Shijia courtyard

Shijia courtyard

The courtyard of Shijia embodies the unique style of residential buildings in Qing Dynasty. Located in the center of Yangliuqing ancient town, Beijing Hangzhou Grand Canal flows through the Nanyun river bank of Tianjin. It was originally one of the eight famous houses in Tianjin in the late Qing Dynasty. Shijia was originally from Shandong Province, and his ancestors settled in Yangliuqing during the reign of Emperor Qianlong of Qing Dynasty. In the third year of Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty (1823), the Shi family had four gates: Fushan hall, Zhenglian hall, Tianxi hall and zunmei hall.

Each gate has a large building. At present, the Shijia courtyard is the only remaining "zunmeitang" house. It was once known as "the first house in Tianjin" and "the first house in North China", from which we can appreciate the subtlety of traditional residential buildings.

Yangliuqing Shijia courtyard, founded in 1875, has a history of 140 years. Its architectural structure is unique and its brick, wood and stone carvings are exquisite. Shi family was one of the eight famous families in Tianjin at that time.

In February 2020, to pay tribute to the medical workers who are struggling in the front line of anti epidemic, from the end of the epidemic to resume business until December 31, 2020, the national medical workers will be free of admission.

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Layout of the compound

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Entering the gate is a long and wide Yong Road, which forms the central axis of the compound. There are five gatehouses with different forms and exquisite buildings on Yong road. From the south to the north, the gate building rises gradually, which means "step by step", and each gate has three steps, which means "three steps in a row". There are five courtyards on both sides of the road. The east courtyard is an inner residence, including an inner accounting room, a waiting room, a study room, a mandarin duck hall, and a family member's house. Now there are willow youth paintings, clay sculptures, wood carvings, brick carvings, and Tianjin Folk Customs on display. It's very interesting to watch them carefully. The courtyard in the west is the grand living room, warm room, Grand Theater and ancestral hall for VIP reception, and the original furnishings have been basically restored. Compared with the inner house, the building materials here are more exquisite and the workmanship is more exquisite. The big living room has a big canopy nearly 5 meters high, which can keep out the wind and rain. You can see it from a long distance outside the town. The grand theater building is spacious and gorgeous, which can accommodate 200 people to attend the opera and banquet. It is the largest theater building in North China. Famous Peking opera artists sun Juxian and Tan Xinpei have performed here. Among them, the Hualing lattice fans are all original color of Phoebe, which are exquisitely carved and extremely luxurious. In the west of the West courtyard, there are three entrance courtyards, which are private school teachers' teaching rooms and other special rooms, reflecting the outstanding talents and artistic creativity of the ancient working people.

Zunmei Hall

With the changes of the times, the four gates, led by zunmei hall, were divided into nearly 20 small halls by the end of the Republic of China. Among the children of later generations, though some are diligent and enterprising, most of them are dandy, eating, drinking and living. Shi Yuanshi, the leader of zunmeitang, not only focused on the accumulation of wealth, but also was good at expanding his influence and making friends with powerful people. His wife was the niece of Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi at that time. He was also received by Li Hongzhang and Cixi. There are four official titles. After the founding of the people's Republic of China, the idlers of the Shi Family stole the ancestral tombs and sold them to the public, which ended the two hundred year history of the Shi family.

"Zunmeitang" has the reputation of "the first house in the west of Tianjin" and "the first house in North China". It is the largest residential building in northern China. No matter from the scale or from the design; whether it is precise or grand, it can be compared with the "Qiao family" and "Wang family" in Shanxi. This typical northern courtyard is famous for its exquisite architecture. Its hanging flower door is a unique skill in the traditional structure of the court, showing its luxury and nobility. The gatehouses of its three vertical flower gates are all exquisitely carved. The "eight steeds" and "danfengchaoyang" on the stone drums of the gateposts were worked by two skillful stone masons for a year, which cost 500 liang of silver. During the reign of the emperor, the ancestors of the Shi Family inspected all kinds of houses, combined the architectural forms of the Royal Palace and the large houses, and drew the blueprints on the spot. When the foundation was officially built, they invited dozens of architectural experts with high salary from Beijing. They used the superior brick and stone timber that had been hoarded for 50 years, and spent tens of thousands of taels of silver. The construction period lasted for three years, and the repair was nearly several decades It is a great feat in the history of vernacular dwellings, which shows the exquisite science and wisdom of the ancient Chinese working people's architecture.

