The natural and historical cultural causes of the settlement form of Qiangzhai

First of all, the history of Qiang watchtowers and villages is very long. According to historical records, as early as the Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago, the ancestors of the Qiang people in the Minjiang region left a record of watchtowers and villages. (The reporter consulted the information and also saw that the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty: The Biography of Southwest Yi" has a record that the Qiang people "live in the mountains, build stones for houses, and the height is more than ten zhang".)

Although many ethnic minorities in many areas of the country also have watchtowers, but its historical records are later than the Qiang watchtowers. It is speculated that it was spread by the Qiang people.

The second is very distinctive. In the edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Qiang nationality settlement in the upper reaches of the Minjiang River, the terrain here is very steep, the high mountains and deep valleys crisscross each other, the land resources are very scarce, and the living conditions are much more difficult than the plain areas, and the Qiang people take local materials, use shale schists and so on to build up the watchtower village, after thousands of years and stand majestically. It is a good illustration of the relationship between man and land.

The third is to have a very unique and beautiful landscape, witnessing an ancient, disappearing way of life. "The Qiang are one of the oldest ethnic groups in the Chinese nation, and the other ancient ethnic groups have either merged or disappeared. Only the Qiang people have been derived, which can be said to be the living fossils of the Chinese nation.

The houses of the whole village are connected, and none of them are alone. The defense system has three layers: there is a water network underground; There is a network of roads on the ground, and these streets and alleys are particularly tortuous and uneven; The roofs of the entire village are connected, forming a third line of defense.

And the Qiang watchtower is also for defense. As for what kind of materials these villages are mainly built of - stone, wood or rammed earth, on the one hand, it depends on what materials can be obtained on the spot, and on the other hand, it depends on the function of the village, and if it is on the main traffic routes and passes, then its defensive nature is particularly emphasized.

1) Settlement site selection.

Historically, the place where Qiangzhai was located was an area influenced by various ethnic forces, and whether its location was appropriate or not was directly related to the survival of the people in the village. Therefore, Qiangzhai is mostly located at the foot of the slope where the river valley beach meets the slope and the edge where the mountain platform meets the slope. The traditional Qiang village consciously chooses the foot of the hillside near the river bend beach, which not only considers the appropriate cultivation distance, but also avoids occupying the precious arable land, which is why the Qiang village is located in the marginal area.

As we all know, water is the foundation of survival, although the upper reaches of the Minjiang River are flowing in the streams all the year round, but due to the steep terrain, the mountains on both sides of the river are difficult to divert water and lack of water for many years, and the irrigation of many dry lands can only rely on nature. Therefore, whether there is a safe and reliable water source is of great significance to the existence and development of the village. Therefore, most of the sites of Qiangzhai follow the principle of "avoiding big water and small water", avoiding big rivers, big rivers and big ditches to prevent natural disasters, and choosing small and medium-sized streams with good water quality and stable flow to ensure sufficient water.

2) Settlement morphology.

As far as the Tibetans in the same area are concerned, most of the dwellings are detached, while the Qiang village is a multi-family dense house, so it has a very high building density, is not limited by the form, and conforms to the terrain, and the layers are extremely rich. All the buildings and street organizations in Qiang Village are built around the central watchtower. The watchtower is high and convex in the wall, located in the central leading position, and the rest of the residential floors are densely packed around it, surrounded by layers, and have outstanding centripetal nature.

3) Architectural characteristics of a single building.

The buildings in the Qiang village are made of local stone sheets, and the shape is thick and solid, like a small fortress. However, its internal architectural structure is well-organized and has distinctive national characteristics. Due to the dense number of buildings in the Qiang village, the base area of each house is very limited, and on such a narrow base, the Qiang residential layer often adopts vertical partitions, and the production and living space is organized in an orderly manner

The ground floor consists of three parts - a pigsty (which also serves as a toilet) and a firewood house. Kitchens, which are located on the ground floor and are connected to the street. The pigsty and firewood room have sundries entrances and exits, and the kitchen has a separate entrance, which is connected with the water channel introduced into the village.

The second floor is the hall and the main room. The main entrance of the hall is connected to the terrace, which is connected to the street by an outdoor staircase, which is the main entrance and exit of the residents. Rooms above the third floor are often set up as needed for the younger generations in the family to live.

The top floor is equipped with a granary and an outdoor drying dam, which is not only conducive to storage, but also conducive to turning over and drying grain. There is also a veranda on the roof, where women can do household chores such as needlework and collect food in case of climate change.