Study On The Environment Design Of The Villages And Dwellings In Middle Anhui Province

Wei Zi(圩子),also named Wei Zi(围子),or Wei Zhai,originally refers to‘the obstacles around the village’,but now represents a type of defensive traditional dwellings in Anhui province.A large number of Wei Zhai were built from the middle to late Qing Dynasty in central and northern Anhui province.As a kind of place for people’s production and activities in central and northern Anhui province,Wei Zhai was not just emerged in the Qing dynasty,but was closely related to the local cultural and natural environment.A large number of Wei Zhai were built in the Qing dynasty because of The Taiping Rebellion.The builders of Wei Zhai can be divided into Huai army,Nien army and general villagers.According to the classification of builders,Wei Zhai can be divided into two categories:one is for officials while the other is for Nien.The one for officials is also comprised by two parts:one is for general villagers while the other is lord manor.There are many types of settlement distribution of Wei Zhai,some of which are isolated,some of which are multi-walled,and some of which are united.The settlement characteristics of each type are different.The main characteristic of Wei Zhai is its defensiveness,which is embodied in the construction of trenches,walls,watchtowers and gateways.Besides,the buildings in Wei Zhai are also defensive.The architectural form,decoration and interior layout all have the characteristics of central Anhui.It reflects the life style,attitude and wisdom of people in central and northern Anhui during the wars.This paper summarizes and describes the characteristics of Wei Zhai,and provides references for a comprehensive and complete understanding of Wei Zhai.Many of the villages have been demolished and destroyed.The well-preserved villages are mainly built in the central area of Anhui province.The author went to Feixi,Lu’an and other areas in the middle of Anhui province for investigation,and conducted observation and investigation,field mapping and data collection on Liu Laowei,Zhang Laowei,Ye Dawei,Tang Wufang Wei,Zhou Laowei,Shi Dawei and Li Zhuangwei.The thesis consists of six chapters.The first chapter is the introduction,which explains the background,research purpose and significance,research content and thinking method of this topic.Chapter two focuses on the background of the formation of Wei Zhai,and expounds the causes of the formation of this dwellings from three aspects: natural environment,cultural characteristics and social background.The third chapter classifies Wei Zhai and makes an in-depth analysis of it.Chapter four and chapter five focus on the analysis of the main characteristics of Wei Zhai’s defensiveness,and the architectures in Wei Zhai and their decorative characteristics are described in detail.