog has disappeared. People from north of the ridge regarded the land as paradise.” It can be seen that the living environment in Meizhou at that time was greatly improved, and it was considered as a “paradise”. However, with the increase of population, the contradiction between man and land has gradually become prominent, and more and more Hakka People have to change their minds and leave their hometown to do business. The Chronicle of Dapu County in the Jiaqing Reign in Qing Dynasty stated, “With little land, people competed to do business, and in the places of Wu, Yue, Jing, Min, Yuzhang, each claimed that they had a certain amount of capital to fight for little interests, and the people did business for a living all over the country.” The Chronicle of Xingning County written in Xianfeng Reign in Qing Dynasty recorded that in Xingning County at that time, “Large merchants opened shops and traded in Sichuan, Guangzhou, Hubei, and Hunan Province while the peddlers shouted their goods for sale all day long.” There are also related records in the Chronicle of Dapu County written in the Republic of China, “Because of mountainous fields and lack of cultivated land, the supply of agricultural crops is insufficient. So people go over the mountains and cross the seas leaving their parents for business to support their families.” After the middle of Qing Dynasty, many Hakka People left their homes and went overseas to run business and obtain a fabulous income. Chinese traditional culture attaches importance to the return to the ancestral home after years of drifting, so the wealth accumulated by people eventually converged in Meizhou, which has promoted the economic development and construction activities.

2

Huang Xiangtie (Qing Dynasty). Stone Kiln Quotations, Volume II, Education.

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Hakka Round-Dragon Houses Among Green Mountains …

Characteristics of Hakka Villages Each place has its own way of supporting its own inhabitants. The land and culture in each place do much in forming the shape of the villages. The characteristics of the villages in Meizhou can be roughly summarized as follows. First, the villages are small and scattered, which is mainly determined by the local topography. Meizhou is surrounded by ridges and valleys, and the valleys are narrow and the rivers are interlaced. Mountains and hills account for about 80% of the total area. It is known as “eight tenths mountains, one tenth river and one tenth land”, and the cultivated land is scarce and scattered. The Chronicle of Jiaying Prefecture— Mountains and Rivers in Qianlong Reign stated, “Close to Ganzhou of Jiangxi Province, Jiaying Prefecture is surrounded by numerous unnamed mountains.” And “there is no vast arable land on the plains. The plots of land are mostly distributed on the valleys. The higher land suffers from constant drought; the lower land suffers from constant waterlog.” Because of the small size of the basin and the limited land resources, it is difficult to carry large-scale villages, often causing clan-faulting branches. When each clan develops to a certain scale, with the increase of the population, the problem of land deficiency in the surrounding area becomes more and more serious. At this time, the clan will mobilize some members to relocate and build residences in the vicinity of or far away from the ancestral home, which is called “staying close to home is not a long-term plan.” However, the branches of the family seem to be separated and live apart, but the center that maintains the clan is still there. For example, every year, the members of each family branch will return to the ancestral home to worship ancestors. Second, the villages are often located at the foot of the mountains. The villages in Meizhou are mostly located on the east and south slope of the mountain, facing the field and leaning on the mountain, which is conducive to obtaining sunlight and preventing the northwest wind. The sites are not chosen on the steep slopes because it is difficult to build houses on steep slopes. The sites are not chosen on the flat areas because these are precious farmland for cultivation. To build the villages on the gentle mountain slopes is not only conducive to the protection of cultivated land, but also good for avoiding disasters such as floods. Third, the size of housing is large. Luo Xianglin (1906– 1978) made a summary in the Introduction to Hakka

Characteristics of Hakka Villages

Research that “only when Hakka have a large number of family members and help each other, can they defend invasion from outside and survive competition. So in this environment, the buildings of houses and ancestral graves should be built with special attention. When the houses are built, they must have spacious land, plentiful rooms, large halls and courtyards, sturdy walls and neat forms. The Hakka building has four or five hundred rooms that can accommodate four or five hundred people; in other places, such big houses are rare.3 These large houses generally function as the residential places and ancestral halls. Since there are no separate ancestral halls, branch ancestral halls, or temples in Hakka Villages in Meizhou, the ancestral halls are integrated into the residential houses. The few independent temples are simple in shape and small in scale. Therefore, the whole village is almost all occupied by large-scale residences. Fourth, the villages are scattered. There is a large distance between the houses and the houses are interspersed with farmland and mountainous areas sparsely without streets or lanes. The reason why the houses are separated by a certain distance is mainly due to the fact that with the increase of the family’s population, it is often necessary to expand the number of the houses. The way to expand is to build a horizontal house, which requires large space between different housing units. For example, Qiaoxiang Village in Mei County is a typical Hakka Village of Meizhou, which is located on the north slope of Sanxing Mountain and faced north with a lot of farmland in front, and there are small heights ups and downs on the north of the farmland. In order to save the valuable arable land, the residences are built at the foot of the mountain. Sanxing River (also known as Jian River) flows southeast through the fields. The village retains the traditional pattern of “mountain-village-field-water”. There are nearly a hundred traditional houses in the area, and they all back on the mountain and face the fields. These houses are all in large-scale and have their own unit of clans. The distance between the houses is large, among which are orchards, vegetable plots, and ponds. Although the houses are far away from each other, there are no streets or lanes in between. The roads in the villages are winding and are mainly paved with cobblestones (Figs. 10.1 and 10.2).

3

Luo Xianglin, Introduction to Hakka Research, Taipei Nantian Book Company Limited, 1992, pp. 179–180.

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Fig. 10.1 Partial plan of Qioaxiang Village in Mei County (Copied from The Residence (part one), p. 90). The village consists of three natural villages: Shiqian Village, Gaotian Village and Tangdu Village.

Fig. 10.2 Partial view of Qiaoxiang Village in Mei County Fig. 10.3 Plan of Dihua House in Fuliangmei Village, Baigong, Mei County (Adopted from Chinese Hakka Architectural Culture, p. 208)

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Fig. 10.4 Bird’s-eye view of round-dragon dwelling in Longshang Village in Meijiang District

Fig. 10.5 Bird’s-eye view of Jishan Hall in Sanjiao Village in Meijiang District

Round-Dragon Dwellings According to statistics, there are more than ten thousand existing round-dragon dwellings.4 Typical examples of round-dragon dwellings are, Dihua House in Fuliangmei Village, Baigong, Mei County, Yifu Hall in Longshang Village in Meijiang District, Yongxin House in Yueting Village, and Jishan Hall in Sanjiao Village, etc. (Figs. 10.3, 10.4 and 10.5). The round-dragon dwelling is generally composed of three parts: the front, the middle and the back, that is, the threshing floor and a pond in the front, a courtyard with halls and side rooms in the middle and the semicircle enclosing house at the back.

4

Meizhou Urban and Rural Planning Bureau ed. Meizhou Ancient Folk Dwellings—Overview. Shantou University Press, 2012.

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Hakka Round-Dragon Houses Among Green Mountains …

At the front of the round-dragon dwelling are the threshing floor and the pond. The threshing floor is in front of the door of the main room, its main function is to dry the grain, and sometimes as a place for public activities, such as the lion dancing, dragon lantern show, and other activities during the festivals. Some of the threshing floor is surrounded by high walls with two gates cut out at both ends, which are called “Doumen”. Before the threshing floor, there is usually a mostly semicircular pond providing water for washing clothes and vegetables, raising fish and shrimps, watering vegetable fields, and for water storage for fire control. Most of these ponds are excavated by hand, and the excavated soil can be used as building material for masonry walls. The middle part of the round-dragon dwelling is the central halls and the side rooms. Located on the central axis and being tall and spacious, the halls are the public space and the ceremonial space, whose main function is to worship the ancestors and gods, and discuss clan affairs. In addition, weddings, birthday banquets for the elderly, celebrations for the one-month old newborns, and the funerals are also carried out here. According to the number of halls, the round-dragon dwelling can be divided into two-hall dwelling or three-hall dwelling with the latter being the most common. The three-hall building consist of a lower hall, a middle hall and a upper hall from front to rear, which are separated by patios. The lower hall is usually the entrance hall, which is the passage for entering and leaving the house. The middle hall is the place where the clan members gather to discuss affairs. The upper hall, also known as the ancestral hall, has the ancestral shrine for the clan to worship ancestors and is the most sacred place in the round-dragon house. Every year, the clan people hold the worshiping ceremony at certain times. The three halls are different in functions, levels, and depths. Generally speaking, the depth of the upper hall is the largest, followed by the middle hall and the lower hall. However, the width of all the three halls from the front to rear is the same, usually three or five bays, of which five-bay halls are the most common. But there are halls with more than five-bays. For example, the hall of the Pan’s Ancestral Home is of eleven-bays wide, which is an exception. The side rooms are found on the left and right sides of the hall, most of which serve as the bedrooms and a few as the kitchens. The pattern of three halls placed vertically along the main axis with one row of side rooms on each side, is called “two rows”; with two rows on each side, is called “four rows”. Collectively, the common patterns of the round-dragon house are “three-halls-two-rows”, and “three-halls-four-rows”, or even “three-halls-six-rows”. The last part of the round-dragon house is a semicircular enclosed house, or round house. Connected with the side rooms on both sides, the enclosed house is found behind the

Round-Dragon Dwellings

upper hall, which is mainly the service space such as kitchens, toilets, mills, firewood houses, and farm tool storehouses. The door of each room in the enclosed house faces the upper hall. There is generally only one ring enclosed house in the round-dragon dwelling, but there are also two rings, three rings, or even five rings of enclosed houses. The multi-ring enclosed houses are often not built at one time, but are completed successively as the population increases. According to the popular belief, in order to meet the development of the clan, a ring of the enclosed house should be added as one generation was born. In reality, the number of the enclosed houses is determined according to the number of family members. There are about 20–40 rooms in each enclosed house. If there is only one ring of the enclosed house, the room at the highest point on the central axis is called the “dragon hall”, which is the most spacious room of the complex. There is no back door in the dragon hall and no one is allowed to live in it and nothing should be put in it so that the “dragon veins” will not be pressed. In the multi-ring dwelling, the room in the middle of the outmost ring is the dragon hall, and the rooms in the middle of the inside rings are called the “passage hall”. For example, built in 1917, Dexin Hall in Qiaoxiang Village in Mei County is a complex with two halls and two rows and two rings of enclosed houses (Figs. 10.6, 10.7, 10.8, 10.9 and 10.10). The enclosed house is the most obvious feature of the round-dragon house, which is very different from other residential forms of Han People. So why are there enclosed houses in the Hakka round-dragon dwellings? An explanation goes that the construction of the enclosed houses is closely related to the local topography. Originally, there were no enclosed houses behind the round-dragon house. In order to save land, the Hakka built their houses at the foot of the mountain. To prevent the rainwater from the mountain from washing away the house, a splayed ditch was built behind the house to drain the rainwater and a retention wall was built beside the ditch. Later, the house was built in the Fig. 10.6 Dexin Hall in Qiaoxiang Village in Mei County. Built in 1917, Dexin Hall is a complex with two halls and two rows and two rings of enclosed houses.

