But now the courtyard houses have real
But now the courtyard houses have really become treasures in the ivory tower. People who can live there have more than just wealth... We have built several sets of foreign courtyard houses in Xingfu Village, or new ones. Siheyuan, in the modern urban center, pursues that kind of feeling in the imagination of foreign architects, that kind of feeling of collision, integration and sublimation of Chinese and Western cultures.
Siheyuan has a long history in China. According to the analysis of existing cultural relics, buildings in the form of Siheyuan appeared as early as more than 2,000 years ago.
In the process of historical development, the Chinese people particularly loved the architectural form of the courtyard. Not only palaces, temples, and government officials used courtyards, but they were also widely used in residential buildings everywhere.
However, whenever people mention courtyard houses, they will naturally think of Beijing courtyard houses. Why is this?
This is the regular form of the Beijing courtyard house, which is very typical. Among all kinds of courtyard houses, the Beijing courtyard house can represent its main characteristics.
First of all, the central courtyard of a Beijing courtyard is basically a square in plan view, while some residential buildings in other areas are not like this.
For example, the courtyards of courtyard houses in Shanxi and Shaanxi are a vertical rectangle that is long from north to south and narrow from east to west. However, the courtyards of courtyard houses in Sichuan and other places are mostly horizontal rectangles that are long from east to west and narrow from north to south.
Secondly, the houses in the east, west, south and north directions of the Beijing courtyard are independent. The east and west wing rooms are not connected to the main house and the reverse building itself, and the main house and side rooms are not connected to each other. , reverse seats, etc. All the houses are one-story, without buildings. The only thing connecting these houses is the verandah at the corner.
In this way, when viewed from the air, Beijing’s courtyard houses look like four small boxes enclosing a courtyard.
As for the courtyard houses in many areas in the south, most of the houses on the four sides are buildings, and the houses are connected at the four corners of the courtyard. The houses on the east, west, north and south sides do not exist independently. Therefore, southerners call courtyards "patio". It can be seen that the courtyards in Jiangnan are as small as a "well", which inevitably reminds people of the idioms of "frog at the bottom of the well" and "sitting in a well and looking at the sky".
Beijing’s quadrangle courtyard is a veritable courtyard, spacious and open, with ample sunlight and a wide view.
In a feudal society where elders and younger ones were organized and distinctions were distinguished between seniority and inferiority, the allocation of residences in the inner houses of Beijing courtyards was very strict. The principal rooms in the inner houses with superior positions and prominent positions were all given to the masters and wives of the older generation. live.
Only the middle one of the three rooms in the north room opens to the outside and is called the main room. The two rooms on both sides only open to the main room, forming suites, forming a pattern of one light and two dark. The main room is a place where family members live, entertain relatives, or worship ancestors during festivals. There are multiple bedrooms on both sides.
The bedrooms on the east and west sides are also distinguished by superiority and inferiority. Under the polygamy system, the east side is the superior and is occupied by the main room, while the west side is the inferior and is occupied by the side room.
The east and west wing rooms can have single doors or can be connected to the main room. They are generally used as bedrooms or studies. The east and west wing rooms are occupied by younger generations. The wing rooms are also light and dark. The middle room is a living room and the two sides are bedrooms.
You can also divide the room on the south side and use it as a kitchen or dining room. Back-house - medium-sized or larger quadrangles often have back military rooms or back-houses, mainly for women or maids who have not left the pavilion.
To be precise, in the past, old Beijingers mostly called the various animals they liked to raise and play with as "playthings", and rarely used the most popular word "pets" nowadays.
Speaking of the many pets in old Beijing courtyard houses, they can be roughly divided into four categories: birds, insects, fish, and beasts. Keeping pets is not only a hobby of old Beijingers, but also an important part of courtyard culture. What people get from playing with pets is spiritual pleasure and enjoyment, which makes life in the courtyard more interesting.
Let’s talk about bird pets first. There are more than a dozen kinds of birds and birds that were often raised in old Beijing.
Before changing the water, let the water sit in the sun for three to five days, then use a scoop to transfer the fish in the fish basin to another fish basin, and then drain the water in the fish basin, especially the fish feces and dirt. , then put in the dried water, and then pour the fish in. Fishing for fish worms means going to nearby ponds and reed ditches every day to fish for fish food. A fastidious fish farmer rarely feeds dry food to his fish, but feeds them more live food, so that the fish likes to eat, grows quickly, and looks fresh. Feeding fish is the most enjoyable time for fish keepers. Spreading a handful of fish food and watching the fish looking for food is very interesting.
Among animal pets, old Beijingers used to keep more cats and dogs. I won’t say much more about the cats in courtyard houses. The "Siheyuan" edition once published an article "Cats in Siheyuan in Old Beijing", which clearly described the story of cats in Beijingers. Here I’m just talking about raising a dog. In the past, Beijingers never kept as many dogs as they do today, and dogs were not as favored as they are today. Even if you raise a dog, you will never enjoy the "treatment" like today. A grooming session costs six to seven hundred, and no one calls it a "son." At that time, dogs were mostly kept to look after homes and homes, or to be companions when going out, and to act as "bodyguards".
The types of dogs raised by Beijingers today include almost all famous dogs from all over the world. The price of a more expensive dog ranges from a few hundred yuan to tens of thousands of yuan. This is what old Beijingers thought about in the past. I dare not think about it. In the old days, there were many small Jingba dogs and small Shiba Inu dogs in courtyard houses, while only wealthy families kept big wolfdogs and the like. The number of dogs is far less than the number of cats, so in various books introducing old Beijing, there is very little talk about raising dogs. In the early years, people's lives were not rich. Dog food was mostly leftover meals from their owners. They often went out to hunt for wild food when they were hungry and full. They had no idea what "dog food" was. The kennels are mostly located in the doorways of courtyards, so that they can respond to any movement. It is too rare to keep a dog in the house where the owner lives or treat it as a member of the family.
In addition, the pets kept by old Beijingers include eagles, turtles, monkeys, chickens, geese, falcons, etc., but the number is not very large. Only those who are particularly fond of them will keep them.