Dong Timber Architectural Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
Sanjiang is where the Dong wooden-architecture construction craft has been inherited most completely. During the Three Kingdoms period, the Dong ancestors "leaned timber against trees and lived atop them, calling them ganlan," and gradually developed the wooden-architecture construction craft; thereafter drum towers, wind-and-rain bridges, and stilt houses were built in succession in Dong villages, with the wind-and-rain bridge lying across the river and the drum tower standing in the village center, becoming the two great emblems of the Dong village. The craft in this area relies especially on oral transmission. The Dong wooden-architecture builders, relying only on the 13 special carpentry characters (xueshi wen, the "master's script") passed down through generations—such as "xianggan" and "zhuda"—along with some building implements, can accurately and marvelously erect structures, and never need to draw plans; generally, after visually surveying the terrain, the design is already formed in the mind. Under this system independent of drawings, the renowned Chengyang Yongji Bridge and the Sanjiang Drum Tower of Guangxi—famous both at home and abroad—were successfully built in just such seemingly incredible circumstances.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Dong wooden-architecture construction craft is the finest expression of ethnic folk traditional culture in Sanjiang County, Guangxi. During the Three Kingdoms period, the Dong ancestors "leaned timber against trees and lived atop them, calling them ganlan," and gradually developed the wooden-architecture construction craft. The wooden architecture of the Dong in Sanjiang is represented by wind-and-rain bridges and drum towers, which are not only beautifully shaped but also exemplify a truly singular craftsmanship. The entire structure is mortised, holed, beamed, arched, post-raised, and tie-connected without a single iron nail, joined wholly by tenon-and-mortise; it is firmly structured and tightly fitted, possessing extremely high craft and artistic value. The drum tower is also called the "Luohan Tower"; a giant timber is buried as the central column, built into a pagoda-shaped "single-horn tower" that stands in the Dong village, reaching from earth to sky, and becomes the spiritual symbol of the Dong people. The wind-and-rain bridge lies across the river; in Dong belief it is the "bridge of life" communicating between the realms of yin and yang and the "auspicious bridge" that protects the village and attracts wealth, and so no effort is spared in its carving and ornamentation, uniting pavilion, pagoda, corridor, and bridge into one magnificent whole. The various patterns and the carved beams and painted rafters on the towers and bridges embody the Dong people's fine wishes and aesthetic pursuit for favorable weather and bountiful harvests, and are a concentrated expression of Dong cultural identity. The Dong people are born artists, and their folk craftsmen possess superb architectural skill. When constructing towers, bridges, and dwellings they use no drawings at all; the entire structure is committed to memory, and relying merely on simple bamboo slips as measuring rods and the unique "moshi wen" as design notation, they can, with ordinary carpenter's tools and timber, produce towers and bridges of varied forms and beautiful shape, whose ingenious design and beautiful form are both breathtaking.
The thirteen building characters
A code of some thirteen terms, such as the incense pole and the bamboo pole, fixes sizes and parts between master and carpenter, replacing drawings entirely.
Setting out by the master carpenter
The master reads the site into a mental plan and sets post positions, beam directions and storey heights on the spot; the whole frame then obeys him.
Boring and tenoning fir timber
Posts, beams, purlins and rails are all made of locally grown fir, bored and tenoned to exact positions — fir's straight grain suits precision joinery.
Passing the craft through apprenticeship
Yang Qiushi began building independently after two years and went on to raise six great drum towers and two covered bridges while training disciples by demonstration.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Dong wooden-architecture construction craft is mainly distributed in the Dong villages nestled by hills and water within Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County, with villages linked to one another by drum towers and wind-and-rain bridges. The Dong drum tower is also called the "Luohan Tower," with a giant timber buried as the central column, built into a pagoda-shaped "single-horn tower"; the Dong flower bridge is ingeniously structured, fully applying the lever principle, with its large and small posts, ties, purlins, and railings all made of the locally abundant fir by boring holes and threading tenons. The two inheritors, Yang Siyu and Yang Qiusi, have served as chief carpenters in Sanjiang for many years. Yang Siyu has designed over 100 stilt houses, 6 large wind-and-rain bridges, more than 300 small wind-and-rain bridges, 6 ordinary drum towers, and over 20 pavilions of various sizes; his representative works include the Bajiang Guidong Drum Tower and the Buyang Wind-and-Rain Bridge.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Dong Timber Architectural Craftsmanship · Dong Timber Architectural Craftsmanship · Dong Timber Architectural Craftsmanship · Dong Timber Architectural Craftsmanship.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
What is worrying is that, at present, because there are few successors among Dong building craftsmen, timber sources are scarce, and wooden structures have extremely weak fire resistance—easily damaged and hard to restore—the Dong wooden architecture and its related craft face a crisis of continuity. Only by strengthening rescue and protection efforts can the exquisite Dong wooden-architecture construction craft be passed down through the generations. Yang Siyu (from the official archival record of the associated inheritor): Male, Dong ethnicity, born in 1955, from Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County, Guangxi. Representative inheritor of the Dong wooden-architecture construction craft, a national-level intangible cultural heritage project of the first batch, and a China Master of Arts and Crafts. Relying only on the 13 special carpentry characters (xueshi wen) passed down through generations—such as "xianggan" and "zhuda"—along with some building implements, he can accurately and marvelously erect structures, and never needs to draw plans (generally, after visually surveying the terrain, the design is already formed in the mind). The renowned Chengyang Yongji Bridge and the Sanjiang Drum Tower of Guangxi—famous both at home and abroad—were successfully built in just such seemingly incredible circumstances. Yang Siyu has designed over 100 stilt houses, 6 large wind-and-rain bridges, more than 300 small wind-and-rain bridges, 6 ordinary drum towers, and over 20 pavilions of various sizes. Yang Qiusi (from the official archival record of the associated inheritor): Male, Dong ethnicity, born in October 1963, from Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Representative inheritor of the Dong wooden-architecture construction craft, a national-level intangible cultural heritage project of the fifth batch. After completing his apprenticeship two years later, he began independently building Dong wooden houses, drum towers, wind-and-rain bridges, and the like. As a chief carpenter, over the years he has built six large drum towers and two wind-and-rain bridges. His representative works include the Bajiang Guidong Drum Tower and the Buyang Wind-and-Rain Bridge. On one hand he has promoted the Dong wooden-architecture construction craft to various places, and on the other, through personal instruction, he has trained disciples such as Yang Nenghui, Yang Yunqing, Yang Yongsu, and Yang Fuyu.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Yangshiyu 01-0149
- Yang Qiushi 05-2743
- Yang Guangjin 05-2744
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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