nakedeyeview.com.my 2008
Wednesday June 5, 2013
At home in a heritage site
By MAJORIE CHIEW
star2@thestar.com.my
Toh-tally awesome: A.S. Toh, 74, with Du Zhen, 83, his only surviving cousin from his ancestral village of Xin Sheng in Fujian province, China. The village has 500 Tohs and they are all related.
A visit to the tulou in southern China is an awe-inspiring experience.
DURING the last century’s Cold War, American spy satellites detected structures in southern China’s Fujian province which they mistook for missile silos. But their fears were unfounded when they realised that the structures were merely unique communal dwellings (tulou) in the mountainous regions bordering Fujian and Guangdong in southern China.
Intrigued by these architectural marvels, retired engineer A.S. Toh decided to indulge his adventurous streak and headed to Fujian province in south-eastern China to explore the Hakka earthen buildings or tulou. Toh brought along his wife, Lucy, and they visited the Chuxi, Hongkeng, Gaobei, Taxia, Xiaban and Tianluokeng tulou and stayed in a few of them.
It was like stepping back in time as the couple stood in awe inside these ancient structures which used to house up to 80 families in each tulou. The earth walls can be as thick as 1.8m and the only entrance is a wooden door which is 10-13cm thick and reinforced with an outer shell of iron plate.
Built between the 12th and 20th centuries, these structures have withstood the test of time. Today more than 35,000 tulou can be found in southern China. Many of these dwellings in Fujian are inhabited by the Hakkas and two have been converted into museums. In 2008, 46 were listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site.
The Yudelou tulou in Taxia village was built in 1802.
Toh, 74, shares his awe-inspiring visit to the tulou in Fujian in his recently launched book, Adventure Travel & Recreation, Vol 1 – Off The Beaten Track.
The Chuxi cluster, which consists of five large circular and 10 rectangular tulou, opened its doors to tourists in 2004. Toh and his friends visited the three main circular buildings; the most significant one, Jiqinglou, is now a museum.
“Jiqinglou is over 600 years old. It is the oldest tulou in Yongding, and consists of two concentric rings. The outer ring is four storeys high and the second ring is a one-storey building. The main structure has 72 stairs which divide the building into 72 units. Amazingly, no iron nails were used in the construction of the tulou,” said Toh.
Toh and his friends also visited the Honkeng cluster, the most concentrated of all tulou clusters in Fujian. About 100 tulou of various shapes and sizes line both sides of a river.
Their next stop was the Gaobei cluster, which includes Chenqilou or “the king of tulou” built in 1709. It is a massive round tulou with four concentric rings surrounding an ancestral hall at the centre.
Wuyunlou tulou, which is over 500 years old, is in a dilapidated condition; a major part of its outer wall is supported by a massive scaffolding.
History tells us that the Hakkas were originally from northern China. After the fall of the Song Dynasty, they were forced to leave their homes and moved south in search of peace and wealth.
The Chuxi cluster in Yongding county comprises five large circular tulou and 10 rectangular ones
These communal folks finally settled down in the high mountain ranges of south-western Fujian. The clansmen wanted to live together to protect their community. This led the ingenious ones among them to build large communal dwellings known as the Hakka tulou, using natural resources which were readily available.
The houses were built without the use of any iron nails.
The tulou have withstood the ravages of time over the past few centuries.
Today, the older folks can still be found in these dwellings, though the younger generations have moved out to work in the cities.
“The foundation of a tulou is laid with large stones and the gaps are packed with smaller stones. The main structure is a very thick outer wall formed by compacting earth, sandstone and lime,” explained Toh. The wall is reinforced with split bamboo canes, and the stairs, flooring, doors and windows are made of wood.
The tulou is well-lit, well-ventilated, windproof and even earthquake-proof. It is warm in winter and cool in summer. The first and second floors have gun ports for defence, purportedly against bandits.
“All rooms are of the same size,” said Toh. “The ground floor of each unit serves as the kitchen and dining area. The second floor is for storage of grains and foodstuff, while the upper floors are living quarters. With ample stocks of grain, a tulou can be self-sufficient for a long time. It is effectively a fortified village!”
Within a tulou, there is a main courtyard where livestock is reared. A well in the courtyard provides water for drinking and washing. Drainage is a complex system. The courtyard, halls, staircases and verandahs are common public areas.
As Toh and his friends tood in the open space, soaking in the fleeting sunlight and marvelling at the architectural splendour laid out before them, they could almost hear the echoes of generations past reverberating through the courtyard.
Toh had made an earlier trip to visit his ancestral village which lies about 50km from Quanzhou city in Fujian province.
“The isolated village can be accessed by a bike or village taxi. It has about 500 Tohs and they are all related,” said Toh.
His ancestral home, a single-storey stone/brick building, was built more than a century ago by his grandfather and extended to its present size to accommodate his seven children. Toh met Du Zhen, 83, his only surviving cousin in the village. Du Zhen has five sons.
“Du Zhen came to Malaya in his early teens and returned to the village in the mid-1950s when he was 26,” said Toh.