1.4 Fujian Tulou—A Little Kingdom for the Family福建土楼——家族小王国

福建土楼是东方文明的一颗明珠，以历史悠久、种类繁多、规模宏大、结构奇巧、功能齐全、内涵丰富著称，具有极高的历史、艺术和科学价值。

福建土楼具备完善的防御功能。其外墙厚一至二米，一二层不开窗，仅有的坚固大门一关，土楼便成坚不可摧的堡垒。为防火攻，门上设有漏水漏沙装置，紧急时楼内居民还可从地下暗道逃出。如今，土楼早已不再是堡垒，但那些完备而精致的防御设施，仍让人们拍案称奇。

聚族而居的福建土楼是个丰富多彩的小社会。住在土楼里，有事情大家会互相帮忙，邻里和睦。“孩子孝不孝，会有口碑，好的学习，坏的批评，起到教育约束的作用。”厚重的福建土楼，承载着厚重的传统文化。发人深省的楹联匾额，与楼共存的私塾学堂，教化育人的壁画彩绘，无不激荡着历朝历代土楼人家“修身齐家”的理想和“止于至善”的追求。振成楼有副名联备受称道：振作哪有闲时，少时壮时老年时，时时须努力；成名原非易事，家事国事天下事，事事要关心。

The Tulous are rural dwellings found in the southeastern province of Fujian. A total of 46 Fujian Tulou sites have been inscribed in 2008 by UNESCO as World Heritage Site, as "exceptional examples of a building tradition and function exemplifying a particular type of communal（公共的）living and defensive organization in a harmonious relationship with their environment".

The Fujian Tolous are an important part of this province's history, as these buildings were designed for both community living and defensive purposes, protecting their inhabitants（居民）from roaming bandits（土匪）and warlords. The tulous are as solid as a castle and offered specula resistance against cannon fire. In 1934, a group of uprising peasants of Yongding County occupied a tulou to resist the assault（攻击）of the army, which fired 19 cannon shots at that tulou, but made only a small dent on the outside wall.

Tulou is a particular construction in China. The Hakka Tulou culture in Yong Ding County is unique in the world. There are more than 20,000 Tulou buildings of various sizes in Yongding County. Archaeological finds have proved that people living 5,000 to 6,000 years ago had mastered the earth ramming（打夯）technique.

Aesthetically, these buildings capture the spirit and beauty of rural China. Their occupants share a sense of community and hard work for the greater good, where the tasks of daily life are managed collectively, not alone. To clan（氏族）members who lived together, a loving attitude, a concern for the needs of others, care and mutual help were essential. Ancestral halls（宗祠，祠堂）are very important in Chinese culture, as a way to trace roots and origin, for people to bear in mind. Respecting the ancestors and older generations is the worthy tradition of Hakka people. So the ancestral hall is the center of the Tulou. Everything takes place around them.

Visually, constructed from the 12th century right up to the 20th by the Hakka people in southern Fujian, Tulou is typically 3 to 5 stories structures with a thick, earthen wall and a single entrance. They tend to be vast, well-fortified（防御牢固的）structures capable of housing up to 800 people. The fortified outer structures are formed by compacting earth, mixed with stone, granite, bamboo, wood and other readily available materials, to form walls up to 6 feet thick. Branches, strips of wood and bamboo chips are often laid in the wall as additional reinforcement（加固）. The entrance is guarded by 4—5 inch thick wooden doors reinforced with an outer shell of iron plate. The top level of these earth building have gun holes.

Housing a whole clan, the whole structure functioned as small village and were known as "a little kingdom for the family" or "bustling small city". The buildings were divided vertically between families with each disposing of two or three rooms on each floor. In contrast with their plain exterior, the inside of the tulou were built for comfort that is warm in winter and cool in summer, and were often highly decorated. The rooms are well-lit, well-ventilated（通风良好的）, windproof, and the entire building earthquake-proof（抗震的）.

Although the Hakka people obviously appreciate the benefits of their home comforts and the communal way of life, they never confine themselves to the area. The fact is the Hakka people are great travelers.

用英语畅谈Fujian Tulou黄金句

☺ A total of 46 Fujian Tulou sites have been inscribed in 2008 by UNESCO as World Heritage Site, as “exceptional examples of a building tradition and function exemplifying a particular type of communal living and defensive organization in a harmonious relationship with their environment”.总共46座的福建土楼作为“建筑传统和功能的特殊例子”，是“人居和自然环境和谐下的一种特殊的公共生活和防御组织形式”，并于2008年被联合国教科文组织列为世界遗产。

☺ Constructed from the 12th century right up to the 20th, Tulou is typically 3 to 5 stories structures with a thick, earthen wall and a single entrance.建于12世纪到20世纪之间的土楼一般是3—5层的建筑结构，厚土墙，一扇大门。

☺ Archaeological finds have proved that people living 5,000 to 6,000 years ago had mastered the earth ramming technique.考古发现证明生活在5000—6000年前的人们就已经掌握了夯土技术。

☺ Their occupants share a sense of community and hard work for the greater good, where the tasks of daily life are managed collectively, not alone.土楼内的居民具有一种集体意识，为了更好的生活而辛勤劳作。在土楼里，日常生活事务都是一起完成的，而不是单独去做的。

☺ The fortified outer structures are formed by compacting earth, mixed with stone, granite, bamboo, wood and other readily available materials, to form walls up to 6 feet thick.防御用外部结构是由压实的泥土、混合石头、花岗岩、竹子、木头和其他现成的材料塑成的6英尺厚的墙。

☺ Although the Hakka people obviously appreciate the benefits of their home comforts and the communal way of life, they never confine themselves to the area.虽然客家人十分受益于舒适的家庭生活以及集体的生活方式，但是他们从来没有把自己束缚在这里。

用英语畅谈Fujian Tulou