Traditional building techniques of Beijing siheyuan

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: traditional building techniques of Beijing siheyuan

Applicant: China Academy of Arts

Project No.: 1188

Project No.: VIII - 208

Time of publication: 2011 (the third batch)

Category: traditional art

Region: Zhongzhi unit

Type: new item

Applicant: China Academy of Arts

Protected by: China Academy of Arts

Brief introduction of traditional building techniques of Beijing siheyuan

Applicant: China Academy of Arts

The traditional building technique of Beijing siheyuan is a kind of residential building technique using traditional wood, tile, stone, brick and other traditional materials and Northern traditional craftsmanship. Its construction process is complex and exquisite, which reflects the construction concept and technical level of northern residential buildings. It is an important content of the study of residential building culture.

Beijing siheyuan is a kind of courtyard house, which is the basic unit of the old city of Beijing. Since the Yuan Dynasty, the layout of siheyuan was established. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the layout of siheyuan was composed of inverted seats, chuihuamen, chaoshou corridor, main room, east-west wing room and back cover room. Because of its regular shape and strong adaptability, Beijing siheyuan has become the typical and representative of siheyuan residence.

The construction of Beijing siheyuan contains rich cultural ideas. The depth, opening and closing of the courtyard, as well as the details of the gate, screen wall and house decoration, all clearly reflect the hierarchical color of ancient dwellings. Family members and servants live in the main room, the ear room, the wing room and the inverted seat room respectively. Through the different positions, orientations, widths and heights of the buildings, they reflect the differences in status and grades. The houses are connected into a unified whole, which reflects the ethical connotation of traditional social family organizations and has important sociological significance. The gray walls and tiles of Beijing quadrangles constitute the basic urban color of Beijing and form the unique residential culture of Beijing.

With the rapid development of urban construction in Beijing, after the founding of the people's Republic of China, Beijing siheyuan has been greatly damaged, and its construction techniques are gradually lost due to the impact of modern construction methods. It is urgent to protect the traditional construction techniques of Beijing siheyuan.