Expert Interview

Clara: Can you provide a brief introduction to the style and features of Dong architecture?

            Mr. Lu: One of the most prominent features of our architecture is tradition, all of the architecture here are built in accordance with tradition. All the buildings have a roof beam, and are designed to be uniform. For example, one of our traditions is that the buildings need to be built on specific dates along with rituals such as slaughtering an animal such as a chicken or a pig. These traditions and practices are passed down from generation to generation.

Clara: What are the common symbols or images in Dong architecture？

            Mr. Lu: often times, there are drawings or paintings on the edges of drum towers. However, many of the symbols of the Dong culture have been lost when it is passed on to the next generation, because we rely on the previous generation to pass on these techniques to the younger generation. When I was younger, some of the elders knew what the symbols meant, but they passed away without passing down the knowledge of cultural practices down so, I never learned how to understand these symbols.

Clara: What are the purposes of the drum towers in Dong culture?

            Mr.Lu: I heard from the previous generation, that we as Dong people often gather as a group and hold meetings, but there weren’t any convenient places to hold a meeting beforehand. We used to go to a designated person's house to have a meeting, but it was very troublesome to get everyone to meet there, and there wasn’t a fixed place where we could hold meetings. So we thought of a solution and began to  build these drum towers. People came to the drum tower to discuss things, which reflects the unity of our culture. In the past, a drum would be installed on top of the roof of an old building, and then people would beat the drum. But I was very young at the time, so these practices aren’t very familiar to me.

Clara: How are the techniques for constructing ancient buildings passed down？

            Mr. Lu: our techniques are passed down from one generation to another. For example the things I know were passed down from my dad and he learned them from his father before him. I’m one of the main inheritors of Dong architecture and so were my family from generations before. I believe that learning these techniques has a lot to do with natural talent. For instance, I left school at the start of middle school and before that my only passion was to draw. However, when my father passed away, he hadn’t finished building many drum towers along with other structures, therefore I had to take on the responsibility of learning these techniques to continue the building of our traditional architecture. I took on the responsibility of continuing my fathers work at a very young age, because of that many people did not trust that I had the ability to finish what my father had started, but I was determined to prove them wrong.

Clara: What are the main materials used in traditional Dong architecture?

            Mr. Lu: most commonly we use materials such as cedar or pinewood, but now we mostly use Cedar because it is more durable, Cedar is also waterproof unlike pinewood. We are now making stilt houses or ancient buildings out of cedar. Cedar is also softer and more suitable for buildings compared to alternatives because if the wood is too hard, when it rains, the wood will slowly disintergrate.

Clara: How are these wood materials collected?

            Mr. Lu: Some of the larger columns, cost hundreds of thousands of rmb, and require dozens of people to lift them together in order to move them about. the wood of a residential building for the average resident is a a bit cheaper. There are a lot of small cedar trees in the area, but the larger trees are, several hundred centimetres in height, are not available in our area and need to be transported from other places.

Clara: Are there many buildings that aren’t that traditional?

            Mr. Lu: yes there are many buildings around here that incorporate modern features

While still maintaining traditional aspects. For example, many of the buildings were built around 100 years ago.

Clara: Are these techniques written in books or on paper?

            Mr. Lu: There aren’t many, since Dong architecture is not very well known. However, in my daily life when I have completed a building or a model of one, I will take pictures on my phone, however there isn’t nearly enough to write a whole book. Because I dropped out of school a very young age I didn’t develop the skills necessary to create a whole book Many people have told me that if I had stayed in school I would’ve been even more successful, however the conditions that my family and other Dong families were in did not allow for me to. But if I’m being honest, if I had finished school, I might not have followed through with my architectural career.

Clara: What are the challenges in preserving and restoring these buildings?

            Mr. Lu: There are many precautions that need to be taken when restoring or renovating these buildings, such as being aware of which places you need to replace first before others  or else the entire building might come tumbling down through one simple wrong move, the structure of buildings are very important to learn before any action can be taken.

Clara: How do you think you (the Dong people) can make more people understand and appreciate the architectural art of the Dong people？

            Mr. Lu: believe that as we are an ethnic minority, we do not have the power to spread awareness about our culture and to keep it alive. although I firmly believe that as long as I try my best  to persevere these buildings and make them beautiful, durable, and reliable, what deserves to be known will be known by the public.