What is the courtyard used for?

The general distribution of the courtyard is the main entrance, the first entrance, the lobby, the second entrance, the study room, the residence, etc. There are wing rooms on both sides, and each room has a corridor and is connected by a door. Understanding the folk houses existing on the earth's surface will surely promote and develop the culture of folk houses. A courtyard house in Beijing is an inner courtyard-style residence surrounded by houses on the east, west, south and north sides. As the main architectural form in which old Beijingers have lived for generations, the Beijing Siheyuan is well-known both at home and abroad. It is a combined building form among civil residences in North China. It is a square or rectangular courtyard. Each family lives in a closed courtyard, leading a comfortable, leisurely and quiet life, enjoying family joy and family fun, and naturally has a leisurely and contented atmosphere. This kind of courtyard house is a legacy from the old society before the founding of New China and is still in use today. This kind of courtyard generally uses one entrance and exit gate. Normally, once the courtyard door is closed, it is in a completely closed state. Most of the courtyard gates of courtyard houses are wooden gates. One end of the door made of thick wooden boards is placed on the axis, and it can be opened and closed by rotating left and right, which is safe and reliable. In the courtyard, there is the main room, which is the north room. This is the main room in the courtyard, and generally the direction of a courtyard is from north to south. On the east and west sides are the east and west wing rooms. The east and west wing rooms are generally relatively symmetrical, and the architectural formats are generally the same or similar. There is a south room built on the south side, corresponding to the north room. The entire courtyard is mostly built in symmetry according to traditional Chinese customs. Of course, there are also ear rooms in the corners formed by the north, south, and east and west rooms. Some of these ear rooms are used to store grain and become grain depots and other warehouses. , some are used as kitchens, and there is also a corner, usually the southwest corner is the toilet, and the southeast corner is mostly the gate of the courtyard. This four-in-one courtyard format is more common in Shanxi counties and nearby rural areas. There are also courtyards in some places where the gate opens in the south direction. In order to decorate the courtyard, some families also build a screen wall, that is, a brick wall directly opposite the entrance of the courtyard. On the side of the door, there are usually flowers, pine and bamboo patterns or large calligraphy characters placed prominently on the front of the screen wall. The words "Fu", "Lu", "Shou" and other symbols that symbolize auspiciousness are also painted on part of the screen wall. Patterns such as "Songs and Cranes Promote New Years", "Magpies Climbing Plum Blossoms", "Qilin Sending Children", etc., create a scholarly and calligraphic atmosphere in the courtyard. Some farmhouses also use "good harvests" and "good luck". , "Blessed as the East Sea" words or pictures. This kind of screen wall is located at the entrance inside the gate. Some are built separately, and some are mounted on the gables of the wing rooms. They are also called screen walls. The walls are square. The surroundings are decorated with brick carvings, and the square in the middle is decorated with calligraphy or painting. The screen wall is divided into two parts: the base and the wall. In addition to adding atmosphere to the courtyard and praying for good luck, the screen wall also serves as a means of making it difficult for outsiders to peek into the activities in the courtyard. Isolation effect.

In the courtyard, there are some paved with stone slabs, some with bricks, and some with cobblestones. Some of them are paved with all the floors in the courtyard, and some are paved with the main passages. No matter how it is paved, there should always be some space left in the courtyard to plant trees and flowers as an embellishment of the courtyard.

