I. Introduction to Horsehead Wall
1 Horsehead wall, also known as wind-fire wall, firewall and stacking wall, is an important feature of Jiangxi-style architecture and Huizhou-style architecture in the traditional residential architecture school of Han nationality. In particular, the wall that is higher than the roof of two gables, that is, the top of the gables, is called "horse head wall" because its shape resembles a horse head.
2. Stacked walls have different forms in various regions of China: for example, the stacked walls in Huizhou architecture are shaped like horseheads, commonly known as horsehead walls; The accumulation wall in the school building in eastern Fujian looks like a saddle, also known as the saddle wall. Some areas are also named after the five elements of "gold, wood, water, fire and earth" according to their different shapes.
Every house has its own five elements according to its orientation and building age, just like human life. Sometimes the combination of gold, water or fire and earth appears in a building at the same time, so the principle of "mutual development and mutual resistance" should be adopted.
4, according to the traditional five elements of wall decoration, its stress is very strict; Before building a house, Mr. Feng Shui should be invited to inspect it. According to the date of birth of the owner, Mr. Feng Shui should use the five-element method to determine which type of house should be used.
5. In ancient buildings, the roof is divided into front and back slopes by the middle transverse ridge, and the left and right gables are either flush with the roof or higher than the roof. When using the horse head wall, the gables on both sides are higher than the roof, and they are horizontally stepped according to the slope of the roof, unlike the gables that are generally seen, which are isosceles triangles above and rectangles below.
Second, the style characteristics of the horse head wall
1. The horse head wall is strewn at random, and its appearance is quite fashionable. Therefore, it is not only one of the commonly used formats of Huizhou architecture in southern China, but also an important modeling feature of Huizhou architecture. There used to be a saying that "a small tile head wall and a cloister hung with lattice windows", which was used to summarize the architectural style of Huizhou in Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Generally speaking, beautiful horsehead walls are common in rural areas, but in bustling cities, horsehead walls are extremely rare and precious.