Dahua Tower

Residences in South China, especially the ancient architectural complexes in southern Fujian province, prefer a luxurious decoration style and of course, ancient houses in Jinjiang are no exception. Most owners of this type of ancient houses are more affluent and can therefore more easily afford the lavish decoration of their residences. Consequently, clay sculptures, color paintings, ceramics, and cut-and-paste ornaments are common decorations of these ancient houses.

Made of common building materials, the decorative clay sculptures were vividly made and painted. Clay sculptures are often to be seen on the swallowtail ridges, ‘Shuichedu’ and on some building corners.

Changshun Old House

In addition, soft ceramics were also made into carvings and other special designs. All these exquisitely made ornaments were to be seen on some parts of the ‘Tashou’ or ‘Shuichedu’. There are a large number of examples for this type of decoration in studies by Tongying. In the Qing Dynasty, there were many color ceramics craftsmen in Jinjiang, and among them. Cai Tengying is well known.

The cut-and-paste ornaments are made from a combination of color ceramic pieces and clay. To make these, craftsmen pasted ceramic pieces on the clay to make figurines, animals, and plants. These decorations were used in a number of places as decoration.

Above doors of ancient houses in Jinjiang, tablets are hung to suggest the family names of the owners. In addition, the couplet at the front gate usually reveals the name of the residence or the owner, in the hope of bringing honor to their ancestors.