Many people study quadrangles and solidify them in Beijing. 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 China's history followed the humanistic philosophy based on Confucian philosophy. In Suzhou Gardens, people have experienced the architectural philosophy created by China's cultural management in the past dynasties in picturesque and fantastic crafts. After visiting Suzhou gardens with a foreign architect, we were surprised at the conclusion. He said: truly great architecture is not produced by architects, but created by philosophers, thinkers and scholars. Just like the garden in front of us, it is essentially a home, or a study, or an ancient office. It is like a garden, and it can become a representative of oriental culture. If we regard it as a home, people will forget how many living rooms and bedrooms there are in this home, or their size and height, so that they can enjoy the scenery in the garden. If we regard it as a garden, the houses hidden in the landscape and the furnishings in the houses are the best portrayal of the owner's spirit and soul. Qi Baishi, a great painter in China, once said that the beauty of things lies in similarity and dissimilarity, and there is no skill at all, or that "there is no sword in hand, but a sword in heart" written in Jin Yong's martial arts novels is the best taste and realm.
China has been modernized, but the old houses have been demolished. Beijing is more and more like new york, Hongkong and Tokyo, but people don't know why they miss life in the courtyard so much. In the past, quadrangles allowed ordinary people to live and work in peace.
There is a truth. Nowadays, the rich people in the world are converging. Rich people in China and the United States wear Armani and Louis Vuitton, but the unique culture is often passed down by what we call the poor. This is why so many foreigners like to visit Beijing's hutongs, and Old Town of Lijiang has become the Shangri-La of mankind.
Ordinary people do, but in the past, quadrangles were big enough to accommodate court nobles. In fact, if you think about it carefully, our Forbidden City is a big quadrangle. Our Beijing is a civilized ancient capital strung together by many quadrangles with hutong as the golden thread. Therefore, some people say that the cultural essence of quadrangles is hutong culture.
The ancient quadrangles in China have unparalleled modern significance not only in architecture, but also in culture, philosophy and spirit.
Now the quadrangle has really become a treasure in the ivory tower. People who live there not only have wealth ... We have made several sets of foreign quadrangles in Happiness Village, or new quadrangles, and pursued such a feeling in the imagination of foreign architects in the center of modern cities, such a feeling of collision, integration and sublimation between Chinese and Western cultures.
Siheyuan has a long history in China. According to the analysis of existing cultural relics, quadrangle architecture appeared as early as 2000 years ago.
In the course of historical development, China people especially like quadrangles, which are not only used in palaces, temples and government offices, but also widely used in local houses.
However, as long as people mention quadrangles, they will naturally think of Beijing quadrangles. Why?
This is a typical quadrangle in Beijing. Among all kinds of quadrangles, Beijing quadrangle can best represent its main characteristics.
First of all, the central courtyard of Beijing Siheyuan is basically square in plan, but some houses in other areas are not.
For example, the courtyards of quadrangles in Shanxi and Shaanxi are vertical rectangles long from north to south and narrow from east to west, while most quadrangles in Sichuan and other places are horizontal rectangles long from east to west and narrow from north to south.
Secondly, the houses in the east, west, south and north directions of Beijing Siheyuan are independent, and the east and west wing rooms are not connected with the main building and the inverted building itself. Moreover, the main building, wing room, inverted building and other houses are all on the first floor. There is no building, only the veranda at the corner connects these houses.
In this way, Beijing quadrangle has a bird's eye view from the air, just like four small boxes enclosing a courtyard.
In many quadrangles in the south, the surrounding houses are mostly buildings. In the four corners of the courtyard, the houses are connected, and the houses in the east, west, north and south do not exist independently. Therefore, southerners call the courtyard "patio", which shows that the courtyard in the south of the Yangtze River is as small as a well, which inevitably reminds people of the idioms of "frog in the well" and "sitting on a well and watching the sky".
Beijing quadrangle is a veritable quadrangle, spacious and open, with plenty of sunshine and broad vision.
