Major Styles of Traditional Chinese Residences raditional Chinese residences reflect the national culture，the sub-culture of a specific region and that of the ethnic group within it.
中国传统民居的主要风格传统的中国民居反映了民族文化、一个特定地区的亚文化以及居住其中的族群的亚文化。
The traditional domestic architecture of China has five major styles. There is the compound with a courtyard(Si He Yuan)to be seen in northern China，Farmers' Caves(Yao Dong) in Northern Shaanxi Province and Earthen Buildings(Tu Lou ) in southeast China's Fujian Province，Stilt Houses that may be on steep inclines or projetting over water(Diao Jiao Lou)in southern China and the Seal-like Compound (Yi Ke Yin)in Yunnan province.
中国传统的国内建筑分为五种主要风格。在中国北方有四合院，陕西省北部有窑洞，中国东南的福建省有土楼，中国南方有耸立在陡峭的斜坡或伸向水面的吊脚楼以及云南省的一颗印。
Traditional residences tend to conform to their environment and to become integrated with it. They are expelled to blend with the surrounding rivers and mountains, thus complementing but never spoiling the natural beauty.
传统的民居一般遵循其环境的特点并与其融为一体。它们要与周围的山川河流融合在一起，因此要突出而绝不能破坏自然的美感。
Our ancestors made use of local materials and took the natural factors into consideration whenever they built a house.
我们的祖先在建造房屋时都要使用当地的材料并考虑到自然因素。
The Si He Yuan in northern China features a thick roof and walls and a wide courtyard to draw in maximum sunlight while ventilation is a prime feature of the diao jiao lou in the much warmer tropical climate of southern China.
中国北方的四合院的特点是厚顶、厚墙和宽敞的院子，这样可以最大限度地进行采光，而对于地处中国南方温暖的热带气候中的吊脚楼来说，通风条件则是它的主要特点。
The Si He Yuan in Beijing reflects the formal royal ambiance with its symmetrical style while garden-residences such as the famous Garden of the Master of the Nets in Suzhou，Jiangsu Province，gives priority to a harmonious blend with nature.Prince Gong's Mansion in Beijing is the world's largest Si He Yuan.
北京的四合院通过其对称的风格体现出正式的皇家氛围，而园林住宅则注重与自然的和谐统一，诸如江苏省苏州著名的网师园。北京的恭王府则是世界上最大的四合院。
In calligraphy，the Chinese characters with a roof-like component relate to various houses. For example，with。pig , it is。home; with。cow, it is。prison;with a combination of iwo mouths it means 'many houses’一it is palace. Such characters combined with that for‘woman’imply peace and safely. The logic behind this is based on two layers of meaning. Frstly，when a woman sits peacefully at home，it means there is no war. Secondly, when they lived in simple caves in open air, our ancestors faced the hazards of rough weather, wild animals and hostile tribes. By building houses，they were better protected，thus there was safety.
在书法中，带有宝盖头的汉字都与各种房屋有关。例如“占”加上猪之后就成了“家”，加上牛之后就成了牢，加上两个口之后就表示“许多房屋”—也就是宫。而和“女”字旁组合在一起的汉字则表示和平与安全。这其中的逻辑建立在两层含义之上。首先，当一名女子安全地坐在家中时，这就意味着没有战争。其次，当我们的祖先住在野外简单的洞穴中时，他们面对的是恶劣天气、野生动物以及敌对,落的危险。通过建造房屋，他们便获得了更好的保护，因而就得到了安全。
Chinese Residence — Earliest Form of Architectural Art
中国住宅——最早的建筑艺术形式
Before the Qin Dynasty，the residential houses both for emperors and folks were all called palace. The term palace became a specific title for emperors' residente since the Qin and Han dynasties(221BC一220AD ).In modern times, all the other residential houses except palace and official buildings are called folk residente.
