\”If the door faces the southeast, the eldest son will not be cold\” is a rural house building saying. The half sentence of \”the door faces the southeast\” is easier to understand for houses and yards that are wide in many places and face north and south. There are many old courtyards of traditional houses, and most of the courtyard gates open in the southeast. However, It is difficult to understand the sentence \”the eldest son is not cold\”. Could it be that in the old rural areas, If your family has many children, should you only consider the \”eldest son\” when building a house?

Similar sayings, there are\”If the gate faces south, the descendants will not be cold; if the gate faces north, the descendants will suffer\”, the meaning of this proverb is the same as the saying \”if the door faces the southeast, the eldest son will not be cold\”. Someone may ask, one sentence says that the gate faces south, and the other sentence says that the gate faces southeast. There are certain differences in the directions of the two sentences. Why do they mean the same thing?

1. What is the custom of \”facing the door to the southeast\” in traditional houses?

The \”door\” in \”the door faces southeast\” usually refers to the gate of the yard. It also refers to the gate of the yard where the main house (main house, north house) is oriented \”north to south\”.

According to the traditional customs of rural houses, the north-south orientation refers to the orientation of the main house (main house, north house). At the same time, the orientation of the house also follows the orientation of the main house. The orientation of the courtyard of the house is consistent with the orientation of the main house. The orientation of the yard is the same, and the orientation of the yard is usually expressed according to the orientation of the main house. Orientation. The traditional orientation of a house facing north is a general term. It does not mean facing exactly south, but slightly towards the southeast. Since the deviation is not too large, from the overall orientation, it is generally This difference is invisible to the naked eye

my country’s residential courtyards, especially courtyards and triple courtyards, pay attention to the \”round sky and square place\”. \”Place\” refers to the shape of the courtyard, which is static, that is, after the \”four toes\” are determined, it is generally not suitable to change. The round sky , refers to the degree of enclosure of the yard, which changes dynamically. For example, the door of the yard and the door of the room function as a seal, but they can be opened and closed to allow air circulation, allow people to enter and exit, or separate them from the outside world.

Generally speaking, when it comes to the shape of a yard, traditional houses pay attention to square shapes, that is, rectangles and squares. Other shapes are avoided, especially irregular shapes or missing corners in a square. The house is square. Except for the orientation of the yard, it will be the same no matter how it is placed. However, the rectangular shape is different. When building houses in rural my country, the shape of the yard pays attention to \”depth\”, that is, the longer the \”depth\” at the front and back, the better. From the point of view of a yard facing south, the north-south direction is \”deep\”, and the north-south long and narrow is the best. The ancients said that \”the north-south long and narrow means wealth and auspiciousness\”. Generally speaking, it is taboo for residential houses to be narrower on the left and right than the front and rear. For a yard facing north and south, it is taboo on the east and west to be longer than the north and south.

If the place where the house is built is a mountainous area, it is what the ancients thought\”In the corner\”, the main house does not necessarily face the north. If it\’s south, generally you can\’t judge the direction, but use the \”front, back, left, and right\” of the main house to determine the direction. For example, \”Yangzhai Collection\” says:

\”The south water is the ridge, the north water is the separation, the east water is the dui jun, the west water is the palace cun, the southwest water is Gen, the northeast water is Kun, and the qian bureau The southeast water is the northwest source of Xun Palace. If it is in the corner, in terms of front, back and left, Kun Palace is on the left, Gen Palace is on the right, Xun Palace is on the back, and Qian is on the front. ”

Also pay attention to the deeper the house, the better , that is, it is best for the yard to be long and narrow from the front to the back, but not long and narrow from the left to the right.

The main statement is,The house is long and narrow from north to south or from front to back mainly for the purpose of \”hiding the wind and gathering Qi\”, which is also called \”hiding the wind and collecting Qi\”. In fact, this is the house building experience summed up by ancient Chinese based on the geographical and climate characteristics of our country. , in order for the house to be warm in winter and cool in summer, that is, it can avoid cold north wind or northwest wind in winter. This is just like when we are in a cold windy day. To avoid the wind and cold, the leeward place must be warmer than the place facing the wind; summer can keep the house cooler, just like when we are in the hot summer, the ventilated place is warmer than the place facing the wind. Unventilated areas are cooler.

