When it comes to diaojiao building, people's impression is that a small wooden building stands by the river. Actually, it is not. Diaojiaolou is a kind of folk building hanging in Xiangxi, with an ancient legend!
The beautiful Xiangxi and Yamazaki are so different that people can't bear to go home. The quaint diaojiao building with special architectural style adds a bit of charm to the landscape. In the hometown of Mr. Shen Congwen, Fenghuang, the Tuojiang River passes through the city, and the locals live by the river. There are many diaojiao buildings with uneven heights. One end of the diaojiao building is supported by the river bank, and the other end is suspended on the water. The tall hanging column stands in the water as a support, full of the beauty of strength.
Xiangxi Diaojiaolou is a lively building, which can be near water, mountains, valleys or dams. Slightly cut and build by laying bricks or stones, choose good wood to support rows or rows of hanging buildings, and decorate them with a few clumps of Maolin bamboo, which saves time and effort and is picturesque. This kind of building has cornices and corners, circular corridors on three sides, and a number of hanging columns, which are octagonal and square, engraved with hydrangeas or melons. The wallboard is painted bright and bright, the flower window is embedded, and the ventilation is sunny. Flower windows often have profound meanings, engraved with patterns such as "Double Phoenix Rising in the Sun" and "Magpie Love Plum", which are simple and beautiful, elegant and generous.
The beauty of diaojiao building is that it is moisture-proof and dry; Second, land is saved and the cost is cheaper; Third, diaojiao buildings built by mountains and rivers or dams often leave a certain space between hanging columns to feed livestock. "There are lambs barking under the diaojiao building" (Shen Congwen's Night by the Duck's Nest).
The ancient black tile wooden diaojiao building has a bright, warm and friendly room. If you are lucky enough to visit, enthusiastic Xiangxi people make tea and sift wine, and put on all kinds of game, which makes people feel at home.
Xiangxi Diaojiao Building belongs to the category of ancient Ganlan architecture. The so-called dry film building is a house with a large volume, the house below is overhead, and the house above is covered with wooden boards (Zhuang Yuguang's dry film building). This architectural form is mainly distributed in the south, especially in the Yangtze River valley and mountainous areas. Because of the water and rain in these areas, the air and stratum humidity are high, and because the dry diaphragm wall building is overhead in the basement, it is extremely beneficial to moisture-proof and ventilation.
There are many mountains and waters in western Hunan, and all the activities of Tujia, Dong and other ethnic groups who have lived in this land for generations cannot be separated from the water in this mountain. Last year, when I was traveling in Xiangxi, I saw the Diaojiao Building, almost all of which are unique buildings standing on mountains and rivers. Although this kind of building is only two or three stories high, it is not easy to "hang" on the water and hillside, just like a castle in the air.
There are feet in a building. Although I have heard about it for a long time, I didn't know until now that the so-called "feet" are actually several thick wooden stakes supporting the building. The diaojiao building, built near the water, has two long front "feet" sticking out and deeply inserted into the river, supporting the building together with the wall foundation on the other side of the river bank; On the mountainside, the first two "feet" of the diaojiao building stand firmly on the low side, supporting and balancing the building with the wall foundation on the other side. There are also some diaojiao buildings built on the flat ground, supported from the ground by several equal-length wooden stakes. According to Hunan local chronicles, this structure of Diaojiaolou was originally designed to avoid the intrusion of poisonous snakes and beasts.
"It depends on the diaojiao building, and the Miao family is free to travel." This kind of classical, poetic and humanistic rural houses are generally built in scenic places, or riding on ridges and sitting on beams, or hiding in valleys, and some hide in the depths of white clouds and blend in with nature. Because Xiangxi is a mountainous area with nine mountains, half water and half fields, and it is also an area where ethnic minorities live in concentration, most villages are small and scattered, and hundreds of large villages are rare. Usually more than a dozen or dozens of families in a village share the same surname, and single-family families are also common. There has always been a set of exquisite village selection. In addition to asking Mr. Feng Shui to see the direction of mountains and rivers in Long Mai, he must also choose a living environment with good terrain, hard media, many springs, dense trees and sufficient light. They believe that only after careful selection of village geomantic omen and homestead geomantic omen, will the population prosper and the wealth fill the door. From the perspective of modern ecology, his "Feng Shui view" also contains rich scientific truth and academic value.
