Talking about ancient times in Yangcheng ⑮ | Craftsmen have unique skills and work together to build a big house

The Xiguan House is the most representative traditional building in Guangzhou, with its slatted doors, Manchurian windows, flower covers… these objects alone can convey the unique style of this city to people. Today, let us \”get to know\” a group of local craftsmen with ordinary status but unique skills – \”Sanxingzi\”.

Masons, carpenters, and stonemasons are collectively called \”Sanxingzi\”

In Guangzhou a hundred or two hundred years ago, the term \”Sanxingzi\” , is a collective name for craftsmen working in three trades, namely masons, carpenters and stonemasons. Masons are masters at building walls and tiles; carpenters are good at making doors and windows, but their skills are limited; stonemasons also have unique skills, and the stone carvings that can be seen everywhere in the Xiguan mansion are their proud works.

In order to \”get acquainted\” with this group of people, let\’s play a small time travel game. You suddenly find yourself back in the late Qing Dynasty, becoming a silk businessman in Guangzhou. The market has been good these past few years. You have made a lot of money, so you plan to build a big house in the Longjin Street area and enjoy your life. The land was purchased quickly and we were ready to build a house. To build a house, you have to hire a craftsman. In a place like Guangzhou with a developed commodity economy, this is not difficult at all. There are more than 1,000 construction shops large and small in the city, all of which can take your order. You can go to \”Wen Dali\” and Chengsizhan on Daxin Street, or Zongrongji near Niuruqiao (today\’s Qingping Street area). Those are all well-known stores in the industry, but the prices will be higher. If you are not afraid of spending more, If you hire any one of them, you can do a good job; if you want to spend less money, then find a shop that is slightly less famous. In fact, the quality is not much different. You know, the level of craftsmen in Guangzhou is among the best in the country, so you really don’t have to worry too much about the quality of the craftsmanship.

On the streets of Lao Xiguan, construction shops are very easy to find. At that time, lime was used whether building walls or laying tiles, so almost every store had a huge lime pool. Just walk in and ask. However, most of these construction shops \”do not support idlers.\” The construction shop owner will hire masons, carpenters and masons after taking your job.

Construction shops also have fixed places to find workers. Every morning, craftsmen waiting for employment in the city gather at some road intersections and cross streets, waiting for jobs to come to them, thus forming markets. As time went by, the craftsmen who gathered in various markets became familiar with the bosses who came to hire people, and they gradually formed a group and gave themselves a business name, called \”So-and-so Hall\”. The boss and craftsmen join the \”tang\” together, pay the \”entry fee\”, and use the money to purchase real estate and worship Luban. Therefore, if you want to bypass the construction shop and go directly to the market to find workers, it will definitely not work, because no one will break the rules in the hall just to take your job.

Exquisite stone carvings

The local craftsmen worked together to build the big house

The owner of the construction shop was very efficient. Soon the masons, carpenters and stonemasons were in place, and the new house position, shape, height Everything was set according to the \”Feng Shui Dragon Veins\” situation, and everything was ready to start.

Piling was the top priority in building the Xiguan House. At that time, the piles were all made of fir and were of sufficient height. It\’s two meters long, and the tip that goes into the ground is coated with a thick layer of asphalt. To prevent groundwater vapor from invading and causing the wooden piles to rot, the piling hammer is also 1.5 meters high and has handles on three sides. It is commonly known as the \”three-star hammer\”. When driving the pile, three craftsmen stand in a triangle, each holding a handle. They shouted slogans together and hammered the pile high Raise it high and drive the fir pile into the ground with force. This is not only a physical job, but also a technical job, so skilled piling workers are always popular.

After driving the pile, it’s time to build the wall. Most of the big houses in Xiguan are made of large green bricks, which are first laid by hand by masons. The bricks were polished and then pulled up layer by layer. In addition, the interior and exterior of the large houses at that time were decorated with brick carvings, engraved with dragons, phoenixes, lions and leopards, ancient figures, various flowers and even embossed text couplets. These were all required by the masons. In this sense, the craft of mastery. An excellent mason must also have certain artistic qualities.

While the mason is busy building walls and tiles, the carpenter is also not idle. \”Window\” and so on are all made by carpenters. The three doors of Xiguan House – – The low door, the sliding door and the main door are all made by hand-made mortises and tenons by carpenters from top to bottom without a single iron nail. The Manchurian windows and the roof beams cannot have a single flaw in the mortises. This kind of craftsmanship, It really deserves the word \”unique skill\”. In addition, there are flowers, birds and insects on the doors and windows. Fish, dragons, phoenixes, lions, tigers, and various characters were all carved by them. Today, when people look closely at the remaining Xiguan houses on Yaohua Street and Longjin West Road, they will admit from the bottom of their hearts that these carpenters who did not leave their names can be called semi-professionals. artist.

\”Manchuria Window\”

In addition to masons and carpenters, we also have to mention stonemasons. On the \”Xiguan House\”, in addition to brick carvings, Wood carvings and exquisite stone carvings are indispensable, all of which are made by the skillful hands of stonemasons. However, after the 1920s and 1930s, with the increasing popularity of cement, the living space of masons became increasingly narrow, and the stone carving skills gradually withered away. It is really a pity that the \”three people worked together to build big houses.\” \”Xingzi\” have a common ancestor – Lu Ban. The 13th day of the sixth lunar month is commonly known as Lu Ban\’s birthday. Every day on this day, construction shops in the city will hold a banquet to celebrate the master. Every year at this time, many women in the city come to the door of various stores with dishes and dishes to ask for food. They believe that taking these meals home for their children will help them gain some of Lu Ban\’s wisdom and wisdom. If you learn a craft well when you become an adult, you will be able to have food for a long time. It can be seen that although the \”Sanxingzi\” looked ordinary at that time, his life must not be bad, otherwise \”Lu Ban\” would be the master. \”Birth\” will not be so influential. No matter in which era, if a person can study hard and support himself by his own skills, he can still have a good life, right?

Text/Guangzhou Daily New Flower City Reporter : Wang Yuehua

Photo/Guangzhou Daily New Flower City Reporters: Liao Xueming, Mo Weinong

Guangzhou Daily New Flower City Editor: Zhang Yu