Siheyuan in Beijing

Siheyuan has a long history. Complete courtyards appeared as early as the Western Zhou Dynasty in China more than 3,000 years ago. The two-entry courtyard architectural remains unearthed from the Zhouyuan site in Fengchu Village, Qishan, Shaanxi Province, are the earliest and most rigorous examples of courtyard houses known in China.

The courtyard architecture of the Han Dynasty has undergone new development. Influenced by Feng Shui theory, the courtyard has a complete set of Yin-Yang and Five Elements from site selection to layout. The quadrangle courtyard of the Tang Dynasty inherited the Han Dynasty and the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Its layout is narrow in front and narrow in the rear.

However, the quadrangle courtyards that were popular in ancient times were corridor-style courtyards, that is, the central axis of the courtyard was the main building, surrounded by cloisters, or there were houses on the left and right instead of houses on all sides. In the late Tang Dynasty, courtyards with verandahs appeared and gradually replaced the corridor courtyards. After the Song Dynasty, the corridor courtyards gradually decreased and gradually disappeared in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Siheyuan gradually matured during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, "ordered the residents of the old city to go to the capital to prioritize those with high status (rich people) and senior officials (serving in the imperial court), and ordered eight acres of land to be divided into one portion" to be distributed to Dadu. Rich merchants and officials built residences, thus beginning the period of large-scale formation of traditional courtyard houses in Beijing. In the early 1970s, the ruins of a courtyard house from the Yuan Dynasty unearthed in Houyingfang Hutong, Beijing, can be regarded as the prototype of a courtyard house in Beijing. After being perfected in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Beijing's unique courtyard architectural style gradually formed.

Existing Siheyuan in Beijing In ancient times, Siheyuan basically met the living needs of a family. At that time, two-in-one Siheyuan and larger Siheyuan were usually the residences of officials and gentry. In modern times, on the one hand, courtyards basically do not have sanitary facilities such as water supply, sewage, heating, etc. In addition, with the development of science and technology, automobiles, air conditioners and other equipment have appeared. It is difficult for the original courtyards to meet the needs of modern life. On the other hand, , big families like four generations living under one roof are also relatively rare. Rich families are usually willing to buy villas in the suburbs with convenient transportation instead of living in urban areas with higher population density. Therefore, whether the courtyard house as a residential building still has value has been a controversial issue in modern times.

With the development of the protection of old urban areas, the original courtyards have been renovated. For example, in 1990, Professor Wu Liangyong of Tsinghua University led the dangerous renovation project of Beijing Juer Hutong courtyards, while retaining the courtyard structure. On the building, the original bungalows in the courtyard were converted into buildings, and facilities such as kitchens and bathrooms were added. The renovation project won the United Nations' World Habitat Award. During the dilapidated renovation of Nanchizi in Beijing, some courtyard houses were also converted into two-story buildings and underground garages were built. In 2006, Beijing published the "Beijing Siheyuan Architectural Elements Map" as a reference for the protection, repair, renovation and reconstruction of courtyards.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, many courtyards in Beijing were reduced to large courtyards. After the reform and opening up, with the development of urban transformation, many traditional courtyards were demolished, such as the demolition of Kang Youwei's Yuedong Courtyard in 1998. For the new museum, Zhao Zichen's former residence was demolished in 2000, the Qing Dynasty Guojun Prince's Mansion at No. 45 Mengduan Hutong was demolished in 2004, Cao Xueqin's former residence was demolished in 2005, and Tang Shaoyi's former residence was demolished in 2006. At the same time, some courtyard houses have been listed as protected courtyards at the city and district and county levels in Beijing.

Beijing Siheyuan is the representative of the Siheyuan style in northern my country, and it also has its own characteristics. Generally speaking, the houses of the agricultural people in the northern plains are basically separated from each other. The clear height of the houses is not very large, and the courtyards are relatively spacious. This is because the climate in the north is cold, and shorter houses are conducive to warmth, while spacious courtyards are conducive to lighting. The size of the courtyard of the Chinese four-part residence is directly proportional to the change in latitude. As the latitude increases, the climate becomes hotter and hotter, but the depth of the courtyard becomes smaller and smaller. The formation of this situation is related to the direct angle of the sun. The north is cold and requires sufficient sunlight in winter. However, the height angle of sunlight in the north is small, and there must be enough space between houses to obtain better lighting effects. The southern region is hot and needs shading in summer. Due to the large altitude angle of the sun, the distance between houses must be reduced in order to prevent excessive sun exposure. According to statistics, the average ratio of courtyard depth to house height in courtyards in Jilin, Beijing, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian is 15:3, 10:3, 5:3, and 6:5. [2] For example, the residential courtyards in Jilin in the northeast are in the shape of a vertical rectangle, with the rooms far apart. The houses are scattered in the middle of the yard, and the wing rooms are arranged away from the main house without blocking the light of the main house. Therefore, the yards are relatively wide and open, and generally The area is about 1500 square meters (m[2]) (Figure 2).

The reason why it adopts such a loose arrangement is firstly because the land in the Northeast is vast and sparsely populated, so more land can be occupied when building a house. Also because it is cold in winter, and the side rooms are away from the main house so that the main house can receive more sunlight. Compared with Beijing Siheyuan, Jilin Siheyuan has obvious shortcomings. The houses in the house are not connected to each other. Each house appears as a single unit with a loose layout. The land area of ​​each house is too large and the land utilization rate is low. In particular, there is too much free space at the rear of the house, and some cannot be used. People who took advantage of it have already made it useless. Another major problem is that the side rooms are too long and too many, making the yard form a long rectangle. These houses lack light and are not suitable for use.