赣南客家围屋探幽

围屋是赣、粤、闽边区客家人居住的主要建筑形式，它集家、祠、堡于一体，集建筑与美学于一体，是客家人在赣南定居生活与活动的“化石”，特别是赣南的龙南县，因围屋数量最多、保存最完整而成为赣南“围都”。

“围都”声名鹊起

围屋是客家先民们为我们留下宝贵的文化遗产。晋末之乱，中原人举族迁徙，之后每次朝代更迭，战火烽烟，更引发了大量中原人南迁。这些南迁的中原人先是进入鄱阳湖一带，尔后溯赣江而上，往大山屏蔽的赣南、粤北、闽西迁徙和定居。

进入赣粤闽山区的中原人，被 当地土著畲、瑶人视为客人，客家人之称由此而来。客家人在与畲、瑶人融合的过程中，相互吸收不同的生活习惯和风俗，生活是安定的。但到了明清时期，社会再次动荡 ，赣、粤、闽边区民不聊生，于是山民聚众为“匪”者不少。在这一历史背景下，有着防御功能的客家人的围屋、围拢屋、土楼便应运而生。

龙南与广东为邻，“匪”盛至极，因而围屋也多如牛毛，围屋一时成了客家人的普遍民居形式。时光过去500余年，如今龙南一县仍残留370余座围屋，那围屋规模之大、风格之特别、保存之完好为全国罕见。2003年，龙南“客家围屋”入选为“赣南现代十景”，同年，龙南县的关西新围、燕翼围被列为国家重点文物保护单位。2001年2月，中央电视台东方时空栏目以“客家人的围屋”为题向全世界展示了围屋风貌，使得历经了390年岁月沧桑的赣南围屋一下子声名鹊起。

赣南围屋大至上万平方米，内可居数百人，如龙南武当镇的田心围，最多时曾住过900多人，然而小的围屋如龙南县里仁乡的猫柜围，围内仅住一户人家。

赣南围屋主要建于明清时期，现存最早的两座围屋是龙南乌石村的盘石围(约建于明万历年间)和杨村的燕翼围(建于清顺治五年)，日本东京艺术大学建筑系主任、著名学者片山和俊教授考察赣南围屋后说：“赣南围屋的构造并不复杂，但它的大尺度、大空间、大容量，将居住、城堡、、议事厅和中心广场功能集于一体，如此宏伟多功能的民居为世之罕见，令人震撼!”是的，看了围屋就像读了一本建筑教科书，人们从中可以学到很多知识和得到许多启发，这种感觉犹如日本人初看古罗马建筑一样，许多日本学者认为“赣南围屋是东方的罗马”。

最富传奇色彩的围屋

方今龙南境内最富传奇色彩的围屋，是关西镇新围村的关西新围。在这座硕大的围屋里，大院风水壁照上花团锦簇的画已经剥落殆尽，但大院前的两对石狮，气势十分了得：那雄狮英姿勃发，一副气吞河山的气势；雌狮则闭合着嘴，一派温柔祥和神态，特别是雌狮身上附着的两只小狮子，更是寄寓意着主人敬重的两位小夫人的一片情意。

传说新围屋的主人名叫徐名均(因排行老四，又称徐老四)，他年轻时便从事木竹贩运生意，经商致富后便成了个逍遥之人，钻进了苏州、扬州等地的花花世界。等到钱财散尽，他便带了两位张氏女子回家作二房、三房，过起了平淡日子。后来，两位小夫人竭力劝他重新振作，并以平生积蓄予以资助，受两位小夫人鼓励，徐名均又做起了木排生意。开始，生意做得并不太好，后来却发生了一次奇遇：一日，他从赣州启程时有位青年公子欲搭便船下南昌，但众船家不愿意，只有徐名均天性豪爽，一口应允。此后几日酒肉款待，两人交谈甚欢。不日到达洪城，公子告别，稍后却有轿来请徐名均到巡抚处作客。到得府里，才知乘自己商船者乃是巡抚之子。因为老四旅途中热情款待公子，巡抚甚为感激，叙谈中问到有什么需要帮助，老四说：“木排生意中沿途关卡税收太多，有些烦恼。”巡抚思忖片刻，写一道官文，允老四的“西昌号”木排在江西境内水域三年内免收银税，任意方便。从此老四生意如鱼得水，呼风有风，唤雨有雨，一时间许多排贩纷纷依附老四，搭靠“西昌号”做生意，老四因而大发其财。一年春季，上千条木排在赣江遇洪水散了架，根本无法分清货主是谁，结果全部木材归了徐老四，老四一夜暴富，平白多赚了十数万两银子。中国农民有钱就盖房，这是祖宗留下的规矩，于是老四动用百万巨资，耗时十余载终于建成了这占地一万多平方米、高十多米、厚一米的长方形围屋，这是嘉庆、道光年间在龙南轰动一时的事。

为了感谢两位小夫人的鼓励，老四不动声色地在院子前的母狮上做了些布置，于是便出现了大小三只母狮共瞻天下的情形。今天，新围西门外小花洲地面上遗留的荷池、假山石等痕迹，仍让人一眼就看出，它的本来面目该是一座何等典雅的苏州园林呀?!

