Ancient layout of the courtyard of a large family

Ancient China, especially in the Ming and Qing dynasties, official residences and large family houses are basically courtyards:

Courtyard, generally into the mouth of the word type, which is mainly composed of the main room, the east and west rooms, inverted seat room, ear room, the back of the Qin room, the large courtyard, stone patterned shadow wall, coping corridor, the pendant door, etc., the location of the direction of the north to the south.

The main room is the highest status room in the courtyard, height, depth, area, etc. are larger than other houses, the number of rooms is generally odd, three, five, seven, etc., the most center for the ancestral tablets, according to the custom of the young and the left, the head of the family also resides in the main room, the main house of the east side of the residence of the eldest, such as official family of the old masters, the old lady, the west side of the residence of the old lord, the wife. This is the reason why the first wife is called the main house, and then on both sides, resides the concubine, so the concubine is also called the side room.

Compartments, also divided into east and west compartments, the east side of the residence of the eldest son of the generation, the west side of the residence of the second son. The specifications of the compartments were much smaller than those of the main house.

Ear room, ear room according to the coat of the courtyard, set 2 or 4 Jian, the main room and compartment can have ear room. Judging from the subordinate relationship, the ear room empire is not high, usually for grandchildren living.

After Qin room, generally live in female relatives or female servants, and inverted seat room opposite, relatively hidden.

The inverted seat room, the inverted seat room is the southernmost house in the courtyard, because of the main room opposite, sitting in the south towards the north, so it is called the inverted seat room, the status is also the lowest, generally servants live, but also near the toilet.

The above is only a general small courtyard, if the house is large, such as four, five large courtyard, the family population is small, young masters, young ladies, etc. can have their own courtyard.

Residential pattern of the ancient nobles of various dynasties

Spring and Autumn Period, the scholar's residence door is divided into three rooms, the middle is the door, is the place of office; left and right for the school, is the place of tutelage; inside the door is the courtyard, the upper part of the hall, is the place of living and living will be the guest rituals, the hall's left and right for the compartment, the hall of the house behind the bed.

The Han Dynasty's aristocratic residence, not only to have the door, school, hall, compartment, etc., but also have the garage, stables, kitchen, warehouse and servant housing. The building form is mostly wooden structure and dry bar type, overhanging mountain roof, appeared square, round, rectangular and other forms of windows, and a variety of window lattice, with walls composed of triple and quadruple courtyard has appeared.

Wei-Jin and North-South Dynasties, the northern aristocracy's residential courtyards are mostly symmetrical layout, the gate is mostly hipped, the inner side of the enclosure wall has a gallery surrounded by the courtyard, in a mansion, there are groups of corridors wrapped around, and there are several halls for different purposes.

Sui-Tang-Five Dynasties period, the nobility's residential layout is more free and lively, the emergence of asymmetrical layout of the courtyard, the door by the door instead of hipped, commonly used straight latticed windows around the corridor into the courtyard.

Song Dynasty city houses were mostly four-hexed layout, with corridor houses instead of cloisters, and the front gate was separated by a wall after entering, which increased the living area and was very practical.

Ming and Qing dynasties, homes can be roughly divided into regular pattern and free pattern. Regular pattern as the mainstream of traditional residential style, generally for the triple or quadruple courtyard. The Qing government also imposed strict regulations on the format, scale and grade of houses.

There are two compartments, strictly internal and external, and the order of respect and inferiority, which led to the transformation of the regular style of housing into a closed inward-looking courtyard, the buildings have a central axis, are symmetrical, and the main and secondary, reflecting the concept of family life in feudal society.