With the development of the times, there have been many changes in the architecture in rural areas. A big evolution from the original courtyard house is to expand the number of rooms in the main house, because the main house - the north room has good lighting. Therefore, when building the house, make full use of the space and ground on the north side. This makes the courtyard into an irregular shape, with a square or rectangular courtyard formed in front of the main house, which is dominated by the north house. The allocation of residences in the inner houses of the courtyard is very strict. The main house with a superior position in the inner house must be given to the older generation. The master and his wife live there. Only the middle room of the three rooms in the north opens to the outside, which is called the main room. The two rooms on the two sides only open to the main room, forming a suite with one light and two dark rooms, which is used for family living and entertaining relatives. During the New Year, there is a place for worshiping ancestors, and there are more bedrooms on both sides. The bedrooms on the east and west sides are also divided into seniority and inferiority. One man has one wife and many concubines ("polygamy" is a misunderstanding. In ancient times, there was only one wife but there could be many concubines. Under the system of "one wife, two equals and four partial concubines", the east side is occupied by the main room, and the west side is occupied by the humble side room. The east and west side rooms can have single doors or can be connected to the main room. It is used as a bedroom or study room. The east and west wing rooms are occupied by the younger generation. The wing rooms are also light and dark, with the middle one being the living room and the two sides being the 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. A courtyard is an independent courtyard composed of the main room (usually the north room), the east and west wing rooms and the south room. There are sometimes east and west wing rooms next to the main room, and there are hand-curved verandahs connecting the houses on the four sides to provide shelter from wind and rain. Hutongs in Beijing generally run east-west and are mainly used for pedestrians. The courtyard door in the north of the alley usually opens in the southeast corner of the courtyard, and the courtyard door in the south usually opens in the west corner of the courtyard. Siheyuan is a typical residential form in Beijing. Generally, Siheyuan has two courtyards. Larger ones have three or four courtyards and a flower courtyard. The two-entry courtyard usually has a partition wall built between the east and west wing rooms. The outer house is usually used by staff. Yes, a luxurious hanging flower door is usually built between the inner and outer houses. There is a screen wall inside the hanging flower door, which is only opened when there are major events. In the old days, it was said that the young lady of a wealthy family could not go out through the front door, and the second door was not open. This refers to this door, and the male in the family. Even servants are not allowed to enter this door. The street gate is relatively simple and is usually built on the left side of the yard. The last row of main rooms in a large courtyard house is the back room.

Although courtyard houses have certain regulations, their sizes vary. They can be roughly divided into three types: large courtyard, medium courtyard and small courtyard:

1. Small courtyard A courtyard usually has three rooms in the north, one light and two dark, or two light and one dark, two east and west wing rooms, and three south rooms. Lay the bricks to the top and raise the ridge to build a tile-roofed house. It can accommodate three generations of a family. The ancestors live in the main room, the younger generation lives in the side room, and the south room is used as a study or living room. The courtyard is paved with brick corridors, connecting the doors of various houses, and there are steps in front of each house. There are two doors, decorated with black paint and oil. There are a pair of brass door cymbals on the door, and there are couplets on the two doors.

2. The middle courtyard is more spacious than the small courtyard. It usually has 5 rooms in the north, 3 in the front and 2 in the west, and 3 in the east and west. There is a corridor in front of the room to protect it from wind and rain. In addition, the courtyard wall is divided into the front courtyard (outer courtyard) and the backyard (inner courtyard), and the courtyard walls are connected by the moon gate. The front yard has a shallow depth, with one or two rooms used as gatehouses, and the back yard is used as a living room. The architecture is exquisite, with square bricks on the floor and bluestone steps.

3. A large courtyard is customarily called a "big house gate". The house layout can be 5 south and 5 north, 7 south and 7 north, and there are even 9 or 11 main rooms. It is usually a duplex courtyard, that is It is composed of multiple courtyards connected vertically. There are many courtyards, including front courtyard, backyard, east courtyard, west courtyard, main courtyard, side courtyard, cross courtyard, study courtyard, enclosed courtyard, horse hall, first entrance, second entrance, third entrance...and so on. There are hand-operated corridors connecting various parts of the courtyard, covering a large area. If the land available for building is small or the financial capacity cannot bear it, the quadrangle courtyard can be converted into a triple courtyard without building the south room.

Medium-sized and small courtyards are generally the residences of ordinary residents, while large courtyards are used by mansions and government offices.

Beijing Siheyuan is a brick-wood structure building. The purlins, columns, beams (trusses), sills, rafters, doors, windows, partitions, etc. are all made of wood. The wooden shelves are surrounded by brick walls. . The beams, columns, doors, windows and cornices and rafters all need to be painted. Although it is not as magnificent as the palace garden, it is still colorful. It is customary to build walls with ground bricks and broken bricks. It is said that "Beijing has three treasures...the walls built with rotten bricks will not fall down." Most of the roof tiles are made of blue tiles, which are interlocked with each other, with dripping water installed in front of the eaves, or no tiles are laid, and the whole roof is plastered with green ash, which is called "grey shed".

