Roof Tiles

 

 

 

This image from a Ming dynasty manual shows how roof tiles are formed using a round circular wooden mold.

Can you match the activities in this print to those pictures below?

 

Woodblock print showing how tiles are made

SOURCE:  Sung, Yingxing (b. 1587) Tian gong kai wu. (Beijing: Zhonghua shuzhu, Xinhua shudian zongjing xiao, 1959), vol. 2, leaf 5.

Woodblock print showing how tiles are made.

This method is still used today throughout China.

Some automation of the process has made more tile styles available.

After a flat rectangular piece of clay has been formed to the desired shape, it is placed on a wooden mold which has been covered with a moistened cloth.

 

What do you think the block at the bottom of the picture is used for?

 

ANSWER:  Clay is rolled and given a general shape on this block, before it is placed on a mold.
SOURCE:  Photograph courtesy of Ronald G. Knapp, 1987, Shifuxiang, Zhejiang Province

The mold is mounted on a wheel, so the clay can be smoothed quickly to a uniform shape and size.

After the clay has been placed on the mold, it is tamped into shape.

SOURCE:  Photograph courtesy of Ronald G. Knapp, 1987, Li village, Jiande xian, Zhejiang Province
SOURCE:  Photograph courtesy of Ronald G. Knapp, 1987, Li village, Jiande xian, Zhejiang Province

The wooden frame is taken out, and the cylinders of clay are left to air dry. After the clay has dried, it is broken into four segments. These are then fired in a kiln.

Look at the roofs of other houses in the Homes section, especially at the eaves. You can see the undulating line of roof tiles. 

How would the tiles at the left be arranged on a roof for maximum protection?

 
SOURCE:  Photograph courtesy of Ronald G. Knapp, 1988, Shuanglin zhen, Huzhou shi, Zhejiang Province