I don't need to say much about the first category, but a lot has been said about the second category upstairs, and the third category can't be said casually.
in other words, the three characteristics come together.
it goes without saying that the imperial city shows the royal cultural tradition.
The people's city shows the folk cultural tradition, and there are all kinds of undertakings of eating, drinking and having fun.
The mysterious city hides rooms, Taoist priests, real people, etc. Of course, it is difficult to explain.
Traditional culture with Beijing characteristics
(Siheyuan) is an inner courtyard house surrounded by houses in the east, west, south and north. Beijing quadrangles, as the main architectural form that old Beijingers have lived in for generations, are well-known at home and abroad and are well known all over the world. First of all, it has a long history. Since the official capital of Beijing was established in Yuan Dynasty and the capital was planned and built on a large scale, quadrangles have appeared at the same time as palaces, offices, blocks, lanes and hutongs in Beijing. According to Xiong Mengxiang's "Analysis of Jin Zhi" at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, "Dadu Street system is called the classics from south to north, and the latitude from east to west. The street is 24 steps wide, with 384 long lanes and 29 lanes. " Secondly, the composition of quadrangles is unique. Its courtyard is spacious and spacious, the houses on all sides are independent, and there are verandas connecting each other, which is very convenient for living; Closed houses make quadrangles have strong privacy, and closed doors come from heaven and earth; In the courtyard, all four doors open to the courtyard, and the family and the United States are happy; The spacious courtyard can also plant trees and flowers, feed birds and fish, and stack rocks and scenery, so that residents can enjoy the beauty of nature. In addition, although quadrangles are residential buildings, they contain profound cultural connotations and are the carriers of Chinese traditional culture. The construction of quadrangles pays great attention to geomantic omen and geomantic omen theory, which is actually the architectural environmentology of ancient China and an important part of China's traditional architectural theory. The decoration, carving and painting of quadrangles also reflect folk customs and traditional culture everywhere, showing people's pursuit of happiness, beauty, affluence and auspiciousness, such as the pattern composed of bats and longevity characters, which means "both longevity and happiness"; The pattern of Chinese rose flowers in the vase means "peace in the four seasons"; The auspicious words embedded in the door hairpin and the door head, the couplets attached to the pillars, and the masterpieces of calligraphy and painting hanging indoors are the ancient teachings of sages and philosophers, adopting famous sentences from ancient times to modern times, or praising the beauty of mountains and rivers, or learning to live in the world, or chanting the ambition of a swan, which is elegant and full of rich cultural atmosphere, like a hall of traditional culture in China.
Many people study quadrangles and solidify them in Beijing. In fact, the architectural tradition of China is a quadrangle culture. If you visit the Qiao Family Courtyard and Pingyao Ancient City, you will find that even businessmen in China's history follow the humanistic philosophy based on Confucian philosophy. In Suzhou Gardens, people experienced the architectural philosophy created by China's cultural management in the past dynasties in the marvelous picturesque and dreamlike craftsmanship. After visiting Suzhou Gardens with a foreign architect, we were amazed at the conclusion. He said: The truly great buildings are not produced by architects, but created by philosophers, thinkers and scholars. Just like this garden in front of us, it is essentially a home, or a study, or an ancient office, and it is like a garden, which can become the representative of oriental culture. If we look at it as a home, people will forget that there are several living rooms and bedrooms in this home, or their size and height, so that they can appreciate the scenery in the garden. If we look at it as a garden, the houses hidden in the scenery and the furnishings in the houses are the best portrayal of the owner's spirit and soul. Qi Baishi, a great prize in China's painting circle, once said that the beauty of things lies in the similarity and dissimilarity, and there is no skill, or that "there is no sword in hand, but there is a sword in heart" written in Jin Yong's martial arts novels, which is the best grade and realm.
