The overall layout of houses in the south of the Yangtze River is roughly the same as that of quadrangles in the north, but the layout is generally compact and the courtyard occupies a small area to adapt to the characteristics of high population density and less cultivated land.
The doors of the house are mostly open on the central axis, the main room faces the hall, and a two-story building is often built in the backyard.
The small courtyard surrounded by four-bedroom houses, commonly known as patio, is only used for lighting and drainage.
Because the rainwater on the inner slope of the roof flows into the patio from all sides, which means that water gathers into the sky, so this kind of residential layout is commonly known as "four waters return to the hall"
Jiangnan folk houses are an important part of traditional folk houses in China. Jiangsu and Zhejiang water towns pay attention to the front street and back river. However, regardless of the Han nationality in the south or the north, their traditional folk houses are characterized by sitting facing south and paying attention to internal lighting. Wood beam bearing, brick, stone, soil wall; Focusing on the main hall, he is good at carving beams and painting buildings, decorating roofs and cornices.
The overall layout of houses in the south of the Yangtze River is roughly the same as that of quadrangles in the north, but the layout is generally compact and the courtyard occupies a small area to adapt to the characteristics of high population density and less cultivated land.
structure
The single building of Guitang residence in Sishui takes the unified "room" as the basic unit, and the rooms are mostly odd, usually three or five. Each room is 3 ~ 4m wide and 5 ~ 9 purlins deep, each purlin is 1 ~ 1.5m, and the single building is connected by a corridor to form a closed courtyard together with the courtyard wall. However, in order to facilitate ventilation, many air-leaking windows were opened on the courtyard wall, and the house was also opened in front and back. This kind of residence, which adapts to the terrain, makes full use of space, has flexible layout, beautiful shape and reasonable use of materials, presents a fresh and lively look.
trait
The main room of the first courtyard of this kind of residence is often a hall, with a slightly open courtyard and many open halls, which communicate with the inside and outside of the patio. Generally, the main house facing south is the residence of the elders, and the east and west sides are often equipped with wing rooms for sons and daughters-in-law, and the south house is the gatehouse. The main rooms in the north are mostly buildings, and the patio is deep but small. The roof is paved with small blue tiles, and the indoor floor is paved with stone slabs to adapt to the warm and humid climate in the south of the Yangtze River. Houses in Jiangnan water towns are often built near the water, with the front door leading to the lane and the back door facing the water. Each family has its own wharf for washing, pumping water and getting on and off the ship.
The patio structure of "four waters returning to the hall" is a major feature, which is widely used in both ordinary houses and clan ancestral halls. People joked that it was caused by the psychology of "fat water does not flow outside the field" and the expectation of "financial resources rolling in". According to geomantic theory, patio is the key to a house, and wealth is very important. Must be upright, not immersed in the tank, not wet and dirty. There are two arches on both sides of the main hall, and the wall doors are normally closed to nourish qi. Every rich house is naturally square, with a well-off family behind it. The gate is angry and the patio is in Wangfang. Naturally, yin and yang are combined into one, and it doesn't have to run through all the time. There should be auxiliary poles on both sides. As the saying goes, neither high nor sleepy, neither long nor biased, accumulate gold and jade, and prosper constantly. Some people also study that this is the remains of ancient caves.
And we modern people walk into the four waters to return to the hall, just to feel the beauty of our traditional culture in China!