What is Hutong
History
A Tour of the Hutong
Hutong Culture
Courtyard Culture |
Courtyard Culture
Dwelling compounds or quadrangles (Siheyuan) - the enclosed, one-story
courtyard houses that make up old Beijing, feature a typical Chinese
folk residential architecture.
A standard siheyuan usually falls into a rectangular compound with
one-story houses squarely facing the cardinal points and a courtyard
in middle.
A pair of stone lions usually stands in front of the vermilion studded
door with painted lintel on the top. Decorative patterns are flowers
and bird. Stepping over a high wooden threshold, you will find a
stone screen standing ahead. It is built to avoid direct inspect
from outside and also believed to dispel evil spirits. The next
comes the outer courtyard, flanked by rooms to the east and west.
These serve as kitchens and servants' living quarters. On the north
end of the outer courtyard is the "Main House" southward
for enough daylight with 3-5 rooms. The up-turn eaves provide a
pleasant shade in summer. One room amid is for living or community
purposes with a smaller bedroom or studies beside. Through two passages
on each side of the Main House, one can enter the inner yard. Rooms
on each side were for married children and their families. Greenery
planted in the courtyard presents an inner garden.
Some large compounds have two or more courtyards, inhabited by an
extended family with several generations. "Four Generations
under One Roof", a novel by the contemporary writer Lao She,
depicts Beijingers in the 1930s and 1940s living in siheyuan.
Beijing still has about 400,000 residential quadrangles now, mainly
distributed over the East, West, Xuanwu and Chongwen districts.
The municipal government has earmarked a number of dwelling compounds
for protection. |
