Why is Huizhou Wind Volcano Wall called "Horsehead Wall"?

Horsehead wall is an important feature of Huizhou architecture. In densely populated villages, the density of residential buildings is high, which is not conducive to fire prevention. The high horse head wall can cut off the fire source in the case of fire in the adjacent residential building, so the horse head wall is also called the accumulation wall.

Horsehead walls are patchy, generally 20% or 30% off, which is a large-scale residential building. Because of the front and back halls, the number of folds of the horse head wall can reach as many as five, commonly known as the "Five Mountains".

The "horse head" of the horse head wall is usually "golden seal" or "water front", which shows the owner's pursuit of the ideal of "studying for an official". When people see these horse head walls, they are often amazed at the superb artistic creativity of Huizhou architects. Huizhou folk houses, with tall and closed walls, are strewn at random because of the design of the horse head wall, and the static and rigid walls present a dynamic aesthetic feeling because of the horse head wall.

Among many animals, the horse can be called a mascot. In ancient China, there were idioms such as "Take the lead and make outstanding contributions", which showed people's worship and love for horses. This may be the motive for ancient Huizhou architects to call this kind of embankment wall "horse-head wall".

Seen from a height, in the villages where people live in compact communities, the undulating Horsehead Wall gives people a sense of "Ma Benteng" visually, which also implies that the whole clan is full of vitality and prosperity.