The main door of a courtyard house generally occupies an area of ​​one room, and its components are quite complex. The building names include gate tower, door opening, gate (door leaf), door frame, waist railing, rest board, walking horse board, Door pillows, sills, door sills, door hairpins, large edges, wipers, straps, door core panels, door cymbals, plugs, animal faces, door nails, door couplets, etc. The gate of a courtyard house is composed of these parts.

The gate is usually painted black, and couplets with red and black characters can be added. After entering the gate, there are hanging flower gate, moon gate and so on. The hanging flower door is the most gorgeous decorative door in the courtyard. It is called "hanging flower" because the outer eaves of the door are made of archways. Its function is to separate the inner and outer courtyards. Outside the door are the "outside houses" such as the living room, concierge, carriage house and horse hall. Inside the door are The main living room is the bedroom "inner house".

If there is no hanging flower door, the moon door can be used to separate the inner and outer houses. The hanging flower door is very beautifully painted, the cornice and rafter heads are painted blue-green, the wood is painted red, the round rafter heads are painted blue, white and black like a halo of orbs, and the square rafter heads are painted with gold swastikas or rhombuses on a blue background. flower pattern. There are brocade patterns, flowers, Bogu, etc. in the center of the front eaves. The hanging lotus capitals on both sides are even more colorful according to the carved patterns.

Siheyuan generally houses one household, but there are also cases where multiple households share a courtyard, mostly from poor families, and are called "large courtyards." The warmth of the courtyard is something that many old Beijing residents cannot forget.

The courtyard gate of the courtyard in old Beijing

The courtyard gate is the main entrance to the courtyard. Beijingers are accustomed to calling it "street gate". Today, when everything in the world is changing rapidly, it is difficult to judge the level of the courtyard owner based on these street gates. Wandering in the streets shaded by green trees, the numerous old-style street gates have become silent history, silently bringing you boundless associations and inspirations, just like a century old man telling you his early years in a trembling voice. story.

Among the many courtyard doors in Beijing, they can be roughly divided into two categories, namely house-style doors and wall-mounted doors. The former has a door opening and the door occupies a room; the latter has no door opening and only opens the door on the wall. To elaborate, house-style gates are divided into Wangfu gates, Guangliang gates, Ruyi gates, etc.; wall-mounted gates include small gate towers, car doors, etc.

Let’s talk about the gate of the palace first. In the past, the title of a residence was clearly stipulated in the "Qing Dynasty Huidian": "The residences of princes, county princes, crown princes, Baylor, Beizi, Zhenguogong and Fuguogong are all called mansions." Among them, the prince's residence is called a mansion. , the residence of the prince is called the palace. As for those dignitaries who are not descendants of the Phoenix, even though they have titles, or titles such as Shangshu, Bachelor, or Military Minister, their residences cannot be called "mansion".

After talking about the gate of the palace, Let’s talk about Guangliang Gate. "Guangliang", as the name suggests, should mean relatively spacious and bright, which is compared to shorter courtyard gates such as the small gatehouse next to it.

The original pronunciation of "Guangliang" is "Guangliang", which means that the roof beams are very wide. In this case, can the courtyard gate still be small? Obviously, only high-ranking officials or warlords and merchants after the Republic of China could build it. In order to be conspicuous, the room at the gate is larger than the houses on both sides. It has its own gable, brick eaves are decorated with brick carvings, the roof is heightened, and the crested wall protrudes. Guangliang is not only reflected in the scale, but also in the decoration: there are several pairs of door hairpins on the top, exquisite stone drum door pillows on the bottom, brick carvings on the walls, and colorful paintings on the wood are all exquisite. There are screen walls, screen doors and steps inside and outside the gate, generally three to five inches higher than the ground. The interior walls on both sides of the door are usually plastered and whitened, with moldings added around them. The most particular ones use bamboo strips or iron rods as the skeleton, and then use cement and sand to create relief patterns. Some have murals painted on them, and others have so-called "hard-core" decorations with polished bricks and seams, which are smooth and smooth.

The small gatehouse is the most common type of wall-mounted door. In terms of style, we still pursue the effect of the house. It has two very short gables, a roof with a ridge on the top, two raised ends, and the eaves are decorated with flower and grass tiles. Therefore, although this form of courtyard gate is the lowest level, ordinary families will decorate it as much as possible. Especially the wall-style gatehouse is no different from a house. The style of stringing copper coins made of tiles is even more novel and unique. In "Four Generations Under One Roof", the Qi family lives in this kind of small gatehouse, that is, Huaqiangzi Gatehouse.

