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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.
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Traditional Chinese and Western Historical Buildings
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Traditional Chinese and Western historical buildings
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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
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I will choose Site
Besides, in Site
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It is because the hills can protect the house from
, houses can enjoy more sunshine in
sunshine in
and less
.
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
2
Fung Shui 風水, also Feng Shui
Yang
陽氣
3
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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 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
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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
A. Walled village
B. Ancestral hall
C. Study hall
D. Temple / religious building
E. Fung Shui building
Names of buildings
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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.
1. Watchtowers
2. Walls
3. Moat
4. Gun slots
5. Shrine
6. Iron gate at entrance
4
Bang the gong
打鑼
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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
Courtyard
Store room where furniture and
dishes for feasts are kept
Central hall. Sometimes it is
used as a study hall, or for
feasts, or for training the young
men of the clan to fight
Village office
Calligraphy6, relating to
A tablet showing the official
filial piety7.
rank of a clan in the
government
5
6
7
clues
calligraphy
filial piety
書法
孝
Altar at the rear
hall for soul
tablets of clan
members
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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 virtue8 does the
clan treasure?
c.
Do you think the clansmen who own this ancestral hall are rich?
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
儒家德行
Why?
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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 A The ancestral shrine
inside the study hall
Source B A carved ‘copper
coin’ step end
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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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a.
What is the main function of a study hall?
b.
Look at Source A.
c.
Study Sources C and D.
d.
Study Sources B, C and D.
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
Name another function of the study hall.
Why are these boards placed in the study hall?
List two aims of education represented by them.
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.
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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
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?
side chamber 廂房
front hall 前廳
11
courtyard 庭院
12
rear hall 後廳
9
10
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Roof-top
Rainwater flows down along the guiding channels.
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?
ACTIVITY
Rain
Use arrows to show
the direction of the
flow of rainwater:
A small device is added to guide the
dripping off of rainwater.
13
tiles 瓦片
Rain
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Eaves14 and brackets15
3.
eaves
brackets
斗
拱
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
15
eaves 屋簷
brackets 斗拱
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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 walls18 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
17
18
19
granite
花崗石
green bricks
青磚
double-brick wall 夾心牆
insulation
隔熱
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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?
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Decorations
There are many different
decorative styles in Chinese
traditional buildings.
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
20
ridge
屋脊
What is it?
17
What does it mean?
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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.