The beautiful Minnan styled villages, Kinmen

天，好藍好藍，是海島渡假勝地才會有的，那種乾淨清爽、徹徹底底的藍。只是這樣的藍，襯著的不是白沙椰影也不是茅草涼亭，而是農夫扛著鋤頭走過的綠畂田疇，飛鳥停駐的燕尾馬背屋脊，及貓咪輕巧躍過的紅瓦與石牆……這裡是金門，有著美麗聚落景致的迷人小島。

The deep, clean blue sky can be only seen on the island resort. However, this blue sky is not lining up with the white sand beach or pavilion. It is the green farm field with farmers’ footprints; cocktail roof ridge with birds’ dock, and the red tiles and stone walls where cats like to jump over….This is Kinmen, a charming island with beautiful scenery.

金門位於中國大陸福建省東南方之廈門外海，西距廈門約10公里，東距台灣約227公里。從中原五胡亂華開始，大陸漳泉地區先先後後因亂世、因拓墾、因征戍移民至此，在這裡落地生根，興建一幢又一幢的宅第、祠堂與廟宇，而形成獨特的聚落文化。金門，就是由這樣大大小小一百多個聚落連接而成，這些聚落至今仍密集保留了傳統閩南古厝，少的有五十棟，多的甚至有二百五十棟以上。

Kinmen Island is located south-east of Xiamen of Fujian province of China. It is located about 10 km west of Xiamen and 227 km east of Taiwan. Beginning from the Fifth Century’s invasion by the northern nomads in the central plains of China, people in the Zhang Quan region started to immigrate to Kinmen to escape the chaos of wars and look for new opportunities. They started to settle in here and built houses, ancestral hall, and temples, which formed a very unique village culture. Hundreds of large and small villages were connected together to become Kinmen. Kinmen still retains 50 to 250 traditional Minnan ancient houses.

傳統閩南古厝的基本型式，大多以三合院或四合院的一落、二落建築為主。相當特別的是，只要資金夠多、腹地夠大、這些建築可以無限的增建。

A traditional pattern of Minnan ancient house has 3 or 4 courtyards. The type of architecture allows the house to expand if money and space are available.

古厝建材以紅磚、白石與花崗石為主，有的古厝底部以花崗石或白石平砌，上半部再以磚瑰斗砌。另外，還有一種相當獨特的「出磚入石」砌法，利用形狀各異的石材、紅磚與瓦礫交錯壘砌，組成冬暖夏涼且堅固耐用的牆體。

The building materials of the ancient house are bricks, white stones and granite. Some of the houses were built with granite or white stone on the bottom of the houses, and bricks on the top. In addition, there is an unique assembly method, named “brick, stone combination”. It used different shapes of stone, bricks, or rubble to stack together to create a very sturdy wall which keeps cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

許多在外經商成功的鄉人賺了錢，就匯款回鄉興建或翻修宅第與宗祠，以光耀門楣，而發達的程度就顯現在古厝的屋脊、馬背、山牆、窗眉及檐柱上。這些精緻的裝飾，讓每一幢建築都成了珍貴的藝術品。

Most of successful business men abroad sent their money back to their hometown for construction or renovation of the houses and ancestral halls. These renovations are reflected on the roof ridge, horseback round arch roof, wall, windows, and pole. These delicate decorations made each building look like a precious art.

金門古厝的裝飾以木雕、磚雕、泥塑、砌磚、彩繪、貼瓷及剪黏等不同手法表現，其中以剪黏這樣的鑲嵌藝術最為著名。

The decorations on Kinman ancient houses included wood engrave, brick engrave, clay sculpture, color painted, paste porcelain, and cut-stick methods. The cut-stick method has been a famous embedded art.

１－木雕 (wood engrave)

２－磚雕 (brick engrave)

３－剪黏 ( cut-stick)

４－組砌 (puzzle style cut)

鮮豔無比的彩面釉磚，也是相當美麗的裝飾藝術。

The colorful porcelain bricks are also a gorgeously decorated art.

燕尾脊是金門閩式建築中很常見的屋脊形式，居民會用立體雕塑或漆上美麗的圖案裝飾。飛翹的燕尾屋脊曲線優美，讓聚落裡的街巷成了一道迷人的風景。

The cocktail roof ridge is often seen in the Minnan roof ridge. It is made with a three dimensional sculpture or painted with beautiful design. The tilted roof ridge made the street a fascinating scene.

山牆與馬背的裝飾，以灰泥雕飾、剪黏或彩繪等形式呈現，相當的多變。

The decoration of the walls and round arch horseback roof are clay sculptures, cut-stick or color painted with different styles.

金門聚落大多是單姓血親共居一地，興建宗祠共同祭奉，以凝聚宗族力量。宗祠無論在風水、建築或裝飾，皆為上上之選。各家的宗祠可以說是聚落建築中，最為精雕細琢、富麗堂皇的。

The residents with the same last name lived in the same community. They build ancestral halls in order to strength their unity. The ancestral halls they built have good fengshui and architecture and are decorated with art crafts, creating a magnificent look in the village.

清末民初，巴洛克式建築的熱潮吹至金門，經商成功的鄉人匯款回鄉，紛紛興起氣派華麗的的洋樓。

During the late Ching Dynasty and early years of the Republic, Baroque-styled architecture became popular in Kinmen. Business men abroad sent their money back to build the ornate western style houses.

聚落裡處處可見這樣閩南大厝與西式洋樓並存的畫面。

You can see the Minnan styled and western styled houses next to each other on the street.

每一間古厝、每一個聚落的組成，都是祖先們辛苦開疆闢土而來的。走訪金門聚落，欣賞這些美麗的建築的同時，也等於是在閱讀金門人的開墾史。

Every ancient house and forming of the villages were the results of diligent ancestors. Wandering in the villages in Kinmen, and enjoying this beautiful architecture at the same time provide a taste of the history.

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