In this way, the folk have created a microclimate environment suitable for people\’s life in the courtyard, which is beneficial to the health of the people living in the courtyard. In ancient times, due to poor medical conditions, active cooling measures were limited. In addition, the living standards in rural areas were relatively low, and people\’s resistance was relatively weak. Too cold and too hot environments would cause various diseases in people. This is the reason why the ancients said, \”if the gate faces north, the descendants will suffer\”. If there are many sick people in the family, it will cost money to treat the diseases, and there will be less labor force, the place will become very poor, and the family members will also \”Suffer\”.

The house must have a gate for entry and exit, andThe gate of the courtyard was likened to a \”crown belt\” by the ancients, which is related to the image of a house and is also a symbol of the identity and social status of the house\’s residents. Therefore, in traditional rural houses in my country, people are very particular about the direction of the door. Generally speaking, ancient Chinese folk placed the door opening direction in front of the house. For houses facing north and south ,The direction of the courtyard gate is divided into \”three auspicious directions\”, namely east, south and southeast, the biggest feature of these three directions is that you can welcome the sunrise in the morning, that is, the rising sun. The ancients believed that if the door faces the direction of the rising sun, it means that the family is full of vitality, the career is booming, and the ability to develop. . And ancient People believe that among the \”three auspicious directions\”, the best direction is the southeast. The door opening to the southeast is called \”Qinglong Gate\”. This is the origin of the saying \”door facing southeast\” in rural house building. By.

In fact, due to the constraints of the architectural environment and the buildings between neighbors, in rural houses facing south and north, the door cannot be opened in the southeast direction. It can only be opened in the due east or south direction. However, , when a house opens its door due south or east, it usually has to be slightly tilted to the southeast. This is the same as the orientation of the main house of many residential houses. It does not face the south, but slightly to the southeast. Therefore, in rural areas, house doors that are opened in the south or east direction are also called \”Qinglong Gate\”. \”The reason is because the door is biased to the southeast.

A reader friend would like to ask, in some rural houses, especially in mountainous areas, due to terrain conditions, it is very difficult to find a house that faces north and south. In some places, it is almost impossible. Even if it is done, the gate of the house cannot face the southeast (some southeast is mountains and there is no way to go), so how to determine the direction of the gate?

The ancients divided the sites for building houses into \”Pingyang\” (i.e. Plains with rivers are collectively called plains) and \”mountains\”. Mountains are divided into open areas, also called flat areas and \”remote areas\” (that is, remote places in mountains). The ancients had different methods for determining the orientation of different terrains. For example, in the main house facing north and south, there was a saying in ancient times of four images, that is, the green dragon in the east, the red bird in the south, and the white tiger in the west. , the north is Xuanwu, but houses built in the \”corner\” cannot determine the four images according to east, west, north, south. The ancients also had a method. If a person stands in front of a house facing south, he can use the front, back, left, and right to determine the four images, namely, the green dragon on the left, the white tiger on the right, the red bird on the front, and the Xuanwu on the back. Therefore, when people are in a \”corner place\”, they usually The four images are no longer divided into east, west, south and north, but front, back, left and right.

In the same way, when the ancients built their houses in \”corner areas\”, they also distinguished the orientation according to the front, rear, left and right. They usually chose to build their houses in the curved and flat areas of the mountains, most of which were surrounded by mountains on three sides and an open area with running water on one side. , that is, Qinglong Mountain on the left, Baihu Mountain on the right, Zhuque (Mingtang, open space) in the front, and Xuanwu Mountain (backing mountain) in the back. The gate is usually located in the house. The front left corner is also called \”Qinglong Gate\”. Of course, the gate of a house in a mountainous area must be convenient for travel. The gate of a house in a mountainous area is greatly affected by the terrain. You cannot open the gate how you want. The gate can only be built according to the terrain. The same is true for the direction of the terrain. There are many terrains that cannot be changed by human power. We can only let nature take its course.

2. Why is it said that the direction of the courtyard gate makes \”the eldest son not cold\”?

In rural areas, the saying \”if the door faces the southeast, the eldest son will not be cold\” is usually considered to be a common saying The variation of \”if the gate faces the southeast, the descendants will not be cold\” is mainly derived from the ancient folk feng shui saying \”if the gate faces the south, the descendants will not be cold; if the gate faces the north, the descendants will suffer\”). Judging from this saying, it is obvious that Talking about all descendants, not just the \”eldest son\”. In fact, there is a variation of this saying:\”The door faces the southeast, and the eldest son sits in the hall\” .

The proverb \”not cold\” means not poor, followed by \”sitting in the palace\” , it is a metaphor that the eldest son has a promising future. The saying \”If the door faces the southeast, the eldest son will not be cold\” means that if the gate of the house faces the southeast, it is a very good thing for the family members and will bring wealth to the eldest son.

