Huizhou architecture is a relatively mature architectural school in the late ancient Chinese society. Its craftsmanship characteristics and modeling style are mainly reflected in residential buildings, ancestral halls, archways, gardens and other architectural objects. The most distinctive ones are traditional Folk houses, which concentratedly reflect the main characteristics of Huizhou architecture.
Huizhou villages are composed of various relationships. The geographical environment, Feng Shui pursuit and conceptual awareness all have an impact on the village layout. Among them, the pursuit of Feng Shui and conceptual awareness also act on the geographical environment factors to form the characteristics of Huizhou village layout.
The ancestor of the Wang family in Hongcun, Yixian County, chose to live at the foot of Leigang Mountain in the first year of Shaoxi in the Southern Song Dynasty (1190). At that time, there were deep valleys and lush forests in this area, and the Yong River ran along the foot of the mountain from west to east. There were also sheep in the west of the village. Zhanhe flows from north to south. The ancestors of the Wang family thought it was a major flaw that the two rivers did not meet in the west of the village and then go south around the village. During the De? period of the Southern Song Dynasty, heavy rains caused the Yong River to change its course and merge with the Yangzhan River to the west and then to the south, which was in line with the wishes of Wang's ancestors. During the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, Wang's Ancestral Hall hired Feng Shui master He Keda three times to carry out overall planning for the village. After 10 years of hard work, a natural spring in the village was expanded into a half-moon-shaped pond to store "inner Yang water" and suppress "Bingding fire". Water from the west was diverted from the Yong River and turned to the east to flow out. Follow the general trend. During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, the South Lake was dug in the south of the village to store the "water of Zhongyang" to ward off evil spirits. At the same time, the water of Yongxi River was introduced into the village, passing through the moon pond in the village, passing through the door of every house, and then going to the village. It flows into Nanhu Lake from the south. The water system of Yuetang South Lake is the main feature of Hongcun's shape. Water is a symbol of wealth. The canals divert water to each house, which indicates that the whole village has abundant financial resources.
The basic form of Huizhou residences is a courtyard-shaped layout, which is a closed space composed of houses and walls. The courtyard is dominated by the south-facing hall, supplemented by the east and west wings, with a patio in the middle, and a concave plan. Glyph. Apart from the main door, the house only has a few small windows, and the lighting mainly comes from the patio. Houses in Huizhou are often built in nests, with the structure roughly the same. This kind of deep house is inhabited by the same family. As the descendants multiply, more and more houses are built, so people call the big family "thirty-six patios and seventy-two windows." Generally, if an independent family moves in, there will be 36 patios, and if a large family moves in, there will be 36 independent families. Once the side door is closed, each family lives independently; once the side door is opened, one door can go in and out, and an ancestor sign can be used to worship the ancestors. It vividly reflects the folk custom of ancient Huizhou where ethnic groups lived together. This kind of building with high walls and deep houses is a common custom among thousands of people living in scattered places, and it is also rare in China.
Huizhou folk houses are wooden structures composed of columns, rafters, beams, purlins, rafters and other components. Most of the beam supports, melon columns, forks, fins, dougong, etc. are carved and decorated. With beautiful patterns and stitching. The supporting timbers under the eaves around the courtyard of the house are often carved into various fairy figures, birds and beasts, and dramatic stories, which are very vivid. The cross-hands and domination fists on the beams are mostly shaped like clouds, and the smooth lines that connect each other are elegant, handsome and beautiful.
The appearance of Huizhou folk houses is quite distinctive. In addition to the low-rise and sloped roof forms of ancient Chinese buildings, the architectural style of horse-head gables is emphasized, and the gables at both ends of the house are raised above the roof and ridge. And the roof is closed with horizontal linear gable eaves. In order to prevent the height difference between the gable eaves and the roof from being too large, the form of gradually falling toward the eaves is adopted, which not only saves materials, but also makes the gable walls staggered and varied. This was originally for fire prevention, so it is commonly known as the "fire wall".
Patio is the most basic architectural format in Huizhou folk houses. Almost every house has a patio. From the perspective of architectural function, this design allows sufficient light, air circulation and drainage in the house. The hall in the living room is open to the patio, and the hall and the patio are integrated. Sitting in the hall, you can enjoy the morning glow and watch the stars at night. It is a veritable "well" to watch the sky. Some families also set up rockeries in their patios, build ponds to breed goldfish, and place bonsai, turning their patios into courtyards that can be moved indoors. This can be said to be unique in the world.
The characteristic of traditional Chinese culture is the "harmony of nature and man", and Huizhou architecture also pursues the "harmony of nature and man". The "heaven" here is both natural and human. Huizhou has a hilly landform with numerous streams and ponds. Residential buildings are mostly built close to the mountains and rivers based on the landscape pattern.
White walls, green tiles and horse head walls, green water, green mountains and blue sky, nature and architecture are completely integrated.