In the feudal society, where the old and the young are in order and the pecking order is different, the housing allocation of Beijing quadrangles is very strict, and the first room of the courtyard with superior location should be occupied by the grandfather and wife of the older generation.
Only one of the three rooms in the North House is open to the outside, which is called the main room. The two rooms on both sides only opened the door to the hall, forming a suite and a bright and dark pattern. The main hall is the place where family members live, entertain relatives or worship ancestors in the New Year, and there are more bedrooms on both sides.
The bedrooms on both sides of the east and west also have the distinction of honour and inferiority. Under polygamy, the east is noble, the first house is occupied, the west is humble, and the wing is occupied.
East-west wing-can open the door alone, or communicate with the main room, generally used as a bedroom or study. The east wing and the west wing are inhabited by the younger generation. There are also bright and dark wings, with a living room in the middle and bedrooms on both sides.
You can also partition a room on the south side to be used as a kitchen or dining room. Back-built houses-quadrangles with medium-sized or above often have back military houses or back Gai Lou, which are mainly for unmarried women or maids.
To be exact, in the past, old Beijingers called all kinds of animals they liked to keep and enjoy as "playthings", but seldom used the most popular word "pet".
Speaking of pets in old Beijing quadrangles, there are quite a few, which can be roughly divided into four categories: birds, insects, fish and mammals. Keeping pets is not only a hobby of old Beijingers, but also an important part of quadrangle culture. What people get from enjoying pets is a kind of spiritual pleasure and enjoyment, which makes the life in quadrangles more interesting.
Let's start with birds and pets. There are more than a dozen birds and birds that are often kept in old Beijing. What thrush, lark, yellowbird, bluebird, parrot, starling, lovebird, wenbird, pigeon, etc. Only parrots can be divided into three types according to their size, the most common ones are budgerigar, colorful parrot and sunflower parrot. The most euphemistic song is yellow bird, also called oriole. Although it is small in size, its voice is crisp and pleasant, and it can imitate the calls of mountain magpies, naked babies and crickets. Because it is easier to feed, there are more people in quadrangles. Myna is often seen by people because of its clever words, and it is favored by the elderly of several years old. Putting a myna under the eaves will bark at everyone, but learning a few words is not fun.
People in quadrangles keep birds for fun. Every morning, before people get up, the birds call jujube first, which makes the small courtyard full of vitality, so the first thing people do after getting up is to walk the birds. In fact, bird walking is not just "breathing fresh air" for birds, but mainly training birds and teaching them some small skills of viewing and entertainment. People who like to keep birds pay special attention to the choice of bird cages, such as bamboo cages, purple lacquer cages and wicker cages. Some people hold one in one hand, others hold two in the other, or move up and down gently, or swing slowly from side to side. Many people often get together to compete for "share": whose bird is more beautiful, whose cage is more unique, whose voice is better and whose flowers are more lively.
Among bird pets, there are pigeons in the courtyard. In the past, when you walked in the streets of Beijing, you often heard the whistle of pigeons. Looking up at the blue sky, you will see pigeons flying by with the wind, forming a harmonious and peaceful picture with ancient trees, red walls, hutongs and old yards. This is actually a scene in Beijing. Raising pigeons is different from raising other birds. It is interesting to raise other birds to watch and sing, but it is interesting to raise pigeons to fly. Old Beijingers are used to calling raising pigeons "playing with pigeons", which is very particular.
First of all, there are as many as thirty or forty kinds of pigeons, the most famous of which are Dianzi Pigeon, Huaner Pigeon, Black Pigeon and Side Pigeon. Some pigeons are all white with only a small piece of black or purple on their heads. The ring pigeon has a ring of other coat colors around its neck. Black pigeons are black from beginning to end. Pigeons with wings have a special color on their wings. The quality of pigeons depends not only on their coat color, but also on their flying endurance and the number of somersaults. Some pigeons can turn a series of somersaults in the air, others can fly from hundreds of miles away and come back soon. This is a very good pigeon. Pigeons in quadrangles have no distinction between high and low. Pigeon lovers often get together to learn skills, and often fly dozens of miles together to see whose pigeon flies back first.
