History of Kejias Tulou
The Earthern Buildings are dotted around the mountain triangle where Fujian, Jiangxi
and Guangdong provinces meet. About g0, 000 of these earthen buildings are in South
China. The huge buildings resembling fortresses are called earthen buildings because of
their tall and strong earthen outer walls. The walls made of earth, limestone and fine
sand are often propped up by a frame of bamboo and wood chips. Scholars discovered
the residential architectures there embody a distinctive culture. About 70% of the total
earthen buildings are in Fujian Province. The Earthen Buildings appeared about 1,200
years ago, but most of the buildings remaining today were completed in the Ming
(1368--16d4) and Qing ( 1644--1911 ) dynasties. A clan of about 150 members of the
Wang family still live in a single earthen-building which was completed in 1835,
consisting of 108 rooms. It is said seven years were spent in finishing the whole
const~ction. The largest concentration of the buildings is in western Fujian Province andhese were made by Hakka people.
The Hakka people are a group belonging to the Hart nationality,Their ancestors used to live in Central and North China more than 1, g00 years ago. There was severe persecution caused by war
and frequent nomadic invasions in the third century. In order to avoid the troubles and live a peaceful life, they began migrating south towards the present Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. Further persecutions pushed lhem farther south in the fifth century. They finally settled down in Jiangxi, Fujian and Guangdong provinces during the 10~ to the 13'~ centuries. "Hakka" (Kejia) in Mandarin means "guest people" r "strangers".