How did the architectural style of quadrangles evolve?

The structure of quadrangles did not appear out of thin air, but evolved slowly from ancient buildings. The quadrangle architecture originated in the Yellow River valley and has a long history. It is a typical wooden structure building and a typical representative of traditional architectural forms in China. The traditional quadrangle architecture basically adopts the architectural pattern of "axial symmetry, front hall and back room, left and right hatchbacks".

Square architecture can be regarded as the representative of early architecture. The magnetic mountain culture site excavated in Wu 'an County, Hebei Province is the representative of the early farming culture in the Yellow River Basin, and its ancient civilization can be traced back to about 7060 ~ 7355 years ago. The village is composed of semi-crypt buildings, and the plane is mostly irregular and round, with an area of about 6 ~ 8m2. During the Yangshao culture period of about 4800 ~ 6700 years ago, square houses gradually occupied a dominant position in the Yellow River Basin, and the building area expanded to about 20m2, and the architectural plane form evolved from round to square.

At Banpo site in Yangshao culture period, a large building appeared, which archaeologists called "big house". The entrance to the "big house" is a big space with a fire pit, which may be a place for parties or ceremonies. The back is divided into three small spaces, or bedrooms, for living. This layout of front hall and back bedroom is the earliest known example of "front hall and back room". In the late Yangshao culture, the central village of the village complex began to have separate houses. The "primitive temple" excavated in the central village of Qin 'an Dadiwan site in the upper reaches of Weihe River is a multi-space complex building. The main room is a rectangle extending from east to west, and there is a big column on the left and right near the back gable, forming an axisymmetric pattern. At this point, the pattern of "symmetrical central axis, front hall and back room, left and right hatchbacks" has basically taken shape.

Courtyards began to appear in the architectural layout of chalcolithic about 4,000 years ago. The appearance of courtyards is an important stage in the evolution from simple single buildings to group buildings. At first, the courtyard was only used as a gap between houses. During the Western Zhou Dynasty, courtyards began to combine with single buildings to form quadrangle buildings with strict layout. The site of Feng Chu Village unearthed in Qishan, Shaanxi Province has a clear central axis, on which the screen wall, gate, courtyard, front hall and back room are arranged in turn from outside to inside, with the usual wing rooms on the east and west sides. The architectural layout of "symmetrical central axis, front hall and back room, left and right hatchbacks" shows that the evolution from single building to group building has been realized as early as the Zhou Dynasty.

Architectural Pattern of Feng Chu Village in Qishan, Shaanxi Province. During the Spring and Autumn Period, China entered the feudal society. In order to meet the needs of life, the literati class representing the landlord class and the businessmen in the city have promoted the wider development of residential buildings and gradually standardized and finalized quadrangle buildings. The book "Yili" recorded the residence system of the literati at that time: there were three doors, the central bright room was the door, the left and right rooms were the "school", the door was the courtyard, and the top was the "hall", which was the place for living, meeting guests and holding ceremonies; The left and right sides of the hall are "compartments" and "rooms" are behind the hall.

Combination and renovation of quadrangles in han dynasty. Cloisters and heavy buildings can be seen in the Han Dynasty portrait bricks unearthed in Sichuan. The main house of the Jin Dynasty has the form of east hall and west room on both sides, and then the residential scale has developed. At the beginning of the 7th century, the Tang Dynasty established a powerful empire, which contributed to the cultural climax in the history of China, and architectural art was no exception. In order to make more effective use of the area, Sanhe and Siheyuan in rural areas built houses around the yard; The large-scale houses of the ruling class still follow the traditional way since the Six Dynasties, using uneconomical corridors, and the courtyards of quadrangles in the Song Dynasty were more complicated. Cloister-style houses are often used around the courtyard instead of wooden cloisters, so the function and structure of houses and the shape of quadrangles have changed, and the combination of houses and gardens is closer. From the appearance of quadrangles to the end of Qing Dynasty, most medium and large houses were surrounded by cloisters and walls, and palaces, temples and other buildings also adopted the same method.

The layout principle of quadrangles, except for a few exceptions, has been basically used and has not changed much. However, in terms of technology, technologies such as beam decoration, sculpture and color painting are constantly being introduced. New. Brick walls were used in the Eastern Han Dynasty, but in order to alleviate the slippage of houses and increase indoor lighting, the eaves structure in the Han Dynasty adopted the form of upward bending and upturned corners of houses. The separatist situation of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms has caused great damage to the Yellow River basin, but there are few wars in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, and the economy and culture are quite developed. In terms of housing, wooden eaves were added under the eaves to prevent rain, snow and sun exposure. In the Song Dynasty, the lattice door was fully developed, and the fixed straight lattice window gradually became a sill hook window that could be opened and closed. At that time, geometric patterns prevailed in the composition of doors and windows and color paintings, and the halo was also greatly developed, enriching the decoration of quadrangles.

At this point, the structure of quadrangles was basically formed, and most of the quadrangles we see now are works of the Ming and Qing Dynasties and the Republic of China.