Kejiatulou Building Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
According to records, in the fourteenth year of the Chenghua era of the Ming dynasty (1478), Yongding was formally established as a county; the Hakka people of the county 'rose in swarms in letters and learning, their first degrees and high honors leading all the neighboring commanderies.'
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Earthen building architecture embodies the concept of harmony between humanity and nature, integrating the needs of security and defense with production and daily life, and communal settlement with reverence for learning and education. The construction craft of the tulou is exquisite and its planning and building highly deliberate, making full use of natural space and rationally arranging the layout of dwellings — set against mountains or beside waters — so that the living buildings harmonize with the natural environment. The structures of the tulou are infinitely varied, their internal spaces rich and orderly, and their decorative craft superb. The construction craft of the tulou is a vivid expression of Hakka architectural culture; it inherits the ancient rammed-earth building techniques of the Central Plains, retains a great deal of excellent architectural tradition, and has become a living fossil in the study of ancient building techniques. Beginning in the late Ming dynasty, the Hakka people of Yongding actively engaged in tobacco production and trade, and wealth poured in. These outstanding cultural and economic achievements became the spiritual and material foundation for the flourishing of the Yongding Hakka tulou. Under the impact of modernization and the tide of the commodity economy, the dwelling concepts of the residents of the Yongding area have changed, and they no longer build tulou.
Ramming the rammed-earth walls
Rammed earth is laid between boards and beaten with a pestle layer by layer, an inheritance of central Chinese technique and the physical basis of the tulou's comfort and fire resistance.
Timber framing
Earth walls and timber roofs work together: the carpenter frames columns, beams and purlins to the plan, transferring the roof load onto the earth walls.
Site choice and plan layout
The site is set first, along the mountain or by the water, and the plan must serve dwelling, defence, production and the pursuit of learning within one enclosure.
Choosing between square and round plans
Square plans dominate in Yongding and round ones cluster in the Jinfeng river basin, while the five-phoenix hall combines both along the Yongding river.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Yongding Hakka earthen buildings of Fujian are traditional rammed-earth architecture rich in cultural connotation and unique in form and function; they are spread across every village of Yongding County, mainly distributed along the Ting River and Yongding River valleys. Yongding tulou are mainly square; circular tulou are rarer, the latter concentrated mainly in the Jinfeng Creek valley; in addition, the Dafu Di — square-and-circular combined, also known as the 'Five Phoenix Tower' — is mainly distributed in the Yongding River valley.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Kejiatulou Building Craftsmanship · Kejiatulou Building Craftsmanship · Kejia Residential Building Craftsmanship.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
According to statistics, more than 20,000 tulou are still preserved within Yongding. The original Yongding Hakka tulou have aged and fallen into disrepair, and a crisis has emerged in the transmission of the building technique; government attention and support are urgently needed, with practical measures taken for their protection. Xu Songsheng (related inheritor, official archive record): male, Han ethnicity, born in 1953, from Yongding, Fujian. Representative inheritor of the Hakka tulou construction technique, a national-level intangible cultural heritage item of the first batch. Hakka tulou are economical and durable, cool in summer and warm in winter, and also possess strong fire resistance. From childhood Xu Songsheng learned the Hakka tulou building technique from his father; after graduating from senior high school, he engaged in the building of square and circular tulou as a mason and carpenter; under his father's verbal instruction and personal example, his skill improved rapidly, and he became especially adept at designing residential architectural styles according to Hakka cultural customs. For many years Xu Songsheng has been engaged in the construction and repair of Hakka tulou and dwellings; in 2001, the Jiqing Tower and Yuqing Tower of Chixi, with their six-hundred-plus years of history, faced collapse owing to age and disrepair; under his careful work, the tulou were restored to their historical appearance. Over the years Xu Songsheng has passed on his skills to his apprentices without reservation, making active contributions to the transmission of the Hakka tulou construction technique.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Xu Songsheng 01-0148
- Zhong Yanpeng 05-2741
- Zhang Xianyao
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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