Beijing Siheyuanchuantong Building Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
Its layout was established from the Yuan dynasty, and in the Ming and Qing dynasties took shape as the siheyuan layout composed of the inverted-range house, the pendent-flower gate, the winding corridor, the principal room, the east and west wing rooms, and the rear enclosing house. Family members and servants dwelt separately in the principal room, the ear rooms, the wing rooms, and the inverted-range house; differences in the position, orientation, width, and height of the buildings expressed differences of status and rank, while the various rooms were joined into a unified whole, ordered by superiority and inferiority, reflecting the ethical import of the family organisation in traditional society and bearing important sociological significance.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The traditional Beijing siheyuan building craft is a residential-building craft that uses traditional materials — wood, tile, stone, brick — and the northern traditional craft practice; its construction procedure is complex and its craft exacting, embodying the building concepts and technical level of northern vernacular dwellings, and is an important subject for the study of vernacular architecture culture. The Beijing siheyuan is a courtyard-style dwelling and the basic constituent unit of the old city of Beijing. Because of its regular form and strong adaptability, the Beijing siheyuan became the typical and representative form of courtyard dwelling. The building of the Beijing siheyuan embodies rich cultural concepts. In the depth and openness of the compound, and in details such as the gate, the screen wall, and the house ornamentation, it vividly reflects the hierarchical colouring of ancient vernacular dwellings. The grey walls and grey tiles of the Beijing siheyuan constitute the basic urban colour of Beijing, forming the distinctive vernacular cultural mood of the capital.
Documented process record
The traditional Beijing siheyuan building craft is a residential-building craft that uses traditional materials — wood, tile, stone, brick — and the northern traditional craft practice; its construction procedure is complex and its craft exacting, embodying the building concepts and technical level of northern vernacular dwellings, and is an important subject for the study of vernacular architecture culture.
The pendent-flower gate
The ceremonial gate between outer and inner quarters, with pendent flower columns and carved eaves that display the rank of the house.
The verandah corridor
Corridors running along the sides link the side rooms, serving as sheltered passage and fixing the family's daily route around the yard.
The gate and spirit wall
Gate and spirit wall form the first interface, screening the interior from outsiders; their size and decoration declare the household's standing.
Tiling and the grey wall and roof
Local wood, tile, stone and brick are brought together by the craftsmen, and the uniform grey walls and roofs give Beijing its basic colour.
Ranked layout of the principal and side rooms
Family and servants occupy the principal room, side rooms and the front row, and differences in position, facing, width and height express rank.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The building craft of the siheyuan spread in step with the layout of the old city of Beijing: the checkerboard hutong system of the inner city determines a compound's orientation and scale, the residence gate mostly opens to the south, and the screen wall stands outside the gate to block the view, together with the pendent-flower gate and the winding corridor forming the layers from outside to inside. The principal room, the east and west wing rooms, the inverted-range house, the ear rooms, and the rear enclosing house each occupy their place; superiority and inferiority are marked in turn by position, orientation, width, and height, so that the dwellings of servants and family are at once discernible. The wood, tile, stone and brick used in building are all local materials, and the grey-wall grey-tile tonality is thereby unified; this practice also became the most basic residential face of Beijing. After the Yuan dynasty established the layout, the Ming and Qing dynasties linked the inverted-range house, the pendent-flower gate, the winding corridor, the principal room, the east and west wing rooms and the rear enclosing house into a complete layout, and a single siheyuan is one residential unit of the old city of Beijing.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
With the rapid development of urban construction in Beijing, the Beijing siheyuan suffered great destruction after the founding of New China, and its building craft, under the impact of modern building methods, is gradually being lost; protecting the traditional Beijing siheyuan building craft has become a matter of urgent priority.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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