The Chinese below was written by 劉思源 and the illustrations were by 彭大維. The English was written/translated by me. The text comes from the book 台灣民宅, which was part of the "Boar Forest" 野豬林 series published way back in 1989.
My school was going to throw these books away! I thought they could use a little love...
台灣有各式各樣的民宅 , 你知道他們是用什麼材料蓋的嗎 ? Taiwan has all kinds of houses, do you know what materials are used to build each kind?
民宅就是一般人居住的房屋 . 人們因為受居住地方的物產 , 氣候 , 地理農境的影響 , 會選擇不同的材料來蓋屋 . 例如南投 , 竹山 , 台南一帶產竹 , 所以竹屋很多 . 而澎湖特產咾咕石 , 咾咕石屋就很多 . 台中 , 新竹等地少下雨 , 日曬充足 , 適合製造土埆磚 , 所以有很多土埆屋 . 而港口附近 , 有很多往來大陸的船隻 , 這些船隻會在船艙裡放些磚石 , 以免渡海時因船身太輕而翻船 . 所以港口地區利用壓艙的磚石蓋的磚屋 , 石屋特別多 , 而且港口運送木材方便 , 木屋也很多 . Most people live in private homes. People choose building materials for their homes based on what's available locally, the climate and local geography. There are, for example, many bamboo houses between Nantou, Zhushan and [east] Tainan because of the bamboo grown throughout those areas. Penghu produces a lot of coral stone, so there are many coral stone houses there. It rains less between Taichung, Hsinchu and other places, and this means that houses built from adobe bricks were preferred. Near ports, there were many ships that traveled between Taiwan and Mainland China, and bricks and stones were placed inside these ships' holds to prevent their capsizing during ocean crossings. For this reason houses near ports were often built with bricks or stones. Ports are often used for transporting timber, so there are also many wood houses in these areas. (1)
漢人來台以前 , 台灣已經有很多先住民 . 他們住什麼房屋呢 ? Before the Han Chinese Arrived in Taiwan There Were Already Many Indigenous People [Living Here], What Kinds of Houses Did They Live In?
台灣先住民有高山九族和平埔十族 . 因為居住的環境不同 , 蓋的房子也不同 . Taiwan's indigenous peoples [consist of] nine mountain tribes and ten plains tribes. They built their homes in different ways because they lived in different environments.
泰雅人住在台灣北部的高山上 , 很容易取得木頭和竹子 , 所以他們住的都是竹屋和木屋 . 屋子裡面 , 最主要的是床和灶 . 床不僅是他們睡覺的地方 , 也可當椅子 , 桌子 , 工作檯 . 另外他們的穀倉也很特別 . 她們為了防止老鼠爬進去偷吃 , 會用桂子把穀倉架高 , 而且在腳桂上端 , 裝設彎彎的長條形木板 , 稱為防鼠板 , 有防止老鼠偷吃的功能 . The Atayal people live in the high mountains of north Taiwan, where it's easy to find wood and bamboo, so they lived in wood or bamboo houses. The most important items in these houses are the beds and the stoves. The bed was not only a place for sleeping, but also a place to sit, a table and a workspace. In addition, the containers for storing grain were very special. To prevent rats and mice from climbing in and stealing their food, they raised up these storage containers on poles, and on the top of the pole they installed long, curved wooden boards which they called rat-proof boards. These prevented rats and mice from stealing their food.
排灣人住在台灣南部的山上 , 那裏的板岩很多 , 又容易開採 , 排灣人就利用這些大大小小的板岩塊蓋房子 , 既堅固又耐用 . The Paiwan people live in the mountains of south Taiwan, where slate is plentiful and easy to procure. The Paiwan people use slate blocks of various sizes to build houses that are both strong and durable.
排灣族的木雕藝術很發達 , 在貴族房屋的桂子 , 門 , 門楣上 , 都刻滿了蛇 , 祖先 ... 等圖案的木雕 . The Paiwan tribe has developed wood carving to a high level of sophistication. The pillars, lintels and doors of the chief's home are full of carved [images of] snakes, ancestors and related motifs. (2)
早期的農家 , 住一字形的房屋 . Early Farmhouses were Rectangular.
早期從大陸來台灣的農民 , 會沿用以往在福建 , 廣東的舊習慣 , 使用紅磚 , 紅瓦 ... 蓋房屋 . The farmers who came to Taiwan from Fujian and Guangdong in China continued to use red bricks and red tiles to construct their houses.
最簡單的農家蓋成 "一字形" . 中間是正廳 , 用來供奉祖先 , 招待賓客 . 兩側是臥房 , 房內有床 , 桌子 , 椅子 , 洗臉架 ... 等 , 床下還備有澡盆和尿桶 . 以前沒有浴室 , 都是在臥房裡洗澡 , 而廁所蓋在房外 , 晚上出門上廁所很不方 , 便所以特別在房裡準備尿桶 . The simplest farmhouses were built in a rectangular shape. In the middle of [these structures] was a space used for both ancestor worship [the family shrine] and for entertaining guests. On either side [of this space] were the bedrooms. Inside [these bedrooms] were beds, tables, chairs, washstands and other things. Beneath the beds were washtubs and chamber pots. In former times there were no [indoor] bathrooms, so bathing was done in the bedrooms. The toilets were all outdoors, and as it was inconvenient to visit the outdoor toilet at night, chamber pots were kept [for this purpose]. (3)
掌灶代表掌握家庭的經濟 , 而古人認為左邊比右邊尊貴 , 所以廚房多蓋在左邊 . The person in charge of the stove/hearth was in charge of the family finances, and ancient people believed that the left was more noble than the right. For this reason kitchens were usually built on the left side of houses.
人越來越多 , 房屋不夠住怎麼辦 ? How Could Small Houses Accommodate More and More People?
當人口增加時 , 便會在一字形房屋的兩側加蓋房間 , 按照長幼順序分配給家人 . As the population increased, rooms were added to both sides of houses, with rooms apportioned according to the ages of family members.
以前人還會在屋頂 , 門楣 ... 等地方 , 放置辟邪的圖案或雕刻 , 這些東西叫 "厭勝物" . In the past people would place "talismans" or auspicious patterns and carvings on the roofs, lintels and other parts of their homes. (4)
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1. I put the second half of this paragraph in the past tense because most people in those areas build their homes in a much more standardized manner now.
2. I don't believe people use the term 先住民 ("first inhabitants" or "settlers") much now. As this section only describes the local indigenous tribes I used the term "indigenous." Some of this section is also in the past tense for the reason explained in footnote (1) above. You're not going to find many - if any - indigenous people building houses out of wood, bamboo or slate blocks now.
3. The chamber pots are long gone, but this mode of living can still be observed in more rural places. My wife's grandmother in Yunlin lived in a way very close to the one described in this passage.