China has been modernized, but the old houses have been demolished. Beijing is more and more like new york, Hongkong and Tokyo, but people don't know why they miss the life in the courtyard so much. In the past, quadrangles allowed ordinary people to live and work in peace and contentment.
There is a truth. Nowadays, the rich people in the world are converging. The rich people in China and the United States all wear amani and Louis Vuitton, but the unique culture is often passed down by what we call the poor. This is why so many foreigners like to visit hutongs in Beijing, and Old Town of Lijiang has become the Shangri-La of mankind.
Ordinary people are like this. In the past, quadrangles were big enough to accommodate the nobles of the palace. In fact, when we think about it carefully, our Forbidden City is a big quadrangle. Our Beijing is a civilized ancient capital strung together by many quadrangles with hutong as gold thread. Therefore, some people say that the cultural essence of quadrangles is hutong culture.
The ancient quadrangles in China have unparalleled modern significance not only in architecture, but also in culture, philosophy and spirit.
Now the quadrangle has really become a treasure in the ivory tower. People who can live there have more than wealth ... We have made several sets of foreign quadrangles in Happiness Village, or new quadrangles, and pursued such a feeling in the imagination of foreign architects in the modern urban center, such a feeling of collision, integration and sublimation of Chinese and Western cultures.
quadrangles have a long history in China. According to the analysis of existing cultural relics, quadrangle-style buildings appeared as early as 2, years ago.
In the course of historical development, China people especially like quadrangles, which are not only used in palaces, temples and government offices, but also widely used in local houses.
However, whenever people mention quadrangles, they will naturally think of Beijing quadrangles. Why?
This is a typical quadrangle in Beijing. Among all kinds of quadrangles, Beijing quadrangle can represent its main features.
First of all, the central courtyard of Beijing Siheyuan is basically a square in plan, but some houses in other areas are not.
For example, the courtyard of quadrangles in Shanxi and Shaanxi is a vertical rectangle that is long from north to south and narrow from east to west, while the courtyard of quadrangles in Sichuan and other places is mostly a horizontal rectangle that is long from east to west and narrow from north to south.
Secondly, the houses in the east, west, south and north directions of Beijing Siheyuan are independent, and the east and west wing rooms are not connected with the main building and the inverted building itself. Moreover, all the houses such as the main building, the wing room and the inverted building are on the first floor, and there are no buildings, only the verandah at the corner connects these houses.
In this way, Beijing Siheyuan looks like a courtyard surrounded by four small boxes from the air.
In many quadrangles in the south, the houses around are mostly buildings, and at the four corners of the courtyard, the houses are connected, and the houses on the east, west, north and south do not exist independently. Therefore, southerners call the courtyard "patio", which shows that the courtyard in the south of the Yangtze River is as small as a "well", which inevitably reminds people of the idioms of "frog in the well" and "sitting in the well and watching the sky".
Beijing quadrangle is a veritable courtyard, spacious and open, with plenty of sunshine and a wide field of vision.
In the feudal society, where the young and the old are in order and there are differences in seniority, the allocation of residence in Beijing quadrangles is very strict, and the principal rooms with superior positions in the courtyards must be occupied by the older generation of grandfathers and wives.
only one of the three rooms in the north room opens to the outside, which is called a main room. The two rooms on both sides only open the door to the hall, forming a suite, which becomes a bright and dark pattern. The main hall is a place for family members to live, entertain relatives or offer sacrifices to their ancestors on New Year's Day, with more bedrooms on both sides.
The bedrooms on the east and west sides are also divided into the superior and the inferior. Under the system of polygamy, the eastern side is the superior, living in the main room, and the western side is the inferior, living in the wing.
East and west wing rooms-can be opened singly or communicated with the main room, and are generally used as bedrooms or study rooms. The east wing and the west wing are occupied by the younger generation. The wing is also bright and dark, with a living room in the middle and bedrooms on both sides.
you can also divide a room on the south side and use it as a kitchen or dining room. Back cover room-quadrangles of medium-sized or above often have back military rooms or back cover buildings, which are mainly for unmarried women or maids to live in.
