Hi beattysport,
Thank you for a most interesting question. :)
The first website I've posted for you will provide all your son will
need to know in making a model of an ancient chinese home.
Ancient China - Home Architecture (see photo, diagrams and drawings)
http://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/home/tintrhme.htm
Please click on the links at the bottom of the page for "Regional
Variation", "Decorative Elements in a Chinese Home", and "Move on to
Interiors".
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Yin Yu Tang (see photos)
http://architecture.about.com/library/blyin-yu-tang.htm
18th Century Home
Built in southeastern China
Now on display at the Peabody Essex Museum,
Salem, Massachusettes, USA
Explore the Yin Yu Tang House
http://architecture.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.pem.org/yinyutang/
Take an virtual tour at the Web site of the Peabody Essex Museum.
http://www.pem.org/yinyutang/house/base.html (let the video run)
Click on the links and let them run. You'll be able to view an
incredible display of a house and how it was built, along with
diagrams.
Click on: Orientation, then next scene... next, next, etc.
Click on: Construction, then next scene... next, next, etc.
Click on: Ornamentation, then next scene, etc., etc.
Click on: Belongings, then next scene, etc., etc.
Click on: Preservation, then next scene, etc., etc.
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Cheat Sheet: Who's Who in Ancient China
http://members.aol.com/Donnclass/Chinalife.html
Early 10,000-1500 BCE - Xia(Hsia) Dynasty - Lungshan people, the great
engineers - Silk, potters wheel, baked brick houses, flood control,
irrigation
Daily Life in Very Early China
"Chinese civilization started around 10,000 BCE, when a group called
the Yangshao (yahng show) settled near the Huang He River.
Archaeologists have uncovered many Yangshao villages in northern
China. In one village, they found the remains of farmhouses, built
partly underground, with plaster floors, and roofs held up with wooden
posts.
About 3,000 BCE, another farming group appeared, the Lungshan people.
The Lungshan were very advanced for their time. They harvested silk,
and used it to weave fine fabrics. They used the potters wheel. They
baked strong bricks in ovens, and used them to build their homes."
[edit]
Daily Life during the Shang & Chou Dynasties The Bronze Age - About
1700 BCE to 250 BCE
"Shang & Chou kings and nobles: The rich lived in large homes and
palaces made of mud and wood. They had tall bronze candlesticks. They
used bronze drinking cups. (Shang leaders were famous for their
drinking bouts.) They loved to hunt. Their bronze weapons were
decorated with elaborate designs. Horseback riding was very popular,
both as a sport and, in late Chou times, as a method of war. (Chariots
had not worked very well as the landscape was rather bumpy and
rugged.) The nobles wore elaborate gowns of silk and lived in large,
brick homes with tiled roofs. They were lavishly decorated and
furnished. Jugs of wine lined the walkways. The air was scented with
flowers in the gardens and spices from pots of food steaming on
stoves. They were buried in lavish tombs. Unlike the ancient
Egyptians, the Shang and Chou were buried with living people. In their
tombs, archaeologists have found entire chariots, objects of art, and
the remains of guards and dogs who accompanied kings to their graves."
[edit]
"Farmers: Most people were farmers (peasants). Their life was very
hard. Farmers lived in nearby villages. Their homes were very simple.
In the summer, peasants lived on the land near their fields. Summer
homes were made of bamboo branches. In the winter, they moved to their
permanent homes in the villages. Winter homes were drafty, one room
houses with thatched or tile roofs, dirt floors and no furniture. The
walls were made of mud. Doors faced south. Each family had their own
winter home."
[edit]
Han Dynasty: About 200 BCE to 200 CE - Daily Life in Han Times - The CLASSICAL Age
Peasants built homes and plowed their fields in the same way all over China.
"Han writing tells us little about their daily life. Han tombs,
however, tell us quite a lot. The Hans buried clay models of their
homes and belongings, in their tombs. Models included details like
little clay furniture and little bronze oil lamps."
[edit]
"The Rich: The rich rushed to imitate the imperial palace. They built
elaborate homes, decorated with drapery, and cashmere carpets. They
furnished family tombs with stone lions. On the lions, and on other
sculpture, they added inscriptions mentioning how much each item had
cost!
