How big is the quadrangle?

The layout of quadrangles can be large or small. The owner of the house can build it according to the size of the land area and the size of the family. Siheyuan can be as small as one entrance and as large as three or four entrances, or two quadrangles with large spans can be built. Institutionally, many palaces and temples are also designed and built according to the layout of quadrangles.

Siheyuan; siheyuan;?quadrangle?dwellings

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Overlooking quadrangle

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Overlooking quadrangle

Siheyuan is a traditional residential building form in China. Siheyuan is usually surrounded by a main room, an east-west wing and an inverted building, hence its name. Siheyuan usually provides accommodation for a large family. According to the tradition of China, the courtyard is orderly and different inside and outside, providing a relatively secret courtyard space.

Siheyuan has been built in the north and northwest of China. Beijing is the most common and distinctive city of quadrangles, so people often mention Beijing quadrangles when they mention quadrangles. Beijing has preserved many streets and buildings of the Yuan Dynasty, including quadrangles. So it can be said that quadrangles have accumulated profound Beijing culture for hundreds of years. Overlooking Beijing from the air, you can see a gray tile house surrounded by a square yard. The lush trees in the yard decorate the gray houses and provide shade for the people in the yard. Beijing's quadrangles and hutongs have now become the representatives of Beijing's traditional culture and folk customs, and become postcards of Beijing's cities.

Courtyard mode

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Courtyard mode

In addition to Beijing, quadrangles are also the main form of living in other places in northern China. Due to the influence of climate, building materials, cultural traditions and other factors, quadrangles in different regions also have different characteristics. The famous Qiao Family Courtyard in Pingyao, Shanxi Province is a quadrangle with Shanxi style. More broadly speaking, the quadrangle enclosed by caves on the Loess Plateau is also a kind of quadrangle. In addition, Yungui's "one letter" is similar to the quadrangle in the northeast, but there are essential differences.

catalogue

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* 1 history

* 2 features

* 3 Overview

O 3. 1 gatehouse

O 3.2 screen wall

O 3.3 Inverted houses

O 3.4 screen door

O 3.5 Diaohuamen

O 3.6 The first room

O 3.7 wing

O 3.8 ear chamber

O 3.9 Back cover room

O 3. 10 podium

O 3. 1 1 corridor

O 3. 12 courtyard

* 4 Structure

O 4. 1 garden

* 5 Indoor furniture

* 6 main advantages

* 7 Today's quadrangles

O 7. 1 Modern life of quadrangles

O 7.2 Current situation of quadrangles

O 7.3 protect quadrangles

O 7.4 Newly built quadrangles

* 8 Visit quadrangles

* 9 quadrangles in other places

O 9. 1 Shanshan quadrangle

O 9.2 Sichuan quadrangles

* 10 See also

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history

The architectural specifications of Beijing quadrangles were initially formed as early as the Liao Dynasty, and were perfected in the Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, gradually forming Beijing's unique architectural style. Now, quadrangles and hutongs are considered as symbols of street culture in Beijing.

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trait

Like quadrangles in other provinces, Beijing quadrangles are basically quadrangles surrounded by houses on all sides, but they have their own characteristics in many details. Most hutongs in Beijing run east-west, so most quadrangles run north-south, especially in the inner city of Beijing. The courtyard in the center of Beijing Siheyuan is spacious and square, which is obviously different from Shanxi Siheyuan. The four groups of buildings around the courtyard are independent of each other and only connected by cloisters, which is also the characteristic of Beijing quadrangles. In addition, the architectural details such as the gatehouse, screen wall and wharf also have strong Beijing characteristics.

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general situation

The so-called quadrangle is a courtyard with houses on all sides and a courtyard in the middle. This is a quadrilateral.

Regular quadrangles, one family and one house, each family has one or several courtyards. The quadrangle runs through the central axis. The north room is the first room. Houses in the east and west directions are wing rooms. The south gate faces north, so it is called "inverted room". If a family has a good economic situation and a large population, it can build two groups of quadrangles connecting the north and the south, or even three or four quadrangles at most. The courtyard houses are planted with flowers and trees for viewing.

The quadrangle is small, with room 13; The first or second hospital has 25 to 40 rooms. Houses are all single-story. The back wall of the wing is a courtyard wall, and the corner is bricked again. This big quadrangle is surrounded by walls from the outside. The wall is very high, and no window is opened to show its privacy.

When old China lived in a quadrangle, the old man lived in the north room (the upper room) with the living room (nave) in the middle, the eldest son lived in the east room, the second son lived in the Westinghouse, the servant lived in the back room and the daughter lived in the backyard, which did not affect each other.

