Chengqi Lou
This Tulou is located in the northwest of Gaobei Village, Gaotou town.According to the records
of the family tree,this Tulou was first built during the reign of Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming
dynasty(1628-1644).The second,third and fourth rings were later built.The whole building was
completed in the 48th year of the Kangxi Reign of the Qing Dynasty(1709).Facing south,this
circular Tulou covers an area of 5.376.1 7 square meters.The Tulou is also known as Tianzhu Lou
for the rammed earthen wall refraining from drenching by rain when building its outer ring.
The whole building comprises 4 concentric annular constructions with the overhanging gable
roof.It is of the column and tie construction and the post and lintel construction and with corridors
connecting the rooms on each floor.
As the main building,the outer ring of wood-and-earth structure is 73 meters in diameter and
4-storey in height.The wall of the first floor is 1.5 meters thick.while the wall of fourth floor only
O.9 meters thick.The first and second storeys have no windows.The first floor is the kitchen;the
second floor is the barn;the third and fourth floors are bedrooms.Each of the floors contains 72
bays,including the hall and stairway.Except external wall and the wall of hall and stairway built by
rammed earth,the walls of kitchens and bedrooms are all built by adobes.The corridor on the first
floor is 1.65 meters in width.The overhanging beams above the second floor extend more than one
meter or so towards the center of the circle,forming a roof slightly lower than the railing.Under
the roof,the rooms are divided into numerous small store rooms by cedarwood plate.The blue tiles
cover the cave on which the crops can be spread out to dry.The building possesses two flights of
steps in the east and west and two gates with stone doorframes on the front and south.B esides the
name of the Tulou hanging above the door lintel of the frontal gate,there is a couplet reading"Carry
on the ancestors'virtue of diligence and frugality;encourage the descendants to read and farm."
There are two side gates slightly smaller than the frontal one in the west and east of the outer ring.
The 2一storey second ring building is of brick-and-wood structure.and each of the floors has 40
bays.Except that one door on the front,east and west is used as passages,the rest rooms link with
the front-oriented patio and blue brick-made separation wall.forming a small courtyard.The hall
of the courtyard,namely the first floor of the second ring,serves as a dining room or a sitting room,
above which are bedrooms.Each courtyard is opened with a gate which links with the corridor of
the third ring.At the back of the courtyard or on the opposite of the kitchen and dining room on the
first floor of outer ring,the bathroom,restroom and storeroom about 1.8 meters in height are built.
The bathroom,storeroom and outer ring are separated by the cobble-paved patio and paved with the
paths of big and square blue stone plates.
The single-storey third ring building is of brick-and-wood structure with 32 bays.The original
owners respected scholars and valued education,while prohibiting women from going to school
outside the Tulou and studying with men.Therefore,a private school was run here and this ring
served as the study for women.
The single-storey fourth ring is slightly lower than the third ring,covering an area of 33.83
square meters and serving as the ancestral hall.In this way,the constructions are higher in the outer
ring and lower in the inner ring.The back-oriented hall and arc side corridors on the front form
a sing-storey circular room with a patio inside.The ancestral hall,having a hip and gable roof,
has beautiful engraved beams and painted pillars,facing the front gate of the Tulou.The door of
ancestral hall is decorated with colorful pictures and delicate stone inscription.On the East and West
of the hall,there are small gates linking with the East-West passages and two side gates on the East
and West of outer ring.Some boards bearing inscriptions of famous figures of Qing Dynasty and
the 1 980s still highly hang on the back--oriented place of the hall and under the front--oriented eaves;
Couplets on the stone columns of two sides read："Originating from the same root,we regard least
the distance in relationship as we love each other;Living in the same building,we cherish most the
importance of kinship as we meet every day.""Identifying the secret in the harmony among heave,
man and earth,we find extremely subtle interests;helping others,we leave profound blessings to
posterity.''All of this stands to testify the ideas of managing family and establishing themselves as
well as the brilliant achievements the building owners once had.
When important festivals come,the jumbo enclosed screen,once served as the present for the
7 1 st birthday of Jiang Xinxuan,the 1 6th generation of the clan,will be put in the ancestral hall.
The screen consists of 12 plates.2.72 meters in height.of which the 8 plates in the middle are O.46
meters wide for each and the plates at two sides are O.47 meter wide for each.Some time-honored
storeys are inscribed on the delicately carved screen,particular the long-lasting"pictures of 24 filial
persons".The"pictures of 24 filial persons''on the lower part originate from the ancient storeys
concerning filial persons,giving full expression to the Hakka's traditional virtue of respecting the
older and ancestor as well as obeying parents'order in both vivid pictures and texts.The picture of
Guo Ziyi,a famous person in the Tang dynasty,offering birthday felicitations is inscribed on the
upper part of the frontal screen.The words of congratulations on birthday,including complementary
addresses and aphorisms,from the ministries of the Qing dynasty and building owner's relatives
are decorated on the back of the screen.In addition,the screen is also carved with many designs of
rare birds and plants.The building owner considers that to display this screen in major festivals not
only can delight people's eyes but also can conduct education again on traditional virtue among the
wh01e clan.
The ring constructions are separated by patios and linked by cobble-paved paths.There are four
doors as the openings on the central axis and the eastern and western places of the second and third
rings.The ancestral hall,which can be reached through the main passage linked with three gates
of outer ring,can also be arrived through some small passages merely one meter or so in width.
However,the rings,front gate and side gates can only be accessed via the main passage after going
along the corridors under the eaves.Therefore,the Tulou is also described as a maze--easy to enter
but difficult to go out.
Two wells are excavated in the patios on the Eastern and southwestern place between the second
and third rings.The wells are called"Yin-and-Yang well''for representing the differences in terms
of Yin,Yang,big,small,deep,narrow,water temperature and quality.
The Tulou is built according to the Eight Trigrams in The Book of Changes.The outer ring,
second and third ring all has eight trigrams.The trigrams in outer ring possess the most clear-cut
boundary.The inner corridors of the first floor are separated by the blue-brick walls with arches.The
Tulou is exquisite in shape and full of primitive simplicity.
There is a stone ground outside the Tulou and a 2一storey stone protective threshold which is
five meters in height at the back of the Tulou.The protective hill-side platform represents the East-
West village path.20 meters away from outer ring.the 2一storey rectangle school of earth-and-wood
structure is located on the northeast side behind the building,covering an area of about 3 00 square
meters.
From its founding,the people of talent has came forth in a large number,over 40 residents being
elected as former third and second degree candidate in the provincial examination,and developing
into over 80 doctors,bachelors,scientists,professionals and writers.Moreover,a family living in
the Tulou once cultivated 1 0 doctors.
With the most numerous rings and largest scale among the Hakka circular Tulou,it is inhabited
by more than 800 people in its heyday and over 3 00 people for the time being.
In 1 98 1,this Tulou was included into the Dictionary of Scenic Sites in China.In April of 1 986,
the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications of the PRC adopted the picture of Chengqi Lou in a
stamp of Chinese civilian residential buildings it published,with the face value of RMB 1.
| |