s1 ih traditional chinese and western historical … ih traditional chinese and western historical...

S1 IH Traditional Chinese and Western Historical Buildings 1

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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.

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.


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Traditional Chinese and Western historical buildings

A. Location and Fung Shui 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

SUMMER

Worksheet 1 Traditional Chinese Buildings

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.

IH

Site A

Site A

Site B

Site B


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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 Shui1

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, Yang2. 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 風水, also Feng Shui 2 Yang 陽氣


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B. Types of traditional Chinese buildings Before the New Territories was urbanized3, 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 都市化

A walled village with a good fung shui environment

Hill

Fung Shui Wood

Walled Village

Sacred Tree

Fields


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Between Hang Tau Tsuen (坑頭村) and Hang Mei Tseun (坑尾村), 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


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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.

4 Bang the gong 打鑼

1. Watchtowers 2. Walls 3. Moat 4. Gun slots 5. Shrine 6. Iron gate at entrance


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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 clues5 from the passage to

support your answer.

d. What is the function of a walled village?

2. Ancestral Hall

5 clues 索�� 6 calligraphy 書法 7 filial piety 孝

Calligraphy6, relating to filial piety7.

A tablet showing the official rank of a clan in the government

Altar at the rear hall for soul tablets of clan members

Store room where furniture and dishes for feasts are kept

Courtyard

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


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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?

8 Confucian virtue 儒家德行

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.


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3. Study Hall

Kwun Ting Study Hall (覲廷書室 left ) and Ching Shu Hin (清暑軒 right) Study Sources A to D, and answer the questions that follow.

Source B A carved ‘copper coin’ step end

Source A The ancestral shrine inside the study hall


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Source C Decoration showing the story of a layman gaining high government rank (甘羅拜相)

Source D Boards showing many members of the family who have passed imperial examinations


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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.

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?


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D. Extended topic: Special features of traditional Chinese buildings 1. Floor Plan The following is the floor plan of a two-hall building.

Side Chamber9 Master Bedroom Front Hall10 Courtyard11 Rear Hall12 Master Bedroom Side Chamber

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 廂房 10 front hall 前廳 11 courtyard 庭院 12 rear hall 後廳

Hall is the basic unit of space in traditional Chinese buildings. It refers to the area within four corner-posts or inside four walls.


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2. Roof-top

a. There are two types of tiles13. 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 below?

13 tiles 瓦片

A small device is added to guide the

dripping off of rainwater.

Rainwater flows down along the guiding channels.

ACTIVITY

Use arrows to show

the direction of the

flow of rainwater:

Rain Rain


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3. Eaves14 and brackets15

Discuss with your neighbour what the uses of eaves and brackets are in traditional Chinese buildings.

14 eaves 屋簷 15 brackets 斗拱

eaves

brackets

斗拱

How are they

combined to support

the eaves?


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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 granite16 or green bricks17, or both.

Rich families usually built houses with double-brick walls 18 because the space inside the

double-brick walls provides better insulation19. 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 花崗石 17 green bricks 青磚 18 double-brick wall 夾心牆 19 insulation 隔熱


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5. Doors and windows Can you label the following three styles of doors?

There are mainly three styles of doors: 1. rectangular style 2. circular style 3. moon-shaped style

There are very few windows in a house and they are usually small. Do you know why?

Windows are usually built with bars or floral pattern.


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6. Decorations

The following are the most common decorations on the ridges20.

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 屋脊

There are many different decorative styles in Chinese traditional buildings.


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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.

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