The fence gate is also a kind of wall-mounted gate, commonly known as the water chestnut gate, which is generally used for the horse number of the gate of the mansion. Two wooden pillars support the crossbar, and a rhombus-shaped wooden component is used to protrude outward to support the roof. The door leaf is a straight-frame fence door.

In the book "Dadu", there are several descriptions of this kind of fence gate. Here are some representative quotes: "Turn west from Mishi Street and enter the alley. There we have it. There are four or five locust trees planted outside the wall, with gaps between the two trees. Rough bricks are built up like a low wall to surround them, leaving transparent gaps between the bricks. , the flat dome on the brick wall was plastered with several layers of smooth and hard cement... Before the bell could stop ringing, the door suddenly opened automatically, and the carriage rushed into a narrow mud path inside the door. There were bricks from houses on both sides. The wall... In front of it is an empty mud yard. Except for a few rooms in the northwest corner, this yard is rarely empty. Yuying, Jingshan and Jin Ma all got off the carriage, stepped up the four or five steps, and faced each other. Covered are four green-painted screen doors, with four oblique square red squares painted on them and four plump black words "This paragraph describes the scene from entering the fence gate to entering the courtyard. It's the parking lot and the horse number.

This kind of scene has also appeared in front of the gate of No. 11 Courtyard in Badaowan. At that time, this place was not just a low gatehouse built with red bricks like it is today. On the contrary, it was a large fence gate with a courtyard wall facing the street. The open space in the courtyard is half an acre in size and is dedicated to parking. It can park several mule carts.

Diagonally opposite the north side of the empty field is the vermilion formal gate and the door opening. It is said that at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, there were many large houses with fence gates and parking lots, especially the gates on the left and right sides of the empty space outside the palace gate, which also had fence gates. The Old Summer Palace-style gate was influenced by foreign culture in the late Qing Dynasty. The Western-style courtyard gate represented by the Old Summer Palace-style gate also appeared in the streets and alleys of Beijing.

The origin of the Old Summer Palace-style gates originated from the emperor's building of Western-style gates in the Old Summer Palace. The emperor's hobbies also aroused the interest of princes and nobles, who built Western-style gatehouses in their own gardens. For example, the gatehouse at the east gate of Prince Gong's Mansion Garden is a representative example of the Yuanmingyuan style gatehouse. This kind of door has Chinese and Western floral decorations on the surface of the parapet above the Western-style columns, either Western-style flowers and plants or Chinese-style cultural relics and antiques. It is a combination of Chinese and Western styles, which is very characteristic of the times.

There is a brick arch at No. 15 Nandong Mianmian Hutong, Jiaodaokou, Dongcheng. It is more than 4 meters high and 2 meters wide. From the top of the diamond wall, it is all brick carvings, with flowers and animals engraved on it. There is a railing towards the sky on the top. The railings are carved with the three friends of pine, bamboo, plum and winter. There are many treasure pavilions carved on both sides of the arch. The interior of the pavilion is carved with patterns such as the Dark Eight Immortals. The brick carvings of the entire arch have a rigorous layout, proper concave and convex, and fine workmanship, which is very rare.

In addition, there are other forms of doors in old Beijing houses. In the past, in the hutongs around Nancheng, some houses had a wooden wall built outside the back gable facing the street and the courtyard gate on one side. A door was opened on the wooden wall, called a board door. In the gap between the wooden board wall and the back gable wall, there are toilets and unsightly items such as buckets and garbage baskets. Most of the residents who live in the Banzimen are wealthy families with single-door courtyards. They close the door when someone comes in and out, which plays a better defensive role.

Some courtyard houses faced the street, so the houses facing the street were converted into paved houses for business, and the yards or homes behind them were used as processing plants. Beijingers call such a house a paved house. The door of this shophouse is often the courtyard door, and there is also a side door or a back door. This is also a special form of courtyard door.

