Yaodong (Loess Cave House)

The yaodongs of northern China represent the ultimate mingling between natural beauty and manmade ingenuity. Stretching across the Loess Plateau within the provinces of Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Henan, they have been an integral feature of the landscape for over 4,500 years. Their name literally translates to mean “kiln cave” and is a reference to their arched interior, which supposedly resembles the inside of a kiln. While the name may sound rather fiery, yaodongs are renowned for being pleasantly cool during summer and comfortably warm during winter. Nowadays, it is estimated that more than 40 million people continue to live in yaodongs. To put that into perspective, that’s nearly four times the population of Belgium!

The first yaodongs were said to have been built during the Xia Dynasty (c. 2100-1600 BC) and were even mentioned in the Book of Songs, a collection of Chinese poems that were written from the 10th to the 7th centuries BC. During the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), these yaodongs become much more elaborate, with inhabitants installing chimneys, functioning kitchens, and heated brick beds known as kangs. The Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) dynasties saw even further progress as these humble cave houses evolved from single room retreats to fully fledged homes with separate living quarters, livestock stalls, and even defensive walls. By the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1912) dynasties, their popularity had reached its peak and they were built widely throughout northern China.

The prevalence of yaodongs in northern China is usually attributed to their efficient design and cheapness to build. The loess soil from which they are constructed is abundant in the Loess Plateau and acts as an exceptionally effective insulator of heat, meaning inhabitants of yaodongs don’t need to spend extra money or effort heating their homes during the cold winters. In terms of style, they can be roughly separated into three different types: loess cliff houses; hole-courtyards; and “updated” brick houses. The ingenious loess cave houses are the simplest of the three and are dug directly into the loess cliffs that line the deep valleys of the Loess Plateau.

Hole-courtyards

The hole-courtyards are more complex, revolving around an excavated courtyard about 5 to 8 metres (16 to 26 ft.) deep that has been dug into the Loess Plateau itself. For this reason, they are sometimes called “yaodong wells” or “sunken courtyards”. The walls of this courtyard are then carved out to form rooms, much like the simpler loess cave houses. Fortunately for the inhabitants of these “yaodong wells”, it does not rain very often on the Loess Plateau, so there’s no risk of their home being turned into a swimming pool!

“Updated” Brick Houses

The newer tradition of “updated” brick houses are built partially or wholly above ground and outdoors, with an arched structure that is inspired by the original yaodongs. Although their roofs are covered with loess soil, they are stand-alone structures made of stone or brick and typically have elaborate designs carved into their façades. No matter the type, each yaodong usually consists of 3 to 5 carved out rooms, which are generally about 7 to 8 metres (23 to 26 ft.) long, 3 metres (10 ft.) wide, and 3 to 4 metres (10 to 13 ft.) high. After all, size doesn’t matter when you have a home this cosy!

Not only are yaodongs a fascinating form of folk architecture, they also played a critical role in the history of China. From 1935 to 1948, Chairman Mao Zedong and the Communist Party used yaodongs in Yan’an as their base of operations. American journalist Edgar Snow even visited Mao and his party in Yan’an before writing his acclaimed novel Red Star Over China. If you want to relive this exciting chapter in Chinese history, you can now stay overnight in a yaodong hotel and visit the original yaodongs where the Communist Party held their secret meetings.

Try the special Yarding hotels on Cultural Tour in Shanxi.

Jin Merchants

Jin Merchants photo

“Jin” is the shortened name used to refer to Shanxi Province. Thus the term “Jin merchant” is the general appellation used for merchants from Shanxi Province. The Jin Merchants were prominent businessmen from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) through to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the Han imperial court built military defences along the Great Wall to guard against the Mongolian army. The biggest problem for those large garrisons was supplying them with sufficient food. So the imperial court commissioned a division of the police force, named Kaizhongfa, whose primary responsibility was to supervise the salt trade. The Kaizhongfa then allowed merchants to do business in salt in certain areas if they, in exchange, sent food to the frontier.  In the south of Shanxi, there used to be a large salt mine. However, the fields in Shanxi were too barren to support a successful agricultural industry. In order to fulfil the agreement with the imperial court, the salt merchants from Shanxi had to purchase food from their neighbouring provinces, Henan Province and Shandong Province. This was the first step taken by the Jin merchants’, which eventually led to their future success.

