Characteristics of Residence in Jiangnan Water Town

Jiangnan water towns are located in the Yangtze River Delta and the Taihu Lake water network area, where the climate is mild, the seasons are distinct, and the rainfall is abundant, thus forming a transportation system mainly based on water transportation. Residents of the production of life depends on water, this natural environment and functional needs, shaping the rich flavor of the Jiangnan water town houses style and features.

Jiangnan water town dwellings in the monolithic wooden structure of one or two-story hall type of residence for the most, in order to adapt to the characteristics of the climate of Jiangnan, residential layout more than through the hall, patio, courtyard. Constructed for the tile roof, empty bucket wall, Guanyin pocket ridge or horse head wall, forming a staggered height, whitewashed walls, courtyard deep architectural group style. The river environment of the water village appeared in the water alleys, bridges, barges, step ferry, pier, stone road, water wall door, street building and so on rich in water village characteristics of the architectural vignettes, composed of a complete set of water village living environment.

As the Jiangnan water towns have been one of the most culturally developed areas of the country, the talent pool, and thus many households in the water towns are poets and scholars. And because of the abundance of goods and commerce, these towns have always been the retreat of officials and eunuchs, villas of rich families, and the place of bachelor's residence. Those who have cultural literacy is of course carefully created premises; and some rich gents and merchants are also attached to elegance, employing learned earth planning, so in many water towns left a lot of exquisite courtyard house. Secondly, most of these water township houses were built in feudal society, feudal ethics, Confucian tradition, feng shui customs have a direct impact on the management of these houses layout, arrangement of premises. Such as the main hall, before and after the sequence of position, the distinction between the host and the guest, the master and the servant of the isolation, the difference between men and women, etc. in the design of the unique approach, which is the Jiangnan water township residence of the human factors in the consciousness of the idea of the reflection of the shape.

According to the scale of the residence, it can be divided into three categories:

Most of the mansions are the houses of rich merchants and eunuchs, vertically called into, horizontally known as the fall, the mansion is more than nine, less than four, as much as seven, less than a fall varies. For example, the Shen Hall in Zhouzhuang is seven. Some of the mansions and gardens are skillfully combined, both to create a residential building products - private gardens, but also to add the attraction of the residence itself. For example, the Retreat Garden in Tongli Town is a very exquisite garden.

Mansions in the plane layout, usually have a strict axis, the main door facing south or east, the house rules square, into the fall in order.

The main house is generally five into the main hall, in turn, by the foyer (along the street, some with store or with the building), sedan chair hall (parking sedan chair), the main hall (reception of major guests, wedding and funeral ceremonies), the inner hall (meet with relatives and friends, family deliberations), women's hall (also known as the upper room, often used for living room) composed of the main building with the compartment or the courtyard wall enclosure composed of the courtyard. The side of the general not open the door independently, often by the flower hall (meet with regular guests, hold banquets, etc.), study (reading), garden, house (living), kitchen (more along the back alleys to open the door, do not cause interference, but there is no family bathrooms, toilets) composition. The entrance of the house is along the street or along the river, which is convenient for the entrance and exit of people and transportation of goods. Between the two falls, often set up back alley, so that both the master and the servant separated from the traffic route, but also greatly enhanced the privacy of the house, and is conducive to sound insulation, fire prevention, anti-theft.

In the house from the form of similar to the mansion, the difference is in the house into the number of fewer, generally less than four, and generally no side drop, the combination of internal space is not as elaborate as the mansion, but compared to the more flexible. The middle-income families belong to this house.

The small house is a general civilian residence, smaller in scale, mostly one to two, some along the street, some along the river, the layout is more casual, for the water towns and towns unique alleys and water lanes landscape.

Ordinary small house occupies a small area, no strict axis, generally two into the width of more than one to three, the form of free, according to the local conditions, the use of space is reasonable, but the privacy is poor. Ordinary small house along the river along the street often have business nature, the river are open, there is a pedal crossing the water port has been to the water. Water towns and cities in the combination of its halls, created a number of characteristic components, not only enriched the content of the water towns and houses, but also has a strong character. The patio is a characteristic component used for light and ventilation in residential houses. In the general courtyard, its depth is equal to its height, and there are various widths, such as the three-room main house, which is based on the width of the bright room. Or five openings of the larger, then the width of the bright room or the second room shall prevail. In the mansion, the patio is mostly made into a rectangle, and the depth of the two wedges will be reduced, or use the corridor instead of compartments, the patio into a horizontal rectangle, east and west of the length of the larger, better ventilation, and can reduce the sun's irradiation in the summer. Standing front and back patio to facilitate ventilation, back patio **** generally smaller depth, planted with deciduous trees to facilitate shade.

Brick doorway This is done on the front and back into the waist door, is purely decorative features components, the doorway of the Ming Dynasty is more simple, the Qing Dynasty carving is more complicated, these doorways are inscribed with plaques.

Wall The water town dwellings are mainly wood structure, so the wall has an important fire prevention function, the general wall are higher than the roof, made of ladder type or flat head high wall, called "seal fire wall" or "daughter wall". The wall can be divided into two kinds of solid masonry and empty bucket, or under the solid on the empty hybrid. Wall base commonly used stone, lime stucco, when used as a decorative wall, it is used to grind bricks with water veneer, both simple and show the owner of the earnest.

Ground floor The open ground in the courtyard house (such as the patio) with slate strips, block paving, cracked stone or cobblestone paving, but also with brick paving. Indoor ground are used brick. Jiangnan rainy, shallow water table, the indoor easy to damp, generally first tamped with lime, on which the sand, sand on the brick, to avoid moisture, the room of the residence is used in the room with wooden floors.

Xuan is an indoor ceiling, in fact, the roof to increase - an air insulation layer. Some of the Xuan of the mansions and houses are well-decorated, with excellent wood carvings and various practices such as boat-topped Xuan, crane-topped Xuan, flower basket Xuan, etc.

The roof of the house is made of wood and wood carvings.

Roofs and walls Roofs are covered with green tiles, and the entire sloped roof is slightly curved inward, which is conducive to roof drainage, and there are a lot of patterns of roof ridges, and ordinary small houses are only built vertically with tiles, and the ends of the tiles are made with simple ornaments. Large, medium-sized residential main hall ridge head made of dragons, chickens and other decorations. Ordinary mountain wall for the hard mountain type not out of the roof, halls and other important buildings of the mountain wall with out of the roof of the screen wall, with the size of the depth of the house, there is a mountain, three mountain and five mountain screen wall of different.

Jiangnan water town residential general appearance is: cottage building mixed, mountain walls of various kinds, the formation of alleys and water lanes on the barge the kind of undulating, staggered landscape, architectural shape light and simple, virtual and real chiaroscuro, color and elegant, according to the conditions of the place, near the river and the water, the spatial contours of the soft and rich in a sense of beauty. Therefore, it is often referred to as "pink walls and tiles", "small bridges and flowing homes".