Beijing Courtyard Overview

    Bijing courtyyard has a Bijing traditional living style.It form a certain scale at the begginning of the Liao Dynasty. Form the Jin Yuan to the Ming and Qing,it gradually improves and eventually becomes Bijing most characteristic form of living.

The so-called SNAP, the "four" means the east, west, south, north on all sides, and "synergy" that is surrounded by housing sat together to form Kun a "mouth" shape. After several centuries of construction, Beijing courtyard have formed the unique capital style of Bijing city from the layout to the internal structure and decoration .
     Beijing courtyard houses generally in accordance with the regular east-west alley which faces south, the basic shape is separated on all sides of the hokubo (main building), the South Room (inverted seat room) and the East and West rooms,its all sides are enclosed by high walls to form a Tetraena and only  open one door. In the middle is a spacious garden,  people plant flowers and trees and breed goldfish.It not only is  the center of the formation, but also the place of walking through,overviewing,ventilation,enjoying the cool,resting and house working.

  Although  Beijing courtyard has certain regulation,  there are varying size that can be divided into three kinds:large Tetraena, medium Tetraena and small Tetraena. small courtyards are generally three hokubos, one light and two dark or two light and one dark .there are two rooms seprated at east and west,3 rooms in south. Medium Tetraena is more large than the small one, usually have 5 hokubo in the north, 3 in front and 2 in side, there are three rooms each in east and west, the Housing Gallery in order to avoid the wind and rain before.In customary,large courtyard known as the "Big Family", housing is set for 5 South 5 North, 7 South 7, in North, even 9 or 11 large principal rooms, usually double courtyard, that is connected by a number of courtyard to the depth.
      Medium-sized and small courtyard in general are living by ordinary people .large Tetraena is the official residence, government office space.
      Beijing courtyard is a brick-wood structure building, room shelf purlin, columns, beams (Tuo), sills, rafters, as well as windows and doors, fans, etc. across Queensland are wooden, wooden shelves around the room Zeyi brick walls. The door is usually a oil-black that can be marked in black couplets, there is no tassel door. moon prostrata doors are available to separate inside and outside house.
      The main carving patterns of Beijing courtyard are various auspicious patterns.For example the bat,and Longevity formed the "Fu-queen" in order to plug in Queensland rose vase symbolize "Four Seasons safe", and "future generations", "three friends of winter" , "Yu-tong riches," "fortune and longevity hi" and so on, showing the old Beijing people for a better life for himself.
      Beijing Courtyard pays attention to landscaping, planting flowers and trees,It is indeed elegant and pleasant. In Qing dynasty, there is a popular colloquialism to describe the inside life of the courtyard: "ceiling, fish tank, pomegranate tree, sir, fat dogs, fat girl," can be said that life is a typical portrayal of the quadrangles.
      Beijing courtyard is generally the style of one people live one house, but also a number of households , mostly poor people, sharing a courtyard known as "residential compounds." many old Beijing residents can not forget the warmth of it.