Urban Tourism Culture Commentary: The History of Fanzilou in Quanzhou

Among the famous scenic spots in China, Fanzi Building is a special building in Quanzhou, with a higher than average appreciation value. This kind of building was generally built by overseas Chinese who returned from Southeast Asia during the Republic of China, because most of the building materials They are all shipped from Nanyang, so they are called "Fanzai". Let's take a look at them together.

Fanzai Building (also known as Fanke Building) is a kind of residential building in southern Fujian (especially Quanzhou) that combines Chinese and Western styles. Because the architectural style is a combination of Chinese and Western styles, which is completely different from the traditional ancient houses in southern Fujian, and most of the building materials are directly transported from Nanyang, it is called Fanzi Building ("Fanzai" was a derogatory name for Nanyang people in southern Fujian in the past). Fanzai Building combines the advantages of traditional ancient folk houses in southern Fujian and Nanyang architecture. Because of the designers’ different architectural ideas and high craftsmanship, the various stone carvings, brick carvings, colorful paintings, mosaic bricks, gray sculptures, etc. are amazing. It is the hometown of overseas Chinese in southern Fujian. of architectural gems.

Fanzilou is the most numerous and high-quality in Quanzhou, southern Fujian. Fanzilou is not only exquisitely built, but also rich in the bitter blood and tears of overseas Chinese working hard in Nanyang. Behind each Fanzilou is a section of Nanyang, etc. The story is very legendary. Among them, the rich style and rich connotation of fanzilou in Yongning Town, Quanzhou is the representative one.

Fanzilou can be traced back to the Qing Dynasty. Many overseas Chinese in southern Fujian went to Nanyang to start businesses. After returning to China, they built Fanzilou. Most of the existing Fanzilou were built from the late Qing Dynasty to around the time of liberation.

Fanzi buildings can be basically divided into two categories. One type is built according to the traditional wooden structure construction techniques of southern Fujian folk houses, that is, using large wood as a stress-bearing structure. The other type is built using reinforced concrete. The two types not only have different construction techniques, but the difference can be seen from the appearance. Generally speaking, the facades of Fanzi buildings built with traditional techniques mostly use traditional southern Fujian red bricks, while those with reinforced concrete have cement facades. Generally speaking, Fanzi buildings built using traditional wooden structure construction techniques contain much more Chinese elements and southern Fujian traditional craftsmanship than reinforced concrete Fanzi buildings.

There is a brother building in Ziying Village, Yongning Town. Compared with Wanfang House, which is only a hundred meters away, it looks very "young". From the words "Love the construction of the motherland and defend world peace" and "Humility, loyalty, progress and determination" on the stone pillars and door curtains of the house, you can see at a glance You can know the age of its construction. This large house was built in 1953 as a joint venture between brothers Li Fengxi and Li Fengkang. On the left is "Kangle Villa" and on the right is "Guantao Villa". The middle part connecting the two parts has the words "Lianrong Cohabitation" written clearly. A big character.

It is said that when this big house was first built, it was surrounded by open space. The cement material on the top of the house was shipped from Shanghai, and the wood used was also high-quality fir wood bought from Fuzhou. There is also a back garden at the back, which is full of various fruit trees; the wall bricks in the house are specially made by someone, and the patterns such as "Eight Horses" on the bricks are fired through a very tedious process; The wooden bed was made to imitate the ancient dragon bed structure and was a sensation outside the south gate of Quanzhou at that time.

Although 60 years have passed, the interior of the ancient house still has its original structure, with wooden boards used to separate rooms. Although the second floor is uninhabited, and the narrow wooden stairs are covered with thick dust, the wooden door, wooden table and other objects are placed in their original positions and relatively well preserved. Open the wooden door leading to the balcony, and a wisp of dust appears. The sun shines in, and everything is as before, making people feel like they have returned to the lively scene of those ancient houses. The craftsmanship of Fanzailou is basically the traditional craftsmanship of southern Fujian, especially the traditional craftsmanship of ancient Quanzhou folk houses. Quanzhou folk house architecture is unique among Chinese ancient folk houses. Southern Fujian has always been called the red brick cultural area, because the folk houses of southern Fujian are made of the same materials as traditional Chinese folk houses. Different red bricks.