Impressive Hakka earth buildings

Adam: Hi Li Mei, guess where I went last weekend?

李梅，你猜我周末去哪了？

Li Mei: Haha, I saw the pictures you posted on Wechat. You visited some Hakka earth buildings, right?

哈哈，我看到朋友圈你晒的照片了，你去了客家土楼，对吧？

Adam: Yep, they were really amazing. No wonder all of Fujian's tulou sites are on UNESCO's World Heritage list. The one I visited resembled an earthen version of Rome's Coliseum.

是的，土楼太不可思议了，难怪被联合国教科文组织命名为世界文化遗产。从外观上看，还有点像古罗马的竞技场呢。

Li Mei: True. How much did you learn about the story behind the tulous?

对的，但是你知道土楼是怎么演变形成的吗？

Adam: I know they were built for self-protection but not a lot more.

我只知道它是用于自卫，但是具体的故事我就不清楚了。

Li Mei: Many of Fujian's tulous were built by the Hakkas, a Han Chinese people who migrated southward from central China several hundred years ago to Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi as the result of war and social unrest. Carrying with them customs and cultures distinct from local residents, they built the circular earth buildings that we see today as a form of protection and social cohesion.

福建土楼多由客家人所建，客家人原来居住在中原，后来由于战争被迫南迁至福建、广东、广西等地。客家人搬过来后由于习俗和文化上同当地人的差异，很快他们之间就有了矛盾。出于自卫及加强凝聚力的需求，我们今天看到的这种环形土楼就形成了。

Adam: I see. Seems like they made some pretty insightful design choices.

我明白了，真是聪明的设计。

Li Mei: True. A typical earth building has three to five floors. The first floor is often used as a kitchen and the second floor for storage because the lower floors have no windows. The third and fourth floors host living quarters. Each floor has its own function.

是的，土楼一般都是三到五层，通常来说，第一层是厨房，第二层用于储藏，因为底层房间没有窗户。第三第四层用于居住，每一层都有自己独特的功能。

Adam: But I didn't see many people actually living there. Why?

但是我看到土楼里很少有人居住，这又是为什么呢？

Li Mei: Most earth buildings nowadays are used more for tourism than for housing. The protection of a mini-castle is no longer needed and growing economic status combined with a desire for privacy compelled many residents to move into more modern forms of housing.

现在大多数土楼只是作为景观，而不是居住的地方。一方面，这是因为随着客家人和当地人隔阂的消失，土楼的防御作用也就不复存在了。另一方面，随着人们越来越富裕，并且想要更多的个人空间，越来越多的人也就搬离土楼住到更现代的房子里去了。

Adam: That makes. You've taught me a lot today, I owe you a million thanks.

这就说得通了，看来我今天学到了不少东西，真是太谢谢你了。

By Ye Zihan