After the completion of these buildings, Moushi Manor has formed the largest and most well-preserved manor in China. The manor faces south, with a length of 158 meters from east to west and a width of 148 meters from north to south, with a courtyard wall of more than 800 meters.
The building of the whole manor is laid out according to the regulations of ancient buildings in China. This kind of architecture embodies the characteristics of closed society in ancient China, and reflects the strict filial piety of father and the hierarchical relationship between male superiority and female inferiority.
The host lives in a pavilion, the hall is dedicated to ancestors, the bungalow is used by wives and concubines, and the podium is used by servants. Accounting room, milling room, coffin room and brewing room are mostly arranged in the skirt compartment, creating a unique hierarchical atmosphere in the inner courtyard.
Looking at the overlap of many quadrangles, horizontally, the channels are alternating, with distinct levels and distinct priorities. In addition to the 480 hall buildings in three groups and six hospitals, there are 1 1 annex houses and 33 1 tenant houses around.
These three groups of six hospitals are the East Group Third Hospital, the Southwest Group Second Hospital and the Northwest Group First Hospital. The Third Hospital of the East Group is Rixintang, Xilai in the West and Zhonglai in the East, side by side, with a width of 65.2 meters from east to west and a length of 98.2 meters from north to south.
"Dongzhonglai" lives in the east where the fourth grandson seeks to live; "Rixintang" lives in the west, where the eldest grandson Mou Zongzhi lives; "Happy to come from China" is in the middle, where the third grandson Mou Zongkui lives.
The Second Hospital of Southwest Group is juxtaposed with "Nanzhonglai" and "Shigutang", with a width of 55.2 meters from east to west and a length of 59.2 meters from north to south. "South China" lives in the west, and the fifth grandson Mou Suo lives in it; "Shigutang" lives in the east, where the sixth grandson Mou Zongmei lives.
The First Hospital of Northwest Group is a "Baoshan Hall", which is self-contained. It is 37.2 meters long from east to west and 64 meters long from north to south. Sun Tzu Mou lives here.
Among them, "Dongzhonglai" is a six-entry courtyard layout with 87 houses. From south to north, there are south group houses, bungalows, living rooms, buildings, small buildings, north group houses and east group houses in turn. The whole courtyard is the later building of Mou's manor, and it is also a representative building group.
The stones that cut the walls in this yard are all sewn with water mill. The materials are very particular, the workmanship is very fine, and it is a must.
According to textual research, the stone wall of Mou Manor is the best in China traditional architecture. There is no adhesive between the two stones, and the uneven ground is covered with copper coins.
It is said that when the owner of the manor gives a certain amount of copper coins to the craftsmen, he will put the copper coins on the mat when the stone wall is uneven. If all goes well, the copper coin will be his own. So in order to leave the copper coins, the craftsmen polished the wall very smoothly.
At the same time, the blue bricks and gray tiles of Moushi Manor are all soaked in bean juice, which can prevent wind. It does not fade, so although the whole manor has been eroded by wind and rain for a hundred years, it still maintains its original quaint style.
The living room of the main building in Dongzhonglai is the place where Mou Zongyi entertains guests and negotiates affairs. On the door of the sitting room, there are couplets:
There are many fragrant flowers in the court, Zheng Guishu;
There is nothing in the room. Tang Poems, Bronze Inscriptions and China's Articles.
This couplet proudly tells you that all the precious flowers and trees planted in this yard are famous, and all the precious poems such as Tang poetry and gold lettering are collected at home.
The interior furnishings of the living room are divided into three parts: the East Room is the place where the owner seeks to read and write and help people write complaints; The west room is a temporary rest place for guests; In the middle is the host's banquet place.
The building materials of the whole hall are very particular. The main beam is made of logs with a diameter of more than 80 cm. Purlins have the same specifications and are evenly arranged, giving people a feeling of being tall, broad, strong and straight. The inner slope of the house is a square brick covered with a layer of oak charcoal, which can absorb water and prevent moisture and reduce the weight of the roof.
There is a colorful plaque hanging above the main hall, which reads: "I still hope the police." This is to warn future generations that their ancestral home is Gongan County, Hubei Province, and future generations should always cherish their homes and remember the public security.
