III.The Layout of Towns and Villages

　　The layout of towns and villages will be considered here from three aspects: the sitting of the town or village, the configuration of streets, and the locating of squares by roads and around pavilions.

　　1. The Sitting of the Town and Village

　　Sitting was generally carried out by a geomancer through milong (seeking for the dragon), chasha (inspecting the sand), guanshui (observing waters) and dianxue (pointing out the exact location), to ensure that town or village were well located. Such site selection and point location is called xiangdi (land appraising), and is actually an on-the-spot investigation. Once the investigation has been completed, the geomancer encircles the site of the future village and draws the plan of layout. Most common was the sitting of a village with a hill in the background, a hill to screen in the fore- ground and water encircling. The theory of geomancy mainly uses wuxing (the five elements) and bagua (the eight diagrams) to interpret nature, and usually resulted in giving people the most suitable and most beautiful places for living, with the advantages of good water supply, sunlight, a breeze in summer, protection from the cold in winter and good defensility.

　　The locating, for example, of towns and villages along rivers was for one side to face the water and the other a hill, whereby the buildings were positioned on the inner bend, which was continually being extended by deposits of mud and sand, the outer one steadily being eaten away by the force of the river's flow. "Ruiwei" is the name given to such topology, and such a sitting was considered by the geomancer as suitable for building on. The practice of employing geomancy to properly site towns and villages was deeply rooted in Chinese culture. An illustration is to be found in the following quotation from the book Yangzhaishishu (Ten Books on Dwellings): If there is a river flowing like a belt, high officials will emanate from such a place; generations of the same family will be intellectuals and bring honor to the family."

　　The deep-rooted belief that 'correct ' sitting can influence a place's fortune is exemplified by the village of Cangpo in the county of Yongjia, Zhejiang Province. In the 5th year of the reign of Xiaozong of the Song Dynasty (1178), a discussion was held with Li Shiri, the Guoshi (the reader of the emperor) to ascertain where best the village could be sited and what form its layout should take. An analysis was drawn up based on the theory of yinyang and wuxing, and the conclusion drawn that the village on the proposed site was in danger of being ravished by fire on the following grounds: according to bagua, gen and xin of the west are associated with jin (metal), but here to the west was Bijia Hill, flame-like in shape, thus foreboding fire; ren and gui of the north are associated with water with its fire-extinguishing powers, but here, where the village was to be sited, no pond existed to the north; jia and yi of the east are associated with wood, implying the risk of fire; bing and ding of the south are associated with fire itself, thus enhancing the danger of fire. Measures to combat the likelihood of fire were thus taken: a square pool was dugout to the south of the village; a long rectangular one dug out to the east as a barrier against the outbreak of fire in the wood and channels were dug around the settlement so that water from a brook could be channelled in such a way that there would have the water from the north. Now that the danger of fire was eliminated, the villages set about ensuring that the village was laid out in such a way that it would favor the development of literature. The name of Bijia Hill (a stand for the calligrapher's brushes) was utilized to create "the Four Treasures of the Study." The centre of the village was to directly face Bijia Hill, and a perfectly straight street was laid out to symbolize the calligrapher's brush. A strip of large boulder was laid on one side of the middle section of the street to symbolize the ink stick and south of the village a pool was dug to symbolize the ink slab. In addition the village was laid out on a plot of land square in shape, symbolizing the "paper". The "Four Treasures of the Study" were thus created. Finally, the whole layout was made to constitute a "big text" by having the streets criss-cross and grouping the beautifully shaped vernacular dwellings. It was the firm belief of the villagers that thereby the emergence of men-of-letters would be favored, generation after generation.

　　2. Configuration of the Streets

　　Roads serve to divide up towns or villages so as to form certain configurations. Major roads laid out as straight as the terrain allows, the aim being, however, to have the arrangement resembling as much a checkerboard as possible. If the division of the area into perfectly square blocks proves impossible for topographical or other reasons, some minor street will assume a zigzag or curved form. Such a street had the advantage of allowing the urban scenery to unfold gradually and not be taken in at one glance.

