Architecture can only be called art, so it must have its own unique shape and style. Huizhou ancient dwellings are well-known at home and abroad and become Huizhou School. On the one hand, they are integrity, unity of style, diversity of modeling and artistry of form; On the other hand, he has a very rich historical and cultural connotation. Huizhou people advocate natural beauty and pursue a high degree of harmony and unity between man and nature. This is reflected in the geomantic beauty of Huizhou architecture.
Taking advantage of the "different heights and different shades" environment in Huizhou mountainous area, they tried their best to choose a treasure house of geomantic omen and choose a site to build a village, so as to be blessed, well-fed and prosperous for future generations. In ancient Huizhou, almost every village had a certain foundation of Feng Shui. Or according to the mountain, the foothills and throats, mountain piers and mountain passes; Or live by the water, embrace the winding river, rely on the ferry and cross the river. Some are in the shape of horns; Such as Wuyuan Xikeng; Bow, such as the source of Taibai; There are bands, such as high sand at the source; There are zigzag, such as Mi Yuan Merlin; There are waves, such as Yixian Xidi; There is a cloud reunion type, such as Shexian dive; Some are dragon-shaped, such as Jiangcun in Shexian County; There are also half-moon, T-shape, herringbone, cut shape, square print shape, arc shape, straight line shape and so on. Different shapes and colorful weather.
In Huizhou ancient residential buildings, the strict hierarchical system of Confucianism and the feudal moral concepts of different grades, different men and women, aging and orderly are also very obvious. The perfect unity of practicality and artistry is another typical feature of Huizhou folk houses. Huizhou ancient dwellings are mostly surrounded by mountains and waters, which can shelter from the wind, facilitate firewood for cooking and heating, and give people a sense of beauty. The village is built by water, which can not only facilitate drinking and washing, but also irrigate farmland and beautify the environment. Gathering in the ancient village, the streets are relatively rough, the white gables are generous and tall, and the gray horse head wall has a unique shape.
This structure saves land, is convenient for fire prevention, theft prevention, cooling and moisture prevention, and makes the house unique in a strict sense. The white walls and gray tiles of the house are very beautiful in the green mountains and green waters. The gathered courtyard can be ventilated and light-permeable, and the four waters return to the hall, which also adapts to the simple psychology that fat water does not flow outside the field.
In the old days, most urban and rural houses in Huizhou were brick and wood structures. The Ming Dynasty was characterized by spacious upstairs. After the Qing Dynasty, there were houses with three bedrooms, one bright and two bedrooms (left and right bedrooms) and four bedrooms, one bright and four dark. More than one room. The gate is decorated with landscape figures carved with stone and brick. The gatehouse has double eaves, patios are opened at each entrance, and the rainwater flows into the sewer through the dam. Commonly known as "four waters return to the hall", which means "money does not flow out" There is a partition between the entrances and a firewall (horse head wall) around it, which looks like an old castle from a distance. Generally speaking, when a family plunges in, the middle door is closed and each family lives alone. The middle door opened, and a gate came in and out to pay homage to the ancestors. The climate in Huizhou mountainous area is humid, and people generally regard the upstairs as the main habitat of daily life, retaining the legacy of "nesting" by indigenous Shanyue people. The upstairs hall is generally spacious, with a hall, bedroom and wing, and a "beauty chair" by the patio.
Composition:
Chaobeiju
Living in the North: If the terrain is not special, the best orientation of the house is to sit north and face south, but most houses built in Huizhou in Ming and Qing Dynasties face north. It turns out that there are many taboos in the living habits of ancient Hui people. It was popular in the Han Dynasty that "merchants should not be in the south, and households should not be in the north". The reason is that according to the five elements, business belongs to gold and the south belongs to fire, which is unlucky; It is unlucky to levy fire. The north belongs to water, and water can kill fire. Huizhou merchants flourished in Ming and Qing Dynasties. Once they made a fortune, they went back to their hometown to build a house. For the sake of luck, the gate never faces south, and all the houses face north. Up to now, there are still tens of thousands of ancient houses facing north in Huizhou.
Wutaowu
Houses: The houses in Huizhou are all deep, with a vestibule at the entrance, a patio in the middle and a living hall at the back. The hall is separated from the back hall by a middle door, and the back hall has two bedrooms. There is an uphill wall behind the hall with a patio and wings on both sides. This is the first entrance. The structure of the second entrance is still a ridge divided into two halls, two days before and after the well, with partition, four rooms and two halls. The third entrance, the fourth entrance or more entrances in the future have the same structure, one enters the house and the other enters the house to form the house.
Double eaves
Double eaves: Huizhou dwellings are double eaves buildings. There is a widely circulated story about the formation of this double-eaves custom. According to legend, during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, she was under the jurisdiction of Li Yu, the queen of the Southern Tang Dynasty. Zhao Kuangyin launched the Chen Qiao mutiny, founded the Song Dynasty, and personally marched into Zhou She. Just when Song Taizu arrived outside Haiyang City in Xiuning County today, the sky suddenly changed and rain was coming. Mao came to a tile house to shelter from the rain. In order to avoid disturbing the people, Mao ordered not to enter, but the eaves of Huizhou folk houses are very small, far less than the Central Plains. Coupled with the storm, everyone was soaked. After the rain stopped, residents opened the door and found Taizu so, thinking that he was born to die, and he couldn't afford to kneel on the ground. Mao didn't blame him and asked, Why is the eaves in Zhangzhou so narrow? The villagers replied, "This is inherited from the ancestors, and it has always been like this." Mao said, "Although the old system of our ancestors can't be changed, you can build another roof below to help pedestrians shelter from the rain." A pavilion at the entrance of the village even made sense, so someone immediately followed suit. Since then, all houses in Huizhou have been built with eaves.
Full-top bed
Full top bed: Huizhou traditional bedding. Because the top of the bed, the back of the bed and the head of the bed are all surrounded by wooden boards, it is called "full-top bed". Hanging curtains in front of the bed is like a news station. Most of the bedposts are made of torreya grandis, which are born from the same tree for several years, and take the color of "four generations under one roof" and "five generations thriving". There are 7 beds in common use, which means "five men and two women". On the front of the bed, the carving is more exquisite. The left and right sides are generally engraved with "Feng Dan facing the sun" and the upper teeth are engraved with "Shuanglong Play Pearl". The railings around the bed are generally carved with exquisite patterns such as "Phoenix Playing Peony", "Squirrel Grape" and "Yuanyang Playing in Water".
Pressing table
Traditional furnishings of Huizhou folk houses. Nave's paintings and couplets are often hung on the central wall of Huizhou residential halls, or the words "Heaven and Earth are teachers" are written on red paper, all of which are mounted and hung on scrolls. There is a long table under the scroll, and there are two saddle-shaped painting feet on the desktop. When the scroll is spread down on the long table and put into the saddle of the painting foot, the picture is flat and stable. This long table is called "painting table".