The Ruyi Door Face of the Siheyuan

The Ruyi Door Face is the most popular and common form of house door used in the courtyard houses in Beijing. Ruyi Gate is one of the house-style gates. House-style gates in Beijing courtyards also include Wangfu Gate, Guangliang Gate, Jinzhu Gate and Manzi Gate. In the old days, the owners of Ruyi Gate did not have the same political status and rank as the owners of Wangfu Gate, Guangliang Gate, and Jinzhu Gate, nor were they as financially wealthy as the owners of Manzi Gate. Ruyimen is mostly used by ordinary people, and the shape is not too high, so it is not restricted by the feudal hierarchy. It is precisely based on this that homeowners can decorate the Ruyimen facade or leave it plain according to their own preferences and financial status. Therefore, study these faces through careful observation and patience. We can taste the life beliefs, outlook on life, values ​​and leisurely fun of the home owners at that time.

The biggest difference between Ruyi Gate and other house-style gates is that a wall is built between the front eaves and columns, a door opening is left in the center of the wall, and the door leaf is installed. A group of brick carvings in the shape of "Ruyi" are selected from the left and right upper corners of the doorway, commonly known as "Elephant Trunk Owls". Two door hairpins are installed above the lintel, often engraved with the word "Ruyi". In addition to this type of door hairpin with the word "Ruyi", there are also plain and carved types.

As mentioned earlier, the appearance of Ruyimen can be decorated to be extremely gorgeous or simple and plain. As for the exquisite Ruyi Gate, the most classic and eye-catching features are the large-area brick carvings above the lintel and the head wall.

The lintel carvings generally have four parts, from bottom to top, they are hanging, ice plate eaves, railings and pillars. The carvings on them are not only gorgeous and beautiful, but also the patterns and meanings of almost every part are different. Even the decoration of each Ruyi door with brick carvings is different, which makes people wonder. Can't get tired of watching it.

For example, No. 1 Shengfang Hutong, Dongcheng District, is a house door in the form of a Ruyi Gate. The hanging part is decorated with natural flowers and plants, and is carved with exquisite patterns such as plum, pine, peony, orchid, and chrysanthemum. . This kind of natural flower and grass patterns as the theme and then given a certain meaning is a common method of ancient Chinese architectural decoration, and is often widely used by Ruyi doors and other forms of house doors. Hanging above it is the ice plate eaves. The eaves of the ice plate are divided into several layers and are in the shape of slender strips. The brick carvings are small and exquisite, and the patterns are rich, usually with flowers, plants and brocade patterns.

The railings and pillars of Ruyi Gate No. 1 in Shengfang Hutong are carved with ancient patterns such as bronze utensils, tripods, bottles, furnaces and ancient cases. The composition is elegant and the book style is strong, giving people an elegant and refined cultural enjoyment.

The gable wall refers to the part of the gable wall that protrudes from the eaves column. This part of the brick carving is mainly composed of eaves, cushions and seams. Among them, the eaves carvings have the most extensive themes. The eaves brick carving of "Prolonging Life and Longevity" in Courtyard No. 1 of Shengfang Hutong, with bats, Tuanshou, Panchang and Xiangyun holding the four words "Prolonging Life and Longevity", is very exquisitely carved. There are two types of cushion flowers, one is a basket-shaped cushion flower, which is often engraved with flower patterns such as peonies and peace flowers, and the other is an inverted triangle cushion flower. For example, the inverted triangular inlay of Yu Pingbo's former residence at No. 38 Beizhugan Hutong, Dongcheng District, where the courtyard gate is Ruyi Gate. The phoenix perches among the peonies, which is rich and gorgeous, implying good luck. The protruding part on the outside of the eaves is called the bo seam head, and is often engraved with auspicious patterns such as everything goes well, phoenix spreading its wings, and rich peonies.

In addition to the unique brick carvings on the lintel and the head wall, Ruyi Gate also has some components, such as the scorpion tail and plate on the roof ridge, the door piers, the door cymbals on the door, and the door leaf. , door hairpins and door couplets, etc., add a bit of style and elegance to the Ruyi Gate, reflecting the designer's ingenuity and the homeowners' yearning for a better life.

In Beijing, door couplets are often engraved on Ruyi Gate and Xiaomenlou using the method of 锓阳 character carving. Guangliang Gate and Jinzhu Gate do not have door couplets, and Manzi Gate is also relatively rare. These door couplets are mainly divided into festive, motto, landscape and industry categories in form. To a certain extent, they express the beliefs, occupations, cultural accomplishments and beautiful vision of life of the homeowners. The fonts are mostly in regular script or official script. . The Ruyi Gate in No. 49 Xizongbu Hutong, Dongcheng District has almost no brick carvings, giving it a pure and elegant feel. The gate of the Ruyi-style house at No. 127, Lishi Hutong, has a couplet that says: "The center is loyalty, as the heart is anger, and softness means reading history. Gang means reading scriptures." This motto-like couplet shows the owner's otherworldly thoughts of nourishing his temperament with culture. Realm and humanistic character.

