China News Service, Hohhot, October 1st. Title: North and south face each other and share the same origin: Huizhou ancient buildings enter Inner Mongolia
China News Service reporter Liu Wenhua
On October 1, the "Miracle of Craftsmanship—Huizhou Ancient Architecture Culture Exhibition" was launched at the Inner Mongolia Museum. The exhibition selected 117 cultural relics from Anhui Museum, divided into two parts: "A Quiet Place with Ink Painting" and "No House, No Carvings". The white walls and black tiles from the south of the Yangtze River came to Qingcheng in the north. Southern Anhui and Inner Mongolia, thousands of miles apart, had a cultural dialogue in the exhibition hall, which also allowed people to see the roots of Chinese culture that are inextricably linked between the north and the south.
Follow nature, the north and the south are the same
In ancient Huizhou, people built villages with the emphasis on "the unity of nature and man". The village is located on the mountain. If you look at the big picture, you will observe the trend of the mountains and rivers. If you look at the small picture, you will bring the landscape into the room. This is the world-famous "picture village".
The most recognizable feature of Huizhou architecture is the horse head wall. Its heights are staggered, its horns are raised and its head is raised, much like a horse raising its head. The Horse Head Wall is also called the Fire Wall. The houses in Huizhou villages are very close together, which can prevent the spread of fire. The ancients took the practical need of fire protection and created it into a unique skyline.
"Speaking of this, the audience in Inner Mongolia should resonate very much." Bai Lei, deputy research librarian of the Exhibition and Display Department of the Inner Mongolia Museum, said: "Huizhou people build villages along the mountains and rivers, and herdsmen on the grasslands live in pursuit of water and grass. The yurts can be disassembled and assembled, and the round shape can resist the wind and cold. The two types of buildings are very different in appearance at the north and south ends. Behind them are the wisdom of respecting nature and adapting to local conditions."
Among the three unique things, there is a common value
Residential buildings, ancestral halls and archways are collectively known as the "Three Unique Ancient Buildings of Huizhou". The exhibition uses typical examples as clues: in 2000, the "Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui - Xidi and Hongcun" were included in the World Heritage List; the Ming Dynasty architecture Old House Pavilion and Lvrao Pavilion are national key cultural relics protection units; Hu's ancestral hall is known as the "Wood Sculpture Art Museum"; Yishi Shang Shufang in Longchuan Village, Jixi County was established to honor Hu Fu and Hu Zongxian.
According to the curatorial team, residential houses are places where people live, ancestral halls are used to unite clans, and archways are used to commend virtues. These buildings have the concepts of valuing family tradition, advocating farming and reading, and advocating loyalty. These are not just the pursuits of Huizhou, but the feelings of family and country can resonate everywhere.
Square-inch carvings bear witness to exchanges and mutual learning
There is a saying in Huizhou’s ancient architecture that “there are no houses without carvings”. In the exhibition hall, there are Ming Dynasty brick carvings decorated with turtle ridges, brick carvings of White Cranes in the Clouds, and stone carvings of lion capitals. There are also brick carvings with figure patterns, Baoxiang flower window sash and wooden beams with flower patterns from the Qing Dynasty.
When the commentator Li Xiaomeng takes the audience to visit, he will ask everyone to pay more attention to two exhibits: "One is a lion stigma. China does not produce lions. Lions were introduced from the Western Regions along the Silk Road after the Han Dynasty. Later they became a symbol of good luck, even in mountain villages in Huizhou. The other one is Baoxianghua window sash. Baoxianghua was very popular in the Tang Dynasty. It is generally believed that it combines the characteristics of various flowers such as lotus in Buddhist art. Lions and lotus patterns can also be seen in the decorations of temples and houses in Inner Mongolia.
Culture does not flow in only one direction. Huizhou merchants traveled south and north, and there is a saying that "no town can be built without Huizhou". Huizhou's construction skills and lifestyle also spread to various places. Culture is inherently enriched through movement.
The exhibition hall restores the scenes of ancient Huizhou buildings. The audience can feel the shape and characteristics of folk houses, ancestral halls and archways up close, as if they have walked into the streets of ancient Huizhou. During the exhibition, there will also be activities such as public welfare tours, NPC interactive tours, "Emblem Photo Stamp" collection, and "Exquisite Craftsman" study workshops, allowing traditional construction techniques to approach the public in a younger way.
"The cooperation between the museums of the two provinces (autonomous regions) in organizing exhibitions is an integration in itself." Bai Lei said: "We hope that northern audiences can understand the wisdom of Huizhou's ancient architecture without having to travel to southern Anhui, and they can also realize from bricks and carvings that Chinese civilization is jointly created by all regions and ethnic groups. The more they understand, the deeper their recognition will be." (End)
