Traditional Local-style Dwellings of Bai Ethnic Group in Yunnan

Bai Yan

As a research librarian， Bai Yan is now president and editor-in-chief of Yunnan Ethnic Culture Audio amp; Video Publishing House. She has studied in the fields of film and television， ethnology， literature and archaeology， and audio-visual publishing. Over the years， she has been dedicated to fine-tuning the publication of Yunnan ethnic cultural audio-visual publications， focusing on the recording， preservation， and inheritance of excellent ethnic culture by leading all the staff to explore the rich and unique Yunnan ethnic cultural resources.

Traditional Local-style Dwellings of Bai Ethnic Group in Yunnan is an audio-visual publication recommended by Yunnan Ethnic Culture Audio amp; Video Publishing House. It is an intangible cultural heritage documentary in Chinese， English， and Bai languages. This documentary of intangible cultural heritage records the architectural environment， forms， history， and features of the local-style dwellings of Bai ethnic group in Yunnan and presents a historical landscape of Bai ethnic group’s architecture. After three years of planning， shooting， and elaborate production， it has been officially published.

Traditional Local-style Dwellings of Bai Ethnic Group in Yunnan

Bai Yan

Yunnan Ethnic Culture Audio amp; Video Publishing House

February 2020

138.00 (CNY)

The Bai ethnic group is the 15th largest ethnic minority in China. In the territory of China， the Bai ethnic group has a population of about 2.09 million people. They live together over vast areas， while some live scattered over smaller areas. They mainly live in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture， Yunnan Province.

After thousands of years of ethnic integration， the local-style dwelling houses of the Bai people have been formed， typically represented by courtyards. With a long history， distinct characteristics， and the inclusiveness of learning from others， Bai people have developed their own architectural styles of ethnic minorities in China， which embodies the superb architectural skills of folk artisans， as well as their aesthetic taste and living philosophy. The Bai folk houses are mainly popular in Bai residential areas， such as Eryua County， Jianchuan County， Yunlong County， Heqing County， etc. Different geographical and social environments in plain and mountain areas have brought about diverse architectural forms of Bai folk houses.

The classic layout of traditional Bai folk houses includes “three houses with a screen wall”， “four houses with five patios”， “prosperous spring in the unity of six spaces”， and so on. They not only contain the essence of Bai culture but also are the models of traditional Chinese folk houses and a treasure amongst the architectural history of ethnic minorities in China.

According to the geographical characteristics， there are three main types of Bai people’s folk dwellings. One is the tenon-mortise structure， represented by those in the Erhai Lake area of Dali. The second type is like those in Nuoden Village of Yunlong County. It is a type of dwelling built on slopes over 40 degrees steep according to local conditions. These are typical areas where the Bai people live. In addition， there is a third type of Bai people’s houses， which is a mixture of wooden houses and tile houses. In northwest Yunnan， there are many such wooden houses， which show the transition of houses from the earlier to the later types.

In Bai culture， people attach importance to ascending step by step. So from the gate to the main room， the rooms are ascended successively， with the main room higher than the other rooms. At the same time， the left wing-room is higher than the right wing-room， which comes from the Bai people’s saying that “it is better to keep the dragon’s head high than to raise the handrail”. The left wing-room is the “dragon’s head”， and the right one is the “handrail”. Youxia gate-buildings are the most common and widely used gate-building form in Bai folk houses. They contain beams， square-columns， bucket arches， hanging fascias， gableboards， decorative cylinders， and graceful roof curves. According to the different gate tile roofs， Youxia gate-building can be divided into three types， such as “Xieshanding”， “Pingtou”， and “Chujiao”. “Xieshanding gate-building” roofs are" mostly used for an independent gate. “Pingtou gate-buildings”， also known as “a drop of water” gate-buildings， are simple and grand in shape， which is commonly used by ordinary residents. “Chujiao gate-buildings”， also known as" “three drops of water” gate-buildings， have one-high-and-two-low bucket arches and warping eaves upturned， with a gorgeous and colorful form， used for rich and noble families’ mansions. In traditional Chinese geomantic custom， water represents wealth. The three eaves of “Chujiao gate-buildings” effectively delay the landing of water， amounting to delaying the loss of wealth， which implies the longer staying of wealth in the owner’s house. Under the thick layers of the bucket arch， there are flower archways with overlapping hollowed-out decorations and the eight-character wall decorated with marbles and poems modeled with colors， which makes the small gate-building dazzling and superb.

Xizhou Township， the central settlement of Bai people in the plain of Dali， lies to the west of Cangshan Mountain and the east of Erhai Lake. There are more than 150 well-preserved traditional houses from the Ming Dynasty， Qing Dynasty， and the Republic of China. Among them， there are more than 110 courtyards with typical Bai characteristics， namely “three houses with a screen wall” and “four houses with five patios”.

There are many courtyards in the ancient town of Xizhou， which are larger than “four houses with five patios”， namely “prosperous spring in the unity of six spaces”， consisting of two courtyards: “four houses with five patios” and “three houses with a screen wall”. The four corners of the “prosperous spring in the unity of six spaces” are staggered with arches， beams， and sparrows， with precise mortises and tenons， so that the corridors can be connected smoothly with each other. Therefore， it is also known as the “Walking-Horse Corner Building”. “The unity of six spaces” means the integration of six spaces into one: Heaven， Earth， East， South， West， and North， which is a metaphor for the harmonious blood relationship between familial generations. “Prosperous spring in the unity of six spaces” is the architectural expression of the harmony between heaven and man and the safety of a family.