Learning Mandarin - Chase the spirit of old Beijing

CITYLIFE / Odds & Ends








Chase the spirit of old Beijing
(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2006-07-06 09:48



Generally speaking, a city does not become physically attractive through
rapid economic development and modern metropolitan standards. Physical
beauty comes more from the unique features that differentiate one city
from another. These unique features are oftem just cultural residue
accumulated through history. When we visit Paris, we go to Versaille, and
when we visit Beijing , we go to the Forbiden City.

Many foreigners have visited the Forbidden City and are impressed by its
grandness, as well as the complexity of this huge architecture. Believe
it or not, this majestic palace is a variation of a Siheyuan, a style of
housing used by citizens of old Beijing.

Simply speaking, a Siheyuan (quadrangle building) is the combination of
four buildings, with one laying on the east, south, west and north, with
a yard in the middle. These buildings are located within a set of walls,
creating a unified whole. In ancient Beijing, the residences of citizens
of different social status contained a different number of sets of
Siheyuan. Ordinary citizens' residences had only one set of Siheyuan,
called Yijin Siheyuan. More wealthy citizens would have two or more sets
of Siheyuan, called Liangjin Siheyuan, Sanjin Siheyuan and so on. The
number of Siheyuan in a residence was a good indicator of wealth, as the
people with more money had more Siheyuan. Each individual Siheyuan also
had its own door. Following this rule, the Forbidden City, residence of
the emperor, has many doors.

The layout of a simple courtyard becomes a vivid representation of
traditional Chinese morality. Due to Beijing's geographical location,
four buildings in a single courtyard receive different amount of
sunlight. The northern one receives the most, thus serving as the living
room and bedroom of the Siheyuan owner. The eastern and western buildings
receive less, and serve as guestrooms. The southern one, opposite the
owner's house, receives the least sunlight, and usually functions as the
quarters for service staff. The northern, eastern and western buildings
are connected by beautiful decorated passages. These passages serve as
shelters from the sunshine during the day, and provide a cool place to
appreciate the view of the courtyard at night. Behind the northern
building, there would often be a separate building for unmarried
daughters. In ancient China, unmarried girls weren't allowed direct
exposure to the public, thus, they would occupy the most secret building
in the Siheyuan.

Though built a long time ago, a Siheyuan is a scientific, human-oriented
architecture. Northwestern walls are usually higher than the other walls,
to protect the inside buildings from the harsh winds, blowing across
northern China in the winter. The eaves curve downward, so when it rains
the accumulated rainwater will flow along the curve rather than dropping
straight down. The rooftop has ridge design, so when sunshine falls down
on the roof, shade is provided. This helps the room to escape direct
exposure to sunshine in the summer while retaining warmth in the winter.

Here we list places around the Forbidden City to visit the best-preserved
Siheyuan. Not long ago, these buildings were set aside by the municipal
government specifically for their protection.


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