S1 IH Traditional Chinese and Western Historical Buildings 1 You have studied the history of your school, Hong Kong's brief history, its physical environment, and also something about family history and lineage record. You have also learnt how to locate your position on maps, and how people choose their living environment, etc. We now turn to look at how people in Hong Kong build their homes and other buildings, and how they make use of the land around them. You will have opportunities to practise some of the skills and concepts you have learnt earlier. You will study some Chinese and Western historical buildings that are still standing today. These buildings show how certain Chinese and Western people who settled here in the past made use of the environment and built houses for their families. You will also compare these buildings with some buildings in other parts of the world. You will learn about urban land use in Hong Kong today by doing a project on Tai Kok Tsui. You will get a general picture of the community, including its history, its recent development and how its residents live and work. You will also learn the skills of collecting, handling and presenting information.
S1 IH Traditional Chinese and Western Historical Buildings 2 Traditional Chinese and Western historical buildings IH Worksheet 1 Traditional Chinese Buildings A. Location and Fung Shui Hong Kong is very hilly. A few flatlands are found in the northern and southwestern parts of the New Territories. Many villages are found in these areas. The climate of Hong Kong changes with seasons. In summer, warm and humid air blows from the sea in the south. In winter, cold and dry air blows from the mainland in the north. Typhoons in summer bring heavy rain. Under these conditions, if you were head of a clan moving from the north to settle in Hong Kong, where would you build your village? Look at the pictures below and decide. WINTER Site A Site B SUMMER Site A Site B
S1 IH Traditional Chinese and Western Historical Buildings 3 I will choose Site. It is because the hills can protect the house from Besides, in Site, houses can enjoy more sunshine in and less sunshine in. Fung Shui 1 Fung Shui literally means 'wind and water'. It influences greatly the Chinese way of living. The Fung Shui principles are a set of rules for choosing sites for tombs, houses and for planning spaces for living. For example, people prefer a south-facing house because, according to Fung Shui principles, the south is regarded as the source of male energy, Yang 2. It helps the growth of crops and the production of food. As a result, the family will grow in number and riches. As we have just learnt, there are some practical things to consider when we choose the location for a house. For example, hills at the back often give protection and shelter to buildings while rivers provide water for domestic and agricultural needs. Fung Shui represents a way to live in harmony with the natural environment. 1 Fung Shui, also Feng Shui 2 Yang
S1 IH Traditional Chinese and Western Historical Buildings 4 A walled village with a good fung shui environment Hill Fung Shui Wood Walled Village Sacred Tree Fields B. Types of traditional Chinese buildings Before the New Territories was urbanized 3, it was primarily an agricultural society. People settled there and built villages. People in a village usually belonged to the same clan. The buildings in the village show their way of life. Study the map of the Ping Shan Heritage Trail below. 3 urbanized
S1 IH Traditional Chinese and Western Historical Buildings 5 Between Hang Tau Tsuen ( ) and Hang Mei Tseun ( ), there are different types of traditional Chinese buildings. Can you match them with the following types? Types of building Names of buildings A. Walled village B. Ancestral hall C. Study hall D. Temple / religious building E. Fung Shui building
S1 IH Traditional Chinese and Western Historical Buildings 6 ( ) DD MM YY C. Functions of traditional Chinese buildings 1. Walled village Study the following passage and answer the questions that follow. An imaginary diary of a clan leader 20th October 1570 Sunny Today, some bandits tried to attack our village with weapons. The guards at the watchtower at the southwest corner detected their coming. They banged the gong4 and called for help. All the young men gathered and prepared for battle. Fortunately, the high walls were strong. The bandits could not even enter the village because the moat was deep and wide and we had a strong iron gate at the entrance. Through the gun slots, we shot them down. Thanks to the gods, our village was saved. I will go to the shrine at the end of the main street tomorrow to offer worship to the gods. I pray that the gods protect us forever. a. Based on the passage above, label the defensive features of a walled village in the diagram below. 1. Watchtowers 2. Walls 3. Moat 4. Gun slots 5. Shrine 6. Iron gate at entrance 4 Bang the gong 打鑼
S1 IH Traditional Chinese and Western Historical Buildings 7 b. According to the passage and your own knowledge, list two possible enemies of the villagers. c. Were the people in the walled village rich? Find two clues 5 from the passage to support your answer. d. What is the function of a walled village? 2. Ancestral Hall Courtyard Store room where furniture and dishes for feasts are kept Village office Central hall. Sometimes it is used as a study hall, or for feasts, or for training the young men of the clan to fight Calligraphy 6, relating to filial piety 7. 5 clues 6 calligraphy 7 filial piety A tablet showing the official rank of a clan in the government Altar at the rear hall for soul tablets of clan members
