A siheyuan (Chinese: 四合院; pinyin: sìhéyuàn) is a historical type of residence that was commonly found throughout China, most famously in Beijing. Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National The name literally means a courtyard surrounded by four buildings. For alternative meanings of the word "court" see Court (disambiguation. In English, siheyuan are sometimes referred to as Chinese quadrangles. In Architecture, a quadrangle is a space or courtyard usually square or rectangular in plan the sides of which are entirely or mainly occupied by parts of a large building Throughout Chinese history, the siheyuan composition was the basic pattern used for residences, palaces, temples, monasteries, family, businesses and government offices. A palace is a grand residence especially the home of a Head of state or some other high-ranking Public figure. A temple (from the Latin word Templum) is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities such as prayer and sacrifice or analogous rites This article concerns the buildings occupied by monastics. For the life inside monasteries and its historical roots see Monasticism. In ancient times, a spacious siheyuan would be occupied by a single family, signifying wealth and prosperity. Today, however, most remaining siheyuan are used as mass housing complexes, and suffer from a lack of modern amenities.
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History
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Fully developed siheyuan date back as early as the Western Zhou period (1122 BC to 256 BC), exhibiting the most outstanding and fundamental characteristics of Chinese architecture. The Zhou Dynasty ( POJ: Chiu Tiau 1122 BC to 256 BC was preceded by the Shang Dynasty and followed by the Qin Dynasty in China. Events By place Roman Republic Rome aims for a quick end to hostilities in the First Punic War and decides to invade the They exist all across China and are the template for most Chinese architectural styles.
Modern Beijing's population boom has made housing one of city's biggest challenges. Siheyuan today are typically used as housing complexes, hosting multiple families, with courtyards being developed to provide extra living space. The living conditions in many siheyuan are considered squalid, with very few having private toilets. See also Toilet A washroom, public toilet, public convenience, comfort room, toilet room, bathroom, water closet In the 1990s, systematic demolition of old urban buildings took place in Beijing under rapid economic development. Siheyuan are being torn down to address the problem of overcrowding, and have been replaced by modern apartment blocks.
According to the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage, there are over 3,000 "well-preserved" courtyards remaining in Beijing, and over 539 are in Cultural and Historical Conservation Areas. There are also estimated 7,000 to 9,000 residential courtyards left for sale in Beijing, and they are generally priced at 7,000 to 10,000 yuan per square meter. [1] Preserved historical siheyuan include Lu Xun Memorial, Guo Moruo Memorial, Mao Dun Memorial, Mei Lanfang Memorial, and Lao She Memorial. Lu Xun ( or Lu Hsün ( Wade-Giles) was the Pen name of Zhou Shuren ( ( September 25, 1881 &ndash October 19 Guo Moruo ( Courtesy name Dǐng Táng 鼎堂 ( November 16, 1892 - June 12, 1978) was a Chinese author Poet Mao Dun ( July 4, 1896 &ndash March 27, 1981) was the Pen name of Shen Dehong ( Shen Yanbing) a 20th century Lao She ( February 3, 1899 – August 24, 1966) was a notable Chinese Writer.
Layout of Beijing siheyuan
The four buildings of a siheyuan are normally positioned along the north-south and east-west axes. Mao Dun ( July 4, 1896 &ndash March 27, 1981) was the Pen name of Shen Dehong ( Shen Yanbing) a 20th century The building positioned to the north and facing the south is considered the main house (正房). The buildings adjoining the main house and facing east and west are called side houses (厢房). The northern, eastern and western buildings are connected by beautifully decorated pathways (廊). These passages serve as shelters from the sunshine during the day, and provide a cool place to appreciate the view of the courtyard at night. The building that faces north is known as the opposite house (倒座房). Behind the northern building, there would often be a separate backside building (后罩房), the only place where two-story buildings are allowed to be constructed for the traditional siheyuan.
The entrance gate, usually painted vermilion and with copper door knockers on it, is usually at the southeastern corner. Copper (ˈkɒpɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol Cu (cuprum and Atomic number 29 A door knocker is an item of Door furniture that allows people outside a House to alert those inside to their presence Normally, there is a screen wall (Chinese: 影壁; pinyin: yǐng bì) inside the gate, for privacy; superstition holds that it also protects the house from evil spirits. Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use A pair of stone lions are often placed outside the gate. Shishi ( Chinese: 石[[wikt 獅|獅]] 子 or 石[[wikt 狮|狮]] 子; Pinyin: shíshīzi “ stone lion ” also All of the rooms around the courtyard have large windows facing onto the yard and small windows high up on the back wall facing out onto the street. GlassWindowjpg|thumb|right|190px|A stained glass panel depicting Biblical scenes at a historic church in Scotland]] A window is an opening A street is a Public thoroughfare in the built environment It is a Public parcel of land adjoining Buildings in an urban context Some do not have back windows. Some large compounds have two or more courtyards to house extended families; this was a mark of prosperity and wealth in ancient times.