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catchment of the retention wall, and finally formed the enclosed houses. The ground between the enclosed house and the main hall is the mother mound, which is also called by the Hakka “earth mound”, “flower mound”, “bud mound” and so on. Mother mound is neither flat nor sloped, but a convex clinohedral in the middle with a semi-circular or nearly semi-circular shape. It is said to imitate the shape of a woman’s abdomen, which symbolizes the uterus of earth mother and has the meaning of bringing up everything. It was recorded in The Genealogy of Luo Family of Dongmen in Xingning: Etiquette and Residence printed in the autumn of the Republic of China (1927) that “mother mound is between the dragon hall and the ancestral hall, and the shape of the slope makes the house full of vitality.” In the beginning, mother mound emphasized the sacredness and people were not allowed to enter at random. Later however, it was gradually secularized, and even transformed into a place for drying clothes, playing games, or daily interactions, but the children were still forbidden to urinate and defecate there, which shows that even now the mother mound still holds a certain degree of sacredness. The ground of the mother mound is not covered with stones or triple soils, but densely paved with small stones like pebbles, symbolizing the prosperity of the clan and having plenty of children and grandchildren. For example, the mother mount of Daye House in Ma’an Mountain, Dongsheng Village of Meijiang District, of a certain round-dragon house in Shangping Village, of the Jishan Hall in Sanjiao Village, and of the Minyi Ancestral Hall in Shangping Village are all paved with cobblestones. In addition, there is often a ditch between the upper hall and the mother mount to drain the water from the mother mound and to avoid the rainwater immersing into the hall. There will usually be a wood or a bamboo forest behind the enclosed house to prevent soil erosion and buffer the north wind in winter. The woods are generally made of catalpa, which is a homophone for “sons” in Chinese, representing having plenty of sons and grandchildren. Bambusa multiplex is often picked up as the trees in the bamboo forest because its name in Chinese, “phoenix tail”, is a homophone Fig. 10.7 Plan of Dexin Hall in Qiaoxiang Village in Mei County (Adopted from Chinese Hakka Architectural Culture, p. 198). Along the main axis from the front to the back are the half-moon pond, the threshing floor, the main hall, the mother mound, and the enclosed houses.

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Fig. 10.8 Façade of Dexin Hall in Qiaoxiang Village in Mei County (Adopted from Chinese Hakka Architectural Culture, p. 198)

Fig. 10.9 Sectional view of Dexin Hall in Qiaoxiang Village in Mei County (Adopted from Chinese Hakka Architectural Culture, p. 198)

Fig. 10.10 Second ring of the enclosed houses of Dexin Hall in Qiaoxiang Village in Mei County

for “sealing” and “encircling” in Chinese. The dense and lush woods or the bamboo forest represent the infinite vitality and prosperity of the family. Therefore, it is only permissible to plant the trees and it is forbidden to chop down any and people are even not allowed to enter the forest at will (Figs. 10.11, 10.12, 10.13 and 10.14). On the stone shed between the upper hall and the mother mound, there are generally five stones embedded in the ground facing the middle of the upper hall. The stones are called “five stone grandpas” locally, which represent “five phases”, that is, the five elements, namely mental, wood, water, fire and earth. The five stones are distinguished by different shapes, and there is no fixed pattern in the order of the arrangement. But the middle stone generally represents “earth”, which is often slightly larger than the others and sits at the central axis of the round-dragon dwelling (Fig. 10.15).

Fig. 10.11 Mother Mound of Daye House in Ma’an Mountain, Dongsheng Village of Meijiang District

Fig. 10.12 Mother Mound of Jishan Hall in Sanjiao Village, Sanjiao Town of Meijiang District

Round-Dragon Dwellings

Fig. 10.13 Mother Mound in Shanging Village of Meijiang District

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Fig. 10.14 Mother Mound of Meiyi Ancestral Hall in Shangping Village of Meijiang District

Fig. 10.15 Images of the five phases stones (Quoted from Iconography Study on the Architectural Structure of Round-Dragon Houses, p. 128)

Generally the round-dragon house is built on the mountain slope and is low in the front and high at the back, that is, the enclosed houses are higher than the upper hall, and the upper hall higher than the middle hall, and the middle hall higher than the lower hall slightly. In addition, the halls are higher than the side rooms which gradually descend from the middle to the outward. The roof ridge of the dragon hall is generally the highest point of the entire round-dragon house. Such pattern meets the visual and psychological needs on one hand, symbolizing “going up and up in life”, and meets the needs for drainage on the other.

In terms of function, the pond, the threshing floor, the halls, the mother mound, and the dragon hall are found successively from the front to the back on the central axis and all belong to the public space; the living spaces are mainly distributed on the front, back, left and right four sides of the round-dragon dwelling, including bedrooms, wells, kitchens, toilets, warehouses, etc. The rooms of each core family are scattered in different parts in the side rooms and the enclosed houses. There are often many kitchens in a round-dragon dwelling, because Hakka People are more likely to cook on their own family stove.

270 Fig. 10.16 Plan of Ren Houwen Ancestral Hall in Bing Village in Mei County (Quoted from the Chinese Hakka Architectural Culture, p. 195). There are more than 300 rooms in this grand building.

Fig. 10.17 Nanhuayou Building in Qiaoxiang Village in Mei County. It was built in the 30th year of Guangxu Reign in Qing Dynasty (1904).

From the bird’s-eye view or observing the round-dragon dwelling on the floor plan, because of the semicircle in the front and in the rear (the pond and the enclosed house), the overall appearance of the dwelling is elliptical. The scale of the halls of the round-dragon house is constant, but the scale of the side rooms and the enclosed housed can be expanded as the population increases. The round-dragon houses vary in size, some can accommodate a dozen, dozens, or even hundreds of households from the same clan. It generally covers an area of 5000–6000 m2, and some are even larger, covering an area of over 20,000 m2. For example, the Ren Houwen Ancestral Hall in Bing Village in Mei County is a complex consisting of three halls, eight rows and three rings, including a total of 395 rooms, covering an area of over 20,000 m2 (Figs. 10.16 and 10.17).

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Hakka Round-Dragon Houses Among Green Mountains …

The so-called horizontal hall house, simply, is the round-dragon house without the enclosed structure, which is a combination of the hall on the central axis and the horizontal bungalow on both sides. Most of the side rooms are symmetrical structures and can be divided into double rows, four rows, or six rows according to the number of horizontal bungalows. For example, Zhenhua House, Dafu House and Yunhan House in Chashan Village of Mei County are typical horizontal hall houses that were built in late Qing Dynasty. Zhenhua House and Yunhan House are composed of two halls and two rows, and Dafu House is composed of two halls and four rows (Figs. 10.18, 10.19 and 10.20). The so-called lever-shape house is made up of several columns of horizontal bungalows (buildings) arranged vertically with the gables face forward. It was called lever-shape house, because the plane resembles the lever. By weakening the hall and highlighting the side rooms of the horizontal hall house, a lever-shape structure is formed. The single story side-rooms are called the lever-shape bungalow and those of two stories and up are called the lever-shape building. The number of the lines of side rooms defines the name of the lever-shape house, from two lines to eight lines, which generally appear in even numbers, but also a few in odd numbers. Each line is actually a living unit. The halls in the lever-shape bungalow (building) are found in the middle between the two lines, which is much smaller than the halls in the horizontal hall house, but still maintaining its clear direction by facing the main gate. The construction of the lever-shape bungalow is based on the economic conditions. Usually one or two lines are built at first, and the space is reserved for the expansion when the economic conditions are favorable. The advantage of this type of lever-shape bungalow (building) is that the lines are relatively independent without interfering with each other and can also meet the needs for the whole clan to live together. For example, Daoxiang House and Tongde House in Chashan

Horizontal Hall Houses, Lever-Shape Houses and Enclosed Buildings In addition to the most distinctive round-dragon houses, other common form of Meizhou traditional folk dwellings are horizontal hall houses, lever-shape houses, and enclosed houses.

Fig. 10.18 Zhenhua House in Chashan Village of Mei County. It is composed of two halls and two rows and was built in the 15th year of Guangxu Reign in Qing Dynasty (1889).

Horizontal Hall Houses, Lever-Shape Houses and Enclosed Buildings

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Fig. 10.19 Dafu House (right) and Yunhan House (left) in Chashan Village of Mei County. Dafu House is composed of two halls and four rows and was built in the 26th year of Guangxu Reign in Qing Dynasty

(1900). Yunhan House is composed of two halls and two rows and was built in the 2nd year of Xuantong Reign in Qing Dynasty (1910).

Fig. 10.20 Façade of Yunhan House in Chashan Village of Mei County

Fig. 10.22 Tongde House in Chashan Village of Mei County. It is a lever-shape building of two-story seven-line that was built in 1920.

Fig. 10.23 Pan’s Chengde Hall in Qiaoxiang Village of Mei County. It is a lever-shape building of five lines built in the first year of the Republic of China (1912). Fig. 10.21 Daoxiang House in Chashan Village of Mei County. It is a lever-shape building of two-story and four-line that was built in the early years of the Republic of China.