　　The way the old streets laid out in Chinese towns and villages has a humane quality and reflects a way of life that has been led for centuries. People can walk at ease, enjoying the view of the different buildings and occasionally stopping to peruse the wares offered by the shops lining both sides of the street. In the old towns of North China, many alleys are less than one meter wide and bear the picturesque names of yirenxiang (one-man alley) or yixiantian (a gap to the shy). Ordinary streets, too are comparatively narrow, bamboo poles extend across the street from one building to another for hanging out clothes to dry. Commercial streets are busy, with he wooden houses compact and the tiled roofs in close array. Most shops have the sales area itself at the front and the workshop behind with people living upstairs. Country fairs and temple festivals add an even livelier element to the daily bustle.

　　The network of rivers in south of the Yangtze River provides an important communication and transport system. Both sides of waterways are lined with long covered walkways that protect the pedestrians from thee sun or rain. Along the minor waterways, each family has its small, often elegant dock, used as a landing stage or as a place where women can wash rice or do the washing. People living on boats ply the river, selling vegetables and other goods. Within villages or blocks in towns, alleys and lanes are usually irregular in shape, and many come to a dead end, and are thus quiet as through traffic is eliminated. The point at which some alleys meet the road is occasionally given door openings and flying rafters, sometimes as many as two or three in number, as well as the odd bridge gallery. These serve to mark the boundary between a private residential area and the street and help give those living in one of the small alleys a sense of security.

　　Tall and large edifices such as bell and drum towers as well as bridge galleries were traditionally used to give contour to a streetscape. Large temples would be built at Y-shaped junctions to provide a focal point, and in some villages and towns, streets would be given T- or Z-shaped junctions, which were again set off by particularly imposing buildings. Thus streets, although basically simple, serve to lend the urban space form by dint of their curves and straight lines and the way they converge and diverge, rise and fall.

　　3. Wayside Pavilions and Squares

　　Dotted about the countryside, with its green hills, lush meadows, clear rivers and streams, are the wayside pavilions and kiosks that have developed from the long and short pavilions of ancient times. According to a passage from volume nine of Baikongliutie, long pavilions were built every ten li, short ones every five, and served as a place for farewell dinners. There are also roadside pavilions open on three sides, the fourth being walled and containing a niche for worshipping Guan Yu of the village god. Some are open on all four sides to let in cooling breezes. Most are equipped with so-called beauties' rails. It was just these wayside pavilions that were described in detail by men-of-letters in order to express just how much they missed their friends and relatives back home and longed to be back in their native country. The poem Yanglingqin by Wu Cheng'en expresses such sentiments: "Now middle-aged, I wonder at how frequently I am in foreign parts, and looking back to my native place, so many long pavilions I have passed." A feature of nearly every town or township is the square, serving to control the traffic, as a venue for markets, as part of the entrance to a building or, filled with water, as a harbor for ships and boats and later as a venue for general festivities. Crossroads often take the form of squares with the dual purpose of

　　controlling the flow of traffic and providing a place for people to congregate. In old towns, squares were rarely planned in advance, developing gradually as the town grew and the need arose. They are generally irregular in shape and of moderate size. The entrance to a town or township, or where busy fairs were held, were often marked by a stretch of water which served as a harbor and later as a venue for cultural events and festivities. The market square is a feature of many a town or township and is given various names depending on the province. For the sake of easy accessibility, it is often located at one end of a bridge or at the entrance to a village. Built round the market square are tea rooms, restaurants, washing facilities and shops. Very different in atmosphere from the bustling market square is the quiet and serene square at the entrance, for instance, to a mansion, a temple or a large vernacular dwelling. This type of square serves as a parking lot for cars and sedans as well as a place for people to congregate. Squares therefore developed as the need arose, and often had archways, town gates and market buildings accompanying them so that no two squares look the same.

　　出版：Springer Wien New York

　　ISBN-3-211-83008-1

　　2000年