Siheyuan
This article possibly contains original research. (July 2022) |
Siheyuan | ||
---|---|---|
Hanyu Pinyin sìhéyuàn | | |
Bopomofo | ㄙˋ ㄏㄜˊ ㄩㄢˋ | |
Wade–Giles | ssŭ4-ho2-yüan4 | |
IPA | [sɹ̩̂.xɤ̌.ɥɛ̂n] | |
Yue: Cantonese | ||
Yale Romanization | seihahpjyuhn | |
Jyutping | sei3-hap6-jyun6 | |
IPA | [sei˧.hɐp̚˨.jyːn˨] |
A siheyuan (
Names
Siheyuan refers to a courtyard surrounded by buildings on all four sides. It also appears in English translation as courtyard houses and, less often, as Chinese quadrangles.
History
Siheyuan dates back as early as the
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 quite poor, with very few having private
-
Beijing'sGulou and Zhonglou bell and drum towersviewed from a distance; this area is known for its concentration of historic siheyuans (courtyard houses).
-
View of a section of a siheyuan neighborhood in Beijing
-
The Mao Dun Memorial
-
A gate into a siheyuan; the style of the gate indicates that it belongs to a lower-middle class urban family.
-
Lao She Memorial
-
A traditional-style hotel in Beijing. Some of Beijing's historic siheyuans have been purchased and renovated by hotel chains and now function as hotels.[4]
-
Siheyuan belonging to the wealthy usually feature an elaborate doorway
-
An example of upscale siheyuan
-
The large front gate of the Prince Chun Mansion
-
The Former Residence of Soong Ching-ling
Present
According to the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage, there are over 500 historic courtyards preserved in the Cultural and Historical Conservation Areas as important cultural monuments.[5] Many of these are public museums, and preserved historical siheyuans include Lu Xun Memorial, Guo Moruo Memorial, Mao Dun Memorial, Mei Lanfang Memorial, Lao She Memorial and many others. A study by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme in 2008 estimates that there are still about 400,000 residential courtyards remaining in Beijing.[6] The sales market of siheyuan has also been booming in recent years.[2] A report in 2005 finds there are usually around 7,000 to 9,000 residential siheyuans that are on the market for sale, and many are generally priced at 7,000 to 10,000 yuan per square meter.[2] However, the prices vary based on the area and the market. For residential siheyuans in the Dongcheng and Xicheng districts in 2009, the prices can go up to 40,000 yuan per square meter. For siheyuans near the Houhai and Shichahai area, the prices can go up to between 100,000 and 150,000 yuan per square meter.[citation needed] A 2,000 square meter siheyuan near the Shichahai area was sold for 40 million yuan ($6 million) in 2005.[2]
Layout of Beijing siheyuan
The four buildings of a siheyuan are normally positioned along the north–south and east–west axis. The building positioned to the north and facing the south is considered the main house (正房, zhèngfáng). The buildings adjoining the main house and facing east and west are called side houses (廂房, xiāngfáng). The northern, eastern and western buildings are connected by beautifully decorated pathways (抄手游廊, chāoshǒu yóuláng). 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, dàozuòfáng). Behind the northern building, there would often be a separate backside building (后罩房, hòuzhàofáng), the only place where two-story buildings are allowed to be constructed for the traditional siheyuan.
The entrance gate, usually painted vermilion and with
The courtyard dwellings were built according to the traditional concepts of the
The layout of a simple courtyard represents traditional Chinese
A more detailed and further stratified Confucian order was followed in ancient China. The main house 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 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, while the concubines would reside in the room to the western end of the main house. The eldest son of the family and his wife would reside in the eastern side house, while the younger son and his wife would reside in the western side house. If a grandson was fully grown, he would reside in the opposite house in the south. Unmarried daughters would always reside in the backside building behind the main house.
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 household or his wife, then the casket would be on the center line in the main house. If the deceased was the concubine of the head of the household, her casket would remain in the main house, 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
A siheyuan offers space, comfort, quiet and
Siheyuan in other areas
In Gansu, Qinghai and other northwest regions, where dust storms are very strong, courtyard walls tend to be higher. 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. 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.
Neo-siheyuan style
Recently, a modern version of siheyuan has been developed as a villa product in large scale planned residential communities of China. These new siheyuan are located in new housing development areas of Beijing.[7][8] In the historic center of Beijing modern siheyuans have been constructed in the period since 2005 using the courtyard concept and ostensibly many of the features of the traditional Beijing house, but using modern techniques and concrete blocks with 'faux' brick facing instead of the traditional carefully laid wide grey Chinese bricks; plastic coated window frames and beams instead of the traditional wood ones coated in natural wood lacquer.
See also
References
- ISBN 3-211-83030-8.
- ^ a b c d "Siheyuan: Old Beijing Style Appeals to Many". Beijing This Month. April 14, 2006. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
- ^ a b "Courtyard (Siheyuan)". China Daily. January 14, 2004. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
- ^ "Experience Beijing's Siheyuan hotels". China Daily. March 7, 2007. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
- ^ "From Hutong to 'New-Tong'". Beijing This Month. September 1, 2008. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
- ISBN 978-92-1-131965-1.
- China.org.cn. March 20, 2005. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
- ^ "Chinese-style villas emerge in market". China Daily. September 24, 2004. Retrieved September 2, 2014.