Next, let's look for the answer from the perspective of national culture!
Brief introduction of Miao diaojiao building
Miao Diaojiaolou is a traditional building of Miao nationality, and it is also a unique form of ancient architecture in southern China. Usually surrounded by mountains and rivers, row upon row, stacked on it. Miao Diaojiao Building is divided into two floors, with people living upstairs and overhead downstairs. The upper floor space is spacious, the technology is complex and the workmanship is fine. Buildings are everywhere on the lower floor, which is very irregular.
Modern architects believe that Miao Diaojiao Building is the best form of ecological architecture.
Structure of Miao Diaojiao Building
The foundation of hanging wood building must be to dig the slope into two layers; The depth of each floor is more than 6 feet, and the area of each floor is about 100 square meter. The difference between the upper and lower floors is more than 4 feet, and the gable and outer mountain between floors are made of stone. When building a house, the front row of floor-standing house columns are placed on the lower foundation, and the outermost floor-standing house columns are flush with the floor slab protruding from the upper foundation, forming suspended hanging feet, and the space between the upper and lower foundations becomes the bottom floor of the hanging foot building, which is the so-called "uneven" hanging foot architectural feature. The diaojiao building adopts bucket structure, with 5 to 7 columns in each row, and the columns are connected by melons or squares to form a three-dimensional net structure. Maple must be used in the central column, because maple is a totem tree of Miao people's life and a sacred tree symbolizing the soul of their ancestors.
Diaojiao building is generally composed of three four-story columns or three two-story buildings, which are generally divided into three floors. The ground floor is used as a fence for livestock and poultry, and also for shelving farm tools and sundries. There are people living on the middle floor, and there is a hall in the middle. The pillars on both sides of the hall should be added and the floor should be thickened. Because this is the main activity space of the family, and it is also the place where the banquet guests sing and dance. Some families have placed shrines of the holy spirit of their ancestors on the wall facing the gate. The sacred family ancestor worship activities were held in the hall. In general, the left and right side rooms are used as bedrooms and guest rooms. The third floor is mostly used to store food and seeds, and it is a warehouse for the whole family; If there is a large population, it is also necessary to install a separate bedroom. The kitchen is located in the side building. The space division and combination of the building takes the room where the ancestral temple of the Holy Spirit is located as the core, and then extends outward to radiate. Family members living in such a spatial combination are virtually condensed by the spatial attraction of the hall where Zuling is located, thus enhancing the affinity of family unity. The traditional Miao religion worshipped by ancestors has been fully and perfectly reflected in the residential buildings of Diaojiaolou.
Characteristics of Miao Diaojiao Building
Miao Diaojiao Building is built on a slope, and the ground is cut into a "factory"-shaped earth platform supported by long wooden columns. According to the height of the soil platform, purlins and beams are installed in one section, which is parallel to the soil platform. Diaojiaolou is seven or eight meters low and thirteen or fourteen meters high, covering an area of twelve or thirteen square meters. Except for a few Chinese fir skins, the roof is mostly covered with blue tiles, which are smooth and compact, generous and tidy.
Diaojiao building is generally built with four rows and three rooms, and some have built one or two "slant buildings" in addition to the main building. Each row of wooden columns is generally 9, that is, five columns and four melons. Each wooden building is generally divided into three floors, the upper floor stores food, the middle floor houses people, and the lower floor has fences for stacking sundries or raising livestock. On the first floor where people live, there are wooden ladders next to the upper and lower floors, and this floor is equipped with a corridor with a width of about 1 m. The hall is a welcoming room, and the rooms on both sides are divided into two or three small rooms as bedrooms or kitchens. The room is spacious and bright, with symmetrical doors and windows. Some Miao families also have fire pits, and they burn fires to keep warm in winter. There is a gate in front of the nave. There are two doors and a window on each side. Nave has a backrest railing under the front eaves, which is called "beauty leaning".
Miao diaojiao building is a unique architectural form of Miao nationality and a unique creation under mountainous conditions. These traditional buildings, full of national culture, provide enthusiastic motivation for the life of Miao people.