Under this plaque, there is a portrait of the tenth generation ancestor of the Mou family and the great-grandfather of Mou.
There is also an imperial edict under the portrait, which was given to Mou's parents by the Qing court. His father is Wen and his mother is a Confucian scholar.
The imperial edict from the Qing court to Mou Changyu's grandparents still hangs on the east wall of the nave. Mou Changyu is Mou's own brother. He is a scholar. He used to be the supervisor of Jiangnan Road, Hedao Road and Yunnan Road in Qing Dynasty, and the military gate headquarters of nine provinces.
During his tenure, he dared to tell the truth to the court. He once suggested that the imperial court cancel the ban on grain transportation in kanto region, and also abolished some inappropriate legal provisions. His recitations often hit the nail on the head, and history books say that he "can say things that others can't."
To this end, both Qianlong and Jiaqing dynasties attached great importance to him and let him sit firmly in official positions all over the country until his death at the age of 62. He is listed as a famous official of Shandong Tongzhi and a historical figure in Shandong.
This imperial edict is quite different from Mou's in form. It consists of five colors and is used for officials above grade five, which is called "multicolored". Mou's deputy is used for junior officials, and there is only one color, which is called "plain face".
Behind this living room is the Muzongyi residential building in Jin Si Courtyard. This courtyard was built in three years by investing thousands of acres of land to sell gold, selecting samples of Dalian foreign-style buildings, and hiring famous bricklayers in Laiyang County and famous carpenters in Huangxian County.
The eaves of the building are painted with purple paint, and there are white and green arches. Warm colors and cool colors, set off by the shadows under the eaves, just show the depth of the eaves, giving people a sense of majesty.
The imaginary evil spirits are built on the roof of the house, with different shapes and frightening people. The building surrounds the east and west compartments, and the main entrance faces the screen door. Screen door, connecting the left and right walls, forms a typical quadrangle. The screen door is located in front of the back building of the hall. Exquisite painting, echoing the living room building before and after, solemn momentum.
At the bottom of the small building, it is Mou's daily treasure, which is used to accompany his wife and concubine to eat, sleep, audit accounts and educate their children. Upstairs is his special study, which is used to read books and newspapers, write complaints and have a rest. At the same time, upstairs is also a place where he worships the ancients and enjoys the spirit.
In the past, he used to have more than a dozen boxes of ancient books and a large number of celebrity calligraphy and painting upstairs. Although many treasures have been lost, there are also some books, paintings and ink of celebrities.
Because this building was later lived by the son of the Mou family, it was also called "Young Master Building". In Dongzhonglai Courtyard, in addition to the living room and the Young Master Building, there is also a mill, an exhibition of farm tools and a granary office next to it.
In addition, the Moushi Manor is not only exquisitely laid out, but also has three grotesque buildings. The "three strange buildings" mentioned here is a unique scene when the Mu's manor was built, and the peculiar architectural style is even more intriguing, which has been pursued and explored by people.
The first is "opening the door and going through the hall". There are front and rear doors in the living room and hall of each compound, and they are all on the same line, which breaks through the old geomantic law of "doors cannot be opened back and forth" in Qixia area.
Followed by "outdoor burning kang fire hole." At the same time, a square stone kang hole was left at an appropriate position under the window corner for servants to burn kang outdoors to keep warm on time.
This unique heating design method is rare in northern residential buildings. However, this structure can effectively avoid gas poisoning that is easy to occur when burning kang indoors.
Finally, "the chimney stands outside the gable." In the buildings in the north and south of China, the chimney position is generally designed on the roof eaves and slopes, whether it is bungalows or buildings.
However, there are nearly 100 chimneys erected outside the gables, with rainhats at the top. From a distance, they look like small towers in the clouds, which are small and exquisite and unique.
The function of this design is to warm the fire pit in cold weather, and the wood burns with little heat. In order to make full use of heat, chimneys are installed on gables to extend the direction of fireworks and keep the heat of wood or grass in the kang. It can keep the house warm better.
From this, it can be seen that the overall architectural layout of Mou's manor is grand in scale and profound in connotation, and it has been evaluated by many experts and scholars as "the living fossil of the manor for a century", "the treasure of traditional architecture" and "the place of vitality for 600 years".
Moushi manor yard gate