8 replies to this topic

[JohnD]

I thought you guys might be interested in some diagrams from this book I have, Under the Ancestor's Shadow: Kinship, Personality, and Social Mobility in Village China by Francis L.K. Hsu. This book is based on actual field research in a market town called West Town in Yunnan Province. I scanned some diagrams of the book you might find interesting. All descriptions are paraphrased from the book.


First, a diagram of a clan temple:



A) Central Hall--houses the ancestors, one-story building

B,C) two-story buildings, usually unoccupied, unless a caretaker is living in a section of one of them. May be rented out to tenants, but otherwise used on occasions of worship, clan conference, or gambling party.

D,E) Kitchens

F) Large shadow wall

G,H) Doorways

I) Outer courtyard, usually unpaved. Inner courtyard usually paved with slabs or bricks

J) Main gate

Next, a diagram of a poor family's house:



One of these bedrooms will have a kitchen


CH house (CH, Y, and C are designations for surnames the author uses):



The author doesn't specify for this picture, but in other diagrams, A is a living room or ceremonial room, and B is a bedroom. The open square should be a courtyard.

Y House:



R,O) Courtyards

C House:



A diagram of Y family graveyard:



And finally, a map of West Town:



You can buy the book here.

[madalibi]

Thanks for the scans, JohnD! Just to note that Hsu's book was published in 1967. Do you know if "West Town" is Hsu's translation of a Chinese village name or a pseudonym to keep the town's identity secret?

And by the way, if you want to buy the book, don't buy it from Amazon at $70. Many used copies are available online for less than $2!

Cheers,
Madalibi

[JohnD]

Thanks for the scans, JohnD! Just to note that Hsu's book was published in 1967. Do you know if "West Town" is Hsu's translation of a Chinese village name or a pseudonym to keep the town's identity secret?

And by the way, if you want to buy the book, don't buy it from Amazon at $70. Many used copies are available online for less than $2!

Cheers,
Madalibi

Hsu doesn't say one way or the other, but in the preface, when the name is first mentioned it is referred to as "West Town" with parentheses. According to this source West Town was an "alias" Hsu gave to Hsichow. If I'm not mistaken, hsi is west and chow is town, so it would be just a translation.

Hsu describes West Town as being within a day's walk by foot or horesback from the Burma Road.


I thought the high price was odd when I looked up the link today. I bought this book used from Amazon marketplace just a few years ago for only a $1-$2.

About the publication, he originally published the book in the United States in 1948 by Columbia University Press. The edition I scanned from is a 1967 edition published by the American Museum of Natural History with Doubleday Anchor books.

[madalibi]

Hsu doesn't say one way or the other, but in the preface, when the name is first mentioned it is referred to as "West Town" with parentheses. According to this source West Town was an "alias" Hsu gave to Hsichow. If I'm not mistaken, hsi is west and chow is town, so it would be just a translation.

Hsu describes West Town as being within a day's walk by foot or horesback from the Burma Road.


I thought the high price was odd when I looked up the link today. I bought this book used from Amazon marketplace just a few years ago for only a $1-$2.

About the publication, he originally published the book in the United States in 1948 by Columbia University Press. The edition I scanned from is a 1967 edition published by the American Museum of Natural History with Doubleday Anchor books.

Great! Thanks for the information.

[HermitOfThePinetreeGrove]

Fascinating, JohnD. Thank you for posting those diagrams, together with your explanatory keys.

Two questions:

• What is the definition and purpose of a 'shadow wall'?
  
• Does Mr. Hsu's book have a number of other house and building plans, or have you shown nearly all of them?

The Hermit of the Pinetree Grove

Edited by HermitOfThePinetreeGrove, 26 August 2009 - 12:34 AM.

[sunflower1]

My simplest guess on purposes of the Shadow Wall is to prevent a direct linear axis from main gate (J) to Central Hall (A). By erecting a wall in between and created two access this axis is prevented and also by having two openings the circulation is become more circular rather than linear, which is more in Fengshui style. But then in Figure 5 this idea is not implemented.

[HermitOfThePinetreeGrove]

My simplest guess on purposes of the Shadow Wall is to prevent a direct linear axis from main gate (J) to Central Hall (A). By erecting a wall in between and created two access this axis is prevented and also by having two openings the circulation is become more circular rather than linear, which is more in Fengshui style. But then in Figure 5 this idea is not implemented.

Zunjing de Jullian Bei

Thank you for your input.

So does a shadow wall have much the same function as that screen, found just inside traditional house front-doors, which blocks-off straight views from outside, together with the intrusion of bad spirits?

The Hermit of the Pinetree Grove

[sunflower1]

I can't find the screen you refering to, but the answer highly is Yes. And the way you greet remind me of somebody from CHF, long time ago.

[HermitOfThePinetreeGrove]

I can't find the screen you refering to, but the answer highly is Yes.

Zunjing de Jullian Bei.

M goi for confirming my guess that the 'Shadow Wall' in the temple plan above has much
the same function as the chao-pi
screen blocking views through the main entrance in the house-plan below:


When I photocopied this image from a book many years ago I failed to record the source.

And the way you greet remind me of somebody from CHF, long time ago.

No, I am new here. My apologies for the many silly mistakes I make when I try to use Chinese
to make my thoughts clear or to show politeness. I am very ignorant of the Chinese language
(eg I don't know the pinyin for chao-pi).

The Hermit of the Pinetree Grove

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Edited by HermitOfThePinetreeGrove, 27 August 2009 - 10:01 AM.