The rich lived in comfortable, large houses with many rooms and
fireplaces. Each home was built around a central courtyard. They had
elaborately carved furniture that showed Greek and Roman influence,
and painted stuccoed walls with floral designs. Other walls were left
bare to display paintings or bronze mirrors. Dinner was elaborate.
Kids were tutored in science, math, literature, art, religion, and
music. Some studied in their homes, and some at the home of their
tutor. The rich did not use the public schools. They wore belted robes
with long sleeves lined with silk. When it was cold, they wore warm
fur coats, made of squirrel and fox skins and leather slippers."
[edit]
T'ang Dynasty About 600-900 CE - THE GOLDEN AGE OF CHINA - Daily
Life in T'ang Times
"Houses: Households in the large capital city of Ch'ang-an had baths,
heaters, mechanical fans, fountains, ice-cooled rooms, mirrors,
musical instruments such as the harp, ceramics, spoons, goblets of
gold and silver. The rich were waited on by servants and slaves. The
pagoda look became popular during T'ang times. Homes of the wealthy
and of the nobles were very large, with several rooms, built of wood
and brick. Farmers homes were made of sun dried brick and bamboo. They
were very simple, one room homes."
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Daily Life of the Ancient Chinese
http://www.central.k12.ca.us/akers/dailylife.html
Homes
"Farmers usually made their homes from mud bricks with reed or tile
roofs. The bottom floor was often built below ground to help keep the
family warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.
Some Chinese built their house with timber or bamboo poles. A timber
frame held up the roof. The outer walls were sometimes made of brick.
The Chinese preferred wood to stone for building because it looked
more natural and it was less likely to injure people if the house
collapsed during an earthquake.
Poor people often cooked outside in the open air. Wealth people had a
kitchen indoors on the bottom floor. Servants would also live on the
bottom floor.
Charcoal or coal was burned in the fireplace to keep the house warm.
The nobleman's house showed his wealth and rank in society.
The houses of the wealthy had private bathrooms, but the poor had to
use communal drains and latrines.
The Chinese used toilet paper.
A traditional home was divided into different sections by courtyards."
[edit]
Entertainment and Pets
"Dogs were popular pets of the rich. A poor family might have a
songbird or a cricket in a cage."
[edit]
Life in the City
"Most villages and cities were square. Walls were built around the
city to protect it.
The villages or cities were laid out in squares and certain classes or
types of people lived in each square.
The official's home (palace) was built in the center of the village or
city. He was the person in charge.
Poorer people lived farther away from the palace and the wealthier
people. Homes of the poorer people were made from mud bricks with
roofs of reeds and grasses. They were crowded close together."
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Ancient China
http://205.126.22.50/socialstudies/world/grade6/ancientchina.html
"They made the compass, which started out as a wooden circle with
markings on it, and a magnetic spoon on top. The compass was for
religious use. When a new houses was being built, the used it to see
if the house was faced in perfect harmony with nature (which meant
they thought if you faced your house north, you and nature would get
along)."
[edit]
"They used paper for lots of things. They modified paper to make
raincoats, windows, umbrellas, they used a lot of paper in their
houses even windows!"
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What is Feng Shui? The ancient Chinese philosophy of design and placement.
http://architecture.about.com/cs/fengshui/a/fengshui.htm
"Feng Shui teaches us how to create harmony and balance around us,"
says Stanley Bartlett, who uses the centuries-old art to design homes
and businesses. The ideas date back at least 3,000 years..."
[edit]
Feng shui (pronounced fung shway) is an intuitive art. Designers and
decorators claim that they can "feel" positive energy -- called ch'i.
But architects who incorporate the Eastern philosophy are not guided
by intuition alone. The ancient art prescribes lengthy and complex
rules that may strike modern homeowners as quirky. For example, your
home should not be built at the end of a dead-end road. Round pillars
are better than square. Ceilings should be high and well-lit."
Google search:
ancient china homes
ancient chinese houses
history ancient china houses
ancient chinese home diagram
ancient chinese home interior
ancient chinese home feng shui
Good luck on the project! Best regards,
tlspiegel |