To be exact, in the past, old Beijingers referred to all kinds of animals they liked to keep and enjoy as "playthings", but seldom used the most popular word "pets".
There are quite a few pets in quadrangles in old Beijing, which can be roughly divided into four categories: birds, insects, fish and mammals. Keeping pets is not only a hobby of old Beijingers, but also an important part of quadrangle culture. What people get from enjoying pets is a spiritual pleasure and enjoyment, which makes life in quadrangles more interesting.
Let's talk about bird pets first. There are more than a dozen birds and birds that are often kept in old Beijing. What thrush, lark, yellowbird, jade bird, parrot, starling, lovebird, wenbird, pigeon, etc., only parrots are divided into three categories according to their body shape, and the most common ones are budgerigar, small colorful parrot and sunflower parrot. The most euphemistic song is the yellow bird, also called Oriole. Although it is small in size, it sounds crisp and pleasant, and it can imitate the calls of mountain magpies, red sons and crickets. Because it is easier to feed, there are more people in quadrangles. Myna is often seen for its clever words, and it is favored by the elderly who are a few years old. Putting a myna under the eaves will bark at everyone, and it will not be fun to learn a few words.
People in quadrangles keep birds for fun. Every morning, before people get up, the birds call early, and the crisp calls make the small quadrangles full of vitality, so the first thing people do when they get up is to walk the birds. In fact, walking the bird is not just a "fresh air" for the bird, but mainly to train the bird and teach it some small skills for viewing and entertainment. People who like to keep birds pay special attention to the choice of bird cages, such as bamboo cages, purple lacquer cages and wicker cages. Some people carry one in each hand, and some people carry two in each hand, or gently move up and down, or slowly swing left and right. Many people often get together to compete for "share": whose bird is more beautiful, whose cage is unique, whose voice is good, and whose flowers are more lively.
Among the birds' pets, pigeons are kept in quadrangles. In the past, when walking on the streets of Beijing, you often heard the whistle of pigeons. Looking up at the blue sky, you will see the pigeons passing by with the wind, setting off with ancient trees, red walls, hutongs and old yards, forming a harmonious and peaceful picture, which is actually a scene of Beijing. Keeping pigeons is different from keeping other birds. Keeping other birds is fun to watch and sing, while keeping pigeons is fun to fly. Old Beijingers used to call raising pigeons "playing with pigeons", which is very particular.
Let's start with thirty or forty kinds of pigeons. The most famous ones are Dianzi, Huaner, Heier and Winger. Some pigeons are all white, with only a small piece of black or purple color on their heads. A ring-shaped pigeon has a circle of other coat colors around its neck. The black pigeon is black from beginning to end. The winged pigeon has a special color on its wings. Pigeons are good or bad not only by their coat color, but also by their endurance in flying and their somersaults. Some pigeons can turn a series of somersaults in the air, some can fly from hundreds of miles away and fly back soon. This is a really good pigeon. There is no distinction between noble and noble pigeons in quadrangles. Pigeonlovers often gather together to learn skills and often fly in dozens of miles together to see whose pigeons fly back first.
Beijingers like to keep birds, which not only helps to create a Le Er, but also has the function of nourishing the heart and keeping fit. In the past, there was a saying: "If you keep birds and walk them, you will walk birds and practice people. If you broaden your mind and grow stronger, your life will be bright. Therefore, whether it is a literati, a famous actress in a pear garden, a driver or a worker, they all have a hobby of keeping birds, making birds and birds the most kept pets in quadrangles.
Speaking of playing with worms, it is also a Le Er for old Beijingers, and it is fun regardless of status. There are many kinds of insects, such as cricket, cricket, admiralty, smacking mouth, oil gourd, etc. Among them, cricket and cricket are the most popular.