The design and construction of old Beijing quadrangles are relatively easy. The materials used are also very simple, and steel bars and cement are not needed. It's just a mixed building with blue bricks, gray tiles, bricks and wood. The wood structure is the main standard structure and the weight is light. In case of earthquake, it is not easy to be damaged. The overall color of the building is grayish blue, giving people a very simple and comfortable impression.

In the quadrangles around Beijing, the gate usually opens in the southeast of the quadrangles, not opposite the main house.

Siheyuan consists of many single buildings, including gates, main rooms, wing rooms and so on.

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Arch over the gate

The gatehouse, also known as street gate and gatehouse, is the communication channel between Beijing quadrangles and the outside world. It is generally built on the southeast side of the whole courtyard, which means "purple gas comes from the east" (it is also said that it occupies the gossip position). According to the owner's status, the street gates of the quadrangle are divided into Wang Fu Gate, Liangguang Gate, Zhu Jin Gate, Man Zi Gate, Ruyi Gate and Wall Gate. With the western architecture of Yuanmingyuan,

As the name implies, the Gate of Wang Fu is used in Wang Fu. Usually, one of the three rooms is open and there is a doornail on the door. According to different grades, there are as many as 63 doornails. Liang Guangmen and Zhu Jin Gate are used by officials' families. Liang Guangmen usually stands in a room, and the door is located at the position of the mountain pillar; The size of Zhu Jin Gate is slightly smaller, and it is located in Zhu Jin. Man Zi Gate and Ruyi Gate are used by ordinary people. The door of Man Zi Gate is more forward, located at the eaves column position; Ruyi door generally builds a wall at the position of eaves column, and the door is very small. Ruyi doors are generally carved with bricks, and some tiles can be piled into chain or casserole patterns.

Wang Fu Gate (Five Gates, Three Gates, Spring Palace)

Liang Guangmen (the door frame is located at the center pillar position)

Zhu Jin door (door frame moves forward, located in Zhu Jin position)

Man Zi door (the door frame moves forward further and is located at the eaves column).

Ruyi door (build a wall at the eaves column and open a small door on the wall)

Combination of Chinese and Western (Nanluoguxiang)

Qingshuiji street gate

The roof of a gatehouse is usually tiled with pipe tiles and slab tiles (also known as upturned tiles). The former is used for formal occasions, while the latter is used for ordinary people. There are several kinds of roofs, such as clear water ridge and rolled shed (also known as Yuanbao ridge). There are generally two upward tiles on both sides of Qingshuiling, which are called scorpion tail, scorpion tail and Chaotianshui, and there are tiles under scorpion tail. The eaves are located on the top wall of the building, and are usually equipped with Bofeng to protect the top wall. Bofeng can also use brick carving.

Queti is a wooden component located between the eaves column and the eaves, which plays a certain mechanical role, but Queti and Sanyun are more symbols of official goods. Usually there are only sparrows at Liangguangmen and Zhu Jin Gate.

Door nail is a wooden structure that fixes the door nail on the door threshold. The main door has four latches and the small door has two latches. The part of the door hairpin exposed outside the door is decorated with a door hairpin cap, which is generally hexagonal with curves. Doors and hats are usually engraved with signs and words.

There are many kinds of door panels of the gate, which are generally engraved with door couplets, and the more exquisite street doors are engraved with door hearts. The common couplet is "faithfulness is handed down from generation to generation for a long time, and poetry and books help the world for a long time." There is a cymbal in the middle of the door for knocking.

The top wall refers to the part of the gable that protrudes beyond the eaves column. The pan head on the top wall (also known as eaves and overhangs) and the brick carving at the head of Ruyi Gate are exquisite handicrafts. There are cornices, two-story cornices, Lotus Pier, decals and other components above and below the wall cluster. From top to bottom, the door head of Ruyi Gate consists of fences, guard posts, ice tray eaves, owl mix, lotus beads, hanging boards and other parts.

Door pier refers to the part of the door pillow stone outside the door, which usually has two types: box type and drum type. There is a stone nest in the door pillow stone for inserting the door shaft. The gate pier is a distinctive part of the gatehouse, which is generally composed of sumeru, drums or boxes, animal kisses or lions (some people say it is a sister-in-law). According to the shape of the gatehouse, the shape of the pier is also different. The sculpture on the pier is not only an important material for studying the ancient social culture of China, but also an exquisite stone carving art. ..

Generally, there are facilities such as putting stones and tying stakes for horses by the door, and some are Shi Gandang on Mount Tai.

Drip water on the pipe tile and hook head.

