I was recently looking up different styles of architecture when I came across the Hakka style. Hakka architecture is one that was used by the Hakka Han – who were Chinese living mainly in areas such as  Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan etc..

Hakka is literally translated into – “guest families”.

So unlike other countries or cities where for e.g if you’re Kashmiri, you are from Kashmir & speak Kashmiri or you’re Scottish hence you speak Scottish/gaelic & hail from Scotland etc…  so on. With the Hakka people they were not named after a geographical region, instead it’s literally those who can speak the Hakka language or have the ancestral ties that lead back to the Hakka times/tribes and so on.

What intrigued me was, as I was perusing the different structures of their buildings I came across this Hakka walled village. Now this village was built for communal living hence everyone was one big family. (Niceee baby) !

There was one main entrance & no windows as this would be in their defence if ever they were attacked. You must reflect a moment to realise that back in those days there were many wars, attacks & seiges on different clans to display superiority over the other hence this was their way of survival.

The archaic feel to the buildings is marvelous.

So, as I was doing research there was one method of construction that was quite fascinating. “Rammed earth” – this consists of :

Rammed earth is essentially manmade sedimentary rock. Rather than being compressed for thousands of years under deep layers of soil, it is formed in minutes by mechanically compacting properly prepared dirt. The compaction may be done manually with a hammer-like device, mechanically with a lever-operated brick-making press, or pneumatically with an air-driven tamping tool. Dynamic compaction using manual or power tampers not only compresses the soil, but it also vibrates the individual dirt particles, shifting them into the most tightly packed arrangement possible. When finished, rammed earth is about as strong as concrete.

Basically you have your chalk, limestone or different clay rich soils, compressed together and left to harden. It was most definitely more laborious back in the day but thanks to technology things have become a whole lot easier. A fine example of Rammed earth is the great wall of china ❤

 

Now for the Hakka architecture. Notice the turrets, they’re so long mainly for defence purposes or those areas that could not be guarded by men or stone, have been replaced by turrets. The structure is usually round or square which is easier to defend and apparently those residing inside could withstand a siege as they had their own well stocked grains, an internal source of water & sewage system. How blimming awesome. So here’s some pics.

 

 

 

See the way its covered with stone all the way from the top of the wall slanting downwards – Awesome defence.

 

 

 

Entrance with an iron gate I believe or its covered with iron.

 

 

Oh and last but not least there’s always a Pagoda – this is a tiered tower with multiple eaves . Its revered, used mainly for worship. I believe it brings the community more together along with a sense of peace ❤

 

The pagoda structure derives from that of the stupa, a hemispherical, domed, commemorative monument first constructed in ancient India. Initially, these structures symbolized sacred mountains, and they were used to house relics or remains of saints and kings.

Ok so I know this is not fully relevant but WHAT is Godzilla doing next to a pagoda?

 

Damnnnn WTH

Anyways my darlings, I shall be back with another architecture post soon ❤

Mwah