What are the characteristic houses in China? Let's talk briefly.
The dragon enclosure was built in the Tang and Song Dynasties and prevailed in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Hakkas adopt the most advanced beam-lifting and bucket-crossing techniques in the architectural techniques of the Han nationality in the Central Plains, and choose hilly or sloping areas for construction. In architecture, the north-south meridian is the central axis, the east and west sides are symmetrical, the front is low and the back is high, the primary and secondary are clear, and the layout is orderly. The main structure is "one entrance, three halls, two compartments and one enclosure". The left and right compartments of the dragon enclosure house are commonly known as horizontal houses. At the ends of the left and right horizontal houses, a walled house is built to surround the main house, and the middle room is called the Dragon Hall, hence the name "Dragon Enclosure House". Small enclosure houses generally have only one or two enclosures, while large enclosure houses have four or six enclosures. However, the Hakka dragon houses in Meizhou are basically semi-circular rather than circular. There must be a semi-circular pond in front of the house, and the water and the house will eventually form a circle, which is not found in other places. Residential buildings in various parts of China, also known as folk houses. Residential building is the most basic type of building, with the earliest appearance, the widest distribution and the largest number. Due to the different natural environment and cultural conditions in different regions of China, the local houses also show diversified features.
The mainstream of traditional folk houses in Han areas of China is regular houses, with Beijing Siheyuan, which is arranged in a symmetrical way, as a typical representative. Beijing quadrangle is divided into front and back houses, with the main house system in the middle being the most respected. It is the place where family etiquette is held and distinguished guests are received. Each house faces the courtyard and is connected by a veranda. Although Beijing Siheyuan is a concrete manifestation of patriarchal clan system and family system in China feudal society, it is an ideal outdoor living space with wide courtyard, appropriate scale, quiet and cordial, and orderly flowers and trees. Most of the houses in North China and Northeast China are such spacious courtyards.
Houses and earth buildings
Houses in the south of China are relatively compact and multi-storied, and their typical houses are halls with small rectangular patios as the center. This kind of residence is square and simple, and it is widely distributed in southern provinces.
Hakkas in southern Fujian, northern Guangdong and northern Guangxi often live in large-scale group houses, which have a round plane and consist of a single-story building hall in the center and four or five-story buildings around. This kind of building is very defensive, represented by Hakka earth buildings in Yongding County, Fujian Province. Among the traditional houses in China, the Hakka earth buildings in Yongding are unique. There are more than 8, earth buildings with square, round, octagonal and oval shapes, which are large in scale, beautiful in shape, scientific, practical and distinctive, and constitute a wonderful residential world.
Fujian tulou is made of local raw soil, gravel and wood chips to build a single house, which is then connected into a big house, and then a thick and closed "defensive" castle-style building house-tulou is built. Tulou has firmness, safety, closeness and strong clan characteristics. There are water wells and granaries in the building. In case of war and bandits, once the gate is closed, it will be self-contained. In case of siege, food and water will continue for several months. Coupled with the characteristics of warm winter and cool summer, earthquake-proof and wind-resistant, Tulou has become a residence that Hakka people have attacked from generation to generation and thrived.
Residential buildings for ethnic minorities
There are many kinds of residential buildings in ethnic minority areas in China, for example, most Uygur houses in northwest Xinjiang are flat-topped, with earth walls and one to three floors, surrounded by courtyards; The typical Tibetan folk house "Diaofang" uses stones to build the external wall, and the interior is flat-topped with wooden structure; Mongolians usually live in movable yurts; However, ethnic minorities in southwest China often build wooden-framed dry-railing buildings with open downstairs and people living upstairs, among which the bamboo buildings of the Dai people in Yunnan are the most distinctive. Miao and Tujia Diaojiaolou are the most distinctive dwellings in southwest China. Diaojiaolou is usually built on a slope, with no foundation. It is supported by columns. The building is divided into two or three floors. The top floor is very short, only food can't accommodate people, and debris or livestock are piled downstairs.
caves in the north and folk houses in ancient cities
China has a vast territory and many ethnic groups, and the forms, structures, decorative arts and colors of folk houses in different places have their own characteristics. Here, I mainly introduce the distinctive northern caves and the folk houses in the ancient city.
There are many cave dwelling houses in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River in northern China. In the loess areas such as Shaanxi, Gansu, Henan and Shanxi, local residents dig horizontal holes in the natural soil walls, and often connect several holes, adding bricks and stones in the holes to build caves. Cave dwellings are fire-proof, noise-proof, warm in winter and cool in summer, land-saving, economic and labor-saving, and organically combine natural and life scenes, which is a perfect architectural form adapted to local conditions and permeates people's love and attachment to the yellow land.
in addition, there are well-preserved ancient cities in China, and there are a large number of ancient houses in these ancient cities. Among them, the ancient city of Pingyao in Shanxi and Old Town of Lijiang in Yunnan were listed on the World Heritage List in 1998, and Diaolou was listed on the World Heritage List in 27.
Pingyao ancient city is the most complete existing ancient county town in Ming and Qing dynasties, and it is a typical representative of the ancient county town in the Central Plains of China Han nationality. So far, the walls, streets, houses, shops, temples and other buildings in this city are still basically intact, and its architectural pattern and features have remained largely unchanged. Pingyao is a living specimen for studying China's political, economic, cultural, military, architectural and artistic development.
Old Town of Lijiang, which was founded in the Southern Song Dynasty, is the only town that combines traditional Naxi architecture with foreign architectural features. Old Town of Lijiang is not influenced by the architectural etiquette of the Central Plains, and the road network in the city is irregular and there is no strict wall. Black Dragon Pool is the main water source of the ancient city. The pool water flows into the walls and around the households, forming a water network. Rivers and canals can be seen everywhere in the ancient city, and weeping willows brush the water along the river.