Chinese Traditional Dwellings

Chinese Culture--Chinese Traditional Dwellings

Chinese traditional dwelling refers to those built and used by commoners. It follows the general principles of Chinese ancient architecture. Though the social status and the feudal hierarchy restricted its luxury, Chinese traditional dwelling has its own features related to the folklore and the living environment.

Description

As for the commoners, be they bureaucrats, merchants or farmers, their houses tended to follow a set pattern: the center of the building would be a shrine for the deities and the ancestors, which would also be used during festivities. On its two sides were bedrooms for the elders; the two wings of the building (known as "guardian dragons" by the Chinese) were for the junior members of the family, as well as the living room, the dining room, and the kitchen, although sometimes the living room could be very close to the center.

Sometimes the extended families became so large that one or even two extra pairs of "wings" had to be built. This resulted in a U-shaped building, with a courtyard suitable for farm work; merchants and bureaucrats, however, preferred to close off the front with an imposing front gate. All buildings were legally regulated, and the law held that the number of storeys, the length of the building and the colours used depended on the owner’s class. Some commoners living in areas plagued by bandits built communal fortresses called Tulou for protection.

Category

Chinese traditional dwellings are sorted by individual characteristics into following five catagories:

Siheyuan: quadrangles courtyard, most typical in Beijing ( go to Siheyuan, Beijing )

Hakka Tulou: earthen house, mostly found in Guangdong and Fujian Province ( go to Yongding Hakka Tulou )

Cave Dwellings: cliffside house or pit house, often seen in Shanxi Province (go to Cave Dwellings, Xi’an)

Ganlan-Style: multistoried wooden house inhabited by ethnic minorities, especially in Guangxi and Guizhou Province (go to Ganlan-Style, Guilin)

Yikeyin: seal-apperance rammed earth and wooden dwellings, only existing in Yunnan Province .