Six Towns of Jiangnan

Author: Ruan Yisan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-05-01
Features: Whenever the spring rain falls gently, willows turn green, peach blossoms bloom, and the lake swells with water. The fishing boats float on the lake, shrouded in mist, reflecting the emerald water, the oar's shadow, and the rippling waves. In the autumn, when the water mirrors the falling sunset and the forests are dyed in layers of color, the houses and bamboo trees of the water villages under the evening glow, the scattered crowds in the town, the small bridges, the water platforms, and the soft Wu dialect whisper, "Jiangnan Water Town" gently enters the dream. This book introduces the six pearls of water towns—Zhouzhuang, Tongli, Nanxun, Wuzhen, Xitang, and Luozhi—with rich and exquisite images and vivid, concise text, allowing readers to experience the historical and cultural charm of the water towns.
Excerpt: White-walled and black-tiled houses In the Yangtze River Delta and Taihu Lake region where Jiangnan Water Towns are located, the climate is mild with distinct seasons and abundant rainfall, forming a transportation system based on water transport. The production and daily life of the residents depend on water, and this natural environment and functional demand have shaped the distinctive features of Jiangnan Water Town residences. The individual structures of Jiangnan Water Town residences are mostly single-story or two-story wooden hall-style houses. To adapt to the climate of Jiangnan, the layout of these residences often includes corridors, courtyards, and open-air wells. The construction features include tiled roofs, hollow-dressed walls, Guanyin-dome ridges, or horse-head walls, creating a group of buildings with varying heights, white walls, black tiles, and deep courtyards. The environment of water towns with many rivers has given rise to water alleys, small bridges, embankments, stepping stones, docks, cobblestone roads, water walls, and overhangs—unique architectural elements that form a complete living environment for water towns.
Since Jiangnan Water Towns have always been among the most culturally advanced regions in China, attracting talented individuals, many households in these towns have traditions of poetry and scholarship. Additionally, due to their rich produce and prosperous commerce, these towns have long been places for officials to retire, wealthy families to build villas, and scholars to settle. Those with cultural refinement naturally took great care in constructing their homes, while some wealthy merchants and officials also adopted an elegant lifestyle by hiring learned scholars to design them. As a result, many exquisite courtyards and residences have been left behind in these water towns.
Moreover, these water town residences were mostly built during the feudal era, and feudal ethics, Confucian traditions, and feng shui customs directly influenced their layout and arrangement. For example, the hierarchy of halls, the sequence of front and back positions, the distinction between hosts and guests, the separation between masters and servants, and the differences between men and women were all reflected in the design with unique techniques. This reflects the humanistic factors of Jiangnan Water Town residences in their ideological expression.
According to their scale, these residences can be divided into three categories: large, medium, and small. Large residences are the homes of wealthy merchants and officials, referred to as "jins" vertically and "lou" horizontally. Large residences typically have nine jins or four jins, with up to seven lou or as few as one lou. For example, Shen's Hall in Zhouzhuang has seven jins. Some large residences are ingeniously combined with gardens, creating private gardens as products of residential architecture while enhancing their appeal. For instance, Tuisi Garden in Tongli is an exquisite garden. In terms of floor plans, large residences usually have strict axes, with the main gate facing south or east, and the courtyard layout is regular and orderly. The main lou typically consists of five jins: the entrance hall (sometimes with a shop or a building along the street), the sedan chair hall (for storing sedan chairs), the main hall (for receiving important guests and holding wedding or funeral ceremonies), the inner hall (for meeting relatives and friends and family meetings), and the women's hall (also known as the upper room, often used for living quarters). The main buildings are enclosed by wing rooms or courtyards. The side lou usually do not have independent entrances and often include flower halls (for meeting frequent guests and holding banquets), study rooms, gardens, inner courtyards (for living quarters), and kitchens (often opening along the rear lanes to avoid interference but without dedicated bathrooms or toilets). The entrances of the residences are along streets or rivers, facilitating the movement of people and the transport of goods. Between two lou, there are often back alleys, which not only separate the routes of masters and servants but also greatly enhance the privacy of the inner courtyard, while also being beneficial for soundproofing, fire prevention, and theft prevention.
Medium residences resemble large residences in form but have fewer jins, usually less than four, and generally lack side lou. Their internal space arrangements are less elaborate than those of large residences but are more flexible. They are more common among middle-income families. Small residences are the homes of ordinary people, smaller in scale, typically one to two jins, some along streets, some along rivers, with more casual floor plans, forming the unique streets and water alleys of water towns. Small residences generally have limited land, no strict axes, usually two jins, and a width of one to three rooms. They are free-form, adapted to the environment, with reasonable space utilization but poor privacy. Small residences along rivers or streets often have commercial functions, with doors opening onto the water, and stepping stones or water platforms extending into the water.
In the combination of halls in water town residences, some distinctive components have been created, enriching the content of water town residences while emphasizing their unique features. The open well is a characteristic component used for lighting and ventilation. In a typical three-courtyard house, its depth and height are roughly equal, while its width varies. For example, if the main house has three rooms, the width is based on the (central hall); if it has five rooms, the width is based on the or (side hall). In large residences, the open well is often rectangular, with reduced depth between two lou or replaced by corridors, making it longer and narrower, which improves ventilation and reduces sunlight exposure in summer. Front and back open wells are often installed to facilitate ventilation, with the back open well being smaller and planted with deciduous trees for shade.
Brick-carved gate towers These are decorative features placed on the side doors of the front and back lou. They are purely decorative and vary in complexity between the Ming Dynasty (simpler) and the Qing Dynasty (more ornate). These gate towers are often inscribed with plaques.
Walls Water town residences are primarily wooden structures, so walls play an important role in fire prevention. The mountain walls are usually higher than the roof, forming stepped or flat-topped high walls called "fire-blocking walls" or "daughter walls." Walls can be solid or hollow, or a mixed style with solid lower parts and hollow upper parts. The foundations are often made of flagstones, with lime plastering. When used as decorative walls, they are finished with smooth, polished bricks, appearing simple yet reflecting the wealth of the owners.
Floors Outdoor floors in courtyards are paved with stone slabs, broken stone, or pebbles, or sometimes bricks. Indoor floors are all made of bricks. Due to the frequent rainfall and shallow groundwater in Jiangnan, indoor spaces are prone to dampness. Therefore, the floors are first leveled with lime, then covered with sand, and finally paved with bricks to prevent moisture. In living areas, wooden floors are used.
The "xuan" is the ceiling inside the room, essentially adding an air insulation layer to the roof. In large and medium residences, the xuan is often elaborately decorated with fine wood carvings, such as boat-shaped, crane-top, or flower-basket designs.
Roofs and Mountain Walls The roofs are covered with blue tiles, forming an inwardly curved slope that facilitates water drainage. The ridges come in various styles. In small, ordinary residences, the ridges are simply tiled vertically with simple decorative patterns at both ends. In large and medium residences, the ridges of the main halls may be adorned with dragon or rooster motifs. The mountain walls are typically solid and do not extend above the roof, while the walls of important buildings like halls are screen walls that extend above the roof. Depending on the depth of the house, there are single-screen, three-screen, and five-screen walls.
The overall appearance of Jiangnan Water Town residences is a mix of single-story and multi-story buildings, with various mountain wall styles, creating a landscape of alternating heights and slopes along streets and water alleys. The architectural designs are light, simple, and balanced, with subtle colors, adapted to the environment, and close to the water. The spatial profiles are soft and aesthetically pleasing. Therefore, they are often called "white walls and black tiles" or "small bridges and flowing water."