Village of Mei County and Chengde Hall in Qiaoxiang Village are typical lever-shape bungalow (buildings) that were built in the early years of the Republic of China, among

which Daoxiang House is a lever-shape building of four lines and Tongde House, seven lines, Chengde Hall, five lines (Figs. 10.21, 10.22 and 10.23). The so-called enclosed buildings are mostly three to five-story round or square architecture that integrates residential and defensive functions, which bears a strong

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similarity to the earth buildings in Fujian Province. This kind of enclosed buildings is mainly distributed in Dapu County, Jiaoling County, and in the north of Mei County. Most of the enclosed buildings, especially the round ones, are concentrated in Dapu County mainly due to the fact that Dapu County is close to Western Fujian Province and is largely affected by the customs there. There is also a distinctive kind of “four-corner building” in Meizhou City whose major features are having one additional watchtower at each corner of the enclosed building with the hall on the central axis. This kind of four-corner buildings is mostly distributed in Xingning County and Wuhua County of Meizhou City. For example, Shanshu House in Jiaokeng Village of Xingning County is a typical enclosed building, built during the Republic of China and consisting of one hall, four rows and four watchtowers. Apart from the enclosed buildings, the other residential architecture forms in Meizhou are relatively weak in defensiveness compared with that of the earth buildings in West Fujian Province, which might be due to the fact that the earth buildings in Fujian are located on the border region of the Hakka and Minnan People where conflicts frequently occur, making defensiveness the primary consideration when constructing residential buildings. Meizhou locates in the Hakka’s hinterland where there are relatively few conflicts, thus weakening the importance of defensiveness. However, it doesn’t mean that defensiveness is totally out of concern. Many architectural details in the main residential architecture types (such as the round-dragon houses, horizontal hall house, etc.) in Meizhou are focused on defensive function. For example, the outward windows are only small openings on the walls and all of them are made of stones (Figs. 10.24 and 10.25).

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Hakka Round-Dragon Houses Among Green Mountains …

Fig. 10.24 Embrasures on the wall of Nanhuayou House in Qiaoxiang Village of Mei County Fig. 10.25 Defense Facilities on the Gateway of Dafu House in Shachan Village of Mei County

Ancestral Temple in Residence The Hakka retained the traditional customs of the Central Plains. They have a strong sense of nostalgia, memorizing ancestors, and devoutly worshiping the ancient ancestors. The Hakka in Meizhou also have a strong ancestor worshiping complex and attach great importance to the construction of ancestral halls. It is recorded in the Chronicle of Xingning County: The Terrain in Guangxu Reign in Qing Dynasty that “the Hakka attach importance to the construction of the ancestral hall. For every thousand people in the big family there are more than ten ancestral halls, and the small clans with less than one hundred people also have ancestral halls. The ancestral hall of the big family is called the temple of the first ancestor.” In Qing Dynasty, Huang Zhao wrote in The Grotto: Etiquettes and Customs that “Hakka have attached great importance to patriarchal clans since ancient times; all the clans have ancestral halls regardless of the size of the family. All the families living in

a village must have a family temple, which is equivalent to the ancestral hall. People offer sacrifices to their ancestors when there is something auspicious or ominous happening.” In traditional Chinese villages, ancestral halls and dwellings are generally separated. For example, in the villages of Southern Anhui Province and other places, massive independent ancestral halls are generally located at the core of the village, which are eye-catching and impressive. However, in the traditional villages of Meizhou, the residence and the ancestral hall are generally united into one, which means the building functions both as a place for living and for worshiping the ancestors. For example, in the round-dragon house and horizontal hall house, the side rooms are for residence and the hall is for worshiping. In fact, the hall is the ancestral hall of the clan, the place where the ancestral tablets are consecrated and the ancestors are worshiped. The ancestral shrines are usually placed in the upper hall at the rear of the building. The side rooms and the

Horizontal Hall Houses, Lever-Shape Houses and Enclosed Buildings

rooms in the enclosed house are the living area for each family, which is private. In the enclosed house, the ancestral hall is located in the middle of the building and is surrounded by residential rooms, which shows the sense of cohesion of the ancestors. In short, the hall of the round-dragon house, the horizontal hall house and the enclosed house is at the core position, emphasizing the importance of the patriarchal clan. In the lever-shaped bungalow, although the small-scale ancestral hall is located at the back between the middle two bungalows whose space is relatively weakened, it is still at the core position, facing the main entrance. In the ancestral shrine inscribed with “the tablet of the God of Heaven and Earth and the respectable ancestors”, are consecrated generations of ancestors of the clan. Interestingly, in addition to the ancestral tablets, the tablets of gods are also consecrated in the Hakka ancestral halls, such as the God of Heaven, the God of Earth, the God of Mountain, the God of Dragon and Bodhisattva, etc., which is rare in other places. For example, the tablet of Fude, the God of Land is placed under many ancestral tablets. It is said that the real name of the God of Land was Zhang Fude, who was clever, filial, upright, and honest from childhood, who had done a lot of good deeds and shown solicitude to the suffering of the people, so the people worship him as the God of Land (Figs. 10.26, 10.27 and 10.28).

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Fig. 10.26 Ancestral Shrine in the Round-dragon House in Longshang Village in Meijiang District

Building Materials: Earth, Timbers and Stones Traditional dwellings throughout China are constructed with local raw materials, without exception. Traditional houses in Meizhou are also constructed with natural materials such as earth, stones and timbers. For example, the foundation is generally made of stones. First a trench is dug along with the thickness of the wall, which is filled with stones till it is above the ground, so that moisture can be blocked. The wall is either made of rammed earth or mud brick, which is made of lime-sand-clay mixture by mixing losses, lime and sand. In order to increase the firmness of the wall, rice straw, bamboo strips and even an appropriate amount of glutinous rice and brown sugars are added to increase the adhesion of the building material (Fig. 10.29). In the load-bearing structure, there are those that use pillar and beam structure, those that use column-and-tie structure, and those that use the combination of the two, and others that do not use columns, but directly use the thick and heavy walls as load-bearing walls. The roofs are generally made of tiles and wood purlins. However, different from the roofs in the northern dwellings, in general, there are no roofing boards on the rafter, but blue tiles instead, which are commonly known as “Baizi (hundreds of children) tiles”. The distance between the rafters is usually six or seven cun

Fig. 10.27 Partial of the Ancestral Shrine in a Round-dragon House in Longshang Village in Meijiang District Fig. 10.28 Ancestral Shrine in Dexin Hall in Qiaoxiang Village in Mei County

(length unit approximately equals to 3.33 cm) which is just the width of a piece of tile. The tiles are placed between the rafters with the concave surface facing up, which is commonly known as “light tiles”. The light tiles are covered with

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Hakka Round-Dragon Houses Among Green Mountains …

Fig. 10.29 Shouxing House in Meijiang District

another layer of tiles with the convex side facing down, which is commonly known as “dark tiles”. The combination of the tiles can prevent the infiltration of rainwater. On the ridge, many tiles are often stored tier upon tier, locally known as “Zisun (offspring) tiles” which blesses the household to have many children and grandchildren. Certainly, these “Zisun tiles” also have their practicality, that is, when some tiles are damaged, they can be replaced in time. Some buildings have attics under the roof, which will play a role in insulation and ventilation as well as in storage of debris and grains.

Decorative Art Chronologically, the folk dwelling built in early times (such as in Ming Dynasty) are very pristine and have almost no decoration; in Qing Dynasty, especially in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, the decoration on the folk dwellings was fairly common. In terms of space, the buildings on the central axis, such as the main gate, the hall, the dragon hall, and the ancestral shrine, are heavily decorated, while the horizontal residential houses on both sides are less decorated. As far as the decorative contents are concerned, it seems that there is not much difference with the dwellings in other regions. Auspiciousness and blessings are the eternal theme of traditional residential decoration in various places. The most distinctive decorations in the traditional folk dwellings in Meizhou are the stone windows, the murals, and the wood carvings.

The stone windows are mostly found on the outer walls. Generally, there are one or two windows for each room, which are varied in form, such as round, square, and the lattice window. In addition to the function of ventilation and getting daylight, the defensiveness of the window is also worthy of consideration. Therefore, the windows in the outer wall are generally small and dominated by granite windows, because of its solidness and the abundant stone material in the mountainous area. There are three main types of windows, namely the character, the geometric and the flower-and-leaf windows. The design of the character window takes the shape of Chinese character Swastika 卍, 福 (blessing), 禄 (wealthy), 寿 (longevity), 囍 (double happiness), which are all symbols of good luck, expressing people’s desire for a better life. The geometrical windows are mainly cut into horizontal and vertical stripes, fan shapes, and some combination shapes, etc. Among them, the vertical stripe is the most frequently used pattern. The flower-and-leaf windows are engraved with lotus, water chestnut flower, moiré clouding, mallows, fretwork, bamboo joints, and cherry apple flowers, etc. as well as some patterns like clouds and fretwork, which are generally round inside and square outside, symbolizing the square sky and the round earth (Figs. 10.30, 10.31, 10.32, 10.33, 10.34, 10.35, 10.36, 10.37 and 10.38). The traditional Hakka houses in Meizhou are richly painted, most of which are on the wall over the door openings. In addition to that, there are extensive colored paintings on the wainscots. The paintings are rich in contents, including lyre-playing, chess, calligraphy, drawings, and utensils, flowers, birds, fishes, insects and trees,

Decorative Art

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Fig. 10.30 Stone window in Shangping Village, Sanjiao Town in Meijiang District

Fig. 10.34 Stone window in Nanhuayou House in Qiaoxiang Village in Mei County

Fig. 10.31 Stone window in Yongxin House in Yueting Village, Sanjiao Town in Meijiang District

Fig. 10.35 Stone window in Chashan Village in Mei County

Fig. 10.32 Stone window in Nanhuayou House in Qiaoxiang Village in Mei County

Fig. 10.36 Stone window in Yunhan House in Chashan Village in Mei County

Fig. 10.33 Stone window in Nanhuayou House in Qiaoxiang Village in Mei County

landscapes, etc., as well as classic stories such as the shepherd Su Wu, Chinese martial arts, Xixiang Love Story, and the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea. Cars and western-style houses have also been painted in modern houses (Figs. 10.39 and 10.40). Wood carvings in traditional houses in Meizhou are also abundant. These wood carvings are three-dimensional,

Fig. 10.37 Stone window in Chashan Village in Mei County (Photo by Li Zhixin)

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Fig. 10.41 Wood carvings in Yongxin House in Yueting Village in Meijiang District Fig. 10.38 Stone window in Qiaoxiang Village in Mei County

Fig. 10.42 Wood carvings in Yunhan House in Chashan Village in Mei County Fig. 10.39 Paintings in Nanhuayou House in Qiaoxiang Village in Mei County Fig. 10.40 Paintings in Yunhan House in Chashan Village in Mei County

multi-layered, and generally colorfully painted with strong decorative effect. For example, the two side sills of the main entrance and the beams on the corridor in the front hall are carved with two lions looking at each other; the overhanging beam heads under the eave are carved into dragon heads; the short columns on the beam frame are often carved into clouds or lotus. In addition, doors and windows are often the focus of decorations. The contents of engraving are broad and extensive, the patterns frequently used are animal and plant patterns, such as bats, mice, and grapes. The bats represent happiness, and mice and grapes represent many children and grandchildren in the later generations (Figs. 10.41, 10.42, 10.43, 10.44 and 10.45).

