Shell house

Shell house is a kind of traditional architecture in Quanzhou, South Fujian. It is a house built with shell of oyster (in Minnan dialect, CuO means house, oyster is oyster). It is distributed in Xiapu village, fashi village and Quanzhou Coastal Area. Local people build houses with shell mixed with sea mud, and build many shell houses. It is a distinctive shell decorated ancient residence in southeast coastal area of China. Its ingenious and exquisite architecture is unique in southeast coastal area and even in inland area, which constitutes a unique self-identity of ancient residence in South Fujian coastal area But the landscape.

Shell house

Shell house is a kind of traditional architecture in Quanzhou, South Fujian. It is a house built with shell of oyster (in Minnan dialect, CuO means house, oyster is oyster). It is distributed in Xiapu village, fashi village and Quanzhou Coastal Area. Local people build houses with shell mixed with sea mud, and build many shell houses. It is a distinctive shell decorated ancient residence in southeast coastal area of China. Its ingenious and exquisite architecture is unique in southeast coastal area and even in inland area, which constitutes a unique self-identity of ancient residence in South Fujian coastal area But the landscape.

brief introduction

"Shell house" is a major architectural wonder in Southern Fujian. It is mainly distributed in Xiapu community, fashi community, Dongmei community and Jinqi community of Donghai street, Fengze District, Quanzhou City, among which Xiapu community is the most concentrated. In recent years, these "shell houses" which record the glorious history of Quanzhou and the splendid culture of the "maritime Silk Road" have attracted a large number of Chinese and foreign tourists and art lovers. Especially after Quanzhou was elected as China's first "cultural capital of East Asia", many guests from home and abroad came to Quanzhou to enjoy the "shell house" and taste the "Haisi culture".

history

Quanzhou was the starting point of the ancient maritime Silk Road and the largest port in the East in the song and Yuan Dynasties. The maritime trade activities from Quanzhou had a profound impact on the eating habits, religious beliefs and architectural styles of Quanzhou and the world. Shell house is a good example.

The shell house in Xiapu village was built in the late Song Dynasty and the early Yuan Dynasty. The shell of shell house in Xiapu village is not native to Quanzhou. Experts have verified that this kind of shell is produced in the east coast of Africa. At that time, Quanzhou was an important port for China's foreign trade. Most of the merchant ships full of silk and porcelain set sail from Xiapu, along the coast of Southern Fujian to the Southern Ocean, through the Indian Ocean and the east coast of Africa, and then to the north coast for unloading. When returning, if there is no cargo in the cabin, it will form an empty ship. If the center of gravity is not stable, it is not conducive to navigation. Therefore, the crew will ballast the shells scattered on the sea and pile them up on the xunpu sea. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Quanzhou, a wealthy place, was often invaded by Japanese pirates and suffered several calamities. Because of their inability to rebuild new houses, the ancestors picked up some broken bricks and stones to build the wall of "brick into stone" according to local conditions, and then picked up the shell of oyster by the sea and inlaid it on the outside of the wall. This is the early shell house.

In October 2002, Henry, an official of UNESCO, visited the coastal area of Quanzhou and pointed out that he had seen similar "shell houses" on the seashore of Norway and Holland in Western Europe. It can be seen that the forefathers of Quanzhou extended their foreign trade to the Mediterranean coast. According to Huang Ronghui, President of Xiapu Community Association for the elderly, last year, a professor of shellfish from Sun Yat sen University came to Quanzhou and brought back some oyster shells for research. It was found that these oyster shells came from the coastal areas of Southeast Asia, which once again confirmed the frequent trade between Quanzhou ancestors and Southeast Asian countries.

"Maritime Silk Road" plays an important role in the history of China's foreign trade. As an important heritage of "maritime silk culture", shekecuo witnessed the prosperity of "maritime silk culture" in Quanzhou.

Architectural features

Shell house in Xiapu village was built at the end of Song Dynasty and the beginning of Yuan Dynasty. Its main feature is that shell and brick are built into walls. A large area of gray shell, white granite and red brick form a pattern with strong color contrast and aesthetic feeling. The shell is like pieces of fish scales, which is very beautiful.

