Tulou, tulou

Trip: summer of 2006 Poem: spring of 2008

Tulou Clan Residence, Fujian PRC

Along a dusty road on a hot summer day I went with my wife and relatives up Fujian way We piled in a van and left the city behind far, The Pearl Delta area, and got to a place lined more With trees than with roads -- bamboo, oak, and pine The air was as fresh as a cucumber on a vine We wound up the hills, we traversed along the tips Until at last we caught sight of it Our first tulou, an adobe fortress Built by Hakka, for security, continuous happiness An extended clan residence, they resembled UFOs Which the American government had suspiciously thought they were Aerial photos from satellites up high showed circular shapes And who on Earth built that way? It must be an encampment, only aliens do that, So Washington secretly sent some people to check on it. But upon investigation, they were relieved to find out That these structures were indeed quite strong, within and without, Were for one large family, an extended group. Many families slept under the same circular roof.

The walls were of mud, rammed over a stick frame. Tulou started to dot the countryside, looking somewhat the same At the base, the walls measured about a meter and a half thick. At the top the walls were slightly thinner. How did they measure it? By little window in a room, above the single entrance gate, stood Security men who watched for those new to the neighborhood If any thief or malcontent set fire to the door Theyd dump buckets of water down on it douse it real good! People lived on the upper floors Where rooms rimmed around On a curved, wooden balcony One could stroll from door to door The view from that walkway Was as splendid as can be With another circular building inside A courtyard, and maybe a tree With sky up above, one could feel the rays In the morning as people woke up And busied themselves in the rice fields Or planted other things instead There was a little central room, And in an alcove you could see Photos of ancestors, their names, clearly shown A place to respect them and the Deity This was also the place were voices soared And bows on strings, and drums There was a little concert By a man playing instruments more than one Feet and arm had controls Adding a percussion effect While melody and rhythm strong Were by an erhu kept And kids would go out to play In the fields or forests near Bamboo upon bamboo Blanketed the hillsides there

Grandparents and kids, And toddlers who pee on the run peed The generations intermingled Unlike today where thats seldom done I marveled at the construction It took 10 years or more To build a tulou, by a group of men Who must have daily toiled I thought this might be greater ught Than that celebrity, the Great Wall This showed the strength of family Who under adversity stood tall A symbol of the family, a symbol of safety The circle again remind us of our ultimate unity reminds But even as in family, so too in 'hood ily, That we are just one is becoming more plainly understood.