Reference

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Fig. 10.43 Wood carvings in Dafu House in Chashan Village in Mei County

Fig. 10.44 Wood carvings in Yongxin House in Yueting Village in Meijiang District

Reference Meizhou Urban, & Rural Planning Bureau (Ed.). (2012). Meizhou ancient folk dwellings. Shantou: Shantou University Press.

Fig. 10.45 Wood carvings in Yongxin House in Yueting Village in Meijiang District

Fresh and Diverse Local Life, Traditional Naxi Villages in Yunnan Province

Naxi Nationality lives on the border of Yunnan, Sichuan Province and Tibet Autonomous Region, and in the process of historical development, two major dialect areas in the east and the west have come into being. Naxi People take agriculture as their main mode of production, and most of their villages are generally agricultural settlements located on the dam area or distributed along the mountain foot. There are some commercial and military settlements as well. The buildings of Naxi People vary with the difference in social forms, resources, climate, and spiritual beliefs, developing into diverse architectural structures such as the log dwellings, adobe houses, and wood-framed tile-roofed houses.

An Overview of Naxi Nationality The majority of Naxi Nationality mainly lives in Hengduan Mountains at the junction of Yunnan, Sichuan Province, and Tibet Autonomous Region. Before the official identification of the ethnic groups in Yunnan Province in 1954, Naxi People were called “Moso”.1 They are also referred to in some historical literature as “Moses” and “Mosha”. Naxi Ethnic Groups include branches who claim to be “Na”, “Naxi”, “Nari”, “Naheng”, “Masha”, and “Ruanke”.2 The total number of Naxi Nationality in the census in 2010 is 326,295.3 Naxi Villages are widely distributed in northwestern Yunnan and the adjacent Sichuan and Tibetan areas along Lancang River, Jinsha River and its tributaries including Wuliang River and Yalong River. Due to the

1

The Ethnic Identification Research Group of Yunnan. A preliminary Summary of the First and Second Stages of the Ethnic Identification Research of Yunnan. Beijing: Central Institute for Nationalities, 1956: 12–13. 2 Guo Dalie, Zhou Zhisheng. Naxi People on the First Bay of Yangtze River. Wuhan: Hubei Education Press, 2006: 16. 3 State Council Census Office, Department of Population and Employment Statistics, National Bureau of Statistics. China 2010 Census Data. Volume I. Beijing: China Statistics Press, 2012: 226.

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complexity of terrain and climate and the diversity of resources and cultures, Naxi Villages have also existed in a variety of patterns (Figs. 11.1 and 11.2).

Migration and Branches Before Tang Dynasty, Naxi People were rarely recorded in the annals. The opinion of academia over its ethnic origin was the “Qiang People Hypothesis” advocated by Fang Guoyu and his followers. That is, Naxi People originated from the ancient Qiang People’s branch—Yak Qiang who migrated southward from Hehuang area and Dadu River area to the lower reaches of Yalong River.4 Moso Tribes began to thrive in Tang Dynasty. They were mainly distributed in southwestern Sichuan and northwestern Yunnan Province, along Yalong River and Jinsha River basins.5 The Moso forces of this period could be roughly divided into three branches: the eastern branch in Muli and Yanyuan in Sichuan Province, the western branch along Jinsha River, and the central branch around Lijiang. They were surrounded by three powerful regimes of Tang, Tubo, and Nanzhao, thus they were always involved in wars. In Yuan Dynasty, different administrative agencies were successively set up in Lijiang. The central Naxi branch had grown in strength and gradually merged with the western branch. In Ming Dynasty, this further developed branch, with its chieftain granted the surname Mu by the emperor, had reached the peak by having jurisdiction over the four prefectures and one county in Lijiang and reaching its forces into Shangri-La, Deqin, Weixi, Mangkang and other places. It was not until 1723 that the heyday of Chieftain Mu was over when Lijiang underwent the reform of “abolishing

4

Fang Guoyu. Fang Guoyu’s Essays: The Fourth Series. Lin Chaomin, eds. Kunming: Yunnan Education Press, 2001: 1–19. 5 Fan Chuo. Books on Southern Ethnic Groups. Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company, 1985.

© China Architecture & Building Press and Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 L. Xue et al., Traditional Chinese Villages, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6154-6_11

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Fresh and Diverse Local Life, Traditional Naxi Villages in Yunnan Province

Fig. 11.1 Counties occupied by Naxi People

native chieftains and appointing government officials”. However, Naxi People in Muli and Yanyuan in Sichuan Province and Yongning in Yunnan Province had remained relatively independent for a long time and grown into the eastern dialect group today, while the former generally belonged to the western dialect group (Figs. 11.3, 11.4, 11.5 and 11.6). During Tang and Song dynasties, there were three branches of Naxi Nationality, namely the eastern, central and western branches. The central and western branches gradually merged in Yuan Dynasty, forming two major divisions of the eastern and western branches and have continued up to now. At the beginning of the 12th century, some Moso areas in Sichuan Province were in turmoil and decline, while Lijiang and Yongning areas developed well. After the Japanese invasion, the ancient commercial roads in the southwestern China became extremely important transportation channels for supplies. Lijiang became a very important transit station on the Ancient Tea Horse Road in Yunnan and Tibet and was called “Mini-Shanghai”6 because of the rapid

Fig. 11.2 Towns occupied by Naxi People. Jinsha River basin in northwest Yunnan Province is the main Naxi settlement, especially Yulong County in Lijiang City where Naxi People account for over half of the population.

development of business in this period; Yongning had access to India, Dali, and Chengdu, and developed into a market town on the border of Sichuan and Yunnan Province due to the myriad trade caravans in the Republic of China.7 According to the study of the evolution of Moso hieroglyphics, Li Lincan proposed the general migrating route of Moso People, which was confirmed by many later researches. He believed that Naxi People were divided into two branches when their ancestors moved southward from the north of Gongga Mountain to Muli area. Claimed to be “Nari”, the one branch without writing language migrated to Yongning, Muli, and Yanyuan area, and the area where they lived was the eastern dialect area; the other branch with writing language migrated from the Ruoka (i.e. Ruanke) area in the lower reach of Wuliang River to the Beidi (i.e. Baidi) area, then passed through Baoshan, Lijiang and Nanshan

7 6

Mu Lichun. General History of Naxi People. Kunming: Yunnan People’s Publishing House, 2006: 26.

Ma Jidian. Yongning Horse Caravans on the Ancient Tea Horse Road//Fu Ba. Lijiang and the Ancient Tea Horse Road. Kunming: Yunnan University Press, 2004: 88–96.

Migration and Branches

Fig. 11.3 Distribution of Naxi Ancestors in West Jin Dynasty

into Ludian area, where the western dialect area came into being. Naxi People in the western dialect area generally believed in Dongba religion, which began sprouting from Tang Dynasty and developed during Song and Yuan dynasties. Dongbaism was at the stage of transition from the primitive religion to the artificially founded religion.8 On the one hand, it retained the characteristics of the primitive religions such as nature worship, ancestor worship, and reproduction worship and had no independent religious organizations and specialized religious sites. On the other hand, activities such as worshiping the heavens in Dongbaism had to be carried out in accordance with the specific consanguinity and regional faction unit. Dongba priests were traditionally inherited by the successive generations in a family. Dongba religion had its own characters and scriptures and all the ceremonies had fixed procedures and had formed a systematic structure. In the eastern dialect area, a religion called “Daba” was popular, which was very similar to Dongbaism, but the development phase of the former one was even more primitive. Today, the Daba religion has gradually declined,

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Fig. 11.4 Distribution of Naxi Nationality in Tang and Song Dynasties

and Tibetan Buddhism has a greater influence in the eastern region.

From Nomadic to Farming Life There are many descriptions of the ancient life of Naxi People in Dongba Scripture. For example, Erziming describes the hunting activities of Naxi People. The Biography of Duosaoutu describes the nomadic life of Naxi People. Genesis describes the hunting, grazing of cattle and sheep, and the extensive slash-and-burn life of the human ancestor, Chongrenlien. It can be seen that Naxi ancestors experienced economic production methods such as hunting and collection, nomadic pasture, and slash-and-burn in the early days.9 Books on Southern Ethnic Groups records that areas inhabited by Moso “have many cattle and sheep, and almost every household owns a flock of sheep.” Both men

9

Mu Shihua. Dongbaism and Naxi Culture. Beijing: Central University for Nationalities Press, 2002: 129–138.

8

He Zhiwu. Chinese Primitive Religion Series: Naxi People. Shanghai: Shanghai People’s Publishing House, 1993: 25–27.

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Fig. 11.5 Distribution of Naxi Nationality in Yuan and Ming Dynasties

and women dressed in sheepskins, and large scale of animal trade had been formed in this area.10 It is obvious that till Tang Dynasty, animal husbandry production still occupied an important position in some societies when agriculture had not yet become a major mode of production. During this period, Naxi People had yet to enter a stable settlement life, and they could not have started to build stable settlements yet. The 10th century AD saw the decline of Tang Dynasty and the establishment of Song Dynasty as well as the replacement of Nanzhao by Dali Kingdom. Song Dynasty was less powerful than Tang Dynasty, and the first emperor of Song established a boundary with a jade axe on the map in order to stay at peace with Dali. Since the end of Tang Dynasty, the Tubo force had gradually declined. Under such circumstances, Moso areas were somewhere “Dali cannot have, Tubo cannot reach, and Song Dynasty also abandons”. When Dali, Tubo, and Song Dynasty had given up their

10 Fan Chuo. Books on Southern Ethnic Groups. Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company. 1985. 11 Fang Guoyu. Fang Guoyu’s Essays: The Fourth Series. Lin Chaomin, eds. Kunming: Yunnan Education Press, 2001: 60.

