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By Ivana
The Construction Style and Folk Customs
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Wang Family Grand Courtyard
Photo: ChinaCulture.org
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With a time-honored history, Jingsheng is a famous historical and cultural town. Archeological finds have revealed a painted pottery site of the Neolithic Age in the town, demonstrating that Chinese ancestors have dwelt in the place a long time. The tomb cluster dating form the Shang Dynasty (About 16th - 11th century BC) boasts a lot of precious relics from the Bronze Age. The cultural relics from the Qin and Han dynasties (221BC-220AD) also abound in the town. Currently, there are still many buildings in Jinsheng that were built in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).
The Grand Courtyard of the Wangs, deliberately protected and left from the Qing Dynasty, boasts strong ethnic Chinese flavor and occupies an important position in Chinese construction history.
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Wang Family Grand Courtyard
Photo: ChinaCulture.org
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The mansions of the family are rather luxurious, as the family paid little attention to the production cost. In the Kangxi Reign of the Qing Dynasty, the Wangs built the first two lanes named Yongcui and Suorui for their mansions in Jingsheng. In the Qianlong Reign, the Zhongling lane was built, and the Hongmen, Gongji, and Dongnan fortresses were also built to form a dwelling area for the Wangs. During the Yongzheng Reign, the Chongning Fortress was built. Two Wang members, Wang Rucong and Wang Rucheng, built the Gaojiaya dwelling area, the last construction cluster.
Gaojiaya began to be built in 1796 and finished in 1811. After 16 years, the whole construction covered 11,728 square meters with 26 courtyards and 218 rooms. The features of the mansion are as follows:
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Wang Family Grand Courtyard
Photo: ChinaCulture.org
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First, the whole construction faces the river, away from the mountain. The buildings were established upon the fully advantages of the landscape of the hills, which makes the whole compound appear scattered in a graceful manner. Layers of gardens on different heights of the hill give the compound more levels and the hill more vibrancy and glamour.
Second, the compound walls of are very tall, and there are four gates on four circles of walls that enclose the buildings on different layers. This style inherited the construction mode of the Western Zhou Dynasty (11th century-771BC) that employs halls in the front and rooms in the rear part, as well as many rows of houses. There are a multiple of spaces, which strengthens safety.
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Wang Family Grand Courtyard
Photo: ChinaCulture.org
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The main body of each building strictly follows feudal rules about the construction styles of different ranks, reflecting the class differences in the feudal society as well as the notions and thoughts of the scholar-officials.
The third feature is the magnificence and the complete functions of the compound. The main body of the construction is symmetrical in its layout. Inside one courtyard, there always seems to be another; behind one door, there always seems to be another door. Rooms, pavilions, studies, gardens, and kitchens are all stationed in the places that are most suitable to them.
Stone carvings, brick carvings, and woodcarvings have various themes and rich content. Known for their exquisite skills, the carvings incorporate folk customs and folk arts, and best represent the "fine and dense" artistic style of the Qing Dynasty. Many experts and scholars think that the place is suitable for traveling, dwelling, and just plain appreciating.
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