S1 IH Traditional Chinese and Western Historical Buildings 8 Study the drawing showing the ancestral hall. a. State at least three functions of an ancestral hall, with supporting clues from the drawings above. b. As shown by the decorations in the ancestral hall, which Confucian virtue 8 does the clan treasure? c. Do you think the clansmen who own this ancestral hall are rich? Why? The ancestral hall is often the largest and the most beautiful building in the village. Some rich clans have more than one ancestral hall. Their wealth is shown by the size of the ancestral hall and the rich carvings and decorations inside. 8 Confucian virtue
S1 IH Traditional Chinese and Western Historical Buildings 9 3. Study Hall Kwun Ting Study Hall ( left ) and Ching Shu Hin ( right) Study Sources A to D, and answer the questions that follow. Source A The ancestral shrine inside the study hall Source B A carved copper coin step end
S1 IH Traditional Chinese and Western Historical Buildings 10 Source C Decoration showing the story of a layman gaining high government rank ( ) Source D Boards showing many members of the family who have passed imperial examinations
S1 IH Traditional Chinese and Western Historical Buildings 11 a. What is the main function of a study hall? b. Look at Source A. Name another function of the study hall. c. Study Sources C and D. Why are these boards placed in the study hall? d. Study Sources B, C and D. List two aims of education represented by them. e. Apart from large ancestral halls, beautifully decorated study halls are also found in many villages in the New Territories. If ancestral halls show that the clans respect their ancestors, what do study halls show? Usually, ancestral halls also serve as schools for the young. Only rich clans, like the Tangs in Ping Shan and Kam Tin, can afford to build their study halls and employ teachers for their young. So if you find study halls in a village, you know that the clan is quite wealthy. Besides, the more clan members became high officials, the higher the status of the clan was.
S1 IH Traditional Chinese and Western Historical Buildings 12 D. Extended topic: Special features of traditional Chinese buildings 1. Floor Plan The following is the floor plan of a two-hall building. Side Chamber 9 Master Bedroom Front Hall 10 Courtyard 11 Rear Hall 12 Side Chamber Master Bedroom Hall is the basic unit of space in traditional Chinese buildings. It refers to the area within four corner-posts or inside four walls. a. The above is a two-hall building. How many sections are there in this building? What are they? There are sections and they are b. Usually, there is no roof above the courtyard. Do you know why it is so? c. From the structure of these traditional Chinese buildings, what can you tell about the relationship among the families living inside? 9 side chamber 10 front hall 11 courtyard 12 rear hall
S1 IH Traditional Chinese and Western Historical Buildings 13 2. Roof-top Rainwater flows down along the guiding channels. a. There are two types of tiles 13. Can you guess their names by the help of the cartoon figures in the middle? b. The picture on the right shows how these two types of tiles work in rainy days. Can you draw the flow of rainwater in the diagram ACTIVITY Use arrows to show the direction of the flow of rainwater: Rain Rain below? A small device is added to guide the dripping off of rainwater. 13 tiles
S1 IH Traditional Chinese and Western Historical Buildings 14 3. Eaves 14 and brackets 15 eaves brackets How are they combined to support the eaves? Discuss with your neighbour what the uses of eaves and brackets are in traditional Chinese buildings. 14 eaves 15 brackets
S1 IH Traditional Chinese and Western Historical Buildings 15 4. Walls The roof-tops of traditional Chinese buildings are supported by columns, beams, and a complicated bracket system. There is much freedom in the design of walls, especially the interior walls. For defense and shelter, exterior walls are usually made of strong materials like granite 16 or green bricks 17, or both. Rich families usually built houses with double-brick walls 18 because the space inside the double-brick walls provides better insulation 19. In summer, room temperature is lower inside even though the sun shines strongly on the walls. In winter, room temperature is higher inside despite the cold wind blowing hard against the wall. In times of heavy rain, the inside wall stays dry. 16 granite 17 green bricks 18 double-brick wall 19 insulation
S1 IH Traditional Chinese and Western Historical Buildings 16 5. Doors and windows There are mainly three styles of doors: 1. rectangular style 2. circular style 3. moon-shaped style Can you label the following three styles of doors? Windows are usually built with bars or floral pattern. There are very few windows in a house and they are usually small. Do you know why?
S1 IH Traditional Chinese and Western Historical Buildings 17 6. Decorations There are many different decorative styles in Chinese traditional buildings. The following are the most common decorations on the ridges 20. animal pattern geometric pattern ship-like pattern What about the following? They are very common decorations in Chinese traditional buildings. Work with your neighbour and make a guess. Decorative features What is it? What does it mean? 20 ridge
S1 IH Traditional Chinese and Western Historical Buildings 18 What have you learned? You have learned to 1. understand the relationship between Fung Shui and the natural environment; 2. distinguish between different types of traditional Chinese buildings; 3. be aware of the functions of traditional Chinese buildings as well as the traditional values associated with them; and 4. identify certain special features of traditional Chinese buildings and their functions.