Although Ruyi Gate is a relatively low-quality door type and cannot compare with the awe and impact that Wangfu Gate, Guangliang Gate, and Jinzhu Gate bring to people, Ruyi Gate With its graceful, simple and interesting "heart", it infects everyone who lives here, and even the "destined people" who pass by it. Among the "Four Famous Dandans" are Cheng Yanqiu and Xun Huisheng, Cai E, the leader of the modern national protection movement, modern writer and translator Liang Shiqiu, historian and educator Chen Yuan, as well as outstanding ancestors and celebrities such as Ye Shengtao, Yu Pingbo, Yang Changji, Li Yu, and Lin Baishui. People have had an indissoluble bond with Ruyimen.

The general characteristic of traditional folk houses in northern China is that the courtyard (or patio) is the core, and various rooms are regularly arranged according to the principle of solid outside and virtual inside, and a symmetrical pattern of the central axis. Among them, the courtyard house in Beijing is of the highest quality and the most typical. It is an outstanding representative of traditional Chinese Han residences.

The outer courtyard is horizontally long, and the gate opens at the front left corner, that is, the southeast corner. When you enter the gate, you will face a brick screen wall built on the gable of the east wing of the outer courtyard, forming a small transition space with the gate. From here, turn west and enter the outer courtyard. The south room facing the central axis of the house to the west of the gate is called the "inverted seat" and is used as a guest room. The outer courtyard also has a valet's room, a kitchen and a toilet. From the outer courtyard, you can enter the square and wide inner courtyard through a hanging flower door-style middle door, which is the whole house. Main courtyard.

The main room in the north is called "Tang", and most of them have three rooms. They comply with the regulations of the Ming and Qing Dynasties that "common people's houses can only have three rooms and five shelves, and brackets and colorful decorations are not allowed." The main room has a larger bay and depth than the side rooms, so it has the largest volume. The main room is connected to the left and right side rooms, where the venerable elders live. There is a small corner courtyard in front of the ear room, which is very quiet, so it is often used as a study room. This layout of one main house and two side rooms is called "shamao wing". In front of the main house, there are wing rooms on both sides of the courtyard, and their front edges do not exceed the gable of the main house, so the width of the courtyard is moderate and the space feels good.

The wing room is the living room of the younger generations. The main house and the wing rooms all have front verandas facing the yard. The hanging flower door is connected to the front verandas of these three houses using a "chaoshou veranda", which allows people to walk along the verandahs without going through the open air. There are always benches and railings beside the corridor, where you can sit in the corridor and admire the flowers and trees in the courtyard. All houses have blue tiles and hard tops. Behind the main house there is sometimes a long row of "back photo rooms", which are either living rooms or miscellaneous rooms. For larger residences, a courtyard can be built behind the hall to accommodate the family members. Or there is another group of courtyards connected to one side of the whole house, and some are connected to the house garden on one side.

The gate of the residential house that opens in the front left corner is called "Qinglong Gate". According to the Eight Diagrams of the day after tomorrow, Kan is in the north and Xun in the southeast. This layout of the gate of the former residence is called Kanzhai Xunmen. According to Feng Shui concept, it is Auspicious. In fact, the door of the house is not placed on the central axis, so entering from outside the house must first pass through a small courtyard, which is conducive to maintaining the privacy of the residence and increasing spatial changes (only the door of the palace is placed on the central axis, which is considered to be With the dignity of a prince, he can be protected from external evils even if he does not build a Kanzhai Xunmen). In other areas, regardless of north or south, Kanzhai Xunmen is also very popular in ordinary residences. The doors of the house are all in one room, and there are several types according to the size and specifications: for example, the Guangliang door is the highest level and has a large depth. The door leaf is installed in the line of the central pillar, with a space at the front and back. There are gatekeepers' benches on both sides of the front space. There are sparrows at the bottom; the Jinzhu door is smaller, and the door leaves are moved forward and installed on the line of the Jinzhu (that is, the old eaves column), and the space in front of the door is also smaller; the Manzi door is even smaller, and the door leaf is moved forward and installed on the line of the outer eaves column. There is no space in front of the door. The above three types are all used by officials. The smallest one is the Ruyi Gate, some of which are only half a room wide. The door leaves are also on the outer eaves and pillars. They are used in the homes of people who are not officials but are quite wealthy. The smallest is a wall door with no depth and a small roof on the door, or a sky-high pillar imitating Western architecture.

