| The clay building surrounded by mountains. |
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The tamping technology. | We must mention Hakkas when talking about the Fujian dwelling. Many Hakkas in Minxi area built their unclaimed clay building abode while the existing unclaimed clay buildings are mainly located at the Hakkas settlements. Hakkas who accounted for 6% of the Han population are a branch of the Han nationality. Hakkas's ancestors lived in the Central Plains of China. After the Western Jin Dynasty (265-316), the Hans having suffered from chaos caused by wars gradually migrated southwardly and a number of them immigrated into the place where Jiangxi. Guangdong and Fujian Provinces meet. Having gradually integrated with the natives they finally became the "Hakkas" denoting people distinctive from the "natives". Due to the fact that the plains with good environment had already been occupied by other Hans the Hakkas could only settle down in the hilly areas of South Jiangxi Province, West Fujian Province, and East Guangdong Province. Therefore, we may say "every mountain has Hakkas while every Hakkas lived in a mountain".
What we must point out is that not all Hakkas are living in the clay building which is just one kind of Hakkas dwelling, but not the only residential form of the Hakkas. Xie Zhongguang, a famous Chinese scholar pointed out that the unclaimed clay buildings mainly distribute over some regions in South-west Fujian Province and Northeast Guangdong Province. Such a kind of clay building, especially the round buildings can hardly be found in other regions. This phenomenon is originated from the geographic and cultural background of the above-mentioned areas.
Historically speaking, the Hakkas migrated from north to south or from west to east. Thus, northwest part of west Fujian inhabited by the Hakkas became the core area with Hakkas culture. The multi-storied clay buildings, however, are rarely seen in this area. Only when you go southward can you find a great deal of clay buildings in the area where the Hakkas lived together with other ethnic groups. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, this area registered frequent fighting with weapons between ethnic groups caused by the acute ethnic disputes. Under such a grim situation the Hakkas had been forced to change their way of life while having moved into the clay buildings with stronger defense functions. Thus, the conclusion can be drawn that the architectural culture of the clay building is part of the brilliant Hakkas culture but not the total of it. |
