In the feudal society, where the old and the young are in order and there are differences in seniority, the housing allocation of Beijing quadrangles is very strict, and the first courtyard in a superior position must be occupied by the old grandfather's wife.
Only one of the three rooms in the north room is open to the public, which is called the main room. The two rooms on both sides only opened the door of the hall to form a suite, which became a pattern of light and shade. The main hall is the place where family members live, entertain relatives or worship ancestors on New Year's Day, and there are many bedrooms on both sides.
The bedrooms on both sides of the east and west also have the distinction of honour and inferiority. Under the system of polygamy, the east side is distinguished and occupies the first house, while the west side is humble and occupies the wing.
East-west wing-can open the door alone, or communicate with the main room, generally used as a bedroom or study. Both the East Wing and the West Wing are occupied by the younger generation. The wing is also light and dark, with a living room in the middle and bedrooms on both sides.
You can also separate a room on the south side for use as a kitchen or restaurant. Back-built houses-quadrangles of medium or above often have back military houses or back Gai Lou, mainly for unmarried women or maids.
To be exact, in the past, old Beijingers called all kinds of animals that like to keep and enjoy as "playthings", but seldom used the most popular word "pets".
Speaking of pets in old Beijing quadrangles, there are quite a few, which can be roughly divided into four categories: birds, insects, fish and mammals. Keeping pets is not only a hobby of old Beijingers, but also an important part of quadrangle culture. What people get from enjoying pets is a kind of spiritual pleasure and enjoyment, which makes the life in quadrangles more interesting.
There are many sandstorms in Beijing in winter and spring, and door curtains are often used in residential buildings. Generally speaking, people hang a cotton curtain with plywood in winter, a sandwich curtain with plywood in spring and autumn, and a bamboo curtain with plywood in summer. Poor families can use grass curtains or broken felt curtains. The door curtain can be hung, and the purpose of installing plywood on the upper, middle and lower parts is to increase the weight and not be lifted by the wind. Later, the door curtain was replaced by an air door, but bamboo curtain was still used in summer, which was cool, bright and practical.
The ceilings of quadrangles are all made of sorghum stalks and covered with paper. Beijing ceiling pasting is a technology. In the quadrangle, the ceiling, walls, curtains and windows are all covered with white paper, which is called "Four Whites in the End". Ordinary people go there once every few years, and the rich "four times a year".
It is very cold in winter in Beijing. The residents in the quadrangle all sleep on the kang. There is a coal stove buried underground in front of the kang, and a fire is built in the stove. When the kang is empty and the fire enters the kang hole, the kang bed will heat up and people will feel warm when sleeping on the hot kang. Most of the coal used to burn kang is produced in Xishan, Beijing. There is a difference between raw coal and pulverized coal. Coal powder and loess are shaken with coal balls to burn kang or cook.
Indoor heating uses stoves, which can be divided into mud, iron and copper according to texture. The mud stove is made of Guo Kuimu made in Beijing, which has strong heat penetration and is light and easy to move. Rich people always have several stoves. Generally, people use the fire in front of the kang to cook and stir-fry instead of burning another stove. The so-called "pot is connected to the stove", so it is difficult to separate life from daily life. The stove can be used in bank up, so it is always kept in case of emergency. If it goes out, burn it with dry wood and charcoal. Housewives will take the stove outside the house every morning to make a fire (to prevent gas poisoning), which will become a scene in Beijing.
The discharge of domestic water in quadrangles is mostly in the form of seepage pits, commonly known as "seepage wells" and "seepage ditches". There are generally no toilets in quadrangles, and toilets are mostly located in hutongs, which are called "official houses".
Beijing quadrangles pay attention to greening, and there are flowers and trees in the courtyard, which is really elegant and pleasant. The favorite flowers in old Beijing are lilac, begonia, elm leaf plum, peach blossom and so on, and the trees are mostly jujube and locust trees. In addition to planting flowers and plants, you can also plant plants and water them. The most common potted flowers and trees are pomegranate, oleander, Jingui, Yin Gui, Rhododendron and Gardenia. Planting pomegranate is a sign of "many children". As for the grass jasmine, impatiens, morning glory and flat bean curd in the garden before the hospital, it is the daily beauty of the courtyard. There is a saying in Qing Dynasty that describes life in quadrangles: "ceiling, fish tank, pomegranate tree, old man, young lady, fat girl", which can be said to be a typical portrayal of life in quadrangles.