C O N T E X T 1 4 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 41 the crescent moon2. Some main doors were especially distinctive in their brick or stone-carved decoration. These traditional architectural details perpetuated the plain style of Chinese folk art, which combines elaborate carving with restrained colouring. The main body of the house is usually two storeys high. Its plan is oblong, usually with five bays in length and two in width.The central bay on the ground floor is a sitting room, for receiving guests and serving as the central point where all circulation within the house converges. The east room in the main block is the master bedroom or dining room, while the west room contains a guest bedroom. The kitchen is always set near the backyard, behind the guest bedroom.The first floor is about half the area of the ground floor: the main bedroom and living room are situated there. Adjoining these rooms is a very narrow (about one metre wide) corridor, with a wooden staircase is at the end of it. The ordinary house terrace usually features only three steps – very different from the elaborate Xumi terraces of Chinese palaces. It is more concise and plain, without complex decoration and sculpture. However, although the house terrace has only simple moulding work, every stone of the steps is regularly coursed. The architectural decoration of the traditional houses of Dajun generally stems fairly straightforwardly from the lifestyles of the occupants.There is often a brick carving on the ridge of the roof, as an auspicious symbol: a ‘kylin’ or dragon pattern is common. A pair of round wooden or stone tablets is often hung under the eaves, with the words Double Happiness carved on their surfaces.The brick wall under the eaves is occasionally decorated with a row of mural paintings. The colours are bright and the range of designs wide, based on a variety of Chinese patterning influences. The main lines in these eye-catching paintings are grey with a white background. The most elaborate architectural ornaments are concave carvings, the main subject-matter of which comprises flowers, deities, animals and so on. Stone carving was too expensive for ordinary inhabitants of the town, but it was greatly favoured by the wealthy: sometimes many carved stones are set around the doors of their mansions. Most of the traditional buildings in DajunTown were built in the final Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty (from the 14th to 19th centuries). In general these buildings are durable and plain. In traditional construction, timber, bamboo, clay, brick and stone are used either together or singly. These elements helped stamp local houses with their own regional individuality and contribute to the vast variety of Chinese traditional homes. Recently, however, in an age of rapid modernisation of society, some traditional dwellings have been awkwardly replaced by jarringly individualistic modern concrete-and-glass blocks, which project a strikingly disharmonious note in this area of traditional houses. It seems plausible to argue, first, that a comprehensive planning scheme should be in place before any new construction begins, and that protection of sites, habitats and landscapes should receive the highest priority. Second, in the design of new buildings, it is not enough simply to collage historic patterns and symbols, as the traditional internal spaces are also worth conserving and studying 3. Furthermore, although ‘rural urbanisation’ is a dominant trend in the development of modernisation, many local people do not want to change their lifestyles: the low-rise house, small yard and quiet alley remain very popular. Sun Peifang, a lecturer in the school of civil engineering and architecture at the Zhejiang University of Science and Technology, Hangzhou, China, has been awarded a scholarship by the China Scholarship Council to pursue study as an academic visitor in the UK. Wooden carving on an old house A historic gate Photos: Weichang Pan
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