Beijingers like to keep birds, which not only helps to create A Le ears, but also has the function of nourishing the heart and strengthening the body. In the past, there was a saying: "Raising birds and walking them means walking them and practicing people. If you broaden your mind and become stronger, your life will be bright. Therefore, whether literati, famous actresses, drivers or workers in the pear garden, they all have a hobby of keeping birds, making birds and birds the most kept pets in quadrangles.
When it comes to playing with bugs, it's also A Le's ear of old Beijingers, which is very interesting regardless of their status. There are many kinds of insects, such as cricket, cricket, golden bell, smacking mouth, oil gourd and so on. Cricket and cricket are the most popular.
Let's talk about the breeding of slugs, which is just a hobby of many people in quadrangles. In the past, after wheat harvest, grasshoppers began to appear in hutongs. Most vendors put crickets in cages made of straw or wheat straw. Cages are very fancy, with circles, squares, octagons and triangles. You can hear the crisp sound of pots and pans from a distance, attracting many people from quadrangles to buy them. There is a description in "Yanjing Years Old": "After May in Beijing, there are bells peddling along the street, with only one or two bells per bell". Most of these grasshoppers come from Yixian County and Laishui, Hebei Province. One is that they are big, and the other is that their calls are crisp and pleasant. People in quadrangles seldom buy one set, but mostly buy two sets. One is that old Beijingers have the habit of pairing, and the other is auspicious numbers. The other is that they can play together and scream more happily. Most of the cages bought are hung on the eaves, lintels, grape racks or begonia trees in front of windows or yards. From then on, the singing of Suzy became the most beautiful voice in the yard, and it always reached beginning of winter.
Beijing people attach great importance to the breeding of slugs. First of all, they should choose the top slug and pay attention to all the tails and pleasant sounds; Second, the color is positive and the appearance is good. Black, green and blue are generally selected. The third is active and jumping. The more lively and playful slugs are, the more popular they are. According to the seasons, there are summer and autumn. Before beginning of autumn, there were summer slugs, and after beginning of autumn, there were autumn slugs. Those who are well-nourished can keep them until mid-winter. In the past, some people with money or status in quadrangles would go to Hebei, Shandong and even Northeast China hundreds of miles away to buy a top-grade slug. There is also a cage for fruit and fruit. The first-class fruit cage is made of gourd, and there are carved flowers, carved flowers and hot flowers outside. Most designs are quaint mascots, such as Song He Yannian, Fulu Xi Shou and Mei Zhu Lan Residence. Simple and elegant, it can be regarded as a work of art.
In addition, cricket, also known as cricket or promoting weaving, has become a common custom of playing cricket in quadrangles every autumn in the old days, from princes and nobles to ordinary people. However, in the past, most ordinary Beijingers kept crickets instead of gambling. Fighting is just a pleasure. Even hanging a little "incense" is just a pack of cigarettes and half a catty of "miscellaneous sugar", and there are few big bets. Although crickets are small, they are also very particular. It is also a cricket fight, and it is also divided into three classes in the courtyard. The worst thing is that several children are squatting in their yard or at the door to play cricket for fun. These utensils are just enamel jars and glass bottles. All crickets are not fine products, but mostly coffin plates and old rice mouths they have caught themselves. Medium refers to some literati fighting cricket at home, mainly for entertainment and making friends with cricket. The best are dignitaries. They often set up cases in quadrangles and invite some friends and guests to get together to enrich their taste, but they often gamble in battle.
