Why should the house face north and south? From two aspects
Sit north and face south, not only for lighting, but also to avoid the north wind. China's topography determines that its Qi is seasonal. There are cold currents from Northwest Asia in winter and cool breezes from the Pacific Ocean in summer. The wind direction changes throughout the year. There are records of wind measurement in oracle bone inscriptions. "Historical Records? Lu Ji" says: The wind in Buzhou is in the northwest, and it is October. Factory Mo Feng lives in the north, it's November. Tiaofeng lives in the northeast, in the first month. In the Ming Dynasty, the common people lived in the east, in February. The Qingming Festival winds in the southeast, in April. The scenery is in the south, in May. The cool breeze is in the southwest, in June. The wind is in the west in September.
There are differences between yin wind and yang wind. Momo Keguang Guoting recorded in "Di Xue Pi Nan": Pingyang is not afraid of wind, but there is a difference between yin and yang. The warm winds received from east to south are called yang winds, so there is no problem. There are cool and cold winds from west to north, which are called bright winds, unless there is a near case, otherwise the wind will blow cold to the bones, and the family fortune will decline. This means avoiding northwest winds.
The methods of expressing directions in landscape art include: first, taking the root of the five elements as east, fire as south, metal as west, water as north, and earth as middle; second, taking the height of Bagua as south , the ridge is the north, the earthquake is the east, and the surprise is the west. Third, take the calendar year A and Yi as the east, Bing and Ding as the south, Geng and Xin as the west, and Ren and Gui as the north. The child of the earthly branch is the north, and the noon is the south. Fourth, the east is the blue dragon, the west is the white tiger, the south is the red bird, and the north is the basalt. Or called: Qinglong on the left, White Tiger on the right, Suzaku in the front, Xuanwu in the back. To put it bluntly, the principle of sitting north and facing south is a correct understanding of natural phenomena, complying with the way of heaven, getting the aura of mountains and rivers, receiving the brilliance of the sun and moon, nourishing the body, cultivating sentiments, and making the land spiritual and outstanding.
Why do houses in our country face north and south? Why are they laid out like this? Chinese people have a habit of always facing north and south when buying a house. Some people call it "bedroom feng shui". Ancient temples and Taoist temples were built in deep mountains and dense forests, often backed by green mountains and facing green water. They are considered by the people to be "feng shui". "Feng Shui treasure land". And there is indeed some scientific truth to this. The back (north) is surrounded by green mountains, which can block the biting cold wind in winter and welcome the cool south wind in summer; the gurgling stream in front provides the necessary water source; and the dense forest of the skeleton mountain provides fresh air. Such a beautiful natural environment makes people living here feel relaxed and happy, and the solid rock foundation allows the buildings to last for hundreds of years without falling down.
Our country’s house habit of “facing north and facing south” also has its scientific reason. Our country is located in the northern hemisphere, and most of it is in the northern temperate zone. The sun mostly rises from east to south and sets from the west. In winter, the sun's altitude angle is smaller, and the doors and windows of the house face south, which allows more oblique sunlight to enter the room, thereby increasing the indoor temperature. In summer, when the sun's altitude angle increases, relatively less light enters through doors and windows, thus keeping the room cool. Furthermore, most of our country is located in the East Asian monsoon zone. Houses facing south can avoid the direct sunlight in the hottest afternoon in mid-summer, and can avoid the cold northwest wind in mid-winter, thus preventing cold and keeping warm.
Why should the house face north and south? There are three reasons for choosing a north-south residence:
1. Good lighting. "Zhao Jing" says that if the windows face the south, southeast or southwest, the indoor lighting will be better. The house facing south can make full use of the sun's rays and keep it warm in winter and cool in summer.
2. Good ventilation. Facing north and south will allow the house to have adequate air circulation.
3. Avoid the north wind. Facing north is not only for the light and ventilation of the house, but also to avoid the north wind. China is a country with a monsoon climate. Cold currents from Siberia are constantly blowing in winter, and cool breezes from the Pacific Ocean are gradually blowing in summer, causing the wind direction to change throughout the year.
The Chinese had a profound understanding of this a long time ago and divided wind into Yang wind and Yin wind. "Earth Science Guidance" says: "Pingyang is not afraid of wind, but there is a difference between yin and yang. The winds that go east and south are warm and warm, so it is no problem to call it yang wind. The winds that go west and north are cool and cold. The wind is called the dark wind, and it should be blocked by a nearby case, otherwise the wind will chill the bones. "It means to avoid the invasion of the northwest wind.
