The Aesthetic Research Of Diaolou Buildings And Villages For Qiang Ethic Group

Hailed as one of the most characteristic architectures for Qiang ethic group,Diaolou buildings and villages are some high watchtowers mostly built with stone,with only a few built of yellow mud in the areas where Qiang people live.The architecture technique for Diaolou buildings and villages have been included in the third batch of China intangible cultural heritage extended list.Known as one of the most ancient enthic groups in China,the Qiang people has created a splendid culture at the upper reach of the Min River of Sichuan province and has lived a peaceful life in the rugged and barren alpine valleys in the east of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau for a long time.It is a meaningful academic attempt to make a study of Diaolou buildings and villages from the viewpoint of aesthetics and has injected new vitality into China's Qiangology.Apart from introduction,the dissetation is divided into five chapters,making a“panoramic” research on Diaolou buildings and villages from five aspects including overview,architectural prinicples,aesthetic features,aesthetic connotation,and aesthetic reflection on the cultural development of Diaolou buildings and villages.The first chapter teased out the origins,development and classification and geographical environment of Diaolou buildings and villages.The second chapter began with the emphasis on the defence function of Diaolou buildings and villages,next introduced the construction process,then looked into the four types of space layout of Diaolou buiildings and villages with a case study,and ended up with the beauty of the architecture techniques.The third chapter analyzed the three aesthetic features of Diaolou buildings and villages including practicability,robustness and beauty.The forth chapter delved into the material selection,architecture traditions and techniques of Diaolou buildings and villages,arriving at a conclusion on the beauty of primitive simplicity.Taken the White Stone worship and fireplace culture as examples,it then came to a conclusion on the beauty of sublime and the beauty ofharmony.The pair of beauties,together with the beauty of primitive simplicity,highlighted further a rich mixture of cultural connotation of Diaolou buildings and villages.The final chapter reflected on and gave an outlook for the aesthetic value of Diaolou buildings and villages.It shed light on the relationship between the beauty of primitive simplicity and the inheritance crisis facing the architecture traditions,and between carrying forward the beauty of sublime and the cultural self-consciousness of Qiang people.Taken the Shuimo Ancient Town of Wenchuan County,which stands as a poster child of the beauty of harmony,as a case in point,the chapter also illustrated that the scientific and harmonious development of an ecological reserve for Qiang ethnic group,under the principle of sticking to their time-honored cultural roots,will make the most effective resuce,protection and inheritance of the brilliant cultural legacy for Qiang ethic group.Dubbed the “Pyramid of the East”,the Diaolou buildings and villages are reputed as the most representative architecture for the Qiang ethnic group.By being immersed in aesthetic contemplation to discover the beauty of Diaolou buildings and villages from the view point of aesthetics,it will contribute to the culture preservation and inheriance of Qiang people,as well as the buildup of national confidence and cohesion.