Architectural Features of Traditional Dwellings in China

The characteristics of folk houses mainly refer to the characteristics that reflect the most essential and representative things in ethnic areas in historical practice, especially those closely related to the lives, production methods, customs and aesthetic concepts of people of all ethnic groups. Ethnic experience mainly refers to the experience of how to meet the needs of life and production and fight against the natural environment under the social conditions at that time, such as the experience of combining terrain, adapting to the climate, using local materials and adapting to the environment. , which is commonly referred to as adapting to local conditions and adapting to material experience.

Houses are distributed all over the country. Due to the differences in national historical traditions, living customs, humanistic conditions and aesthetic concepts, as well as the differences in natural conditions and geographical environment, the plane layout, structural methods, modeling and detailed features of residential buildings are also different, which are simple and natural, but also have their own characteristics. Especially in folk houses, people of all ethnic groups often reflect their wishes, beliefs, aesthetic concepts, and their most desired and favorite things into the decoration, patterns, colors and styles of folk houses through realistic or symbolic means. Such as cranes, deer, bats, magpies, plums, bamboos, lilies, Ganoderma lucidum, Wan Ziwen, Han palindromes, Yunnan Bai lotus, Dai elephant, peacock and betel nut. In this way, the folk houses of all ethnic groups in various regions present rich and colorful national characteristics.

The mainstream of traditional folk houses in China Han nationality area is regular folk houses, with Beijing quadrangle as a typical representative and symmetrical layout. Beijing quadrangles are divided into front and rear rooms, and the main house system in the middle is the most respected. It is a place to hold family etiquette and receive distinguished guests. Each house faces the courtyard and is connected by a balcony. Although Beijing Siheyuan is a concrete embodiment of patriarchal clan system in feudal society of China, it is an ideal outdoor living space with wide courtyard, appropriate scale, quiet and friendly, and orderly flowers and trees. Most houses in northeast China are such spacious quadrangles. Unlike official buildings, residential buildings do not have a set of procedural rules and regulations and practices. They can build houses according to local natural conditions, their own economic level and the characteristics of building materials. It can freely give full play to the greatest wisdom of the working people and build according to its own needs and the inherent laws of architecture. Therefore, it can fully reflect the characteristics of practical and reasonable function, flexible design, economical material structure and simple appearance in residential buildings. In particular, the builders and users of the vast number of houses are the same, designing, building and using by themselves, so the practice of houses is more people-oriented, economical and practical, and can best reflect the national and local characteristics. Wooden frame courtyard style

The most important form of traditional houses in China is numerous and widely distributed, which is used by most people of Han, Manchu, Bai and other ethnic minorities. This kind of residence is dominated by wooden frame houses, with a main hall or main room on the north-south main axis, and an east-west wing opposite to the main room. Siheyuan is composed of this vertical and hatchback style, commonly known as "Siheyuan" and "Sanheyuan". The elders live in the main room, the younger generation lives in the wing, the women live in the inner court, and the visitors and footmen live in the outer court. This distribution conforms to the etiquette requirements of China feudal society to distinguish between generations, generations and inside and outside. This residential form is spread all over the towns and villages in China, but it has its own characteristics due to the different natural conditions and lifestyles in different regions. Among them, quadrangles are represented by Beijing quadrangles, forming a unique architectural style.

Four waters returning to the hall style

There are many names of houses in the south of China, and the plane layout is basically the same as that of the "quadrangles" in the north, except that the courtyards are small, which are only used for drainage and lighting ("four waters return to the hall" is a local common name, which means that the rainwater on the inner slopes of the roofs flows into the courtyards). This kind of residence is an advanced courtyard, and the main room is often a hall. The courtyard is slightly open, and the hall is more open, which is connected with the inside and outside of the patio. Most of the houses in the backyard are buildings, and the patio is deeper and smaller. The roof is paved with small blue tiles, and the indoor floor is paved with stone slabs to adapt to the warm and humid climate in the south of the Yangtze River. Houses in Jiangnan water towns are often built near the water, with the front door leading to the lane and the back door facing the water. Each family has its own wharf for washing, pumping water and getting on and off the ship.

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The "Yinyin" residence in Yunnan Province (southwest of China) can be regarded as the representative of this kind of residence, and Hunan Province (south of China) and other provinces call it the "Yinovary". The layout principle of this kind of residence is basically the same as the above-mentioned "quadrangle", except that the four corners of the house are connected with each other to form a "seal" residential building with wooden structure, adobe walls and colorful paintings.

Datulou

Datulou is a circular building inhabited by Hakkas in western Fujian, China. Generally, there are three or four floors, and the highest is six floors, including the yard, which can accommodate more than 50 households. There are halls, warehouses, barns, wells and other public houses in the hospital. This kind of house is very defensive. Hakka created a unique architectural form to protect their own survival, which is still in use today; Such as the Hakka ancient residence-the former residence of He Ziyuan, Sijiaolong, etc.

Cave style

Cave dwellings are mainly distributed in Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai and other areas with thick loess layers in the central and western parts of China. Taking advantage of the unstable loess wall, the arched cave was excavated horizontally. This kind of cave has the advantages of saving building materials, simple construction technology, warm in winter and cool in summer, economical and applicable. Cave dwellings can generally be divided into five types: backer kiln, flat kiln, brick kiln, stone kiln or adobe kiln.

Dry diaphragm type

Ganlan House is mainly distributed in Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangdong, Guangxi and other regions in southwest China, and it is the living form of Dai, Jingpo and Zhuang. Fences are buildings made of bamboo and wood. It is a single independent building, with the ground floor overhead, used for raising livestock or storing things, and the upper floor is occupied by people. This kind of building is moisture-proof and can prevent insects, snakes and wild animals from intruding.