Fig. 11.6 Distribution of Naxi Nationality after Qing Dynasty

struggle over Moso areas, Moso forces had the opportunity to self-govern and rehabilitate for 350 years.11 According to A Brief Record of Yunnan, Moso Nationality was distributed between Dali and Tubo and took the advantage of the strategic rivers and hills where villages were scattered here and there,12 which shows that in the late 13th and early 14th century, Naxi People had already built up village settlements. The area around Lijiang did not enjoy the beneficiary of salt and metallurgical industry as the eastern part, nor did it occupy a strategic position as the western part, thus there were few wars. In Song Dynasty, Lijiang was rehabilitated and gradually developed. In Yuan Dynasty, Lijiang became the ruling center of northwestern Yunnan with its social economy developing considerably. In the middle of the 13th century, Lijiang had already been equipped with the vast farmland and highly developed irrigation system, and the agricultural production had risen to the dominate position in its economic production. On the other hand, handicrafts had gradually developed as well. Various handicraft products, farm produce, mineral and livestock products had 12

Guo Songnian, Li Jing. A Brief Record of Yunnan. Kunming: Yunnan Nationality Publishing House, 1986: 93.

From Nomadic to Farming Life

accelerated the development of commerce. It was described in The Record of the Geography of Yuan Dynasty that Tongan Prefecture was a place where “the land is fertile, people are rich and the resources are abundant.”13 Therefore, it must be in Song and Yuan Dynasty that Naxi People had engaged in stable agricultural production, based on which the handicrafts and commerce were developed.

Military, Agricultural and Commercial Settlements Naxi Villages, which are “attached to the river and the dangerous locations” recorded in A Brief Record of Yunnan, possess a strong defensiveness. Today, there still exist defensive Naxi Villages on the coasts of Jinsha River. They are often situated on strategic military locations and have played an important role in history. For example, located on the bank of Jinsha River, Stone City of Baoshan Township in Yulong County is divided into the inner city and outer city by the city gate. It is adjacent to Prince Pass, where the Yuan army invaded Lijiang by crossing the Jinsha River through stepping on the body balloons of cattle and sheep. The inner city is located on a huge rock on the bank of Jinsha River and is surrounded by cliffs on three sides with one pass being the only entrance to the town. Stone City is in such a strategic position that it is easy to hold and hard to attack. Up to now, the city has kept its 108 households in the inner part and the city layout and the street patterns have remained basically constant for a long time. The newly separated families and the later migrating population live in the outer city, which is also built on the mountain with the main roads distributed along the contour line. The terraces reclaimed by the villagers are mostly distributed around the outer city. In the past, when encountering the roving bandits, all the villagers would have retreated to the inner city to resist the enemies (Figs. 11.7, 11.8, 11.9 and 11.10). The inner city is located behind the city gate, and has held 108 households for hundreds of years. The newly separated families and the later migrating population can only live in the outer city (Fig. 11.11). Stone-Drum Town is located at the west of Yulong County, from where the southward Jinsha River turns northeast, forming a huge turn, known as the “First Bay of Yangtze River”. As an important ferry port of Jinsha River, Stone-Drum Town has always been a battleground for military strategists. Its name is derived from the stone drum left by Chieftain Mu after marching into Tubo. According to the

13

Editor Group. A Brief History of Naxi People. Kunming: Yunnan People's Publishing House, 1984: 40–47.

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legend, in Three Kingdoms Period, Zhuge Liang had led the army across the river here in May and occupied Nanzhong (the central part of the south) area. When Kublai Khan fought south, his West Route Army had battled fiercely here with the Moso forces of Jujin Perfecture. When the Second Front of the Red Army crossed the Jinsha River, Stone-Drum Town was also an important ferry (Figs. 11.12 and 11.13). Since Ming and Qing dynasties, agriculture has always occupied the dominant position in the economic production of Naxi region, and agricultural villages were also the most important type of Naxi Villages. The areas where Naxi People distributed were of various mountains with rough terrain. The flat land between the mountains was referred to as “Bazi”, on which located most of the agricultural villages. These villages usually settled on the margins of Bazi at the foot of the mountains. Their houses were backed by the mountains adjusting to the terrain. The settlement of the villages on the margins left the major part of the flat land in the middle of Bazi for farming to maintain the livelihood. On the other hand, the location of the villages at the foot of the mountains was beneficial to external transport. When villages expanded due to the population growth, people tended to move upward onto the mountain instead of moving into the flat land in Bazi to preserve the area of cultivated land for farming. The layout of Nangaozhai Village in Yulong County is an example. The four family clans with four different surnames migrated to the village in different periods and each clan occupied a relatively concentrated living area in the village. As the oldest settlers, the He Family lived at the foot of the mountain, close to the transit road. The later the family settled, the higher the area they lived in. It is obvious that the villages gradually developed from the foot of the mountain up (Figs. 11.14 and 11.15). With the development of the society and economy, the gradually-developing commodity exchange promoted the emergence of some commercial settlements, some of which gradually grown into towns. As one of them, the ancient Shuhe Town has been listed as a World Cultural Heritage Site. In Ming Dynasty, Naxi Chieftain Mu invited a large number of craftsmen such as cobblers and blacksmiths from the Han area to settle here, and Shuhe became a highly developed commercial market town step by step because of the well-developed commodity exchange. Located on the southern foot of Yulong Snow Mountain, Shuhe Town faces east with the Jiuding Canal, Qinglong River and Shu River originating from Jiuding Dragon Pool, running through the town. At the center of the ancient town is Square Street, which is about 50 m long from east to west and 40 m wide from north to south. Surrounded by shops and stores, Square Street is a distribution site for business transactions where all the main streets in the town meet (Fig. 11.16).

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Fig. 11.7 Stone City and Princess Pass

Fig. 11.8 Risky location of Stone City Village in Yulong County of Yunnan Province

Matriarchal and Patriarchal Society Architecture is the container of life, and the spatial layout of the homestead is the manifestation of the social form, family structure and lifestyle of the occupants. In Naxi Villages, the layout of dwellings is closely related to people’s social forms, family structures, and lifestyles.

In Naxi’s eastern dialect area, Mosuo People here still preserve the social form of the matriarchal society. Instead of living in a family of husband and wife, they live with their maternal relatives to form a production and living unit, which is called “Yi Du” by the locals. In such a family, the old grandmother, the woman of the highest seniority, has the highest authority. She and her brothers are supported by the children at home. In terms of specific family affairs, one of

Matriarchal and Patriarchal Society

Fig. 11.9 Gate of Stone City

Fig. 11.10 Inner city of Stone City

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the most capable and most caring women is usually chosen as the hostess to manage the production and living of the whole family. The man goes to the home of his beloved woman at night and returns to his mother’s home the next morning. Men do not raise the children born in such a walking marriage. Instead, they raise their sisters’ children and take on the role of their father. In the matriarchal Mosuo Family, people play their respective roles according to gender and position in family hierarchy, which corresponds to the layout of homesteads. The courtyard of a typical Mosuo matriarchal family usually consists of four parts: the grandmother’s building, the scripture hall, the flower building and the grass building. The grandmother’s building has the largest amount of space and is the living and dining place for the family members, as well as the bedrooms of the elders and the children. As the most magnificent building in the family, the scripture hall provides a place to consecrate the figure of Buddha of Tibetan Buddhism and the scripture books, as well as a place for lamas to chant. The flower building is the residence of adult women, each of whom owns a separate room to facilitate their walking marriage; and the grass building is used to raise livestock and store forage (Figs. 11.17, 11.18, 11.19 and 11.20). The grandmother’s building generally consists of three sections. The middle of the first section is the front room, which is equipped with a water tank; the upper room and the lower room are distributed on each side of the section, which are respectively used as the bedroom for the elder and the place for processing livestock food. The second section is

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Fresh and Diverse Local Life, Traditional Naxi Villages in Yunnan Province

Fig. 11.11 Outer city of Stone City

Fig. 11.12 Stone-Drum Town in Yulong County of Yunnan Province (Taken by Shi Ziqian)

the main room, which is divided into two bays. The one with a low fire pit is the living room for women. The hostesses and the guests will sit on different sides of the fire pit with the inner position of each side being the most honorable. The other bay with a high fire pit is for males. There are wood panels set around the fire pit, two of which leaning against the walls are the seats for the hosts and the guests, the inner position the more honorable. The shrine of Daba religion is set in the corner of the bay and the tableware is arranged on the panel near the door, which is the place for the housewife

14

The traditional Mosuo family implements a meal-sharing system. Each meal is given to everyone with a bowl of rice, a bowl of vegetables, and a bowl of soup.

to distribute meals.14 The fire is always burning in the fire pits and people boil water, cook, and entertain guests here. In some households, people put bed and cabinets for the elderly on the side of the fire pit close to the upper room. The third section is the rear room with a small door opened toward the main room. It is a relatively private space of the family, which is used for sundries storage and the mortuary when someone in the family passes away. Granaries and pens are built around this three-section building. The layout of the Mosuo’s courtyard meets the functional needs of the maternal family in their daily life and spouse life, for their religious beliefs and family production. Women are the most respected in Mosuo Family, and the space of the room and courtyard is allocated according to

Matriarchal and Patriarchal Society

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Fig. 11.13 Stone-Drum Town and Jinsha River (Taken by Shi Ziqian)

gender and position in family hierarchy, which vividly reflects the structure and lifestyle of the Mosuo Family in the matriarchal society (Figs. 11.21 and 11.22). The western dialect area of Naxi Nationality has entered the patriarchal society in general, in which the system of patrilineal inheritance has been implemented and husband and wife has lived together. The layout of Naxi Family in the patriarchal society is obviously different from that of the matrilineal family. For example, in Baidi, known as the “Holy Land of Dongba”, a typical traditional courtyard consists of the main house, the grass building and the warehouse. The main house is a bungalow for the whole family to live in and dining; the grass building is a two-storey building, with the upstairs used for forage storage or as bedrooms and the downstairs used to raise livestock; the warehouse is also a

bungalow for storing food and other items. The layout of the three buildings is not fixed, but the main house usually faces south and with its back to the north. The main house is the most important building of the courtyard, which is usually partitioned into two bays by a central pillar. A rice roller in the bay near the entrance sets the area for grain processing. In the other bay, there is a fire pit in the center with a tripod and a stove for cooking. There is a circle of wood panels around the fire pit, where meals are placed. There are wood beds on both sides of the wall of the fire pit. The use of the bed is allocated according to gender and age, with the males being the most important. A large bed facing the door is about five chi (length unit approximately equals to 33.3 cm) wide and is the place where men sit and lie. There is a small column on the outside of the big bed, which is the handrail called “Apulachigu” used by the

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Fig. 11.14 An agricultural village on Bazi of Yulong County of Yunnan Province

Fig. 11.15 Agricultural villages on Bazi of Yulong County of Yunnan Province. The villages on Bazi mostly engage in agricultural production. Most of the houses are built at the foot of the mountain, setting

aside the gentlest slopes in the center of Bazi for cultivation. The village-linking roads in Bazi also extend along the foot of the mountain.

