Experts interpret Beijing brick carving

Brick carving is an integral part of traditional architecture, which reflects an architectural culture and a traditional culture. China people's world outlook is harmony between man and nature, learning from nature, world outlook is peaceful, outlook on life is self-improvement, and values are loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and faith. Architectural sculpture, including brick carving, wood carving and stone carving, reflects this traditional concept. Some patterns reflect people's active pursuit of happiness. For example, magnolia and begonia symbolize the wealth of Yutang, chrysanthemums and sparrows represent the joy of the family, while bottles lined with peony flowers and quails symbolize wealth and peace.

Compared with the southern style brick carvings such as Su Carving and Hui Carving, Beijing brick carving has great artistic expression and royal style, with auspicious patterns, flowers and landscapes as the main features and fewer figures. The brick carvings of the Southern School are more delicate, with characters and stories as themes, including plays, such as Twenty-four Filial Pieties, The Three Kingdoms and The West Chamber.

Brick carving is the most common in Beijing quadrangles. Brick carvings are concentrated in the hutong on the west side of Nanluoguxiang, between Dongsisan and Shitiao, and Lishi Hutong. However, some of them are brick carvings newly posted by the owners in the past two years, which are rough in technology and need to be screened. The problem is that it is too commercial. People only regard architecture as a box for people to live in, and architecture has become a project rather than an art.