Miao and Tujia in Xiangxi have lived together for a long time, so many cultural beliefs and customs are very similar. The diaojiao building they live in is mostly pure wood structure from planning and design to building materials, and there are also a few brick-wood structures. Its biggest feature is that it is built for the land, close to mountains and waters. Generally, the house faces south to north, or north to south, avoiding east-west direction because of geomantic omen. The traditional diaojiao building is generally four rows and three rooms, the well-off family is six rows and five rooms, and the wealthy family is ten rows and seven rooms, no matter how many rows and several rooms. According to different uses, buildings are divided into halls (equivalent to living rooms of urban houses), study rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, embroidered buildings, miscellaneous houses and toilets. Houses generally have two or three floors, with people living in the middle floor, goods stored on the upper floor, and mills, firewood and livestock kept in captivity downstairs. On the sunrise side of the Diaojiao Building, there is a cloister extending outward, which is in the shape of "walking around the corner" and serves as a multifunctional three-dimensional space for airing, chatting, drinking tea, reading, playing chess, enjoying the moon, embroidering and singing. Whenever golden joy is written all over the countryside, strings of Huang Cancan corn and red pepper are hung on the stilt platform, just like a colorful Xilankapu (that is, Tujia brocade), which is harmonious and charming. Some wealthy and well-off families not only painted fine tung oil on their buildings, but also carved flowers and painted black on railings, windows, lintels and walls, which are colorful and exude rich fragrance of national culture and traditional art everywhere. In order to spread food and clothes and facilitate housework, many people spread a spacious green slate in front of and behind the house to dry the lawn, and planted peaches, pears, grapefruit, citrus, loquat, camphor, toon or bamboo, palm trees and so on around the lawn.
In spring, flowers bloom, frogs croak, trees are dyed in autumn, and fruits are fragrant, which is quite wonderful for Tao Yuanming's "Liu Yuyin's backyard, Taoluoli Hall" and "dogs bark in deep alleys and chickens crow on mulberry trees". When you think about it, if you think about it, the happiness in the world is nothing more than this.
According to the historical records of relevant archives, Miao and Tujia folk houses in western Hunan have a long history. There is a written record on the page 10 1 of Liao Biography in Shu Wei: "Liao is another name for Nan Man ... according to the building blocks of trees, it is called dry." According to the research of historians, the diaojiao building where Miao and Tujia people live today is the legacy of the "Gan Lan" building where they live at present. As for when it originated, it is impossible to verify, but its origin is very similar to a long-standing local legend. According to legend, in ancient times, in the land of Bizka (which Tujia claimed to be), a man and a woman were inspired by Wuer's nest at the top of the tree and woven a fine sleeping net with wild vines on the tree, covered with soft leaves. This simple "primitive building" makes them live very comfortably and contentedly. I don't know how many centuries have passed, and the resourceful indigenous ancestors have finally evolved from the original "vines and trees" to the current diaojiao building. However, during the period of Tusi system, those diaojiao buildings with exquisite shapes were villas of Tusi and Shanguan, and ordinary people dared not expect it, so they could only live in caves and huts. It was not until the Qing Dynasty that the 800-year-old toast ban was completely abolished.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Xiangxi was once a corner of poverty and misery in China. Anyone who has contacted Shen Congwen, a famous Miao writer in Xiangxi, knows Cui Cui in his famous novella Border Town, especially his novels An Affectionate Sailor and An Affectionate Woman, in which all kinds of water characters and love stories are related to the diaojiao buildings of Miao and Tujia people in Xiangxi.