The crickets played by Beijingers are mostly Cliff Yellow in Dezhou, Shandong, Tietouqingbei in Ningyang and Qingmatou in Hei Chi, as well as Voldemort Cricket in Sujiatuo, Shrimp Head Green in Heilongtan and Qingmatou in Fushouling, Shijingshan. The fun of keeping crickets lies in their fighting and singing. When the cricket fights, it pays attention to using "tricks" such as clip, hook, flash, hide, hug, hoop, bite, pinch and roll. Crickets need pots to keep, and crickets need pots to fight, and they are extremely particular. Ordinary people in quadrangles often keep animals in wooden cages and bamboo cages, and often use clay pots or clay pots in battle. Cricket-like fighting is not attractive, but a good cricket is not attractive, and its titles are also beautiful: General Wing Zhen, Marshal Red Beard, Big Mac, Invincible King, Spotted Leopard and so on. Around the Mid-Autumn Festival, it is the climax of cricket fighting in quadrangles. The fight between two small crickets attracted more than ten people to watch and cheer. The winning cricket fluttered its wings and sang loudly, and the owner immediately felt that his face was radiant. If the two sides are tied and several battles are not resolved, the host will make peace. Crickets bring infinite fun to quadrangles.
Let's talk about fish pets. People in Beijing have raised goldfish for hundreds of years. Because "fish" and "surplus" are homophonic, meaning "more than a year", they are regarded as auspicious things. Raising fish is not only a pleasure, but also a way to cultivate one's morality and escape from reality. In summer, "ceiling, fish tank and pomegranate tree" is the most harmonious scenery in the courtyard. In North Korea, from princes and nobles, large and small officials to ordinary people, they all like to put fish tanks in their own courtyards and in their rooms, ranging from dozens to hundreds of goldfish. In the words of Beijingers: fish farming is a slow job, and the important thing is the process of tempering, so as to nourish the heart and soothe the nerves.
Goldfish that Beijingers often keep can be divided into two categories: grass carp and emperor fish. Grass carp is a small goldfish peddled along the street. Its size is very small, ranging from one inch to five inches, and its price is relatively cheap. Most ordinary people will buy a few and put them in a small round fish tank to watch. The owner of the "day pearl fish" is a rather particular person. There are many kinds of "day pearl fish", including red dragon eye, red longan, black longan, blue longan and Zi Long eye. Multi-purpose wooden pots over three feet in diameter are used for farming. Generally, fish tanks are placed under the ceiling of quadrangles or beside aisles. Fish tanks are supported by special shelves, and some fish tanks also contain some aquatic plants. There are three things that must be done to raise fish: changing water, catching fish worms and feeding fish. Sun the water for three to five days before changing the water, then copy the fish in the fish tank to another fish tank with a copy, then clean the water in the fish tank, especially the feces and dirt of the fish, then put the sun-dried water on it and pour the fish in. Fishing and insects mean fishing and food in nearby ponds and reed ditches every day. Fish farmers seldom feed fish dry food, but more live food, so that fish like to eat, grow fast and look fresh. Feeding fish is the happiest time for fish farmers. It's boring to sprinkle a handful of fish food and watch the fish feed.
Among animal pets, old Beijingers used to have more cats and dogs. I don't want to talk about cats in quadrangles. There was an article "The Cat in the Siheyuan in Old Beijing" published in the edition of Siheyuan, which clearly described the story of Beijing people raising cats. It's just that the dog is here In the past, there have never been so many dogs in Beijing as today, and dogs have never been so popular. Even if you have a dog, you will never enjoy the "treatment" like today. You have to spend 600 yuan to get a facial in 700 yuan, and no one even regards it as a "son". At that time, dogs were mostly used to guard homes or as companions and "bodyguards" when going out.
Today, the types of dogs raised by Beijingers almost include famous dogs from all over the world. The price of a more expensive dog ranges from several hundred yuan to ten thousand yuan, which was unimaginable for old Beijingers in the past. In the past, there were more small Beijing dogs and small Shiba Inu dogs in quadrangles, and only large families raised German shepherds and so on. The number of dogs is far less than the number of cats, so in all kinds of books about old Beijing, there is little talk about raising dogs. In the early years, people's lives were not rich. Dog food is mostly leftovers from their owners. They are often hungry and full. When they are not full, they go out to eat wild food. They don't know what dog food is. Most kennels are located at the entrance of quadrangles, so as to have a good response. It is too little to keep dogs in the house where the owner lives or as a member of the family.
In addition, old Beijingers keep pets such as eagles, turtles, monkeys, chickens, geese and falcons. , but the number is not much, only people who like it very much will raise it.
Let's do it quickly