Why did the ancient quadrangles have narrow front and narrow rear?

Siheyuan, also known as Siheyuan, is a traditional courtyard-style building in China. Its pattern is a courtyard with houses on all sides, which usually consists of a main room, an east-west wing room and an upside-down room. The courtyard is enclosed in the middle from all sides, so it is named Siheyuan. Siheyuan is a square or rectangular courtyard, that is, there is a house with a gatehouse in front of Sanheyuan to close it. If it is in the shape of "mouth", it is called "two into one hospital"; The "Japanese" shape is called Sanjin Second Hospital; The shape of "mu" is called four into three hospitals. Generally speaking, in a big house, the first entrance is the gatehouse, the second entrance is the hall, and the third entrance or the last entrance is the private room or boudoir, which is the activity space for women or their families. Ordinary people are not allowed to enter at will. There is a poem in the ancients: The deeper the courtyard, the less you can peek at its hall.

As early as 3 years ago, there were complete quadrangles in the Western Zhou Dynasty in China. The architectural remains of Liangjin Courtyard unearthed in zhouyuan site, Feng Chu Village, Qishan County, Shaanxi Province, are the earliest and most orderly quadrangle known in China. [2]

The quadrangle architecture in Han Dynasty has been updated and developed. Influenced by the theory of geomantic omen, the quadrangle has a whole set of views of Yin-Yang and Five Elements from site selection to layout. In the Tang Dynasty, quadrangles inherited the Han Dynasty and the Song and Yuan Dynasties, with narrow front and narrow rear.

The quadrangle that prevailed in ancient times was a gallery courtyard, that is, the central axis of the courtyard was the main building, surrounded by corridors, or there were houses on the left and right, rather than houses on all sides. In the late Tang Dynasty, quadrangles with corridors appeared, which gradually replaced the corridors. After the Song Dynasty, the corridors gradually decreased and gradually disappeared in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

quadrangles gradually matured in the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. Kublai Khan of Yuan Shizu "told the residents of the old city that the capital was too old, and those who lived in the high position (rich people) and occupied positions (serving in the imperial court) were the first, and eight acres of land were customized as one point", which was distributed to wealthy businessmen and officials who went to the metropolis to build houses, thus beginning the period of large-scale formation of traditional quadrangle houses in Beijing. In the early 197s, the site of the Yuan Dynasty quadrangle unearthed in Houyingfang Hutong, Beijing, can be regarded as the embryonic form of Beijing quadrangle. After the Ming and Qing dynasties, it gradually formed a unique quadrangle architectural style in Beijing. [3]

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, many quadrangles in Beijing were reduced to miscellaneous courtyards. However, with the development of urban transformation after the reform and opening up, many traditional quadrangles were demolished, such as Kang Youwei's new building in eastern Guangdong in 1998, Zhao Zichen's former residence in 2, Guo County Palace in Qing Dynasty at No.45 Mengduan Hutong in 24 and Cao Xueqin's former residence in 25 and 26. At the same time, some quadrangles were included in the protected courtyards in Beijing and all districts and counties.

Existing quadrangles in Beijing In ancient times, quadrangles basically met the needs of family life. At that time, quadrangles with two entrances and larger quadrangles were usually the residences of bureaucrats and gentry. In modern times, on the one hand, sanitary facilities such as water supply and drainage, heating, etc. have not entered the quadrangle, and the quadrangle that has become a large courtyard has not been continuously improved to meet the needs of automobiles, air conditioners and other equipment. On the other hand, large families like four generations living under one roof are rare, and wealthy families are usually willing to buy villas in the suburbs with convenient transportation instead of living in urban areas with high population density. Therefore, whether quadrangles, as folk houses, still have value is also a controversial issue since modern times.

With the development of the protection of the old city, the original quadrangles have been transformed. For example, in 199, Professor Tsinghua University Wu Liangyong presided over the rebuilding project of Beijing Juer Hutong quadrangles. On the basis of retaining the courtyard structure, the bungalows of the original quadrangles were changed into buildings, and facilities such as kitchens and toilets were added. The renovation project won the United Nations World Habitat Award. During the rebuilding of Wang Hongbin, Beijing, some quadrangle houses were changed into two floors, and an underground garage was built. In 26, Beijing published the Architectural Elements Map of Beijing Siheyuan as a reference for the protection, repair, renovation and reconstruction of Siheyuan. During the two sessions in Beijing in 212, Tang Jing, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, proposed to formulate a rigid policy of "zero demolition and 1% protection" for the quadrangles in the old city protection area. At the same time, all the hutongs outside the protection area were classified as protected areas, and the old city was regarded as a complete protected area, so as to truly implement the overall protection.