First of all, it is a hobby of many people in the courtyard. In the past, after the wheat harvest, there began to appear in the hutongs selling grasshoppers. Most of the vendors put the crickets in cages made of straw or wheat straw. Cages are very fancy, round, square, octagonal and triangular. You can hear the crisp sound of Guo Guo from a distance, attracting many people from quadrangles to buy them. In Yanjing's Chronicle of Years Old, there is a description that "after May in the capital, there were bells peddling along the street, each with only one or two articles". Most of these grasshoppers come from Yixian and Laishui, Hebei Province. One is that they are big, and the other is that their calls are crisp and pleasant. People in quadrangles rarely buy one, but mostly buy two. One is that old Beijingers have the habit of pairing, and the two are lucky numbers. The other is that they can play with each other and scream more happily. Most of the cages bought are hung on the eaves, lintels, grape stands or begonia trees in front of the window or yard. Since then, the chirping of Guo Guo Er has become the most beautiful voice in the courtyard, and it can always be called to beginning of winter.
Beijingers have a lot of stress on raising Guo Guo Er. First, they should choose the top-grade Guo Guo Er, and pay attention to the whole tail and pleasant sound. Second, the color is positive and the appearance is good. Generally, black, green and blue are selected. The third is to be active and love to jump. The more lively and playful the slugs, the more popular they are. According to the season, there are summer and autumn. Before "beginning of autumn", there are summer slugs, and after "beginning of autumn", there are autumn slugs. Those who are well-nourished can keep them until the middle of winter. In the past, some people with money or status in quadrangles would go hundreds of miles to Hebei, Shandong and even Northeast China to buy a top-grade slug. And Guo Guo Er cages are also exquisite. The first-class Guo Guo Er cages are made of gourds, with carved flowers, carved flowers and hot flowers on the outside. Most of the designs are quaint mascots, such as Songhe Yannian, Fu Lu Shou Xi, Mei Lan Zhu Ju, etc., which are simple and elegant and can yet be regarded as a work of art.
Besides, cricket, also known as cricket or cricket promoter, has become a common custom of playing cricket in quadrangles every autumn in the old days. From princes and nobles to ordinary people, fighting cricket has its advantages. However, in the past, most ordinary Beijingers raised crickets instead of gambling. Fighting was just a pleasure. Even hanging a little "Xiang Er" was just a pack of cigarettes and half a catty of "mixed candy", and there were very few big bets. Although crickets are small, they are also fastidious. The same is fighting cricket, which is also divided into three grades in the courtyard. The worst is just a few children squatting in their own yards or doorways fighting cricket for fun. The utensils are nothing more than enamel crocks and glass bottles, and all the crickets are not fine goods, but mostly coffin plates and old rice mouths that they caught themselves. Medium is that some literati fight cricket at home, mainly for entertainment, and make friends with cricket. The best are dignitaries, who often set up cases in quadrangles and invite some friends and guests to get together to enrich their taste, but when fighting, they often hang gambling.
most of the crickets played by Beijingers are the ones with black teeth and yellow teeth from Dezhou, Shandong Province, and the ones with black teeth and green backs from Ningyang. There are also "Cricket Cricket on the Voldemort" from Sujiatuo in the northwest suburb of Beijing, "Shrimp Head Green" from Heilongtan and "Green Matou" from Fushouling in Shijingshan. The fun of raising crickets lies in their fighting and singing. When cricket fights, it pays attention to using "tricks" such as clip, hook, flash, dodge, hug, hoop, bite, pinch and roll. Raising crickets requires pots, and fighting crickets also requires pots, and they are extremely particular. Ordinary people in quadrangles often raise animals in wooden cages and bamboo cages, and when fighting, they often use clay pots or clay pots. The general fighting of cricket is not attractive, but the good cricket is not, and its titles are also beautiful: General Wing Zhen, Marshal Red Beard, Big Mac, Invincible King, and Spotted.