A paper on the longevity culture of the Shijia Courtyard
Abstract: Combined with traditional Chinese culture, this paper introduces the "longevity" culture of the Shijia Courtyard in Yangliuqing, Tianjin, and elaborates on the "longevity" culture respectively. The use of the word "longevity" in carvings, doors and windows reflects the "longevity" culture and expresses the thoughts and wishes of the owner of the compound in pursuing longevity and health, which has certain guiding significance for contemporary architectural design.
Keywords: ancient architecture, traditional culture, sculpture, doors and windows
Health and longevity are the eternal themes of five thousand years of Chinese culture, and we are still in the traditional In the "magnetic field" of longevity culture. In traditional Chinese society, people regard the realization of the "Five Blessings" of "happiness, wealth, longevity, joy, and wealth" as the highest state of life, and the five blessings and longevity are the first, highlighting the extraordinary status of "longevity" in the hearts of Chinese people. The ancient Chinese expressed their pursuit of longevity in various ways. "Shou" has been integrated into the representation of various elements of Chinese traditional culture, such as Chinese ceramics, furniture, clothing, embroidery, paper-cutting, and even cars and sedans used for travel. Ancient Chinese architecture is an important carrier of the expression and inheritance of traditional Chinese culture. It is common to decorate, design and even plan with the theme of "longevity". "Longevity" has become a characteristic culture that affects ancient Chinese architecture. The emergence of "longevity" is closely related to Chinese traditional culture, and there are many details about the connection between longevity and architecture.
The ruling class in ancient China was obsessed with longevity. There were countless emperors in history who pursued immortality. Although they cannot occupy a high position and enjoy life as supremely as the royal family, people's desire for longevity is not the same. Both the educated scholar-bureaucrats and the people at the bottom of society expressed their expectations and expressed their desire for longevity through the design, construction and decoration of their residences.
The Shijia Courtyard is a representative residential building in Yangliuqing, a thousand-year-old town. It is the residence of Shi Yuanshi, one of the eight famous families in Tianjin. The large-scale construction of the Shijia Courtyard began in the early years of Guangxu (1875) and took more than ten years to complete. The main building of the theater and living room alone cost 300,000 taels of silver. Now it is a restored model of the Shi family, covering an area of With an area of ??more than 8,300 square meters, a construction area of ??about 3,000 square meters, and 18 courtyards, it is a well-preserved and unique large-scale Qing Dynasty residential house in North China. The entire building is made of bluestone with high platforms and polished brick joints. The ridge peaks and steep gables are decorated with brick carvings; the stone carvings of pillars and drums are exquisite; the wood carvings on doors, windows, partitions, capitals, sparrows, and hanging flower doors are exquisite. It is even more exquisite and clear, and the carved patterns are popular among the people. Strolling through the Shi Family Courtyard, you will find a rich cultural atmosphere everywhere, which makes people think deeply. The clever use of "longevity" culture everywhere reflects the good wishes of the owner of the courtyard for health and longevity.
The most direct manifestation of the "Shou" culture is the use of the word "Shou". Before entering the courtyard, when we stopped at the entrance of the courtyard, we could see the wide gate of Shifu. The four large door hairpins above the door showed the status of the owner of the courtyard; the door hairpins were engraved with the words "Fu, Lu, The four characters "longevity and happiness" express the beautiful yearning and wishes of the owner of the hospital. The four characters "longevity" are also engraved on the hairpin of the first hanging flower door in the courtyard, which further reflects this wish. The Shijia Courtyard has the largest theater among northern residential buildings, which is rare among residential buildings in the country. Most of the theater building is made of wood. The roof of the theater building is cleverly designed. The outside is sealed with an iron sheet and copper rivets are used to rivet it into a seal script with the Chinese character "Da Shou", which means longevity. The design of the hospital owner not only reflects his own wishes for health and longevity, but also extends this auspicious blessing to all the distinguished guests who come to the Shifu Theater to listen to the opera, so that they can also enjoy longevity. Another manifestation of "longevity" is sculpture. In ancient China, many gods, animals, and plants were regarded as symbols of longevity. For example: longevity star, Magu, crane, peach, pine tree, Ganoderma lucidum, turtle, etc. The characteristic of the courtyard is its brick, wood and stone carvings.
Brick carvings:
1) Shanjianhua——Longevity and Longevity. On both sides of it are the words of a flying bat and flowers, and in the middle is the word "Longevity" in seal script. , there are three bats below, the middle one has auspicious clouds coming out of its mouth, cotton peaches are held in its mouths on both sides, and the bottom is lined with long knots. The homophonic pronunciation of bat and blessing, cotton and cotton means endless blessings and longevity.
2) The brick carving on the women’s living room is a phoenix playing a fairy peach. The phoenix represents women, and the fairy peach symbolizes longevity, and is used to bless women’s health and longevity.
3) The Five Blessings are dedicated to longevity. In the middle of the square brick, there is a round longevity character in seal script, surrounded by five bats of different shapes in the middle and around it. The five blessings are longevity, wealth, health, good virtue, and kao. Ending one's life means taking care as the foundation and five blessings will come to you.
4) The phoenix with Ganoderma lucidum in its title symbolizes blessings of good fortune, health and longevity.
Wood carvings:
1) The three types of wood above the first hanging flower gate are respectively carved with "Phoenix Falling Wutong", "Crane and Deer Spring Together" and "Song and Crane Prolong the Year".
2) In the wooden grid above the second hanging flower gate are nine wooden cranes. It is said that the cranes live for thousands of years, so they are named Tuanhe Xianshou. There are peaches, pomegranates and bergamot carved on both sides of the vertical pillar, which symbolize long life, many children and many blessings.
3) On the wooden grid above the third hanging flower gate, there are continuous characters of longevity and a pattern of bats and money at the bottom, which form "good fortune and longevity".
Stone carvings:
1) Inside the two drum-holding stones in the middle of the first hanging flower gate are cranes and deers that spring together. Cranes are regarded as immortal birds of "longevity and auspiciousness", and deer symbolize Happy and long life, the bamboo forest means spring, which means happy and long life, the world is spring.
2) At the drainage ditch eye, the carved bat holds peaches, pomegranates, and panlong in its mouth, which means longevity and longevity, and blessings are in front of you.
3) The stone carvings holding drums at the back door of the courtyard have the pattern of cranes and deers springing together. In the Shijia courtyard, there are many large and small doors and windows. Of course, the owner will not miss this good opportunity to hope for a long life.
On many doors and windows, there are also expressions of "Shou":
1) The word "Shou" on the window edge;
2) Leading from the inner accounting room The turtle-back pattern door in the east courtyard;
3) The gate through the mountain means "receiving blessings" and "prolonging life";
4) The Yongkang Gate means health and longevity.
The word "longevity" injects infinite wonderful passion into the Chinese nation's pursuit of exuberance and longevity in life. Chinese people’s pursuit of longevity is ubiquitous and present at all times. "Shou" is a beautiful desire, a desire for life, an eternal hymn, and a line of wisdom.
References:
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[2] Yin Wei, Yin Feiran. Chinese longevity culture[M]. Kunming: Yunnan People's Publishing House, 2005. ;