Yanghewa

Qingshuiji

Qingshuiling xiewei tile

The rolling shed is also called Yuanbaoling.

Carved corner brace

Ruyimen brick carving

Brick carvings (grapes) with many children and many blessings on gables.

Cornices on the top wall and two cornices.

Basket pad

Bofeng

Door hairpin

Door post couplets

Door cymbals (laying the first ring)

Door guard iron

Drum pier

Box wharf

Hexagonal column pier

Shizimendun

Shangmashi

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screen wall

Shadow wall, also known as zhaobi, is a kind of wall, which is usually used in quadrangles to block the line of sight, beautify the realization and highlight the role of the gate. On the street outside the gate, a shadow wall is usually built at the position opposite the gate, which is called the outer shadow wall. The outer shadow wall can be divided into independent or non-independent, with one-word, three-paragraph and eight-character forms; Sometimes, the quadrangular gate takes a step back and builds a splayed wall around the gate, which is called the swallow wing screen wall and the left hand screen wall. There is also a screen wall in the courtyard gate, which is generally embedded in the gable at the top of the east wing, and there are also some courtyards with higher specifications, which adopt independent screen walls.

The shadow wall is usually made of bricks and consists of three parts: the seat, the body and the top. There are sumeru seats and some simple ones without seats.

The central area of the wall is called the shadow wall center, which is usually composed of square bricks laid at a 45-degree angle. A simple screen wall can be left unadorned, but it should also be ground neatly and sewn neatly. Luxury screen walls are usually decorated with many brick carvings with auspicious patterns. The brick carvings on the screen wall mainly have four corners in the center and the central area, and there are also mixed owls and Julian at the intersection with the roof. One side of the central square brick is carved with central flowers, and the corners of the brick are embedded in the center of the screen wall with brick plaques or brick carvings engraved with auspicious words.

The top of the shadow wall is generally the same as the roof. Although it is made of brick, the rafters are carved out of brick on the top of the screen wall, covered with the roof of clear water ridge or rolling shed ridge.

Outer shadow wall

Cake shadow wall

Inner shadow wall

Inner shadow wall (Xumishan)

Inner shadow wall (roof form)

Exquisite brick carving in the middle of the screen wall

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An upside-down house

The inverted house is the southernmost row of houses in the whole quadrangle. Because its doors and windows are facing north, the lighting is not good, so it is generally used as a guest room or a house for people. The street gate on the south side, the inverted house, the hanging flower gate on the north side and the veranda constitute the front yard of the courtyard. The front yard is the place where the host receives visitors and works, and the back room is the living area that passes through the back yard of the hanging flower gate.

In an elegant family, there is also a movable wooden shadow wall in the hanging door connecting the inner and outer rooms, which is actually a screen. Usually, this screen is not opened, and daily visits bypass both sides of the screen. Only when the guests come will the host open the screen to welcome them.

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screen door

The screen door is the door you meet when you turn left after entering the gate.

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Caiqimen

Hanging flower gate of Guo Moruo's former residence

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Hanging flower gate of Guo Moruo's former residence

Hanging flower gate, also known as the second gate, is opened on the partition wall of the inner and outer courtyards and located on the central axis of the courtyards. The outer eaves column of the hanging flower door is not erected from the ground, but hung on the crossbar of the middle column, which is called hanging column. There is a hanging bead at the lower end of the hanging column, which is generally painted in petal shape, so it is called hanging flower gate. Diaohuamen is a richly decorated building in the quadrangle.

The inner side of the hanging flower door is connected with the veranda.

Hanging lotus column

The roof of the hanging flower door is generally a shed or a hall, that is, the clear water ridge outside the door and the shed inside the door. The hanging flower door has two doors, one in the middle column position, which is open during the day and closed at night; The other is in the position of the inner eaves column, which is usually closed to isolate the line of sight of the inner courtyard, called the screen door. The lower hanging flower door enters the inner courtyard through the space between the inner eaves column and the middle column on both sides of the lower hanging flower door, and is usually connected with the veranda.

In the old days, the daughter of a big family said, "When the door is closed, the second door is closed", that is, the door is closed.

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legal wife

There are generally three main rooms in a quadrangle, and five to seven main rooms in a large quadrangle, facing south, are the residence of the head of household. The central room is called the main room, and the bedroom and study are on both sides of the main room, with three bays. The main room is characterized by sunshine in winter, which is warm in winter and cool in summer.

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wing-room

The east wing is the home of children and grandchildren. Generally, the west wing is superior to the east wing, so the height of the east wing is slightly different. The west wing is slightly higher than the east wing, but it is difficult to see with the naked eye due to subtle differences. A wing usually has three rooms.