Matriarchal and Patriarchal Society

Fig. 11.16 Square Street in Shuhe Town in Gucheng District in Lijiang City of Yunnan Province

Fig. 11.17 Mosuo Courtyard in Zhashi Village in Ninglang County of Yunnan Province

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Fig. 11.18 Grass building in Mosuo Courtyard

elderly. There is also a place called “Gujizaogu” for hanging bedding on the side of the big bed. A small bed against the wall on the other side is about four chi wide, which is the place where women sit and lie. At the corner of the two wood beds, there is a shrine called “Gegulu”, which is the place where Dongba priests recite sutras. A cabinet under the shrine holds the daily necessities such as tea and salt for the elders. On the wall opposite the fire pit and the big bed is the chest of drawers to put the dishes. The central pillar, called “Meidu”, stands in the middle of the house, at one corner of the fire pit, symbolizing the pillar supporting the heavens. The items for sacrifice are hung on the pillar and a sink is settled under the central pillar15 (Figs. 11.23, 11.24, 11.25 and 11.26). Naxi People living along Wuliang River are also in the patriarchal society and believe in Dongba religion. Most of Naxi People here live in two-storey adobe houses, with the ground floor for livestock and the second floor for residence. The main room on the residential floor of the adobe house has a similar layout to the log dwelling in Baidi. There is also a pillar in the room called “duoshuori”, symbolizing the pillar supporting the heavens. In the corner of the room sits a fire pit with a tripod inside and wood panels around. Two wood beds about half a meter high are placed along the fire pit against the walls. The bed against the back wall is the most honorable seat for males with a hanging frame on the wall. The bed against the side wall is for females. There is a shrine in the corner of the room for the Dongba priests to Fig. 11.19 Fire pit for Female 15

Editorial Group. The Social and Historical Survey of Naxi Nationality: III. Beijing: Nationality Publishing House, 2009: 2–3.

Matriarchal and Patriarchal Society

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Fig. 11.20 Fire pit for Male

Fig. 11.21 Plan of a Mosuo Courtyard (Adopted from Lijiang: Beautiful Home of Naxi Nationality, p. 45)

chant. In the adobe houses along Wuliang River and the log dwellings in Baidi, the core space has changed from the dual-core space of the matriarchal society to the single-core space. In the spatial status, the male is superior to the female,

which is compatible with the family structure of the patriarchal society (Fig. 11.27). Having frequent contacts with Han culture, Naxi People in Lijiang area build courtyards of wood-frame tile-roofed

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Fig. 11.22 Plan of a grandmother’s building of Mosuo People (Adopted from Lijiang: Beautiful Home of Naxi Nationality, p. 44)

Fig. 11.23 Fire pit in Baidi (Quoted from Chinese Heritage. 2011(11): 98)

houses. The layout of the courtyard includes different types such as “three lanes and one screen wall”, “quadrangle courtyard with five patios”, “front and rear courtyards”, and “courtyard with two quadrangles”. Although the type of core space with the central pillar and fire pit is no longer used, the homestead of Naxi Family in Lijiang area adapts to the structure of the patrilineal family with the husband and wife living together, the position in family hierarchy and the family status of the family members are distinguished and calculated by the patrilineal system (Fig. 11.28).

The picture shows the layout of a Naxi residence in “quadrangle courtyard with five patios” pattern, which means the courtyard is enclosed by rooms on four sides, forming a patio in the center, together with four small patios at the four corners, thus forming a quadrangle courtyard with five patios (Fig. 11.29). In the quadrangle courtyard with five patios, the main house generally faces south or east, which is the highest in the courtyard, followed by the wing rooms on both sides, and the fronted room facing the main house is the lowest.

Beliefs and Spiritual Space

Fig. 11.24 Fire pit in Wulaing River Region (Photo taken in Youmi Village, Ninglang County of Yunnan Province)

Beliefs and Spiritual Space Naxi houses accommodate not only the worldly material life of the occupants, but also their spiritual beliefs. The form and space of the houses reflect people’s perception of the world. There are diverse beliefs in different regions of Naxi Nationality, so are the spiritual spaces in their architecture. For example, except the primitive beliefs, Mosuo People also believe in Daba religion and Tibetan Buddhism, which are manifested in the space of their dwellings. The core space in the main building, the grandmother’s building, of Mosuo People’s courtyard is divided into two parts according to gender. Corresponding to the female pillar in the room, the low fire pit for females is the place where the shrine of the god of fire pit, “Zanbara”, is consecrated. The shrine is painted with images of lotus, conch, and flame. And a stone is placed in the fire pit as a symbol of ancestors. Every time when a meal is served, a helping must be dedicated to the stone, meaning to provide sacrifice to the ancestors. In the opposite part, there is the high fire pit for males and the male pillar where the shrine of Daba religion is consecrated. The low fire pit is more honorable than the

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high one. The ground-based fire pits, such as the low fire pits, are widely seen in many folk dwellings in the southwest, which is associated with the primitive beliefs such as ancestor worship and fire worship; while the bed-high fire pits are relatively unique with special space dedicated for Daba religion. The male pillar and the female pillar in the grandmother’s building are taken from the same tree trunk, with the treetop made into the male pillar and the tree-root made into the female pillar, which symbolizes that the male and female in the family are from the same maternal system. Such worship of the male and the female pillars comes from the emphasis on population reproduction and family extension, which is the continuity and manifestation of reproduction worship. The binary layout of the core space of the grandmother’s building is the materialized embodiment of the binary life cognition model of Mosuo People, such as men and women, upper and lower, yin and yang.16 In addition, a scripture hall is usually set up in the Mosuo courtyard to consecrate and collect the Buddhist scriptures of Tibetan Buddhism and for lamas to chant. Compared with the primitive beliefs and the Daba religion, it is quite late for Tibetan Buddhism to become popular among Mosuo People, but it is now the most common belief of them. Therefore, the scripture hall is built up independently and is usually the most magnificent building of the entire courtyard. Mosuo People’s housing space is adapted to the structure of their beliefs (Figs. 11.30 and 11.31). Dongba religion was developed in the western dialect area of Naxi Nationality, and their housing space is closely related to the perception and doctrine of Dongba religion. For example, in the adobe house along Wuliang River and the log dwelling in Baidi, there is always a central pillar in the main room, and at one corner of the fire pit there is a dedicated religious space for the shrine and the priest of Dongba religion. The pillar is called “Meidu” by the locals, which stands for the pillar supporting the sky. In the upper part of the pillar there is a piece of wood carved into a cloud shape symbolizing the sky, which indicates that people regard the pillar as a symbol to support the heaven. In the myths recorded in Dongba scriptures, there are several explanations for the spatial pattern of the heaven and the earth. The “sky pillar model” believes that the heaven and the earth are supported by five pillars in the east, west, south, north and at the center; the “holy mountain model” holds that the heaven and the earth are supported by the Holy Mountain “Junaruluo” with the sun and the moon revolving around it; the third explanation is a combination of the two models. These legends are consistent with the natural environment surrounded by the mountains where Naxi People

16

Jiang Gaochen. Lijiang: Beautiful Homeland of Naxi Nationality. Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press, 1997a: 46–48.

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Fig. 11.25 Plan of log dwelling in Baidi (Adopted from Ethnic Housing Culture in Yunnan, p. 268)

live. Both the pillar and the holy mountain are the products of artificial construction. In the notion of Naxi ancestors, the structure of the universe was formed through a series of construction projects; thus, the central pillar in the house can be regarded as the imitation and reappearance of Naxi People’s establishment of the order of heaven and earth in ancient times.17 Some scholars also believe that the central pillar is a concealed expression of the male genitalia, which embodies the reproductive worship of Naxi People.18 This is not contradictory to the cosmic cognitive image of the heaven-supporting pillar (Figs. 11.32 and 11.33). Naxi People in Lijiang area started to contact with Han People early and are more exposed to Han culture. They generally live in Han-style wood-frame and tile-roofed houses whose building space also manifests Han culture to a certain degree. The core space of the log dwelling and the adobe house is the fire pit and the central pillar, which are the center during the construction process and the place where many daily rituals are carried out; while the core

17

Tian Song. The Lingering Charm of the Divine World: Naxi, the Transformation of an Ancient Nationality. Shanghai: Shanghai Jiaotong University Press, 2008: 26. 18 Jiang Gaochen. Lijiang: Beautiful Naxi Homeland. Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press, 1997a: 50–51.

space in the Han-style tile-roofed house is the central axis. For example, the place for ancestors worshiping is generally found in the central room on the second or the first floor. The ridge purlin above the central room, called the middle beam by the locals, is the most sacred component and the beam raising ceremony is the most important ritual in the construction of the house; and “tile cat”, a kind of cat-like ridge-decoration on traditional buildings, is placed in the middle of the ridge playing a role in warding off the evil spirits and bringing in good fortune. In addition, the decoration on Han-style tile-roofed house also reflects the impact of Han culture on the architecture. For example, block stones, broken tiles, and pebbles are used in some courtyards to pave for auspicious patterns in Han culture, the most common ones being “four bats celebrating the birthday” (bat is a homophone for “blessing” in Chinese), “Kylin admiring the moon”, “the Eight Immortals crossing the sea” and so on. There are generally six wood partition doors for the central room on the first floor. The doors are usually carved with patterns such as “the fancies of men of letters”, “the pine and the crane coming with the spring”, “magpies playing in the plum tree” and the Chinese characters “福” (blessing) “禄” (wealth) “寿” (longevity) “喜” (happiness). Some doors have the Chinese maxims written on them directly (Figs. 11.34 and 11.35).