The middle gate entering the inner courtyard from the outer courtyard is usually a small gatehouse called the Hanging Flower Gate, with a "hook-up" roof (that is, the front and rear double-slope roofs are connected) with an exquisite shape. It is quite gorgeous, indicating that you can enter the inner house through this, which enriches the landscape of the inner and outer courtyards. There is a permanent door leaf at the eaves behind the hanging flower door, called a screen door, which functions like a ceremonial door. It is usually closed and people can go around from the left and right corridors in front of the door. It is only opened in case of important events or the arrival of distinguished guests. The middle door separates the inside and outside, which not only maintains the tranquility of the inner courtyard, but also contains the significance of patriarchal etiquette. "Shilin Guangji", a life encyclopedia in the Song Dynasty, said: "Every palace (this refers to a house) must be distinguished from the inside and outside...men manage external affairs and women manage internal affairs. Men do not stay in private rooms without reason during the day, and women "If a maid doesn't go out of the middle door without any reason, she will have to cover her face if she goes out of the middle door for any reason." It can be seen that the early origin of the middle gate is necessary to distinguish the inner and outer.

Beijing courtyards are cordial and peaceful, with a strong sense of life. The courtyards are wide and well-sized. Flowers and stones are planted in the courtyards. Begonia trees are usually planted, pomegranate bonsais are arranged, and goldfish are raised in large tanks, which symbolizes good luck. A very ideal outdoor living space is like a large open-air living room, which brings the world closer to people's hearts and is most loved by people. In the event of a wedding or funeral, a temporary tent can be set up in the courtyard to entertain guests. The hand-painted verandah divides the courtyard into several large and small spaces, but they are separated without separation and penetrate each other, which increases the level of virtual and real contrast and the contrast of light and shadow, and also makes the courtyard more in line with the scale of people's daily life; family members can communicate here, creating a cordial atmosphere. The interest in life plays a big role.

Beijing’s quadrangle courtyards are square and square, designed to receive sunlight in winter. In places such as southern Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi and Henan, the western sun is severe in summer, and the yard becomes narrow and long from north to south to reduce sunlight. In Gansu and Qinghai in the northwest, the wind and sand are very strong, and the courtyard walls are heightened, which is called "Zhuang Nest". The land in the Northeast is vast and the climate is cold. In order to receive more sunlight, the yards are often very wide and there are many open spaces within the house walls. Siheyuan in various places have different characteristics to meet the needs of home life.

Zhongyuan courtyards generally have three courtyards. The main rooms usually have 5 or 7 rooms, and are equipped with side rooms. The main building is tall and has a corridor. There are 3 or 5 rooms in the east and west wings respectively. There is a gable to the south of the wing to separate the courtyard, forming a courtyard of its own. There is a hanging flower moon gate in the center of the gable. The hanging flower door is the dividing line between inside and outside. The "two gates" that people often say "if you can't go out through the main door, you can't step forward through the second gate" refers to this hanging flower gate. The front courtyard is also called the outer courtyard. The outer courtyard has one or two wing rooms on the east and west sides. It is smaller than the wing rooms in the inner courtyard. It is mostly used as a kitchen or a servant's room. On the adjacent street are 5 to 7 inverted south rooms. The easternmost one opens as a door, followed by the concierge, then the living room or study room, and the westernmost one is the garage.

The Grand Siheyuan has majestic architecture, tall houses, overlapping courtyards, front and rear buildings, hand-held verandahs, hanging flower doors, screen walls, and partitions. They are all very particular. There is a courtyard inside the courtyard and a garden outside the courtyard. The courtyards and gardens are connected. It is a large-scale residence. The building is not suitable for ordinary people to live in.

