Information on Hakka Dwellings and Dai Bamboo Buildings

Hakka traditional dwellings, represented by earth buildings, dragon houses and palace houses, have different types and styles. However, their sturdiness, safety, closeness, and family settlement are their outstanding characteristics.

1. sturdiness

nowadays, the round and square earth buildings in Fujian and Guangdong have a history of 2-3 years or even 5-6 years. They have been washed by wind and rain, attacked by strong earthquakes and typhoons, and are safe and sound so far, standing proudly among the mountains.

such a strong residential building is inseparable from the careful selection of house site, scientific design, materials and construction methods. Now only from the earth building building materials and construction methods to make some explanations.

The walls of tulou are thick at the bottom and thin at the top, and some of them are as thick as 1.5 meters. When tamping, first dig a deep and large wall ditch in the foundation of the wall, tamp it, bury it with stones as the foundation, and then build the foundation with stones and mortar. Then the wall was rammed with sandwich panels. The raw material of the earth wall is mainly local clayey red soil, mixed with a proper amount of pebbles and lime, which is repeatedly mashed and evenly mixed to make the so-called "cooked soil". Some key parts should be mixed with appropriate amount of glutinous rice and brown sugar to increase their viscosity. When tamping, Chinese fir branches or bamboo pieces should be buried in the middle of the earth wall as "wall bones" to increase its tension. In this way, after repeated tamping, an earth wall like steel and concrete was built, and a layer of lime was coated outside to prevent wind and rain erosion, so it was strong and abnormal, with good wind and earthquake resistance. According to Yongding County Records, there was a great earthquake in 1918, which banged during the day and lasted for 2 minutes, and continued to shake at night, but the earth building remained intact.

II. Safety

Historically, Hakkas were originally Han Chinese in the Central Plains. After they moved south to the mountainous areas in the border areas of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi, in order to prevent the looting by the aborigines and bandits and the attack by wild animals, the earth buildings and enclosed houses they built were strictly guarded and very safe.

For example, like an ancient castle, there are no outward windows on the first and second floors, or only long and thin stone windows like gun holes. On the third and fourth floors, and in every room, there are large outward windows, which are not only conducive to lighting and air circulation, but also become gun holes for watching the enemy and shooting outward. The doorframe and threshold of the earth building gate are all stones, and the door panel is about 1 cm thick. Some doors are obliquely dug with several door holes embedded with bamboo tubes. If bandits attack the door, they can shoot down and pour boiling water. Some tulou gates are also equipped with fire-proof water tanks and sinks. If the invading enemy sets fire to the door, as long as the switch is pressed, water will flow down the door to extinguish the fire and protect the door. Earth buildings were already strong and abnormal, but some earth buildings were rammed with sandwiched walls just in case. In case the external wall is blown open by gunfire, the earth building is still supported by the sandwich wall and is safe and sound. There are all kinds of complete living facilities in the earth building: the deep well in the patio is the water source when it is besieged, and there are equipment for processing food such as water and water in the building. All this made the bandits unable to attack for a long time. As for the "four-point gold" with towering towers at the four corners, it is even more daunting to lead bandits.

III. Closure

Hakka dwellings, whether earthen buildings or enclosed houses or Wufeng buildings, are connected by corridors, lanes and stairs, making it convenient for residents to live. However, they are completely closed to the outside world. Generally, there is only one front door and one back door, or one front door and two side doors. Gatehouses are installed in all horizontal houses and semi-circular enclosed houses of enclosed houses and dragon houses. In case of robbery, as long as the door is closed, it will be tightly closed.

Fourth, the family inhabitation

Hakka earth buildings, enclosed houses, Wufeng buildings, etc. are generally large in scale. Yongding "Chengqi Building" has more than 3 rooms with an area of 5,376 square meters. The "Heritage Building" has five floors, covering an area of 1,336 square meters, and there are 51 halls alone. No wonder a Japanese architecture professor wrote after seeing Yongding Earth Building: "This touching Hakka Earth Building is a small city rather than a huge house".

such a huge residence is just to adapt to the characteristics of living together. At its peak, Chengqi Building once lived in 8 households with more than 6 people. There are more than 3 rooms in the dragon enclosure in my hometown of Roche, which is occupied by 5 families and 35 people in Roche. Although there are many households, because there are many rooms, halls and patios, they can form small living units with halls, patios and several rooms, which makes the households have their own places and look elegant and comfortable.

what is worth mentioning is the ancestral temple, the "heart" of earth buildings and enclosed houses. This is the place where the heads of families gather parents to discuss. On holidays, every family of the family carries all kinds of offerings and comes here to offer sacrifices to their ancestors. When a man marries, he must worship heaven and earth in the ancestral hall, knock on his ancestors and entertain guests. After the daughter gets married and says goodbye to her ancestors, she can put on a hijab and walk on a big round plaque symbolizing reunion. When the old man died, the ancestral hall became a mourning hall. In this way, an ancestral temple unites the family in harmony and enjoys family happiness.

this article comes from: Guangdong Hakka network, with detailed source reference:/thread-63-1-1.html.