Courtyard-style Characteristics of Traditional Dwellings in China

Siheyuan is an inner courtyard house surrounded by houses in the east, west, south and north. Beijing quadrangles, as the main architectural form that old Beijingers have lived in for generations, are well-known at home and abroad and all over the world. In fact, the architectural tradition of China is quadrangle culture. If you visit the Qiao Family Courtyard and Pingyao Ancient City, you will find that even businessmen in the history of China followed the humanistic philosophy based on Confucian philosophy. By analyzing the cultural characteristics of quadrangles, the artistic and cultural characteristics of traditional buildings in China can be completely mapped.

An "encirclement culture" closely related to national characteristics. Influenced by China's geographical map, long social history and national characteristics, China people have formed an attitude of attaching importance to contentment, advocating peace and being tolerant of others. Thus forming a "enclosure culture" that pays attention to safety in architecture. The architectural structure of quadrangles is the most typical representative. The four walls form a closed independent house, which is private and gives people a sense of security; The courtyard is spacious, surrounded by independent houses and connected by verandahs, forming a relatively safe and closed space.

2. Feng Shui culture. According to the geomantic point of view, there should be Long Mai and main mountain behind the city site (homestead), with one mountain facing the sun in front, the left supporting the outside and the right protecting the outside. This is the ideal model of geomantic architecture. The base is surrounded by high or low hills, forming a relatively closed space. One of the root causes is the desire for a sense of security in the living environment. The construction of quadrangles pays great attention to geomantic omen and geomantic omen theory, which is actually an ancient architectural environmentology in China and an important part of China's traditional architectural theory. Whether in ancient times or now, geomantic culture has been well utilized and passed down.

3. Coordination, unity and symmetry. Influenced by Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, the traditional architectural culture in China has always advocated conforming to nature. In the eyes of ancient ancestors, architecture should be in harmony with nature. This concept also affects the layout and image characteristics of the building. The architectural features of quadrangles, from site selection to decorative lights of the building itself, are in harmony with nature. Trees and flowers are planted in the courtyard, birds are fed and fish are raised, and residents enjoy the beauty of nature. In addition, most quadrangle buildings follow the unified and symmetrical rules, and traces of symmetrical art can be seen everywhere where the corners fall.

Four. Building a community. China has been an absolute monarchy for thousands of years. The supreme ruler of the centralized government wants to show the power and majesty of the empire through architectural art, symbolizing supreme and eternal kingship. This is not only reflected in the art of palace architecture, but also in the architecture of quadrangles. The walls are used to divide their spheres of influence, and the buildings in the courtyard are mainly aggregated, which embodies a centralized thought. Looking at the hutong culture in Beijing outside the quadrangle, we can also see that the houses are built next to each other, row upon row, and live next to each other.

Verb (abbreviation of verb) bears the traditional culture and art. Another characteristic of China traditional architecture is that its decoration and other things bear the connotation of China traditional culture. Although quadrangles are residential buildings, they contain profound cultural connotations and are the carriers of China traditional culture. The decoration, sculpture and painting of quadrangles also reflect folk customs and traditional culture everywhere, showing people's pursuit of happiness, beauty, prosperity and auspiciousness, such as the pattern composed of bats and longevity characters, which means "longevity and happiness"; The Chinese rose pattern in the vase means "peace in the four seasons"; The auspicious words embedded in the door hairpin and the door head, the couplets stuck on the pillars and the masterpieces of calligraphy and painting hung indoors are all ancient teachings of the sages and philosophers. They use ancient and modern famous sentences, or praise the beauty of mountains and rivers, or learn to live in the world, or recite the ambition of a swan. They are elegant and full of rich cultural atmosphere, just like the halls of traditional culture in China.

To sum up, in the long development process, China traditional architecture has formed the characteristics of emphasizing enclosure, paying attention to humanistic feng shui, inheriting from generation to generation, and pursuing the construction of architectural communities. The architectural features of quadrangles are the pinnacle of China's traditional architectural art, which not only embodies the characteristics of China's traditional culture, but also shows the world the cultural features of China's traditional architectural art.