Shanxi folk house culture

Shanxi merchants used to be the best financiers and the richest people. Now, the former wealthy businessmen have disappeared, but their mansions have stayed. In addition to exquisite architecture, gorgeous and comfortable, these mansions are characterized by high walls and deep courtyards, and they pay attention to defense. They are like solid castles, telling the prosperous history of Shanxi merchants in those years.

Among the dwellings in China, the dwellings in Shanxi are as famous as those in southern Anhui, and there has always been a saying that "northern Shanxi is southern Anhui". Among Shanxi's folk houses, the most abundant and gorgeous ones are those around Fenhe River, and the most representative ones in Fenhe River Basin are Qixian and Pingyao.

Qixian County is located in the south of Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, in Jinzhong. There are more than 40 luxurious courtyards in Qixian County, and the quality of local houses here is high because many Qixian people went out for business since the Ming Dynasty, and after they got rich, they built a large number of houses in their hometown.

The dwellings in Qixian county have several main characteristics of Shanxi dwellings: First, the external walls are high. From the outside of the house, the brick wall without windows is as high as four or five stories, which is very defensive. Second, the main houses are single-slope roofs, and there are not many double-slope roofs, no matter wing rooms or principal rooms, buildings or bungalows. Because they all use a single slope top, the outer wall is high, and rainwater flows into the yard, which means "fat water does not flow into the field." Third, the courtyards are mostly vertical rectangles with narrow east and west and long north and south, and the gates are mostly opened in the southeast corner.

Now, the most famous in Qixian County is the Qiao Family Courtyard.

Located in Qiaojiabao Village, Qixian County. The jstars courtyard is not an ordinary courtyard as imagined, but actually a castle.

The gate of Qiao's compound is like a city gate, and the lanterns hanging on it were left when the movie "Red Lantern Hanging High" was filmed. The jstars courtyard is actually in a square castle with an alley in the middle. At one end of the alley is the gate and at the other end is the ancestral hall. There are three gates on the left and right sides of the roadway, and there are six courtyards, each of which is a small courtyard with two or three entrances. There are side yards on the left and right sides of the courtyard, with rooms 365,438+03. Such a complex plane forms a variety of architectural spaces.

Qujia Courtyard, corresponding to Qiao Courtyard, is located in the north of Dongdajie Road, Qixian County. It was the home of Qu Yuanmian, a prominent family in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. The compound covers an area of 52 17 square meters. It is divided into 8 courtyards, with a courtyard of 19 in the middle, with 240 rooms in total. The appearance of the compound is castle-like, and the wall has battlements. Spacious and tall staircase doorway, above which stands a delicate pavilion, which looks magnificent.

Travel tips:

The representative Shanxi folk houses that have been opened now include Qiao Family Courtyard in Qiaojiabao Village, Qixian County, Qu Family Courtyard in Qixian County, Wang Family Courtyard in Lingshi, Ding Cun Folk House in Xiangfen, etc. Pingyao's Ming and Qing old streets are also worth seeing.

Qixian, Pingyao, Lingshi and Xiangfen are all on the same railway line, leading to Beijing in the north and Luoyang in the south. Railways and highways are very convenient. In addition to visiting the architectural pattern, we should also carefully appreciate its "three carvings"-stone carving, brick carving and wood carving.

The history of quadrangles is the entrepreneurial history of Shanxi merchants. You should buy some books about quadrangles to recharge your batteries and successfully complete your cultural journey.