In ancient Huizhou, Anhui, China, what animals did residents keep in the drainage channel of the patio?

tortoise.

You can change the water if you raise fish well, but if you don't, you need to change the fish. Because the fish is rather delicate, if the water temperature and quality are not suitable, it is likely to die. As the saying goes, the tortoise, which is a thousand years old and 8 thousand years old, is a relatively tolerant animal. In ancient times, some people even put turtles in sewers to act as scavengers.

In ancient times, in Huizhou, Anhui Province, where Huizhou ink was a special product, residents at that time would put turtles as scavengers in their drainage channels. At that time, the sewer system was to discharge dirty water and sewage from the village at home. Because in ancient times, people paid more attention to gathering wealth, when laying sewers, they were also winding, not going straight outside the house, but paying attention to the fact that Feng Shui jewelry and so on would not go straight outside the house.

However, because the sewer pipe is crooked, some sludge will not flow directly into the sludge tank for storing sludge. At this time, put a turtle, because the turtle prefers this dark and humid place, it will climb inside with the mud, thus acting as a "scavenger" in the sewer.

Extended information:

Courtyard is a major feature of ancient Huizhou architecture, which has the functions of undertaking and removing roof running water, lighting and ventilation. Because the eaves of the roof face the sky well, and the surrounding water flows into the open pit from the eaves, it is called "four waters return to the hall" locally. Because water is the main wealth, local Huizhou merchants attach great importance to "gathering wealth" and "fertilizer and water don't flow out of the field", so this architectural design is the externalization of this idea in architecture.

In addition, the length-width ratio of patios is generally 5:1, and the lighting of long and narrow patios is mostly secondary refracted light, which is softer than natural light and makes people feel quiet and comfortable. Because the patio is small, the interference of wind and sand dust is small, and there are few doors between the hall and the patio. The two are usually integrated, so people can sit in the hall and bathe in the morning sun and watch the stars at night. The tall and closed external walls isolate nature, but the patio introduces nature, which is the concrete embodiment of the architectural style of ancient Huizhou.