The courtyard dwellings were built according to the traditional concepts of the five elements that were believed to compose the universe, and the eight diagrams of divination. In traditional Chinese philosophy, natural phenomena can be classified into the Wu Xing ( or the Five Phases, usually translated as five elements, The Universe is defined as everything that Physically Exists: the entirety of Space and Time, all forms of Matter, Energy The Bagua ( are eight diagrams used in Taoist Cosmology to represent a range of interrelated concepts The gate was made at the southeast corner which was the "wind" corner, and the main house was built on the north side which was believed to belong to "water" -- an element to prevent fire. Wind is the flow of Air or other Gases that compose an Atmosphere (including but not limited to the Earth's) Water is a common Chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of Life.
The layout of a simple courtyard represents traditional Chinese morality and Confucian ethics. Morality (from the Latin la moralitas "manner character proper behavior" has three principal meanings In Beijing, four buildings in a single courtyard receive different amounts of sunlight. The northern main building receives the most, thus serving as the living room and bedroom of the owner or head of the family. A living room, also known as sitting room, lounge room or lounge (in the United Kingdom and Australia) is a room for entertaining A bedroom is a large Room where people usually sleep for the night and/or for relaxation during the day The eastern and western side buildings receive less, and serve as the rooms for children or less important members of the family. The southern building receives the least sunlight, and usually functions as a reception room and the servants' dwelling, or where the family would gather to relax, eat or study. A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained The backside building is for unmarried daughters and female servants because unmarried girls were not allowed direct exposure to the public, so they occupied the most secluded building in the siheyuan. A daughter is a Female offspring; a Girl, Woman, or female animal in relation to her Parents The male equivalent is a Son
A more detailed and further stratified Confucian order was followed in ancient China. The main house (正房) in the north was assigned to the eldest member of the family, i. e. the head of the family, usually grandparents. If the main house (正房) had enough rooms, a central room would serve as a shrine for ancestral worship. When the head of the household had concubines, the wife would reside in the room to the eastern end of the main house (正房), while the concubines would reside in the room to the western end of the main house (正房). The eldest son of the family and his wife would reside in the western side house (厢房), while the younger son and his wife would reside in the eastern side house (厢房). If a grandson was fully grown, he would reside in the opposite house (倒座房) in the south. Unmarried daughters would always reside in the backside building (后罩房) behind the main house (正房).
When a funeral is held in a siheyuan, the location of the casket depends on the status of the deceased, but all caskets are oriented so that the head of the deceased points south while the feet point north. If the deceased is the head of the househould or his wife, then the casket would be on the center line in the main house (正房). If the deceased was the concubine of the head of the household, her casket would remain in the main house (正房), but could not be in the center. If the deceased is a younger male, then his casket is placed on the center line of the courtyard. If the deceased is a younger female, her casket is placed in the courtyard but cannot be on the center line.
Though from antiquity, a siheyuan is a practically sound, engineered structure. Northwestern walls are usually higher than the other walls to protect the inside buildings from the harsh winds blowing across northern China in the winter. Northern China or North China ( literally "China's north" is a Geographical region of China. Eaves curve downward, so that rainwater will flow along the curve rather than dropping straight down. Rain is Liquid precipitation. On Earth it is the condensation of atmospheric Water vapor into drops heavy enough to fall often making it to The rooftop is ridged to provide shade in the summer while retaining warmth in the winter. Vietnam roofjpg|thumb|The roofs of Vietnam.]] A roof is the covering on the uppermost part of a Building.
A siheyuan offers space, comfort, quiet and privacy. Lao She ( February 3, 1899 – August 24, 1966) was a notable Chinese Writer. Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively Siheyuan walls provide security as well as protection against dust and storms. With plants, rocks, and flowers, the yard is also a garden, and acts like an open-air living room. Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. A flower, also known as a bloom or Blossom, is the reproductive structure found in Flowering plants (plants of the division Magnoliophyta, also The verandah divides the courtyard into several big and small spaces that are not very distant from each other. A verandah or veranda is a roofed opened gallery or porchIt is also described as an open pillared gallery generally roofed built around a central structure Family members talked with each other here, creating a cordial atmosphere.
Siheyuan in other areas
In Gansu, Qinghai and other northwest regions, where dust storms are very strong, courtyard walls tend to be higher. ( is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. (青海 qīnghǎi is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake. The shapes of siheyuan are also altered: in northwestern China, the north-south span of a siheyuan is generally much longer than the east-west span, while in other provinces such as Sichuan, the opposite is true. Northwestern China (西北 Xīběi includes the autonomous regions of Xinjiang and Ningxia and the provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu ( Postal map spelling: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in western China with its capital in Chengdu. In southern China, the houses are built with multiple stories. In the northeast, land is abundant but the weather is cold, so courtyards are built broad and large to increase the exposure to sunlight, and there are more open areas inside the walls.
See also
Notes
- ^ "Preserving the Soul of Beijing", China Today 2005 No. Hutongs ( are narrow streets or Alleys most commonly associated with Beijing, China. A courtyard house is a type of House - often a large house - where the main part of the building is disposed around a central Courtyard. China Today (今日中国 formerly entitled China Reconstructs (zh 中国建设 is a Magazine founded in 1949 by Soong Ching-ling 2. , p. 28.
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