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SIHEYUAN "THE QUADRANGLE"


Siheyuan, which means a courtyard surrounded by houses on all the four sides, take shape in the Liao Dynasty, it matured through the Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties and become the traditional residential compound of Beijing. A regular Beijing siheyuan house is built in hutong (a lane) running from east to west, and faces south, with a total area about 200 m2. The four houses are enclosed with high walls. The north house which is the principal one usually has three main chambers and two flanking ones The eastern and western houses, three chambers respectively and the southern house, four chambers.
A regular Beijing siheyuan house is built in hutong (a lane) running from east to west, and faces south, with a total area about 200 m2. The four houses are enclosed with high walls. The north house which is the principal one usually has three main chambers and two flanking ones The eastern and western houses, three chambers respectively and the southern house, four chambers. The main gate is opened in the southeast corner, the position of xun in the Taoist Eight Diagrams, signifying the wind and is composed of over twenty types of components, such as frames, leaves, thresholds, bolts, nails and hinges. Usually it is coated in black lacquer, and may be decorated with a couplet with black characters on a red background. Behind the main gate are the festooned gate and the moon-shaped gate. The festooned gate is the most beautifully decorated. The ends of rafts under the eaves are in bluish green, and the wangmu in red; the round raft ends are decorated with a pattern of concentric blue, white and black circles, and the square raft ends, with golden patterns or diamond designs. The lotus-shaped ends of the columns on both sides, are colorfully lacquered and carved with patterns symbols of good luck which reflect old Beijing dwellers’ wish for a happy life, such as the combination of the character meaning longevity and the bat (meaning happiness), the vase with a Chinese rose in it (meaning ‘peace in four seasons’), and tokens of ‘long-lasting clan’, ‘three friends in winter’, ‘riches and honor’, and ‘happiness, wealth and longevity’. Pomegranate trees (symbol of fertility) like oleanders, cassiabark trees, osmanthus fragans, Indian azaleas, flowers such as lilacs, Chinese crabapples, mountain peaches, and gardenias are planted in the siheyuan to add to its beauty.

Written by Beijing Apartments Team, May 2008

BEIJING APARTMENTS: Beijing City Guide