Tujia Diaojiaolou Building Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
The building of stilted houses (diaojiaolou) proceeded in step with the opening up of the Wuling mountain region: the foundation could only be set on the slope, and when erecting the columns the ground had to be left open, so the house body hangs in mid-air. The formation of this method is unrecorded in any text and relied entirely on craftsmen exploring it locally and adapting to circumstances across generations. In the Xianfeng area, the diaojiaolou—from selecting the house site, preparing materials, erecting the frame, to completing the decoration—has fixed practices and rules for each stage. Folk customs such as reading the geomantic omen, worshipping the mountain god, sacrificing to Lu Ban, felling the ridge timber, and reciting blessings are interspersed between the work steps, making the building of a house at once an entire set of rituals. Around 1970, Wan Taoyuan followed his grandfather Qu Sheng, starting from making round wooden wares, and by around the age of twenty could preside over the entire process.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The diaojiaolou is a traditional dwelling dearly loved by the Tujia people. Xianfeng has a long history and unique skill in diaojiaolou construction. From selecting the house site, preparing materials, and erecting the frame, all the way to completing the decoration, there are complete procedures and varied techniques.
Setting out with the high pole
Before raising, a tall pole sets the centre line and levels, settling line, angle and load at once on cramped mountain ground.
Raising the columns
Columns are run through the beams from below; this arrangement solves alignment, angle and load while freeing the ground for mountain building.
The chuan-dou frame
Loose posts, beams and boards are locked into a single strong frame with axe, saw, ink line and chisel.
Upturned eaves and the verandah bay
The upturned projecting eaves and the verandah bay change the look of the house entirely, giving it its unmistakable regional signature.
Cutting the beam and telling good fortune
Site divination, worship of the mountain god, offerings to Lu, cutting the ridge beam and telling fortunes all occur within the building process.
Ornament on rails, doors, windows and plinths
Patterns on the rails, doors, windows, plinths and cantilevered beams display the rich cultural stock of the Xianfeng Tujia area.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
In particular, the invention of "gaogan" (high-pole) positioning, the "chuandou" (post-and-tie) house frame, and the construction of "chongtianpao" (sky-reaching) columns ingeniously solve the problems of line, plane, angle, and load-bearing in the mid-air construction of the diaojiaolou, freeing the ground and overcoming the acute contradiction between mountain-dwelling construction and a narrow-space topography. The "qiaojiao tiao" (upturned-eave) roof overhang and the arrangement of the "kanzi" (corridor) bring about a fundamental change in the diaojiaolou's exterior form, imprinting it with a distinct local mark. The abundant appearance of many folk customs—"reading the geomantic omen," "worshipping the mountain god," "sacrificing to Lu Ban," "felling the ridge timber," and "reciting blessings"—in diaojiaolou construction fully displays the rich rural customs of the Tujia. Moreover, the decorative patterns on the railings, doors and windows, column bases, and protruding beams all vividly manifest the profound cultural heritage of the Tujia region of Xianfeng.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Tujia Diaojiaolou Building Craftsmanship · Tujia Diaojiaolou Building Craftsmanship.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Xianfeng County in Hubei Province is the county in the Wuling Tujia region with the most surviving diaojiaolou structures and the best transmission of the construction technique. The Xianfeng diaojiaolou construction technique gradually enriched and matured along with the historical development of the Tujia people; it bears witness to the developmental history of the Tujia, condenses the ingenuity and wisdom of the Tujia people, and is a most precious ethnic cultural heritage that deserves effective protection and sound transmission. Wan Taoyuan (per official archive of the associated inheritor): Male, Tujia ethnicity, born February 1956, a native of Xianfeng County, Hubei Province. Representative inheritor of the fourth national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage item "Tujia Diaojiaolou Construction Technique." Diaojiaolou construction technician. Born into a Tujia peasant family, he had a strong interest in craftsmanship from childhood. Around 1970 he studied carpentry under his grandfather Qu Sheng, starting with "making round goods" (i.e., making wooden basins, buckets, etc.), gradually mastering carpentry skills and participating in the construction of Tujia diaojiaolou, and by the age of twenty had basically mastered various construction techniques. Through long experience in building and repairing houses, he deeply grasped its essentials; especially before constructing a diaojiaolou, he first forms a mental draft, conceives the house's preliminary form according to the owner's wishes, and then selects superior materials. As a "zhangmo" master (chief layout master), he is adept at applying folk geomantic common knowledge to the diaojiaolou construction process and has built dozens of diaojiaolou. In 2009, he was awarded the title of the fourth batch of Folk Art Masters of Enshi Prefecture by the Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture of Hubei Province.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Wan Taoyuan 04-1933
- Peng Shanyao 04-1934
- Liu Chengbai 05-2888
- Wan Yuqi
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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