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side room

The height of the two rooms on both sides of the main room is lower than that of the main room, and the layout is quite human-like, so it is called a wing. If the yard is long and narrow, the wing usually has an wing, which is generally flat-topped, so the wing is called the roof.

Drainage holes in the roof

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The back room (in a quadrangle)

The house behind the house is usually the farthest house into the yard, close to the boundary of the yard, and usually the owner's daughter lives in it.

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podium building

The podium is usually a row of houses in the east or west of the yard.

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corridor

The corridor in the quadrangle is a covered building, which is used for walking when it rains and snows. Corridor is divided into eaves gallery and veranda. The former refers to the corridor with a roof and a wing in front of the room, and the roof usually extends from the eaves. The latter refers to the corridor along the wall (handwriting corridor) and the corridor connecting the main room and the wing (mountain corridor). Some eaves galleries and verandahs are sealed with windows to form an indoor environment, which is called a warm gallery.

Undereaves gallery

Wonton veranda

Chuanshan veranda

Climbing gallery

Warm corridor (outdoor)

Warm corridor (indoor)

In A Dream of Red Mansions, when Lin Daiyu first entered the Jia family, she described it like this: "Many women got off the stage and followed a hanging door. The pages retreated, and the women came up to lift the curtain of the sedan chair and help Daiyu get off it. Lin Daiyu took the woman by the hand and entered the hanging flower gate. There were corridors of wonton soup on both sides, and there was a hall with a large screen of red sandalwood and marble. After turning the screen, there are three small halls, and behind the hall is the main courtyard. There are five houses in the front, all of which are carved beams and painted buildings. Wear a mountain veranda on both sides and hang birds such as parrots and thrushes. "

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courtyard

Courtyard: In the courtyard of the inner room, there is a cross-shaped tunnel in the north and south. Most residents in old Beijing will plant trees in the yard. All other trees are planted except pine, cypress and poplar, which cannot be planted because of the variety in the cemetery. In the past, there was a folk saying in Beijing: "Sang Bai Song Li Huai, don't enter the mansion", which is a big taboo for planting trees in the yard. Common flowers and trees are begonia, clove, jujube and pomegranate. In addition, there is the folk custom of raising fish. A vat with a diameter of more than one meter is used to raise all kinds of goldfish or bowl lilies, which can not only beautify the courtyard but also play a role in fire prevention. In addition to the main courtyard, there are often some small courtyards, such as the courtyard between rooms and the courtyard to the west of the house.

The same is true of the basic shape of the multi-entry quadrangle, except that there are several more moon doors or hanging flower doors connecting the courtyards on both sides of the main room.

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structure

Plan of Sanjin Courtyard

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Plan of Sanjin Courtyard

The depth of quadrangles is related to urban planning. The maximum depth is the distance between two hutongs, about 77 meters. A complete Beijing quadrangle is divided into front yard and backyard. The backyard is also called the inner room. The front yard is surrounded by a gatehouse, an upside-down house and a veranda. Hanging flower doors are often used to connect the front and back yards, while moon doors are used in some relatively simple houses. Some small quadrangles have no front yard at all, and when they enter the street gate, they are directly yards. The basic building unit of the inner room is a courtyard surrounded by four houses, and each such building unit is called a courtyard with an entrance. Small quadrangles only consist of a courtyard with one entrance, while large quadrangles often have three entrances and four entrances, even through the side courtyard. Some luxurious courtyards even have gardens and rockeries. Some large courtyards are at the back of the whole courtyard, and there is a post-Gai Lou for women to live in. The quadrangles with higher specifications also have toilets, which are generally arranged in the southwest corner, but most residents use the "official toilets" in hutong, which are now called public toilets.

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garden

Larger quadrangles usually have gardens.

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Indoor furnishings

central scroll

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central scroll

The first room of a quadrangle is the place where the head of the family lives, and the bright room of the first room is also called nave. Usually, a square table is arranged in the middle of a bright room. There are two chairs on both sides of the table, and a picture and two banners are hung on the wall, or four nave paintings are hung.

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Main advantages

Siheyuan has many advantages, such as the private space brought by the courtyard, the conversion between indoor and outdoor in the corridor and so on.

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Today's quadrangles

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Siheyuan in modern life

Siheyuan basically met the needs of family life in the past. At that time, two-story quadrangles and larger quadrangles were usually the residences of bureaucrats and gentlemen. Nowadays, on the one hand, quadrangles basically have no sanitary facilities such as water supply and drainage and heating. In addition, with the development of science and technology, cars, air conditioners and other equipment have appeared, and the original quadrangles have been difficult to meet the needs of modern life. On the other hand, there are few big families with four generations living under one roof. Wealthy families are usually willing to buy villas in suburbs with convenient transportation instead of living in densely populated urban areas. Therefore, whether quadrangles are still valuable as folk houses is also a controversial issue since modern times.