在秦朝以前，皇帝和老百姓的住房都被称作宫殿。“宫”这个称谓是从秦朝和汉朝时才开始专门指皇帝的住居。在现代，除了宫殿和官方建筑之外的所有住房都被称作民居。
The Chinese wooden framework house first appeared in the late Neolithic Age.The Hemudu Culture Site (5 OOOBC一3 300BC) in Yuyao County, Zhejiang Province reflected the wood construction techniques of this period. The Banpo Site in Xi'an and Yangshao Culture Site in Jiong village, Lintong, Shaanxi Province revealed the overall layout of villages and constructions of this period. Chinese residences can be divided roughly into nine kinds:
中国的木质框架房屋最早出现在新石器时代晚期。浙江省余姚县的河姆渡文化遗址(公元前5000一公元前3300年)表现了当时的木质建筑艺术。西安的半坡遗址和陕西省临撞姜寨的仰韶文化遗址都反映出当时村落与建筑的整体布局。中国的民居可以大致分为九种类型:
Beijing's Siheyuan
北京的四合院
This is the most important form of Chinese traditional residential house.It is great in number and wide in distribution，popular among the Han，Manchu，Bai, and some of other minority groups.Most of the houses are of wood framework. The principal room is built on the southnorth axis, and iwo wing rooms are located on both sides of it. The family elders live in the principal room and wings are the bedrooms for the younger generations. Women live in the inner yard. Guests and male servants live in the outer yard. This distribution is in accordance with the feudal regulations. 5i He Yuan spreads over towns and villages throughout China，but each developed its own characteristics as a result of respective natural conditions and different way of life. 5i He Yuan in Beijing is the most tive.
这是中国传统民居中最重要的形式。它的数量多、分布广，并且在汉族、满族、白族以及其他少数民族中一十分流行。大多数房屋采用木质框架。主屋建在南北走向的轴线，而厢房则位于四合院的两侧。家庭中的长者住在主屋中，而两翼则由年轻一代居住。妇女住在内院。客人和男仆住在外院。这种分布符合封建礼制。四合院遍布全国的城乡，但由于各地自然条件和生活方式各有不同，因此发展出各自的特征。北京的四合院是最具代表性的。
Jiangsu Residence
江苏民居
Residential houses distributed in areas south of the Yangtze River have a lot of names, but the overall arrangement is generally the same with Si He Yuan. The difference between the two is that houses in the south have smaller yards(or tianlin9 )，with only two functions; drainage and daylighting. The principal room in the first yard is usually a big hall. The yards in the back are usually smaller, mostly with storied buildings. Roof covered with small tiles and floor with flagstones help to adapt the rainy climate in the south. Houses in watery regions are usually built along rivers，with the front door leading to the alley and backdoor facing the river.Every household has a small dock where they do the washing, bailing and getting on boats.
长江以南的地区所分布的房屋有很多名称，但是整体安排通常与四合院是相同的。两者的不同就在于南方房屋的院子（或称为天井）更小而且只有两个功能:排水和采光。第一间院子中的主屋通常是一间大厅。后面的院子则通常小一些，而且大部分都带有楼房。房顶盖_L小瓦而地面则铺上了石板，这有助于适应南方的多雨气候。在雨水充沛的地区，房屋通常是沿着河流建造的，而且前门通向小巷而后门面向河流。家家户户都有一个小型码头，以便在这里洗衣、取水、乘船。
U-Shaped Houses of South China
中国南方的U形房屋
The houses in Yunnan Province in southwest China can be a good representative of this kind of building，and they could also be found in southern provinces like Hunan. The overall structure arrangement is more or less the same with Si He Yuan，but the houses are all connected together at every comer, forming the shape of U. The houses are made of wood truss with earth walls, on which are color I paintings.
在中国西南部的云南省，那里的房屋可以很好地代表这一类建筑，在湖南等南方省份也可以见到这种建筑。它的整体结构安排多少与四合院比较相似，但是所有的房屋的每个角落都连在一起，因此就形成了U形。这些房屋是由木质析架和土墙建造的，上面还有彩色图画。
Lingnan Hakka Group Houses
岭南客家房屋群
Tu Lou is a traditional dwelling for Hakkas in west Fujian Province. There are three to four floors in average, and the tallest can have up to six floors. Including the houses in the yard，Tu lou can usually hold more than 50 families. Halls，storage houses, domestic animal houses，wells and other public houses are in the yard. The Hakkas created this special defensive building to protect themselves, and it's still in use now.
土楼是福建省西部的客家传统住宅。它平均为三至四层，最高达六层。包括院子里的房屋在内，土楼通常可以容纳50多个家庭。大厅、储藏室、牲口圈、水井以及其他公共房屋都位于院子中。客家人建造这种特殊的防御性建筑的目的是为了保护自己，而且现在依然在使用这种建筑。

Cave Dwelling of Northwest China
中国西北的窑洞
Cave dwellings are mainly distributed in central and west provinces like Henan，Shanxi，Shaanxi，where the loess is of great depth.The loess has little seepage and a very strong vertical nature，which provides a very good precondition for the development of cave dwellings. The cliff cave dwelling is an earth cave dug horizontally along the vertical earth cliff. Residence built in this way saves raw materials and requires less complicated technology.The cave dwelling is cool in summer and warm in winter.
