Architectural characteristics and residential characteristics of Buyi nationality

As we all know, China is a multi-ethnic country with many ethnic minorities. Due to topographical factors, they have formed their own distinctive national culture. In the Buyi culture with rich cultural traditions, their houses are built by mountains and rivers. The types are mostly dry fence buildings or semi-board houses. Let's learn more about the architectural features and residential features of Buyi people.

In terms of types, Buyi residential buildings are not so-called classic buildings or so-called popular buildings, but folk buildings with folk customs as the mainstay. It is one of the earliest forms of folk architecture in China, which is quite different from quadrangles, caves and yurts.

Generally, the roofs of houses are suspended hills, but there are also a few rest hills and double eaves. Because of the reference to the Han culture, there are also a few hard mountain roofs, and some are surrounded by high horsehead walls, which play a role in fire prevention and wind prevention. The hard mountain roof is flush with the gable, which is mainly suitable for the arid and rainy northern region, and the hanging mountain roof extends beyond the gable, which is suitable for the mild and rainy southern climate type.

Because the cantilever roof not only has eaves before and after, but also has eaves on both sides of gables, it can better block the rain and reduce the erosion of the house by wind and rain. Buyi people choose cantilevered roofs, which is not national, but due to the regional climate.

The general types of Buyi folk houses include the dry-fence style in which Buyi ancestors lived in nests and the lower level raised pigs and cattle, and the flat-plate style in which they blended with other national cultures. As far as the single structure of the house is concerned, its room type is the inheritance and development of the bucket-type structure in ancient buildings in China, and the interior is all made of traditional tenons and mortises (the protruding part is called tenon or tenon; The recessed part is called mortise, mortise and tenon), and nails and riveting are not needed. Judging from the local building materials, there are mainly two kinds of stone houses and wooden houses.

Buyi people generally live halfway up the mountain and by the river. Houses are built by mountains and rivers, which varies from place to place. They use local materials and build houses with wood and stone. Roofs are usually covered with thatch or straw, but most of them are made of slate. One of the "Eight Eccentrics" popular in Guizhou is the Buyi people's "stone for tile", so it is also called "Shi Cun" in a local village. This unique architectural form is generally "wooden frame, stone wall and stone tile", which is characterized by warm winter and cool summer, heat insulation and dehumidification, and is not afraid of fire.

Generally, there are three rooms, one hall in the middle and two bedrooms on both sides. According to the order of big left and small right, the old man lives on the left and the young man lives on the right. There is usually a fire pit not far from the bed on the right, which is used for heating, baking tea, chatting and family discussion in winter. Buyi people don't cook and stir-fry in the fireplace in the main room. The kitchen is located next to the main room, and there is a square hole in the wall of the main room to transfer the chopsticks, which is very convenient. The main hall is the place where Buyi people worship their ancestors.

There is also a distinctive building "Diaolou" in Buyi village. This kind of building, like a bunker, is usually built in the center of the stockade to protect the property and personal safety of the villagers. There is a big clock on the watchtower. When outsiders invade, the village guards will ring the alarm bell on the watchtower. As soon as the villagers heard the alarm, they would join forces with Qi Xin to resist foreign invasion and protect the village.