Cultural Relics – Do you know these things about Xiguan House?

Brick by brick, tile by stone slab,

The mottled marks are like traveling through thousands of years

Guangzhou Daily Reporter Photo by Yang Yaoye

Towering skylights, long alleys

Manchurian windows, sliding doors…

These are about Xiguan How much do you know about the big house?

How much do you know?

The picture shows the Manchurian window of Xiguan House. Photo by Su Junjie, reporter of Guangzhou Daily

A trip to Caomen

Xiguan House,

is an exquisite embodiment of Lingnan wisdom in architectural art .

Take the familiar sliding door as an example.

It is a very special element in Lingnan big house architecture.

They were originally invented for To adapt to the hot and humid subtropical climate in Guangzhou

Photographed by Guangzhou Daily reporter Chen Youzi

Guangzhou Daily Reporter Photo by Wu Ziliang

In the past, the doors of Xiguan homes were composed of three doors: screen door, sliding door and gate.

In the sweaty weather,

Open the heavy hardwood door,

Guangzhou Daily reporter Photo by Su Junjie

Only the stilt door is left for ventilation and the short door is for obstruction.

The whole family can pass through this half-virtual and half-real combination.

Sit at home and enjoy privacy and coolness.

Tanglongmen is a unique

ancient door and window art inherited from Ming and Qing Dynasties in Lingnan and Guangxi,

most of which are based on materials It is iron wood,

its key parts are all connected with tenons,

After hundreds of years of history, it is not easy to decay and collapse.

The picture shows the fine carvings on the entrance door of Xiguan House, No. 22 Hongchang Street. Photo by Guangzhou Daily reporter Su Junjie

The gate is still an ancient \”anti-theft door\”.

Each gate has a \”lock tongue\”,

the door After closing and locking it inside the house, the heavy wooden door becomes a security door that is difficult to crack.

Reporter from Guangzhou Daily Photo by Su Junjie

Manchurian Window

The Manchurian Window in Guangzhou can be traced back to the Qing Dynasty.

At that time, Guangzhou was a free trade center in China. Port,

Stained glass spread here.

Widely favored by wealthy businessmen and officials at that time,

Photographed by Guangzhou Daily reporter Wang Weixuan

The Manchurian windows and flower window gray sculptures of the Xiguan House are far-reaching. Reporter from Guangzhou Daily Photo by Mo Weinong

They use these stained glass

on their own window decorations,

to achieve a beautiful and elegant effect.

Guangzhou Daily reporter Photo by Mo Weinong

Reporter from Guangzhou Daily Photo by Gu Zhanxu

The Manchurian window is beautiful in shape,

and highly practical.

It can not only solve the problem of ventilation and lighting,

it can also deal with indoor and outdoor problems. Privacy;

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Push up and pull down the switch method,

called \”up-down window\” in architecture,

block the lower sight,

The upper area for ventilation, lighting and heat dissipation is only one-half of the window opening.

Guangzhou Daily Reporter Photo by Mo Weinong

Extension: Little knowledge about Xiguan House

Basic structure:

Reporter from Guangzhou Daily Photo by Mo Weinong

The typical floor plan of Xiguan House is \”three sides\” (that is, three bays)), the main room is mainly the hall, from the steps to the recessed porch – the three doorways (foot door, latch, gate) – the main hall – the middle door – the patio – the sedan hall – the patio – the main hall – the first room (elderly) Room) – second hall – tail room, forming a long and deep central axis. The bays on both sides are called study rooms and living rooms, which mainly include study rooms, side halls, bedrooms and stairwells.

Qingyun Lane:

Reporter from Guangzhou Daily Photo by Su Junjie

It has multiple functions such as transportation, ventilation, and lighting. If the alley is long, a doorway wall is often added in the middle to separate it and use the wall to add a sense of hierarchy. Some Qingyun lanes have wells. In the old days, it was believed that the water in the wells leads to the sea, and the dragon god of the well spring is the dragon king of the sea. This god protects the safety of the family. This is a well, and there is the Dragon God of Jingquan above the well.

Patio:

Reporter from Guangzhou Daily Photo by Su Junjie

In the past, patios were mostly square, especially the patios between the entrance hall, sedan hall and main hall. The drain holes in the patio are often carved in the shape of money, which is related to the past belief that \”water is wealth\” and also functions as a grille.

Shrine:

It is a framed shrine that looks like a classical opera stage. There is a small door on the side for people to enter and exit, so as to facilitate the lighting of incense candles in the morning and evening. And the magic lamp.

Head room:

The room where the oldest member of the family lives.

Reverse facing room (guest room):

Temporary room for guests. The furniture display is relatively simple and casual. The various roads in Xiguan House are connected by horizontal doors. horizontalThere are often decorations such as horizontal plaques or brick carvings on the doors, and some are made of semicircular stained glass windows with butterfly pattern window lattice, commonly known as \”butterfly windows\”. The top of the window has a semicircular arc-shaped gray molding line, which is very popular. It is obviously influenced by the West.

The upper part of the door head has a \”butterfly window\” with Western characteristics. Photo by Guangzhou Daily reporter Su Junjie

Part hall:

A place where family members live and rest, children study and receive guests. There are often hanging or engraved calligraphy and painting couplets on the walls, reflecting the owner\’s cultural taste and accomplishment. Such as \”full of bright moon, sleeves of breeze\”. \”Even if there are thousands of fertile fields, it is difficult to buy wise descendants with money\” and so on.

Main hall:

It is the \”heart\” of the whole house and the main hall. This hall has the highest ridge, the largest area, the most exquisite architectural decoration craftsmanship, and the most solemn atmosphere. It is a place where extended families gather, worship ancestors, decide on family affairs and receive particularly important guests.

The long-lost ancient charm

The strong Lingnan flavor