In contrast, young people who live in diaojiao buildings today are much luckier than Cui Cui and Niu Bao. Those diaojiao buildings with upturned cornices and different shapes are the dwellings of Miao and Tujia people, and they are also important places for young men and women to make friends and express their feelings through songs. Miao and Tujia people have been a nation that can sing and dance since ancient times. There is an image saying that "bibimbap is sung for two meals a day and pillows are sung for three nights". Because they only have language but no writing, their splendid national culture mainly depends on oral communication.
The love songs of Miao nationality and Tujia nationality, after years of accumulation and life tempering, show a wide range of love themes and contents, and show all the psychological processes experienced by young people emotionally from all aspects. Every time after work or on holidays, they invite each other in small groups, go in and out of the diaojiao building, and improvise duets, some euphemistic, some hot and enthusiastic.
As Zhao Yong, a well-known photographer of Tujia nationality, said, "Those children's love songs, which are born and bred and full of game, are like an altar of corn shochu that is getting drunk more and more. Fine products, the soul of its culture will penetrate into your blood and unconsciously inject into your bone marrow. " Yes, in the song, if both men and women are engaged, when they get home, the man will tell his parents about his lover and ask them to find a matchmaker to fix him up with the woman. If the woman's parents and I agree to this marriage, the two families will be in-laws. If you happen to meet such a hot scene, it doesn't hurt to sing a few words at the top of your voice. Singing to the depths will win a few glances or a captivating smile from Miao and Tujia girls. However, you don't have to worry that someone will really fall in love with you and pester you, but your "soul" will be accidentally hooked by that girl. ...
In Miao rural bungalows, villagers usually choose to build houses in the slack season after autumn. However, no matter which house Anliang built, it has been regarded as a festive event in life since ancient times, and it is also an eye-catching lens that can best express folk customs in the process of building houses for Miao and Tujia people.
When the roof truss of the house is erected, the owner will choose a good day and hold a completion ceremony. On this day, the scene was very grand and lively, and almost all the villagers ran to help congratulate. I saw a carpenter offering meat and wine beside the shrine, lighting candles and incense, and worshiping the founder of Luban. Then, under the cry of everyone, the opened girders were carried onto the roof truss. Then, the carpenter master and his disciples climbed onto the roof beam with a laundry basket full of loquat, and while throwing bazan, they sang a song "Song of Shangliang" to pray for peace and bless their master's good luck: "If you throw it eastward, it will be good luck; Second, throw it to the west, and the number of wealth is the highest in the world; South three investment, chickens and ducks in groups, cattle full column; Four votes for the north, and later generations will produce talents ... "
When the carpenter finished singing, the crowd suddenly burst into warm suona, firecrackers and laughter, one after another, echoing for a long time. On the other hand, onlookers, regardless of gender, age and age, all want to compete for the bus. The more people compete for the bus, the happier the host is, thinking that the family will be full of children and grandchildren and the population will flourish. When the competition for Ciba was coming to an end, the carpenter master put down an extra-large Ciba from the roof and gave it to his master. At this point, a new diaojiao building was officially completed.
In people's eyes, it seems a little rustic to stay away from the hustle and bustle of the world and reject the modern Miao and Tujia diaojiao buildings, but it has a distinctive national and local characteristics, a strong flavor of national life and a simple and generous character of Miao and Tujia. It is a profound local residential building and a history book of minority culture, which needs to be slowly interpreted and tasted by the world. I don't know why, those Miao and Tujia people, no matter wandering around the world, are just a kite: there is always a thread at the end that can't be thrown away and cut constantly, which is pulled out from the diaojiao building in my hometown and tied tightly to the wanderer in the distance, making people unable to get rid of it and forget it no matter where they go. For example, Shen Congwen, a famous modern Miao writer, made a special note when he died in the 1990s. After his death, he must put his ashes in the green mountains and green waters of his hometown Phoenix. His nephew, Huang Yongyu, a famous painter, simply moved to his hometown in Fenghuang in his later years. The local government specially chose a good homestead for him by the rippling Tuojiang River and built a diaojiao building full of ethnic customs.
If visiting the mountains and rivers in western Hunan can bring you a good mood, then stepping into the diaojiao building of Miao and Tujia nationalities with different styles will always capture some people's hearts and hold some people's souls.