China wooden houses sprouted in the late Neolithic period. The Hemudu cultural site in Yuyao County, Zhejiang Province from 5000 BC to 3300 BC reflects the technical level of wooden structures at that time. In 5000 BC, the Xi Banpo site in Shaanxi and the Yangshao cultural site in Jiangzhai, Lintong, in central and western China, showed the village layout and buildings at that time, indicating that the layout of China buildings surrounded by houses along the north-south axis had sprouted. The existing types of folk houses in various regions and ethnic groups in China can be summarized into the following six categories.
First, the wooden quadrangle. "Four waters return to the hall" residence
Three, "a letter" mansion four, big earth building
Five, cave six, dry toilets
The following examples illustrate the influence of China traditional culture on folk houses.
The general feature of traditional houses in northern China is that the courtyard (or patio) is the core, and all kinds of houses are regularly arranged according to the principle of solid outside and weak inside and the pattern of symmetrical central axis. Among them, the quadrangle in Beijing is the highest level and the most representative, and it is an outstanding representative of the traditional houses of the Han nationality in China. The core of "ceremony" is to establish a hierarchy.
The living order of quadrangles is influenced by Confucian etiquette thought, with strict distinction between inside and outside, respect and inferiority, and isolation from the outside world but heaven and earth. "Rite" is a code of conduct formulated by Confucianism to maintain interpersonal relationships in feudal society, and its core idea is to establish social order.
Siheyuan is a kind of residential building that embodies etiquette thought.
In the arrangement of architectural space, China people have formed the concepts of "respecting China" and "being humble on both sides". Respect the North and the South; Left and right; The system of respecting before humbling. In quadrangles, the living room or ancestral hall is in the middle of the north room, the elder bedroom is in the east room, and the master bedroom is in the Westinghouse. The east wing and the west wing are for the younger generation, the eldest son and his wife live in the east, and the second son and his wife live in the west. The south room is used as a living room and a study. Hanging doors and low walls are set in the wing and south wing to isolate the inside and outside, forming an inner and outer courtyard, where women are not allowed to go out and outsiders are not allowed to enter. Medium-sized or above quadrangles are often built with unmarried women or maids in the post-Gai Lou, or as utility rooms.
The doors and windows of the quadrangle are facing the courtyard, and there are screens or screens outside the doors. The outside looks quite closed, but the life inside is self-contained It highlights the status differences between the elders and the younger generation, the eldest son and the second son, and between men and women, and embodies the characteristics of China's feudal patriarchal clan system, such as "orderly respect and inferiority", "difference between inside and outside", "difference between men and women" and "difference between master and servant".
Plane Layout and Function Analysis of Siheyuan
Direction and function:
Gankan' gen
Duizhonggong earthquake
Xun
The outer court is horizontally long, and the gate opens in the left front corner, that is, the southeast corner, and enters the gate. Facing the outer court, there is a brick shadow wall on the gable of the East Wing, which forms a small transition space with the gate. Turn west from here and enter the outer court. To the west of the gate, the south room of the central axis of the residential building is called "inverted seat", which is used as a guest room, and the outer court also has a follow-up room, kitchen and bathroom; From the outer courtyard, through a hanging flower door, it enters the square and wide inner courtyard, which is the main courtyard of the whole house. The main rooms in the north are called "halls", mostly three rooms decorated with colors. The width and depth of the main room are larger than that of the wing, so the left and right sides of the main room are connected with the wing and are lived by respected elders. The wing is the living room of the younger generation. Both the main hall and the wing have front porches facing the courtyard. The hanging flower gate is connected with the front porches of these three houses by a "handwriting gallery", so you can walk along the front porches without going through the open air. The left corner of the front gate of the residence is called "Qinglong Gate", called "The Eight Diagrams of the Day After Tomorrow", called "Kanzhai Xunmen" in the north and "Xunmen" in the southeast. Therefore, the layout of this house gate is called "Kanzhai follow the door", which is considered auspicious according to the concept of geomantic omen. They are all doors of one household, and there are several kinds according to their sizes: for example, Liang Guangmen, with the highest level and deeper depth, has a door leaf installed on the pillar line, with a space in front and a space in back, with doorman benches on both sides of the front space and finches under the forehead; The door of Zhu Jin is small, the door leaf moves forward, and it is installed in the front line of Zhu Jin (that is, the old eaves column), and the space in front of the door is also small; Man Zi's door is relatively small, the door leaf moves forward and is installed on the line of the eaves column, and there is no space in front of the door (Figure 4). All the above three are for official use. The smallest is the Ruyi Gate, some are only half the width of the room, and the door is also on the eaves column, which is used for people who are not bureaucrats but are quite rich. The smallest is the wall door, which has no depth, and has a small roof on it, or imitates western architecture to build a Tianzhu.
The middle gate from the outer court to the inner court is usually a small gatehouse called Diaohuamen. The top of the hanging mountain is "hook-shaped" (that is, the front and back slopes are connected), exquisite and gorgeous, indicating that it will enter the inner courtyard and enrich the landscape of the inner and outer courtyards (Figure 6). The square courtyard of Beijing Siheyuan is for the sunshine in winter. In southern Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan and other places, the sun is fierce in the west in summer, and the courtyard narrows and lengthens in the north and south to reduce sunshine. Northwest Gansu and Qinghai have a lot of wind and sand, and the courtyard walls are raised, which is called "Zhuangke". Northeast China has a vast territory and a cold climate. In order to receive more sunshine, the yard is often very wide, and there are many open spaces on the walls of the house. Siheyuan in different places have different characteristics to meet the needs of home life.
Beijing Siheyuan contains profound cultural connotations and is the carrier of China traditional culture. The construction of quadrangles pays great attention to geomantic omen. From site selection to determining the specific scale of each building, it must be carried out according to the theory of geomantic omen. Geomantic omen theory is actually an ancient architectural environmentology in China and an important part of China's traditional architectural theory. This geomantic theory has been guiding the architectural activities in ancient China for thousands of years. In addition, the decoration, sculpture and painting of quadrangles also reflect folk customs and traditional culture everywhere, showing people's pursuit of happiness, beauty, prosperity and auspiciousness under specific historical conditions. Siheyuan is full of rich cultural atmosphere. Walking into Siheyuan is like walking into the temple of China traditional culture.