Architectural Art of Xitang Ancient Dwellings Xitang ancient dwellings were built during the Ming, Qing and Republic of China periods. According to literature records, Xitang became a city in the Yuan Dynasty, a town in the Ming Dynasty, and Huizhou merchants moved eastward in the middle of the Qing Dynasty, bringing Huizhou culture and architectural technology to Xitang. The best existing dwellings in Xitang were built during that period. By the Republic of China period, Xitang had become a major commercial town. According to a census in 2000, there were still more than 250,000 square meters of residential buildings built during the Ming, Qing and Republic of China periods in Xitang Ancient Town. Among the ancient dwellings in Xitang, there are not many Ming Dynasty buildings left, but they have obvious characteristics. The beam decorations used in the hall are mostly in the shape of "burden towels". The column bases of Qing Dynasty buildings were all made of rough stone, not bluestone, because "qing" and "qing" are homophonic, and the Qing Dynasty could not be suppressed under the column. During the Republic of China period, architecture accepted Western cultural concepts, wooden floors replaced square bricks, and some even had ceiling decorations. The existing Xitang dwellings are not large in scale, and the area of individual buildings is small, reflecting the simple and practical civilian cultural concepts. The town is crisscrossed with rivers, and every household lives by the water. There are river piers on the back river, and the beauty on the river pier adds a rich water town scenery to the ancient town. The corridor shed is a major feature of Xitang Ancient Town. Jiangnan is rainy, and merchants extend and build sheds in front of their stores to take care of their business. The Xitang corridor shed is built by connecting many adjacent shops along the street, with a total length of more than 1,200 meters. Its design reflects the characteristics of Confucian merchant culture. The horse head wall of Xitang folk houses is in the shape of a steamed bun. The one-line horse head wall was changed to a steamed bun-shaped "Guanyin Pocket" because Xitang is affected by typhoons every year. The steamed bun-shaped horse head wall (also known as the "wind and fire wall") is windproof and fireproof. In the event of a typhoon, the strong wind will reduce the pressure when passing through the horse head wall that is higher than the roof. Once a neighbor's fire breaks out, the horse head wall can block the fire and win time for firefighting. The existing Xitang ancient residential buildings have their own characteristics among the residential buildings in Jiangnan towns: one is the long longitudinal axis. Because the street is short and everyone has to occupy a certain river channel to facilitate water transportation, the width is very narrow and can only develop in depth, so there are three, five or even seven entrances, which become narrow and long houses. Second, from the perspective of the height of the building unit, its characteristic is "first suppress and then rise". The facades along the street are very low-key, and the scale of the big families is generally not visible. The reason is that the Japanese pirates often came to harass at that time, usually at night and leave in the morning. In order to prevent the strong from seeing that it is a big family, the facade is made to look like an ordinary family, not ostentatious and not attracting attention. Third, the rhythm of the building changes very flexibly in the deep courtyard, and the building units are generally connected by patios. Fourth, there are often auspicious patterns engraved on the doors and windows. The reflection of Confucianism in the residential architecture of Xitang, in addition to the "benevolence" of the corridor shed, the low-key form of the residential form is "etiquette". There are no flying eaves or corners here. Even if there are brick-carved gatehouses, the lines are simple, with more rounded corners and fewer edges. The modesty of the architectural language is also a manifestation of "etiquette", reflecting the local customs and cultural characteristics of the residents. The architectural art of Xitang ancient dwellings has been included in the second batch of Zhejiang Province's intangible cultural heritage list. Information source: Jiaxing Library Information source: Jiaxing Library