Generally speaking, homes facing southwest and northeast are not ideal choices for home buyers. Because in addition to poor lighting conditions, it is also easy to absorb damp substances in the air, which is harmful to human health.
In fact, it is not easy to find the direction facing south, so it is okay to use the south direction as the principle, and it is okay to tilt it slightly to the east or west.
If the house cannot be built facing south, it is necessary to install more windows on the south side, or open skylights, add lighting, heating equipment, and plant some flowers and plants on the north side to make up for it.
Due to the constraints of various conditions in modern inter-city transportation construction, it is impossible for all residences to adopt the north-south layout. However, many excellent architectural designers continue to design more ideal residential space environments for us. , effectively changing the problem of poor residential orientation to meet our desire for a healthy life.
Why does the emperor sit north and face south? Maybe everyone has the impression: in TV dramas, the emperor always sits north and south, and the main god in the temple also sits north and south. Why? Maybe you think the reason is very simple, because according to the relationship between direction and superiority in the Chinese etiquette system, the order of directions from superiority to inferiority is south, west, northeast. Of course, the emperor, as the emperor, must face south. What kind of problem is this? Why should Nan be respected? I can’t answer it right. We have to start with the Book of Changes. As soon as the Book of Changes is mentioned, some people will definitely not like to hear it, saying that it is feudal superstition. In fact, a person who doesn't even know what the Book of Changes says blindly calls it superstition. This is the biggest superstition: what is it called...subjective idealism. In fact, the Book of Changes itself contains many scientific theories and is a summary of the experience of the ancient working people in their long-term production practice. As for your question about whether it is accurate to use it to tell fortunes, in theory it should be accurate, because in fact it uses a method similar to dialectical materialism. This is different from the fortune telling you usually see. As for why, I won’t go into details here. Let’s talk about why the Book of Changes is called “The Book of Changes”. In fact, to be precise, it is called "Yi". The reason why it is added with "经" is because it is in the Jing department. This is also the case with the "Book of Songs". But I am very sorry that there is no classic book called "Moon" or "Yin" in Sutra. Let’s continue talking about “easy”. Nowadays, there are relatively few middle school Chinese teachers who are literate, so there are more students who are uneducated. This starts with the way to create characters: "Yi" actually means a day on the top and a month on the bottom. This is so vivid, the sun comes, the moon goes; the moon comes, the sun goes, the cycle starts over and over again. When ancient people wanted to express the meaning of "change", they naturally drew a sun and a moon to form a "Yi", which represents change. Let’s go a little further: Flowers don’t last forever, and the same goes for people, who can easily grow old in appearance. Appearance is "appearance", change is "easy", and the combination is "easy". It’s a word we use every day, but we didn’t expect it to contain such profound truth. As mentioned earlier, "Yi" means the alternating changes of the sun and the moon. Therefore, what is stated in the Book of Changes is also the law of change of things, and it is a relatively complete philosophical system. Ancient people have long recognized that the development of things is a process of movement, from the budding stage to the initial stage, reaching the peak and then declining, until death, and then starting the next cycle. In fact, to be precise, the ancients believed that the development of things generally does not exceed six processes (so a hexagram has six lines, which are divided into yin and yang, and 2 to the 6th power is equal to 64, so the eight, eight and sixty-four hexagrams are derived). Because this article mainly solves the ranking problem in four directions, it is simplified to four directions. When things are in their budding stage, they are like the sun at six o'clock, which begins to rise gradually from the east; things continue to develop and reach their peak, just like the sun at 12 o'clock in the south; after the sun reaches its highest point, it begins to set slowly. It is also the so-called declining stage of things. By six o'clock in the evening, the sun is no longer so fierce; in the last stage, the sun disappears in the north. From such an analysis, we can easily conclude that the south is the best and the north is the worst. So how are east and west sorted? East is the process of turning from yin to yang, and is itself yin; West is the process of turning from yang to yin, and is itself yang. This is in line with the saying "a skinny camel is bigger than a horse". So there is no objection that the West should respect the East. At this point: the order of honor and inferiority in the direction of south, west, northeast has been determined. In addition, we also noticed that for people sitting north and facing south, the west of the second most honored person is on their right hand. This is also in line with the principle of "the right is superior and the left is inferior" followed in most cases in Chinese etiquette. However, the relationship between left and right is more complicated. For example, when riding in a car, the left is respected for a carriage, and the right is respected for a chariot. This will not be discussed in detail here. Finally, I would like to point out that some data point out that the direction is "North is respected and South is humble". This is a statement that can easily cause misunderstanding among modern people. He said that noble people should sit in the north, not that north is the direction of honor.