The architectural layout of the courtyard is obviously influenced by the ancient Feng Shui theory. The doors are not opened on the central axis, but on the "Xun" or "Qian" position of the Bagua. Therefore, the main door of a house in the north of Lu opens on the southeast corner of the house, and the main door of a house in the south of Lu opens on the northwest corner of the house. There are screen walls inside and outside the gate.

In a family, the elders and younger ones live in their own rooms in an orderly manner, and each can work and rest according to his convenience.

Beijing’s courtyard courtyards are of moderate proportions. The sun can shine indoors in winter. The main house is warm in winter and cool in summer. The courtyard is a place for outdoor activities. The main house or main hall is larger and better than other houses in terms of size, materials and exquisite decoration. The elders live in the main house, the juniors live in the side rooms, the women live in the inner courtyard, and the guests and male servants live in the outer courtyard; this conforms to the etiquette requirements of ancient Chinese family life to distinguish between superior and inferior, elder and younger, and internal and external.

Beijing’s courtyard houses emphasize layout, style, style, and tradition. The entire courtyard is neatly laid out and bright, giving people a sense of elegance, tranquility, and comfort. The old Beijing courtyard houses are famous all over the world. "The clouds are open and closed three thousand feet, and the fog is darkening the towers of millions of homes." These "millions of homes" are what we call Beijing courtyard houses today. The courtyards in Beijing have a regular structure and are very particular. They have a house, a yard, a front door, two doors, a verandah, a private school, a living room, a screen wall, a storehouse, and a kitchen. For wealthy families, they have a garden and a carriage house. Everything is available. Close the door and become a unified entity. Standing in a Beijing courtyard and looking around, the middle is stretched, the corridors and sills are twisting, and there are things exposed and things hidden. The essence of the courtyard lies in the word "合", which "integrates" all members of a family together. "How deep is the courtyard?" Only in this ancient courtyard can we feel this Chinese poetic realm.

Large Siheyuan: The main house has a front porch and a back building, with a covered room behind it. There is a hanging flower door in the middle of the flower wall on the south side of the east and west wings. Inside the door are four wooden screens. The east and west wing rooms have hand-painted corridors, which are connected to the hanging flower door. Some flower walls have two or three leaky windows on both sides of the hanging flower door.

Between the main room and the side room, there is a full moon door, which allows you to go from the corridor to the backyard. Some have halls that you can walk through.

In the outer courtyard, there is a flower wall on the east and west sides, a moon gate in the middle, four green-painted wooden screens, and red square characters. On the east side is "Dongbi Books" and on the west side is "Xiyuan Hanmo" . You can go to the cross courtyard from this gate.

The south room has a mountain verandah, which is a corridor connected by opening the door on the gable wall. This layout forms several courtyards connected to each other from east to west, north to south. The most typical courtyard houses in Beijing are Nawangfu (located in Jinyu Hutong) and Prince Gongfu (Shichahai West Street) during the Qing Dynasty. They are spectacular and have gardens.

Zhongsiheyuan generally has five or seven main rooms, with wooden partitions or floor-to-ceiling covers. Some main rooms and side rooms have corridors.

The five-room house has three main rooms and two side rooms. The side rooms have single doors, so-called "three main rooms and two ears".

With seven rooms, between the main room and the side room, there are two suites connected to the main room (opening on the gable). There are three east and west wing rooms respectively. There is an aisle between the wing rooms and the wing room, which can lead to the backyard.

On the south side of the east and west wings, there is a courtyard wall that separates the courtyard into an inner courtyard and an outer courtyard. They are all brick floors. There is no water in the courtyard after rain and clear weather. There is a moon gate in the middle of the courtyard wall. In order to prevent people from the outer courtyard from seeing the inner courtyard at a glance, a brick or wooden screen wall is erected behind the moon gate. Some put a few pots of flowers and a big fish tank in the yard, and set up a canopy in the summer to enjoy the shade in the yard.

Old Beijingers say: ceiling, fish tank, pomegranate tree. This is the scene in the courtyard in summer.

In the outer courtyard, there are one or two deer-top rooms in the east and west. The Luding house is slightly smaller than the wing house and is used as a kitchen or as a living quarters for servants.

There are seven rooms in the south room. The one at the east end is the main entrance, and the one to the west of the main entrance is the concierge. The door opens on the west gable of the main entrance.

Use a room in the west end as a garage or as a side door.