Some people think that the east wing is not easy to live in, so there is no east wing in the quadrangle, which is a corridor running through the north and south. Some newly-built quadrangles have basically considered the location of the garage, some have also built two-story underground structures, including underground swimming pools, and some have installed glass on eaves galleries and verandahs to make the corridors indoor, making them more comfortable to walk in and not affected by the weather.

Except some quadrangles have become compound courtyards, some well-preserved quadrangles have usually become offices of companies and organizations, losing the meaning of living. Some even built hotels in quadrangles, such as Haoyuan Hotel in Shi Jia Hutong and Friendship Hotel in Houyuanen Temple.

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Present situation of quadrangles

Siheyuan was originally designed for a family. However, due to well-known reasons, after the founding of New China, especially after the Cultural Revolution, quadrangles were forcibly occupied or redistributed to many families with the overthrow of the original owners and the seizure of property, as well as the housing pressure of that era. Because it is not suitable for many families, every family has built a kitchen, storage room and other buildings in the yard, and the quadrangle has also become a complex.

Because quadrangles are no longer one family and poorly maintained, there are many dangerous houses in the old city of Beijing. In addition to the problem of dangerous houses, there is also the housing pressure brought by the outdated infrastructure and population growth in the old city. Beijing has started the renovation project of dangerous houses. The government will combine transformation with housing reform and introduce real estate developers for commercial development.

Siheyuan is full of huts.

A dilapidated quadrangle

The faintly visible hanging flower door has long lost its luster.

The screen wall inside the gate has been covered by the hut.

An electric meter installed at the gate

An iron fence was installed outside Liang Guangmen.

In addition, projects such as encrypting road network, widening roads and building more green spaces are squeezing the living space of quadrangles. Since then, quadrangles have been demolished one by one. Even the preserved quadrangles are surrounded by high-rise buildings and become isolated islands in modern cities.

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Protection of quadrangles

At present, the disappearance of traditional quadrangles is accelerating, so some cultural figures call for the protection of these important cultural heritages. At present, a number of quadrangles have been listed as cultural relics protection units:

* No.87 Xijiaomin Lane, Xicheng District

* Xinhua North Street 1 12

* No.23 Wicker, Xisi North Street, Xicheng District

*No. 1 1, Xisi North Third Street, Xicheng District

* No.0/9, Xisi North Third Street, Xicheng District

* Qiangong Hutong, Xicheng District 15

* No.63-65, Dongsi Liutiao, Dongcheng District

* Lishi Hutong, Dongcheng District 129

*No. Neibu Street, Dongcheng District 1 1

* No.7 Houyuan Ensi Hutong, Dongcheng District

* No.2 Guoxiang Hutong, Dongcheng District

* No.0/5, Fang Jia Hutong, Dongcheng District.

* No.36 Fu Xue Hutong, Dongcheng District (including No.36 Jiaodaokou South Street/KLOC-0).

* No.20 Xinkai Road, Chongwen District, etc.

In addition, there are many protected courtyards in Beijing and all districts and counties, but under the pressure of real estate developers, the government did not publish the list of these protected courtyards, so that many courtyards with high protection value disappeared under the bulldozers of developers.

Many quadrangles were demolished in the name of demolition, such as Guo Jun Wang Mi and No.45 Mengduan Hutong.

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The newly-built quadrangle

With the development of old city protection, many quadrangles have been built, some of which are cement structures, and some are antique wood structures. However, due to the loss of architectural technology, the new quadrangle lost its standard and technology.

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Visit quadrangles

Visiting hutongs and quadrangles in Beijing has become one of the unique contents of Beijing tourism. However, the vast majority of quadrangles are dormitories and units, and they are not allowed to visit. Some open former residences of celebrities have become the main way to understand quadrangles.

* Mao Dun's former residence, located at Yuan 'en Temple Hutong 13 behind the intersection.

* Lu Xun's former residence, located in the courtyard of Lu Xun Memorial Hall, No.21,Xisantiao, Fuchengmen.

* Lao She's former residence, located in Fugui Hutong, dengshikou West Street, Dongcheng District 19.

* Guo Moruo's former residence, located in Qianhai West Street, Shichahai.

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Siheyuan in other places

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Shanshan quadrangle

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Sichuan quadrangle

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see