How reliable is this proverb? In fact, according to some statements by rural elders in the past, this proverb not only carries the idea of ​​establishing a long-term system, but also is to encourage the eldest son in the family to Start a business with your parents to help them advance in life.

In the old rural areas, the parents of the eldest son separated early and their children were born one after another. The family was under great financial pressure. They just wanted to build their own personal house, but they had more than enough ambition but not enough energy. When the eldest son grew up, Finally, it was no longer my father who supported the family alone. When you have a family, you have powerful helpers, and with helpers you can realize your own ideas. At that time, in rural areas, families with sons wanted to build a house as soon as possible. The house was the clothing of the family, and the door was the family. crest,Having your own independent house can be regarded as a real \”opening the door.\”

Furthermore, the son wants to get a wife. When a son marries a wife, he must choose the best among the best, and the flower among the flowers. In the same way, when a woman wants to marry a man, she must choose the best among the best, and the best among the good. For a man to be able to withstand the woman\’s selection, in addition to the man\’s own conditions, the family conditions must also be considered favorably, especially in terms of residential conditions, which are the biggest factors that determine whether the woman is willing to marry her daughter to the man. hardware. In the past, when a girl was married in a rural area, the girl\’s family would send someone to \”visit the family,\” which meant that the girl would send a female relative to the boy\’s house to inspect the marriage. This inspection determines the success or failure of the man\’s marriage. If the family conditions are so poor that there are only a few rooms to live in or the house is shabby, the woman will definitely not want to marry such a family; if the house is beautiful and spacious and the man\’s own conditions are also very good, the marriage will be successful. The probability is very high. Until now, in some rural areas, the family house is still one of the important conditions for a son to get married.

Therefore, in the past, in rural areas, when the eldest son grew up and could be his father\’s right-hand man, many rural families would choose a place to build an independent house. After the independent house is built, the natural gate is erected. According to traditional customs, the gate of a house facing south is facing southeast. The first big happy event for a new house is the wedding of the eldest son. Some farm families even specially \”fire\” the new house with the eldest son.It is called \”Double Happiness\” when one\’s wife and daughter get married together. Even now, some rural families still like to hold this kind of \”Double Happiness\” event. At this time, the eldest son in the family can be said to be in great glory, the family does not look poor at all, and the wedding does not look shabby. This is what the saying goes, \”The eldest son is not cold.\”

Of course, there are also some parents in rural areas who are more capable or have a relatively strong family background. They have already built their own houses before their eldest son has grown up. The first happy event in this new house is also the marriage of the eldest son. With such good family conditions, it can also reflect the \”eldest son is not cold\”.

Furthermore, according to the tradition of ancient feudal society, the designated heir to the father\’s position and family property follows the principle of \”putting etiquette first\”, that is, \”to establish a direct descendant based on eldership rather than virtue, and to establish a son based on nobleness rather than eldership.\” Because of this, in rural areas in the past, when families with many brothers split up, the priority of the eldest son was unshakable. There is a popular saying among the people: \”The elder brother goes to the east and the younger brother goes to the west. The third brother goes out.\” This sentence means, In a house built by his parents, when the family is divided, the eldest son not only gets the east room of the main house, but also the side house in the east wing. The second oldest son takes the second place, occupying the main house and the side house in the west wing. The brothers below the third oldest can only live in the house. Go outside and build another house.

If you have property passed down from your parents and have a solid foundation, you will naturally live a good life and will not fall into poverty. Therefore, in the old society, as long as the family was able to live well and built its own house while the parents were still alive, the eldest son would be born first, and his life would definitely be \”not cold\”. In the old days, in some rural areas, not to mention half-brothers, that is, brothers born from the same mother, there would often be a phenomenon of \”the big one is rich, the middle-aged man is a tofu, and the small one is a cow buttocks\”. In some families, younger brothers become cowherds or long-term laborers in their elder brothers\’ families after their parents die.

\”The door facing the southeast, the eldest son will not be cold\” is the explanation of the rural saying. In addition to the above statement, there are many folk sayings about Feng Shui, so I won\’t go into details here.

All in all, the phenomenon of \”doors facing the southeast\” in rural residential houses is not only the house building experience summed up by our ancestors in their long-term lives, but also the people\’s expectations for a better life. We still build houses for rural people today. When adopted. The saying that \”the eldest son is not cold\” reflects a rural social phenomenon in the old era. For today\’s rural areas, the times are different and society has undergone profound changes. strong>