What is the traditional architecture of the Hmong people's footstools like? What kind of structure?

In our country, and even around the world, each ethnic group has its own unique culture, each ethnic group has its own unique dress, each ethnic group has its own habits and customs, each ethnic group's buildings also have their own characteristics. China's Miao hanging foot building is a traditional residential. So, do you know about the Miao footstool or not? Now I will take you to understand it.

Introduction to the Miao footstool

The Miao footstool is a traditional building of the Miao people, but also an ancient form of architecture unique to the south of China. It is generally located on the hillside and along the water, lined up and stacked on top of each other. Miao footstools are divided into upper and lower two floors, upstairs residents, downstairs overhead, the upper floor is wide, complex technology, fine workmanship. The lower floor with the ground and built, very irregular.

Modern architects believe that the Miao footstools are the best form of ecological architecture.

Structure of the Miao hanging foot building

The foundation of the hanging foot wooden building must be the slope dug into the upper and lower two layers; the depth of each layer is more than 6 feet, each layer covers an area of about 100 square meters. The difference between the upper and lower layers is about 4 feet, and the mountain wall between the layer and the layer and the outer layer of the mountain is made of stone to protect the can. When the house is built, the front row of flooring pillars are set aside on the lower foundation, and the outermost non-flooring pillars are leveled with the floor slabs sticking out of the upper foundation, forming a suspended foot, and the space between the upper and lower foundations becomes the ground floor of the footstools, which is the so-called "sky is flat and the ground is not flat" characteristic of the footstools. The hanging-footed building adopts the bucket structure, with 5 to 7 pillars in each row, and the pillars are connected by melons or square pillars to form a solid network structure. The center column must be made of maple wood, because maple is the life totem tree of the Miao people, a holy tree symbolizing the soul of the ancestors.

The foot-hanging building is generally based on three four standing post or three two partial buildings, generally divided into three layers, the bottom layer are used as livestock and poultry pens, as well as used to shelve farm implements and sundries and other things. The middle layer of people, the center for the hall, the hall on both sides of the post to add columns, floor thickening; because this is the main activity of the family space, but also banquets guests singing and dancing place. There are a few people in the front door of the board wall placed in the shrine of the Holy Spirit of the ancestors. Sacred family ancestor worship activities take place in the hall, and generally, the left and right side rooms are used as bedrooms and guest rooms. The third floor is mostly used to store grain and seeds, and is the family's storehouse; if there is a large population, it is also fitted with separate bedrooms for the occupants. The kitchen is placed in the side building. The spatial division of the building is organized in such a way that the room where the shrine of the Holy Spirit of the Ancestors is located is the core of the building, and then it extends and radiates outwards. When family members live in such a spatial combination, they are invariably united by the spatial gravitational pull of the hall where the ancestral shrine is located, thus enhancing the affinity for family unity. The traditional Miao religion of ancestor worship is fully and perfectly embodied in the residential architecture of the hammock.

Characteristics of Hmong footstools

Hmong footstools are built on slopes, cutting the ground into a "factory"-shaped platform, supported by long wooden pillars, according to the height of the platform, take a section of the platform to install a square and beams, and the platform is parallel to the earth. The low seven or eight meters, 13 or 14 meters high, covering an area of 12 or 13 square meters. In addition to a small number of roof with cedar bark cover, most of the cover green tile, smooth and tight, generous and neat.

The foot-hanging buildings are generally four rows of three for a block, some in addition to the main house, but also took one or two "partial building". Each row of wooden columns generally 9, that is, five columns four melon. Each wooden building, generally divided into three layers, the upper layer of grain storage, the middle layer of people, the lower layer of the foot of the fence into a circle, for stacking debris or livestock. People live on the first floor, next to a wooden ladder connected to the upper floor and the lower floor, the floor has a corridor access, about 1 meter wide. The hall is a room for welcoming guests, and the rooms on both sides are divided into two or three small rooms for bedrooms or kitchens. The rooms are spacious and bright, with symmetrical doors and windows. Some Miao families also have fire pits in the side rooms, where they burn fires to keep warm in winter. There is a big door in front of the chancel, with two doors and a window on each side. Under the eaves of the front of the hall, are equipped with back railing, called "beauty leaning".

The Miao footstools belong to the unique architectural form of the Miao people, which is a very distinctive creation under the mountainous conditions, and these traditional buildings full of national culture provide passionate impetus to the lives of the Miao people.