When the Qing Dynasty began, the astute Emperor Shunzhi (1638-1661) bestowed his honour onto the Jin merchants. He added some of the Jin merchants to the ‘imperial merchants’ list. The Jin merchants improved their social position and the salt market was flourishing then, so they decided to make a contribution to this new imperial court. During the reign of the Emperor Yongzheng (1678-1735), the Qinghai Rebellion broke out outside of the Great Wall. The battle was far away and thus caused the same problems as before with regards to supplying food to the battlements. A Jin merchant named Fan Yubin volunteered to take on the mission. However, once he had transported the supplies to the frontier, all of it was stolen by the rebel army. Fan Yubin spent almost all of his earnings re-purchasing the stolen goods and sending them to the frontier once again. His actions were greatly appreciated by the Emperor Yongzheng. Thus Yongzheng gave Fan Yubin the privilege to do business in the Mongolian area.

In 1727, the Qing imperial court signed the “Treaty of Kyakhta”1 with the Russian Empire, which meant that Kyakhta was opened up as an international business market between China and Russia. Tea was the most popular product among the Russian purchasing agents, and the business generated by their custom helped the Jin merchants and led to their most prosperous era. From then on, the Jin merchants were able to open up a much larger market and the merchant cartel grew stronger and stronger. The merchant trade attracted more and more people, thus allowing it to grow stronger and stronger

There is a famous Shanxi folk tale named “Westbound”, which indicates in its story that it was common for Shanxi people to find a way to survive in western areas. Shanxi is a long way away from Mongolia. In fact, many people died on the way to Mongolia because of the bandits, the cold and even from starvation.

piaohao

With the merchants’ business developing and prospering, the demand for silver rose higher and higher, as silver was the main form of trade currency at the time. It was dangerous to transport large amounts of silver as part of a merchant convoy. Thanks to these merchant convoys, bandits and other criminal gangs were rife and made an enviable living off of their stolen spoils during those days. In 1820, the first ‘Chinese bank’ was set up in Pingyao, Shanxi, and was called Rishengchang. This solved the issues merchants had once had with transporting silver, as clients could now bring postal orders from the bank on their business trips rather than large amounts of silver.

The appearance of this early form of “bank”, named “Piaohao” in Chinese, lead the Jin merchants into their second era of prosperity. During the late Qing Dynasty, there were eight large Piaohao that were owned by Jin merchants, which together had almost a stranglehold on the financial industry in China at the time. However, their overwhelming success only lasted for a hundred years.

The Jin merchants had close relationships with the imperial court. The imperial court gave them several privileges when it came to doing business and, in exchange, they had to help the imperial court with its financial problems. However, in 1905, the Trans-Siberian Railway was put into use. It reduced the transport fee required to import tea from Vladivostok. This meant that the Jin merchants lost their market. After the Xinhai Revolution in 1911, debt began to rise and the merchants faced insurmountable competition from international banks. With the advent of these international banks, business in the Piaohao of Shanxi declined quickly. Finally, when China entered an era of political unrest, the Jin merchants faced further unrecoupable losses and gradually disappeared altogether.

The controversy surrounding the Jin merchants

The Jin merchants built up a legitimate and prosperous market in China and reaped a great amount of wealth from it. However, many historical records suggest that during the late Ming Dynasty the Jin merchants may have also profited from traitorous activities.

The Houjin regime (1616-1636), which was the predecessor to the Qing Dynasty, waged many wars against the Ming regime during the late Ming Dynasty. The Houjin regime was not rich enough to support the cost incurred by these numerous wars, but they did have luxury goods such as ginseng, deer antlers and furs. The Jin merchants supposedly committed treason by exchanging such luxury goods with the Houjin regime for food, clothes and other goods that were necessary for war. They received a huge amount of profit from this kind of business. Some historians theorise that the Jin merchants may have even sold military information to the Houjin regime.

Qiao's family compound 02

The wealthy Jin merchants built many fabulous mansions for their families. Some of them have been well preserved and are still in almost their original condition today. All of these huge courtyards exhibit the art of northern Chinese architecture perfectly. (Read more about Shanxi Grand Compound)

 

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