Dwelling Houses in Rural Tibet (I)

CHEN LIMING

A sutra hall.

Kardian in the main hall are used as sitting cushions. In front of them are short table for guests and hosts to sip tea.

Tibetan cabinet painted with many auspicious patterns.

Civilian houses with flat roof in Chamdo's Wongdagang Village.

House in Comain County, with stone walls on the ground floor and adobe walls on the second.

Beautiful reliefs on the house walls -- result of manual labor.

In the wealthy families, the sutra hall is magnificently adorned. It is generally composed of statues of Buddha, tangka paintings, and many volumes of sutra books including Danggyur and Gangyur. There are people who spend around 100,000 Yuan to furnish a sutra hall.

A total of 28 house foundations were found in the Karub Ruins in Qamdo. They take the shape of a circle, half underground. They are dwelling houses built as early as some 5,000 years ago when Tibet was experiencing the New Stone Age.

In the prolonged history thereafter, Tibetan houses improved and changed in style. During the second century AD, Tibet's first palace--Yongbulhakang--appeared, pioneering a new age in the Tibetan architecture.

Tibetans began to move from mountains to river valleys during the Tubo period, when the region was under the rule of Trisong Detsang. Classics recorded "flat roofs" when mentioning dwelling houses. Flat roofed houses proved to be forefather of Tibetan architecture and the architectural style still rules today.

FEATURES.

In the rural areas, most of the houses are two or three storeys with flat roofs. Some others boast four or five storeys, but all with flat roofs.

According to New Tang Books: Tubo and Record on Tibet that was created 1,000 years later than the former, "all houses have flat roofs. Called pillboxes, they were built with stone and covered with clay. Some of them are two or three storeys, and others six or seven storeys. Larger ones have a central hall with colorful painted carvings and a portrait of longevity man. Most of the houses were built alongside mountain slopes".

Such a description dovetails with the present situation with regard to housing construction and housing style. In the rural areas, most of the houses are of two storeys and generally built with stone and wood. In some places, the upper part of the walls are adobe, and the lower part is built with stone. In some other places, walls are a combination of stones, clay and bricks, with lower part built with stones, middle part with reinforced clay and upper part with adobe bricks. Walls resemble an inverted pyramid without pointed top. Beams are not connected with pillars. On the top of pillars are something like solid boxes connected with long beams. On the beams, solid clay is used as a floor covering. Around the flat top are generally built short railing walls, with four corners rising one meter high, which are used to plant sutra streamers.

All the dwelling houses take the shape of a square or rectangle, with the window?free ground floor serving as a shelter for domestic animals or sundry goods. The second floor is used generally as an activity site, comprising living chamber, warehouse, sutra hall and staircases. Generally speaking, the larger one in the front is the living chamber, and small rooms flanking it are warehouses. Staircases lie generally to the right of the living chamber.

The top floor is divided into two parts: balcony and flat?roof sub?house used as a workshop, sutra hall or a reception hall to meet lamas or visiting guests. The balcony is used to dry food grain or for the family to relax.

A rural house is also complete with a courtyard. Courtyard walls are piled up with stalks or built with solid clay or adobe bricks. Generally, it has a southern exposure.

In Qamdo, featuring high mountains and deep ravines, dwelling houses are built generally alongside mountain slopes. Windows and doors are painted to give a magnificent view.

In Nyingchi and Bome, dwelling houses are built not with clay and stone, but are an all wood structure and have slanting roofs to cope with the rainy season.

In Nagri, most of the houses are two storeys. People there love to stay upstairs in summer and downstairs in winter. In some parts of Ngari, a house is a combination of cave and half-house. Such a housing combination was prevalent during the period of Guge; they are seldom seen today.

In Tibet, there are many which are one?story houses with large courtyard which is complete with shelters for domestic animals.

FURNITURE.

In the past, the living room was not complete with beds and chairs. Generally, a sleeping cushion called kadian in Tibetan was spread at the corner; it was covered with woolen Tibetan rugs. On the top is a Tibetan table with short legs for the whole family to sit around.

Although the Tibetans loved to sleep on kadian cushions, they prefer beds today. A single bed measures one meter wide, with space for only one person. Double bed is generally with kadian or spring cushions. Gyangze carpets and rugs are famous in and outside Tibet.

A Tibetan family keeps furniture including Tibetan cabinets and Tibetan tables.

Tibetan cabinets are divided into:

Bigang cabinet which, rising one meter high, has facing doors in the upper part, and is lined with glass. It is for books and put at a corner;

Chiagang twin cabinets.

Tibetan tables are divided into:

Jorze table which, rising about 60 cm high and 80 cm wide, is square in shape and has lined plank on three sides. It has two doors and its legs resemble dog feet.

Gyijor table which, is of Han style.

Tibetan cabinets command good workmanship and are generally well carved. Their surface is carved or painted with varied designs (bar one side against the wall). The top is painted with auspicious designs

The Tibetan kitchen generally has a stove standing in a corner or against the wall facing the kitchen door. Modern stoves are connected with a chimney, meaning Tibetans no longer have to suffer from cooking smoke that used to pervade their homes in the past. Close to the stove are ladles and other utensils. The Tibetans love things cast in bronze, including bronze jars. Butter containers, wine cups and zanba (roasted highland barley flour) boxes are all in their own places. Tibetans eat in the kitchen, but, when there are visitors, they move to eat in the sitting room.

A sutra hall is indispensable for a Tibetan family. It is generally complete with a Buddha shrine. In Lhasa, most of the locals worship Master Zongkapa and His Two Disciples. In Qamdo and Rewoqe, people worship clay, silver and bonze statues or tangka painting of Master Padmasambhava, Future Buddha, Goddess Tara, Goddess of Mercy. In front of these statues are three rows of bronze bowls, each arow composed of seven bowls. They contain pure water as an offering. Under the shrine is a rectangular incense burner, which is delicately carved.

In the wealthy families, the sutra hall is magnificently adorned. It is generally composed of statues of Buddha, tangka paintings, and many volumes of sutra books including Danggyur and Gangyur. There are people who spend around 100,000 Yuan to furnish a sutra hall.