Evolution of Building Types

Fig. 11.26 Plan of the adobe house along Wuliang River

Evolution of Building Types Naxi Nationality is distributed among Hengduan Mountains where mountains and valleys intersect each other, resulting in various climates and abundant resources. Correspondingly, the types of vernacular architecture of Naxi People are diverse to adapt to the climate, resources and technical conditions of the location. From the perspective of the material and structure of the buildings, log dwelling, wood-framed tile-roofed house and adobe house are the main building types. From the records of historical documents, the well-frame log dwelling is a building type commonly used in the history of Naxi Nationality. The description of the houses for different nationalities in Dongba scriptures goes, “The Tibetan old man passed away in the tall adobe house… The old man of Bai Nationality passed away in the tile-roofed house…

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The Naxi father passed away in the log dwelling. The Bayi father passed away in the thatched roof house.”19 It is obvious that during Tang and Song dynasties when Dongba scriptures developed and came into being, the log dwelling had already been a typical type of building different from that of other ethnic groups in the cognition of Naxi People. The popularity of the log dwellings lasted for a long time. In Lijiang, where the development of social economy is the fastest, the ordinary people still took the log dwelling as the main building form until Qing Dynasty before the implementation of the policy of “abolishing native chieftains and appointing government officials”. The rhyme in architecture goes, “Four logs cross each other at four corners, piled up to a height about 2.3–2.6 m; rafters are added on the top, covered by wood planks and laid with stones”.20 The construction technique of the log dwelling is relatively simple, the thick wall is stacked with round logs, the roof is covered with wood planks, and the stones are laid above the roof to work against the strong wind. Such building form is compatible with the rich forest resources in the area where the log dwellings are distributed. Until the late 20th century, this building form was still used in mountainous areas rich in forest resources. For example, log dwellings were still popular in Baidi in the early years of new China.21 Mosuo People around Yongning still live in log dwellings nowadays. The log dwellings are also used as auxiliary rooms such as warehouses or livestock pens in various mountainous areas (Figs. 11.36 and 11.37). The wood-framed tile-roofed house is currently the most common type of building in Naxi Nationality, which is distributed in almost all Naxi areas. In the history of Naxi Nationality, the wood-framed tile-roofed house began to appear in Ming Dynasty and became popular in Qing Dynasty. Xu Xiake made a description of the residential dwellings when he visited Lijiang that the ordinary people lived in the thatched roof houses, the well-to-do lived in the tile-roofed houses, while the house of the Chieftain Mu was as gorgeous and magnificent as the emperor’s palace.22 So that the Han-style tile-roofed house had already appeared in Lijiang in Ming Dynasty, but the use of which was limited to the ruling class. It was mentioned in The Brief Record of Lijiang written in the eighth year of Qianlong in Qing Dynasty that before implementing the policy of abolishing native chieftains and 19

Xi Yuhua, Zhao Shihong. Dongba Scripture.//Tong Defu, Bamo Ayi, Suluge. The Compilation of Chinese Original Ethnic Religions. Beijing: Central University for Nationalities Press, 2009: 456. 20 Guan Xuexuan, Wan Xianyan. Lijiang Records: Xueshan Hall Plate. [S.1.]: [s.n.], 1743 (8th year of Qianlong in Qing Dynasty): 206–207. 21 Editor Group. Naxi Social and Historical Survey: II volume. Kunming: Yunnan Nationalities Press, 1986: 24. 22 Xu Hongzu. Travel Notes of Xu Xiake. Shanghai: Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 2010: 269, 299.

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Fig. 11.27 Sectional view of an adobe house along Wuliang River. In the past, most of the adobe houses were accessed from the pens and people went up to the second floor through a single wooden ladder.

Nowadays, most people have converted the entrance to the second floor for the sake of hygiene.

appointing government officials, “only the roof of the chieftain’s manor was covered with tiles, and the rest were all covered with wood planks.”23 So, the widespread of Han-style buildings in Lijiang was after the change of government officers, while the popularity in the surrounding areas was even later. The structure and form of the wood-framed tile-roofed houses have obvious characteristics of Han architecture. The popularity of this building type in Naxi area is closely related to the spread of Han culture and artistry. In Ming Dynasty, Chieftain Mu of Lijiang had a close relationship with the central government, but he imposed restrictions on the learning of Han culture by the common people, and as a result, Han culture was mainly spread among the ruling class. After implementing the policy of abolishing native chieftains and appointing government officials in Lijiang, the government officials established schools extensively and the ordinary people had more opportunities to receive education, so that Han culture was able to be further popularized and the Han-style tile-roofed buildings and their construction skills also started to become popular among ordinary people.24 The column-and-tie structure or the combination of column-and-tie and the pillar-and-beam structure are applied to bear the weight of the wood-framed tile-roofed house. The walls are made of adobe bricks or stones, some of which are

partially covered with grey bricks. And the roofs are covered with tiles. Compared to the log dwelling, this type of building requires the technique of brick and tile baking and much more complex woodworking techniques than those in building log dwellings. But the amount of timber is greatly reduced. And the house is taller and more spacious, and it is easy to open windows on the wall to let in the daylight. With the increasing difficulty in obtaining timber resources and the continuous advancement of construction technology, the wood-framed tile-roofed houses have gradually replaced the dominant position of the log dwellings (Figs. 11.38, 11.39, 11.40 and 11.41). Compared with the log dwellings and the wood-framed tile-roofed houses, the adobe houses occupy a relatively small distribution in the settlements of Naxi Nationality. The adobe houses are mainly concentrated in Naxi Villages in Wulaing River Valley, a tributary of Jinsha River, and in part of the Lancang River Valley, with the former being the most typical. Naxi adobe houses in Wuliang River Valley are generally two-storey flat-roof buildings, with the first floor for raising livestock and the second floor for living. The lower part of the walls is made of stones; the upper part is a combination of rammed earth and log cabinets. The branches are densely arranged on the beams to form a flat roof, covered with a layer of rammed earth. The adobe houses in Wuliang River Valley are adapted to the local climate and resources. On the one hand, the hot and dry climate makes no urgent demand for using the slope roof to accelerate drainage while the flat roof increases the area for drying and other farming activities. On the other hand,

23

Guan Xuexuan, Wan Xianyan. The Brief Record of Lijiang: Xueshan Hall Plate. [S.1.]: [s.n.], 1743 (the 8th year of Qianlong in Qing Dynasty): 206–207. 24 Guo Dalie. History of Naxi Nationality. Chengdu: Sichuan Nationality Publishing House, 1994: 370–372.

Evolution of Building Types

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Fig. 11.28 Plan of a folk dwelling in Lijiang (Adopted from The Ancient Lijiang City and the Folk Dwellings of Naxi Nationality, p. 84)

building log dwellings requires large amount of wood, and the roof planks can only be made of the firs growing at higher altitudes, which are difficult to obtain in the river valley; while earth and stones are easily available. Therefore, the adobe houses more suitable for the climate and resources in the hot and dry river valleys dominate the local architectural forms. In the migration route of Naxi People,

Wuliang River area locates in the upper reach of the western branch, while in Baidi in the lower reach, as well as in the areas of the eastern branch, log dwellings are widely used. What’s more, the Dongba scriptures circulating in Wuliang River area records the buildings with stone basement, rammed earth walls and “seven-hundred wooden boards on the roof”. Therefore, the adobe houses here may have been

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Fig. 11.29 Sectional view of a folk dwelling in Lijaing (Adopted from The Ancient Lijiang City and the Folk Dwellings of Naxi Nationality, p. 84)

evolved from the log dwellings and gradually adapted to the regional climate and resources (Figs. 11.42, 11.43 and 11.44). The adobe houses in Lancang River Valley are mostly constructed with wood frames, rammed earth walls, and purlin and rafter structure on the first floor. The Han-style wood-framed tile-roofed structure is applied on the second floor. Naxi People here neighbor Tibetans, and their building forms also reflect the combination of Naxi and Tibetan architecture (Fig. 11.45). The Naxi architecture is famous because of the old town of Lijiang. The Han-style wood-framed tile-roofed houses, represented by the folk dwellings in Lijiang, manifest the superb construction skills of Naxi People. And the various architectural types in Naxi region vividly reflect the adaptability and diversity of Naxi vernacular architecture.

Fig. 11.30 Shrine of the God of fire pit

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Fig. 11.31 Scripture hall of Mosuo People

Fig. 11.32 Heaven-supporting pillar

Fig. 11.33 Fire pit in the adobe house. Figures 11.33 and 11.34 were taken in Youmi Village of Ninglang County, Yunnan Province. The inhabitants in this village are all Ranke People, a branch of Naxi Nationality.

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Fig. 11.34 Beam raising ceremony in Jiuhe Town in Lijaing City of Yunnan Province

Fig. 11.35 A craftsman carving the door plank

Evolution of Building Types

Fig. 11.36 Log dwellings of Mosuo People

Fig. 11.37 Log dwellings in Baidi (Quoted from The Chinese Heritage. 2011(11), p. 100)

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Fig. 11.38 Wood-framed tile-roofed house in Nangaozhai Village, Yulong County, Yunnan Province

Fig. 11.39 Wood-framed tile-roofed house in Dayan Town in Gucheng District, Lijiang City, Yunnan Province

Evolution of Building Types

Fig. 11.40 Wood-framed tile-roofed house with Stone Walls in Yuhu Village, Yulong County, Yunnan Province

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Fig. 11.43 Adobe house by Wuliang River

Fig. 11.41 Wood-framed tile-roofed house under construction

Fig. 11.42 Adobe house by Wuliang River

Evolution of Building Types

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Fig. 11.44 Adobe house by Wuliang River. Figures 11.42, 11.43 and 11.44 were taken in Youmi Village in Ninglang County of Yunnan Province. All the habitants in this village are Ranke People, a branch of Naxi Nationality.

