The vast grassland is a big stage for the Mongolian people to ride horses and graze freely. The most suitable residence for the nomadic people is the yurt. The yurt is a unique cultural model of the nomadic people that has accompanied the Mongolian nation for a long time.
The yurt has its own development and evolution process: the ancients made a cave, built it with wood and stones along the cave wall to the edge of the cave, and put some crossbars on it to cap the cave. A hole should be left at the top of the cave for people to enter and exit, to escape smoke, to vent air, to provide lighting and ventilation. Later it developed into the door and skylight of the yurt. At that time, this kind of cave was called Urwo, and "Ur" originally meant "dig". In modern Mongolian, it refers specifically to the roof felt on the skylight of the yurt, and by extension means "home", "household" and other meanings. During the hunting and gathering era, the Mongolian people lived in shacks. This round-vaulted shelter used live trees as pillars and was covered with birch bark. It was simple to make and easy to abandon. As primitive humans transitioned from gathering to hunting, their range of activities became wider and wider. At the same time, some herbivores were gradually domesticated into livestock, and the embryonic form of animal husbandry emerged. A kind of living room that is convenient for moving is required, so buildings such as shacks came into being. During the transition from the hunting era to the nomadic era, their dwellings transitioned from shacks to tents, which used trees as supports and were covered with furs. After entering the pastoral society, the bracket became a Hana, and combined with the above-mentioned cave roof into a skylight, the prototype of the yurt was born. Felt tents also appeared, which were shaped like a canopy and covered with wool. Zhao Liangsi, a native of the Liao Dynasty at the end of the Song Dynasty and the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, wrote in a poem: "The new wind blows the snow down Jishan, and the night is cold in the dark dome of the house." What he is chanting is the yurt.
Hanerduo in ancient times. This is a yurt used by ancient Mongolian nobles. It is also called "Woguituo", also known as "palace tent". Compared with ordinary yurts, this kind of yurt has three characteristics:
First, it has a large volume. An ordinary yurt is about thirteen or four feet high and five or six feet wide. In ancient times, Hanerduo was much taller. According to Rubuluqi's account: "They made these tents so big that they sometimes reached thirty feet wide. There was a cart with twenty-two oxen to pull a tent..." This kind of tent used twenty-two oxen. The giant yurt pulled by oxen is a highly expressive creation.
Secondly, the Hanerduo used by ancient nobles was magnificent. Xu Huo notes in "A Brief History of Black Tartars": "When Ting arrived at the grassland, he set up a golden tent, which was made into a large felt tent in the grassland. The top and bottom were made of felt for clothes, and the middle was made of willow for transparent windows, and more than a thousand threads were used to drag them. The threshold and pillars are all wrapped in gold, hence the name. "The Secret History of Mongolia" says: "Wang Khan erected a golden tent without any hesitation." The tent is made of fine wool cloth and is magnificent. The huge account. This kind of decorated palace tent is also called the "Golden Palace".
Thirdly, the shape of the palace tent is slightly different from that of the yurt. The shelves of the palace tent were made by inserting the uni into the hargas and erecting the hana. The shape is like a human neck. Rubulu begged to call Mengge Khan's palace "the house with neck hair". According to the "Crystal Mirror": "There is a tent in the Heavenly Palace called the Palace Tent." The upper part of the palace tent is in the shape of a gourd, which symbolizes fortune, prosperity and prosperity; the lower part is in the shape of a peach, which imitates the Heavenly Palace. The shape of this palace tent is still preserved in Genghis Khan's mausoleum. The palace tent has a brilliant golden roof, and the yurt is covered with yellow satin and decorated with a dark green tasseled roof. It is extremely gorgeous and reflects the unique architectural art of the Mongolian nation.
The long-term nomadic life has led Mongolian herdsmen to choose the most suitable residence - yurt. The yurt is spacious and comfortable inside. It is made of a special wooden frame as the "hana" (the fence support of the yurt), wrapped with two to three layers of wool felt, and then tied with ropes twisted from horsehair or camel hair. The top is made of "Wunai" as a support and covered with "Buluos" to form a canopy shape. Its circular spire has a skylight "Tao Nao", which is covered with four square wool felt "Wurihe", which can provide ventilation and lighting. It is easy to build, dismantle and move, and is suitable for rotational grazing and living.
The size of the yurt is distinguished by the number of "hana". It is usually divided into 4 hana, 8 hana, 10 hana and 12 hana. The 12-hana yurts are large yurts, which were rare on the grasslands in the past. But in recent years, it has come out many times at the Naadam Conference held by the Xilingol League.
The door of the package opens to the south. In the middle of the package due to the north is the seat of the elders or distinguished guests, to the west is the seat of the guests, to the east is the place where the family sits and cooks, and in the southeast is the stove. Nowadays, most herdsmen have two yurts, one for visiting people and the other for storage, cooking, tea and dairy products.
With the development of production and the improvement of herdsmen's living standards, many herdsmen have moved into brick houses and achieved settled nomadic life. Mongolian farmers and herdsmen in agricultural and semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral areas have generally lived in houses with brick and wood structures.