关西新围，是典型的客家民居，整个建筑五组并列，前后三进，十四个天井，正中祠堂，对称分置十八厅，客家人传颂的“九幢十八厅”在这里生动地得到了验证。

寻求新的辉煌

与关西新围共同成为国家重点文物保护单位的杨村镇的燕翼围，也是座不同凡响的围屋。

燕翼围自公元1650年始建以来，以其高大、坚固、防御功能强之特点名闻天下，如今成为海内外客家人和专家学者必到之地。燕翼围呈方形，高15米，长12米，宽32米，面积1368米，房间136间，一层为膳食处，二、三层为居住处，四层为战楼，有58个射击口。围门有三层，门口有一生活用井，围内有二口暗井，一为水井，一为粮库井，平时以土埋之。此围屋因高大易守，因而有“高守围”别称。上世纪40年代，时任江西第四行政公署专员的蒋经国曾在此围住过三日。

在围屋绕廊行走，寻觅往昔的辉煌，可惜古物早已荡然无存，但是被烟火染得乌黑的窗棂、木柱仍在向人们诉说当年人们生活在这里的情景，那推磨用的龙头、清朝的睡床仍然静静地躺在柴屋里。

如今，对杨村人来说，客家围屋或客家建筑及其传说，是给外人看、外人听的，数百年来，这里简单的生活方式已经令他们的心情平静如水，不再有所触动。他们每天都见到许多探寻者，无论你抱着怎样的目的、怀着怎样的热望来看围屋，无论你现在给这里带来几多喧嚣与热闹或回去花费几多笔墨去大书特书这里的神秘与美丽，这里的人一概波纹不兴，一点也引不起激动，因为古老的围屋与客家文化随着岁月流逝而日渐老朽了，他们世代居住在这里，再也不感到有什么特别之处了!

好在如今燕翼围的人有许多已经觉醒：祖先的荣耀不属于今人，今人的荣耀还得自己创造。于是这儿也涌现了众多经商致富的聪明人，今天，这里有一两万人走出了围屋，涌往广东、浙江、福建等开放地区打工、做生意，更有无数的后生在家乡创业，据说，百万以上家产的人家已有好几十户了!

(本文摄影龚映华)

Circular Houses in Southern Jiangxi

By Gong Wenrui

The circular houses in southern Jiangxi were first built by immigrants known as Hakka people, who were actually refugees fleeing from wars and natural disasters in the central China as early as the last years of the Jin Dynasty (317-420).

It was a big wave of migration in the Chinese history. Refugees fleeing southward from the central China never ceased in history especially when a dying dynasty was in the throes. According to experts, the first wave of these refugees reached the Boyang Lake, and then gradually spread southward to southern Jiangxi, northern Fujian and Guangdong Provinces.

The circular houses reflect the life these immigrants led then. A circular house served as an independent community where families lived together with an ancestral memorial temple built in the center. A circular house had a high and thick rammed earth wall and stood as a fortress against invaders.

The circular houses seen today in southern Jiangxi Province were mostly built in the last years of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the early years of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). In Longnan, a county on the border between Jiangxi and Guangdong Provinces, there are more than 370 circular houses. Some of these are magnificent and placed under national protection. China Central Television has produced a documentary on the circular houses in Jiangxi.

The most legendary circular house in Longnan County is the Xinwei House in Guanxi Township. The giant circular house occupies an area of more than 10,000 square meters with its external wall more than 10 meters in height and 1 meter in thickness.

Legend has it that it was built by a man called Xu Mingjun. A trader engaged in transporting timber and bamboo bundled in rafts on the Gan River, Xu made a fortune when he was young. He led a life of luxury and debauchery in Suzhou and Yangzhou, reputed as a world of sensual pleasures in ancient China. After the fortune was gone, he came back home in Longnan County with two young wives. He built a small house and led an ordinary life with the two wives. But the two women later prompted him to engage in the former trade again. So he came back to the river. One day, a young man wanted to take a boat trip down to Nanchang, the capital city of Jiangxi Province. But it happened that no one was willing to take him. When Xu heard of this, he offered his help. They hit it off pretty soon. On the trip, Xu entertained the young man with wine and meat and the two chatted happily. When the young man reached the destination, Xu thought he would not see him again. To Xu’s great surprise, the young man turned out to be a high-ranking official in the city. Later he sent a sedan chair over and asked Xu to visit him at his official residence. Thus Xu became well known because of this legendary encounter. Many in the trade began to partner with him. Xu began to prosper again by charging fees from people who used the title of his firm. One spring, he hit business bonanza when a huge flood turned loose thousands of rafts of timber and bamboo on the Gan River. It was impossible to determine who owned the loose timber and bamboo poles. Xu managed to salvage them all. After selling the godsend and making a huge fortune overnight, Xu wanted to have a big house built. He spent more than a million on the ambitious project and it took more than 10 years to complete the construction work. The giant affair is a typical Hakka residence. It has five rows of houses inside, with 14 patios in three rows, with a family memorial temple in the center. And there are 18 halls in a symmetrical arrangement. The house is now under national protection.

Another big fortress-styled house in the county is the Swallow Wing House of Yangcun Town. It is now under national protection. The construction work began in 1650 in the Qing Dynasty. The house is well known for its sturdy structure as a fortress. In the shape of a square, it stands at 15 meters in height, 12 meters in length and 32 meters in width. The house has 136 rooms in four stories. The ground floor was where residents cooked and ate. The second and third floors were living quarters. The forth floor was the military stronghold with 58 shooting positions. The house has three strong doors. Inside the house there are three wells.

These big communal houses attract curious tourists who travel all the way from all over the world to see the amazing architectures in the county. The Hakka houses symbolize a way of life, a self-contained world in the long forgotten past. However, residents there have long been aware that they should not live on their ancestors’ past glory and that they should create something new of their own.

(Translated by David)