窑洞主要分布在河南、山西、陕西、甘肃以及青海等中西部地区，那里的黄土十分深。黄土的性质不容易渗水而且垂直方向强度很大，因此为窑洞的发展提供了极好的先决条件。悬崖上的窑洞是沿着垂直土崖水平挖成的土洞。通过这种方式建造的民居节省了原材料而且不需要复杂的技术。窑洞冬暖夏凉。
Ganlan
干栏
Ganlan(a wood or bamboo storied house)are mainly distributed in the southwest provinces of China，such as Yunnan，Guizhou，Guangdong and Guangxi. It is the residence for Dai，Jingpo，Zhuang and other minority groups.
干栏（木质或竹质多层房屋）主要分布在中国的西南省份，例如云南、贵州、广东以及广西。它是傣、景颇、壮以及其他少数民族的民居。
A Ganlan usually stands alone, seporated from other Ganlan houses.Supported by poles，the living sector of GanIan is usually on the second floor high above the ground，while the first storey is retained for raising domestic animals and storing;in this way Ganlan can ward off moisture，as well as the attack of insects，snakes and other animals.
干栏通常是与其他千栏建筑分开的独立建筑。通过撑杆的支撑，干栏的居住部分通常位于较高的第二层，而第一层则用于饲养家畜和储物，这样干栏不仅可以防潮，而且可以防止昆虫、蛇以及动物的袭击。
Diaofang
碉房
Diaofang(Stone Chamber) is the most popular kind of dwellings in Tibet and some areas in Inner Mongolia. According to rh,} Hi.}cory of Later Harp HmZa.sry，this stone and earth dwellings existed before 111 AD. The height of the dwellings varies from two to three storeys. Built mostly of stone and earth，they look like Diaolou (blockhouse)，and hence got the name of Diaofang. The origin of its name can be traced back to 1736 in the era of Qianlong Reign of the Qing Dynasty.
碉房是西藏和内蒙古部分地区最普遍的民居。根据《后汉书》记载，这种土石民居早在公元111年之前便存在了。这种民居的高度为两层或三层。它们主要用土石建造，外观像碉楼，因此便被叫做碉房。它这个名称的由来可以追溯到清朝乾隆年间的1736年。
The first floor is often used for livestock and poultry，and the second is retained as bedrooms，living rooms，kitchen and storehouse. Some have a third floor for the family sutra hall and the balcony.
第一层经常用于饲养家畜和家禽，而第二层则留作卧室、客厅、厨房以及储藏室。有些碉房还有第三层，这用作家庭藏经室和阳台。
The nomadic Mongolians and Tibetans also live in tents，which are convenient to assemble and unassembled.
从事游牧的蒙古族和藏族人也住在帐篷中，这十分便于拆卸。
Mongolian yurts
蒙古包
The Mongolian felt tent in northwest China is called Mongolian yurts.The wooden wattles are fastened with leather thongs and studs to form a fence-like structure. Each part of the yurt is ingenious and quite convenient to dissemble and carry. The diameter of a small yurt is about four to six meters，with no pillar inside， while the bigger one needs two to four poles to support the yurt. There are thick felts on the ground of yurts. Every yurt has an opening on the top，and there's usually a stove under it.
中国西北部蒙古族人的毡帐被称作蒙古包。它的木条用皮带和钉子固定而形成类似于篱笆的结构。蒙古包的每一个部分都十分精巧并且十分便于拆装。小型蒙古包的直径大约为四至六米，里面没有柱子，而较大的蒙古包则需要两至四根杆子来支撑。蒙古包的地面有厚毡。每个蒙古包的顶部都有开口，而且这下面通常还有一个炉子。
Ayiwang
阿以旺
Ayiwang is the Uygur residence. The houses are all connected together, with yard around them. The front room with a skylight is called Ayiwang，also known as summer room，which serves as the living room as well as reception room. The back house called winter room is the bedroom，usually without a skylight. The plane arrangement is very ingenious.
阿以旺是维吾尔族的民居。所有的房屋都连成一片，周围还有院子。前面带天窗的房间被称作阿以旺，又叫夏室，它是用来当客厅和会客室的；后室称作冬室，它通常没有天窗。其平面布局非常精巧。
There are also some other special residential houses such as the boat house. Nowadays，as a result of economic development, population increase and modernization，people in the cities usually live in storied buildings, which have increasingly diversified styles and a tendency of height rise.
还有诸如船屋等一些特殊的民居。如今由于经济的发展、人口的增加以及现代化程度提高，城市里的人们通常住在楼房里，楼房的风格日益多样化且高度得以增加。