What is a parapet and how did it get its name?

1. What is a parapet wall?

The parapet wall (also known as: granddaughter wall) is a low wall around the roof of a building. In addition to maintaining safety, its main function is also to Install waterproof bricks everywhere to prevent water seepage from the waterproof layer or flooding of the roof with rainwater. Building regulations stipulate that the height of the upper roof parapet should generally not be less than 1.1m, and the maximum should not be more than 1.5m.

The parapet is the low wall surrounding the roof of a building. It is a form of building wall. It was first called a female wall, also known as a female wall. Its actual name is an eaves wall, and it is also called a battlement among the people.

The parapet contains the meaning of peeping. It is a stack of walls built on the city wall to imitate the "looking" shape of a woman, so it later evolved into a special term for architecture. It specifically refers to the low wall where the outer wall of a house is higher than the roof. We can still see it in the existing ancient buildings of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. 2. The origin of the parapet wall

Origin 1: Legend has it that an ancient bricklayer was busy at work and had to take his young daughter with him. One day while building the parapet wall, the daughter accidentally fell. House died. The craftsman was heartbroken. In order to prevent the tragedy from happening again, he built a low wall on the roof, which was later named "parapet".

Origin 2: The parapet wall is also called the horse head wall and the ugly wall. Most of the ancient buildings in southern Anhui are made of wooden materials. In our ancestors' buildings, bricks and stones were used to build a separation wall from bottom to top. The top of the wall was higher than the roof ridge for fire protection.

Origin 3: In the past, when building houses, there were often material shortages and financial constraints. Only materials dismantled from old houses could be used, which affected the appearance, and for fear of being laughed at, parapets were used to cover the surrounding roof. , to cover the old materials

4. "Ci Yuan" says this, there are small concave and convex walls on the city wall; "Shi Ming Shi Gong Shi": "The wall on the city is called Su Tui,... also "Nvqiang" means that women in ancient times were humble and had no status, so it was used to describe the small concave and convex walls on the city wall. This is the origin of the name "Parapet Wall". .

Song Dynasty's "Building Fa Shi" said that "it is humble, compared to the city as a woman is to her husband," which is the upper part of the city wall. Chapter 51 of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" writes: "Only the empty flags on the side of the female wall were seen, and no one was guarding them." The word "nu wall" here refers to the continuous concave and convex tooth shape built on the outside of the top of the city wall. A low wall is used to protect the defenders when attacking the enemy. Some crenels have observation holes in the upper part for watching incoming enemies, and ventilation holes in the lower part.

Later, the parapet was also called "睥稨", which refers to the small wall on the top of the city wall. It was built on the inside of the top of the city wall. It was generally lower than the crenellations and served as a barrier. It was built on the city wall. The other wall is "the daughter of the city wall". "Ancient and Modern Theory" records: "The parapet is also known as the small wall on the city, and it is said that it is used to spy on people on the city." It can be seen that the parapet is not only related to spying on people, but also has another explicit name. , but the word "睥睷" is too vague and not as subtle as "parapet", so later the name "parapet" became more popular. 3. The role of the parapet wall

1. The parapet wall plays the role of roof enclosure.

2. The parapet can enable organized drainage of the roof

3. The parapet plays a decorative role in the building.

Do you have more opinions on the origin and allusions of the parapet wall? Welcome to leave a message!