Xiapu village in Quanzhou, Fujian Province, is located at the entrance of Jinjiang River. Oysters in the sea are delicious, and shells can be used as building materials. Oyster is called "Oyster" or "Oyster" locally, and the house built with it is called "oyster shell house" or "oyster shell house". The sea breeze in the coastal area is salty, and the red brick is easy to be corroded, while the shell wall is not easy to be corroded, and there is no water seepage. As the saying goes in Southern Fujian, "thousand year brick, ten thousand year Oyster".

Shekecuo has a history of more than 400 years since its formation, development and decline in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. Shekecuo is a product of foreign trade in ancient Quanzhou, witnessing the glorious history of Quanzhou's "maritime Silk Road". Moreover, the shell house has the characteristics of no rainwater, warm in winter and cool in summer, and good sound insulation effect, which is suitable for living in the humid climate environment by the sea; secondly, the shell house has a very solid wall, which is known as "thousand year brick, ten thousand year shell".

It is a difficult craft to build "shell house". When building "shell house", we should consider the sitting direction of the house, the ancestral house (ancestral house) or the folk house. According to the master's opinion, the master should make a series of designs according to the size of the external wall, the location and the form of construction, and then screen the shell to separate the upper cover, the lower mortar, the large and the small, and then clean it. It turns out that the only way to build a wall is to use soil, whether it's on the mountain or in the field. As long as it's sticky and the shell is folded one by one, the wall can be decorated very well. Shell building requires exquisite craftsmanship. The smart and experienced master has made a lot of bricks and pieces like fish scales. In masonry, the concave side should be downward, the first one should be folded, and the other one should be half of the previous one. In this way, one should be stacked one by one. At the same time, it should be built together with the inner wall, and the inside and outside should be crossed to avoid shell falling off. The wall thickness of "shekecuo" is generally 36 cm. Now the wall thickness built with stone strips and machine bricks is about 12 cm ~ 24 cm. " When it rains, the rain will not pour into the house, and it is warm in winter and cool in summer.

There are four kinds of decorative parts of shell: above the foundation, the red brick frame is built around, and the whole wall is inlaid with white shell. This kind of "shell house" wall is like fish scale shell, which is well arranged, simple and generous, and belongs to the architecture of Ming and Qing Dynasties. Above the foundation, it is built into the shape of "stone" or rubble to the bottom of the window, the corner is built with square stone column, and then matched with red brick box, and then decorated with shell to the "bird step". This form is practical, but also has a strong decorative effect. Above the "bird step", the triangle area below the eaves is inlaid with shell, and some use red brick to build round windows, which belongs to modern architecture“ The wall is built with "Tiaoshi" to the bottom of the window, then the window is built with red brick, and then the shell is used to decorate the shell house. Under the "bird's step", the red and white color is dazzling. Not only has the strong folk custom breath, but also contains the rich esthetics and the craft knowledge, has the very strong modern sense.

She Ke CuO and Xia Pu nu

The custom of xunpu women, together with Hui'an women and Meizhou women, is known as the three major fishermen in Fujian, which is a major folk spectacle along the coast of Southern Fujian. Xiapu women are a group of women who have worked hard for generations in Xiapu village. They put flowers on their heads, wear clove earrings, big train shirts and wide legged trousers, forming a unique style. Xiapu people live on the sea, mainly fishing. Mazu is the most popular God among the people. It has become an international "goddess of navigation" when it is broadcast overseas.

They are hardworking and skillful, and many of their customs are worth exploring. They are rich in human resources, which are of great value for excavation, collation and research. It was the down-to-earth and hardworking ancestors of Quanzhou, who were just like the women of Xiapu, that the intelligent shell house was invented and handed down to this day.

Latest news

In May 2015, a hundred year old shell house appeared in Qinglong lane, Linjiang street, Quanzhou central city, Fujian Province. It is not only well preserved and large-scale, but also rare in the urban area.

Address: Xiapu village, fashi village and coastal area, Quanzhou, Fujian Province

Longitude: 118.652674

Latitude: 24.863388

Chinese PinYin : Ke Ke Cuo