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Fig. 11.45 Adobe house of Naxi Nationality in Lancang River Valley. The figure was taken in Cizhong Village in Deqin County of Yunnan Province. Naxi People here apply the technique of Tibetan adobe house

to build the first floor of their house, upon which they build a Naxi-style wood-framed tile-roofed structure.

References

References Cai, L. (2007). Traditional villages and architectures in Dong Nationality settlements. Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press. Cheng, J. (2002). Kaiping watchtowers—Combination of Chinese and Western cultural landscape in overseas Chinese villages. Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press. Chen, Z., & Li, Q. (2007). Three villages in Mei County. Beijing: Tsinghua University Press. Chen, Z., & Li, Q. (2012). Preliminary study on Chinese rural architecture. Beijing: Tsinghua University Press. Duoerji Hong, Y., & Agen. (2011). Oriental pyramids—Watchtowers on plateaus. Beijing: China Tibetology Press. Editor Group. (2007). Fujian earthen dwellings. Beijing: China Encyclopedia Publishing House. Huang, H., & Chen, L. (2012). Architecture of Fujian Tulou. Fuzhou: Haixia Publishing and Distribution Group/Fujian Science and Technology Press. Ji, F. (2011). Defensiveness of ancient Qiang people. Beijing: The Central Literature Press. Jiang, G. (1997). Lijiang: Beautiful homeland of Naxi Nationality. Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press. Jiang, G. (1997). Culture of Yunnan ethnic residential houses. Kunming: Yunnan University Press. Li, X. (2005). Stilt style architecture of Miao Nationality. Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press.

307 Luo, D. (2008). Guizhou folk dwellings. Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press. Ministry of Housing and Urban-rural Development of the People’s Republic of China. (2014). Collection of traditional Chinese folk dwellings. Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press. Shan, D. (2009). Anhui folk dwellings. Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press. Wang, X. (2010). Research on traditional forts and village settlements: In case of Qin and Jin area. Nanjing: Southeast University Press. Wang, J., Xu, Q., & Han, W. (2009). Shanxi folk dwellings. Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press. Wu, W. (2010). Iconography study on the architectural structure of Round-Dragon Houses. Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press. Xue, L. (2010). Series of ancient Shanxi villages and towns. Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press. Xue, L. (2015) Traditional Chinese villages (Vol. 1): Traditional Beijing villages. Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press. Xue, L., & Jin, C., Construction Bureau. (2010). Ancient villages and towns in Jin Cheng of Shanxi province. Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press. Zhu, L. (1988). Ancient towns in Lijiang and folk dwellings of Naxi Nationality. Kunming: Yunnan Science and Technology Press. Zhu, X., Wang, C., & Wang, J. (2009). Folk dwellings of Jin merchants. Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press.

Afterword

In the 5000-year history of Chinese civilization, agricultural civilization is the foundation and occupies a prominent position. To a certain extent, the so-called traditional civilization is largely agricultural civilization. In the long history, the countryside has always been the most populated area. In the 1930s, China’s rural population still accounted for 80% to 85% of the total population. Only after the 21st century has the urban population surpassed the rural population in an unprecedented way. China’s vast territory, diverse landscapes, complex climate, numerous ethnic groups and rich culture, together with the previous underdevelopment of the information communication, bring forth a large variety of traditional Chinese villages scattered on China’s landscape which are different in form and shape, full of personality and distinctive in characteristics. Being simple and plain, broad and profound, these villages are the cornerstones of the history of Chinese civilization and valuable cultural heritage of the Chinese nation. However, the protection of traditional villages just began 20 or 30 years ago. In 1986, the State Council announced the second batch of national historical and cultural cities and pointed out, “It is also necessary to protect the neighborhoods, buildings, villages and towns where the cultural relics and historical sites are concentrated, and those that reflect the traditional features of a certain historical period and local characteristics.” However, not much practical actions were taken after the announcement. Here is an example to illustrate this point. In 2000, the ancient villages of southern Anhui Province (including Xidi Village and Hong Village) were registered as World Cultural Heritage but they had not yet been included in the national key cultural relic protection units. It was not until one year later that the ancient architectural complex in Hong Village and that in Xidi Village were announced as national key cultural relic protection units, which is hard to imagine. This embarrassing situation was mainly due to the lag of the domestic concept at that time, that is, the country was relatively indifferent to this kind of heritage. However, this incident

caused great repercussions and shocks in the country, prompting domestic reflection on the protection of traditional villages. By the time the fifth batch of national key cultural relic protection units was announced in 2001, nearly ten ancient architectural complexes in villages and towns were included, such as the ancient architectural complex in Yuyuan Village in Wuyi County in Zhejiang Province. Later, the announcements of the sixth batch in 2006 and the seventh batch in 2013 embraced more ancient villages and towns. These ancient architectural complexes are basically similar to the concept of villages. In the past decade, governmental departments such as the Ministry of Housing and Urban–Rural Development have done a lot of fruitful work around the protection of traditional villages. In particular, the establishment of the “famous Chinese historical and cultural towns and villages” and the “traditional Chinese villages” protection lists and protection systems have played an important role in the promotion and protection of traditional villages. For more than ten years from 2003 to 2014, the Ministry of Housing and Urban–Rural Development and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage announced six batches of 528 Chinese historical and cultural towns in total, including 252 famous towns and 276 famous villages. From 2012 to 2014, the Ministry of Housing and Urban–Rural Development announced three batches of 2555 traditional Chinese villages. In 2015, the fourth batch of traditional Chinese villages will be announced. In 2014, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage identified the name list of 270 “Traditional Villages of National Key Cultural Relic Protection Unit and Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Unit”. These governmental tasks will greatly promote the protection of traditional villages and have far-reaching significance. The promotion of education has always been a very important measure and means in heritage conservation and is emphasized by many relevant international charters and declarations. For the protection of traditional villages, education publicity is also crucial. Its purpose is to make the

© China Architecture & Building Press and Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 L. Xue et al., Traditional Chinese Villages, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6154-6

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whole nation understand why these traditional villages should be protected, including the cost of protection. The big worry now is that the traditional villages are gone before the whole nation knows what’s going on, and it won’t matter if they repent. The lessons of such historic and cultural cities are just around the corner! Therefore, publicity should be carried out to let as many people as possible understand and appreciate traditional villages and understand the meaning of conservation, which is also the main reason and motivation for our team to be willing to undertake the task of writing this book. It should be noted that the “traditional Chinese villages” introduced in this book are not limited to those announced by the Ministry of Housing and Urban–Rural Development, but rather referring to the “traditional Chinese villages” in general. The former ones, being a special title, are specific and clear; the latter ones are vague and broad, referring to all the traditional villages in China. These traditional villages are numerous and distributed from north to south and east to west across the vast territory in China. Limited by the length of the book, it is difficult to cover everything, so only a few of them are selected in hope of guiding the audience to see the whole from a small piece. It can be seen from the released distribution of the traditional Chinese villages that these villages are concentrated in some areas, such as southeastern Shanxi Province, southeastern Guizhou Province, southern Anhui Province, southwestern Yunnan Province and so on. The traditional villages in ten regions have been selected as the main contents of this book. One rule for selection was whether the settlements and vernacular architecture in these areas were included in the “World Heritage” or “World Heritage Tentative List”. As discussed in this book, the ancient villages in South Anhui Province, the watchtowers and villages in Kaiping, and Tulou in Fujian have been included in the World Heritage; “Dong Villages”, “Tibetan Watchtowers and Villages”, “Miao Villages” were included in the World Heritage Tentative List; “Shanxi Merchant Manors” were once included in the World Heritage Tentative List; and “Meizhou Folk Dwellings” are right now dedicated to apply for the listing of World Cultural Heritage. This book is achieved by the collective efforts of our team. The specific division of labor is as follows:

Afterword

“Chapter 1 Introduction: Diverse Cultures, Villages and Architecture” by Pan, Xi and Xue, Linping. “Chapter 2 Happy Families in Heavenly Dwellings, Huizhou Merchant Villages in Southern Anhui” by Liu, Jie and Xue, Linping. “Chapter 3 Lofty Buildings Towering East and West, Kaiping Watchtower Villages in Central and Southern Guangdong” by Wang, Xin and Xue, Linping. “Chapter 4 Round and Square Buildings and Five-Phoenix Mansions, Ancient Villages in Southwestern Fujian” by Xue, Linping and Liu, Jie. “Chapter 5 Drum Towers against Mountains and over Waters, Ancient Dong Villages in Southeastern Guizhou” by Wang, Xin and Xue, Linping. “Chapter 6 Stilt Houses on Top of Leigong Mountain, Ancient Miao Villages in Southeastern Guizhou” by Pan, Xi and Xue, Linping. “Chapter 7 Watchtowers over Gorges, Tibetan and Qiang Villages in Western Sichuan” by Pan, Xi and Xue, Linping. “Chapter 8 Deep Merchant Courtyards, Traditional Villages in Central Shanxi” by Wang, Xin and Xue, Linping. “Chapter 9 Dwellings for All Walks of Life, Villages on Middle Reaches of Qin River in Shanxi and Henan” by Guo, Huazhan and Xue, Linping. “Chapter 10 Hakka Round-Dragon Houses among Green Mountains and Waters, Traditional Meizhou Villages in Guangdong” by Xue, Linping. “Chapter 11 Fresh and Diverse Local Life, Traditional Naxi Villages in Yunnan” by Pan, Xi. The illustrations in the book, except the ones marked, are taken or drawn by the authors. The English version is translated by Professor Zhou, Honghong from School of Languages and Communication Studies of Beijing Jiaotong University with the assistance of her students Bing Wang, Baohua Zhao, Mengyuan Yin, Xueqin Nie, and Yaqi Wu. Finally, I am responsible for the final draft. If there are any mistakes or errors in the book, I do hope the readers will correct them without hesitation! Linping Xue in Beijing Jiaotong University. August 12, 2020.