Just imagine if south is the lowest position, how could the emperor's face (yang side) be facing such an unlucky position?
Why should the courtyard face the south? From a cultural background, this is closely related to the thoughts of the Book of Changes. "The sage faces the south, listens to the world, and governs toward the Ming." ("Book of Changes? Shuo Gua") The so-called "governing toward the Ming" means "governing toward the sun." This formed the unique "south-facing culture" of ancient China. Even the directions on the map are up-south, down-north, left-east, right-west, because it faces south and is drawn by looking down at the geography. As for the buildings, most of them are built facing south. In fact, this is related to the specific geographical environment in which China is located. China is located in the middle and low latitudes of the northern hemisphere, and the sun shines from the south most of the time, which determines the direction of people's lighting. Then the consciousness of "facing south" was formed. The "living facing south" theory in Feng Shui is this cultural pattern formed by the influence of geographical environment. In addition, due to the prevailing northerly wind in most parts of China in winter and the prevailing southeasterly wind in summer, this has affected the formation of the "sitting north and facing south" pattern from one side. Under the influence of Feng Shui theory, a highly functional environmental model, the best orientation choice for courtyard buildings is to face north and south.
In ancient times, why was it "respected to sit north and face south"? The ancient hierarchical system was strict, and left and right were one of the signs of distinction between superior and inferior, and were commonly practiced in various etiquettes. Because when the monarch receives court from his ministers, he sits facing south, left to east and right to west, and his ministers stand to the north, left to west and right to east. The courtiers are arranged in a row from the highest to the lowest according to their official positions. If the person with the highest official position is in the east, and the person with the lowest position is in the west, then Respect the right and despise the left; otherwise, respect the left and despise the right.
Which of the "left" and "right" is respected varies from generation to generation. According to the historical records, the situation is as follows:
During the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, court officials respected the left; Yan drink, evil events, In military affairs, respect the right. During the Warring States Period, court officials respected the left; those in the military respected the right. Qin Zunzuo. In the Han Dynasty, the right was respected. In the Six Dynasties, officials respected the left, and Yan Yin respected the right. The left was respected in the Tang, Song, Ming and Qing dynasties, and the right was respected in the Yuan Dynasty. Generally, in festive activities, the left side is honored, and in condolences for serious injuries, the right side is honored.
"Yi Zhou Shu. Wu Shun": "The way of heaven moves to the left, and the sun and moon move to the west." (The tradition of Gong Zuo originated from the observation of the movement of celestial bodies). "Zuo Zhuan. The eighth year of Duke Huan": "Chu people went to Zuo". "Historical Records. The Family of Prime Minister Chen": "Jianghou Bo was the prime minister on the right, ranking second. He moved to the left and became the prime minister on the left, ranking second.". "Book of Han. Biography of Zhou Chang": "Zuo Qian" Yan Shigu's note: "At that time, the right was respected and the left was despised, so it was said that the rank was demoted to Zuo Qian." (Explanation that in the Han Dynasty, the right was respected). "Rat Pu" written by Dai Wei of the Song Dynasty: "The Han respects the right. It is said that being demoted means moving to the left, serving the princes is called the left official, and holding high positions is called the right post." Li Bai of the Tang Dynasty wrote a poem "I heard that Wang Changling moved to the left and Long Biaoyuan sent this message", which notes: "In the Tang Dynasty, the left side should be respected. In this title, 'Zuo Qian' refers to demotion, which is an idiom of the Han Dynasty, and the right side is respected. ” (The Tang Dynasty respected the left, but people are accustomed to referring to people who were demoted as “moving to the left” because the idioms of the Han Dynasty were carried over to the Tang Dynasty). Qian Daxin of the Qing Dynasty wrote "New Record of the Development of Shijia Zhai. Left and Right": "The examination room: Mongolian and Semu people call it Youbang; *** and Southern people call it Zuobang. Also, the right is the top." (Mongolians are still on the right) < /p>
Chinese culture has a long history and is composed of the cultures of many ethnic groups and regions. The "left" and "right" are different in ancient and modern times and in different situations. In modern times, the respect for "Left" was mainly formed since the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Why did the emperor sit north and face south? He sat north and south mainly because the house faced north and south. China is located in the northern hemisphere, and the sun is in the south most of the year. From the perspective of lighting, the door should face south. In a courtyard, this is also the best location. Therefore, facing south is considered the most noble position. View original post >>
Why do most houses in China face north and south? Because they can receive more sunlight and make the house brighter. According to Feng Shui, if there is a shrine in the hall of your home, it must be facing south. People should face north to worship.