Corridor and cloister

The corridor and cloister of the Shijia compound are about 800 meters long, and its stories are endless. If you come to the courtyard of the Shi Family in Yangliuqing, you will not only hear and see the rise and fall of the Shi family, but also meet the descendants of the Shi family and listen to their stories about the Shi family.

The whole Shijia courtyard is now Yangliuqing Folk Museum. Stepping into the gate of the Shijia courtyard, the first thing you see is a long corridor paved with big green square bricks. On the east side of the corridor, the former living room of the Shi family, is now the exhibition area, displaying the masterpieces and brick carvings of the yangliuqingmu New Year pictures. On the west side of the corridor, there are mainly flower hall, theater, Buddhist hall and other buildings. It is a place for the Shi family to meet friends, entertain, chant sutras and worship Buddhas. It is now the "Shifu restoration exhibition area" of the museum.

Flower Hall

That is, the living room has been restored according to the original furnishings. Separated from the flower hall is the theater building, which is the largest private house theater building in North China. It is well-known for its elegant shape, especially for its magnificent interior decoration, which makes the audience astonished. Out of the Buddhist hall, across a separate door to the west, is the "Tianjin Folk Custom exhibition hall", which displays Yangliuqing kites, paper cuts, flower party props and wedding customs with strong local folk characteristics. The decoration of the inner and outer eaves of the compound building, with exquisite materials, fine workmanship and various forms of brick and wood carvings, is a common practice of the rich and powerful houses in Jingu in the Qing Dynasty. Now it is a cultural relic protection unit in Tianjin.

Courtyard culture

Located in Yangliuqing, a millennium old town, Shijia courtyard is a residential complex in the late Qing Dynasty, known as "the first residence in North China". It was built in 1875. It is the old house of Shi Yuanshi, one of the eight famous families in Jinmen in the Qing Dynasty, covering an area of more than 7200 square meters, of which the building area is more than 2900 square meters. There are 12 courtyards on both sides of the 60 meter long corridor. All the courtyards are in a positive and partial layout. There are courtyards in the courtyard, cross courtyards in the courtyard, and courtyards in the courtyard. From dormitories, living rooms, flower halls, theatres, Buddhist halls to stables, whether the overall layout, architectural style, or artistic decoration, all reflect the cultural relics and folk customs of the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China . A large number of masterpieces of Chinese and foreign famous Yangliuqing wood engraving New Year pictures are collected in the Shijia courtyard, which has been opened up as Yangliuqing Museum. There are masterpieces of highly accomplished calligraphers and painters such as Qian Hui'an and Gao tongxuan. There are more than 130 excellent works on display in Tianjin brick carvings with Chinese ancient architectural characteristics. Brick carving, commonly known as "carving brick", is a decorative art of ancient architecture, unique and highly successful. In addition, clay figurine Zhang Caisu, folk paper-cut, Yangliuqing kite, folk flower show props and folk display fully reflect the architectural style of the stone courtyard restoration display in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasty. It is worth mentioning that the Shifu theater in the Shijia courtyard is the largest private theater in northern China. In Yangliuqing town, Xiqing District, it was built in the Guangxu period of Qing Dynasty. It was originally the residence of Shi Yuanshi, the fourth son of Shi Wancheng, one of the eight famous families in Jinmen. The courtyard faces south from the north and consists of four courtyards. The east courtyard is a three suite courtyard, which is the residence for the elders and their grandchildren; the West courtyard has a living room, a theater and a Buddhist hall, which is a place for reception, entertainment and sacrifice. The building materials of the compound are exquisite, and the workmanship is exquisite. There are various forms of brick and wood carvings, such as "happiness and longevity", "three friends in winter and old age", "Lotus", "Wanfu", "Lianzhu" and other auspicious patterns. If Beijing people want to appreciate the courtyard culture, they don't have to go all the way to Shanxi. In Yangliuqing town, the western suburb of Tianjin, there is a large-scale and exquisitely built courtyard - Shijia courtyard. It's only an hour's drive from Beijing to the East.

From the middle of Qing Dynasty to the beginning of the Republic of China, yangliuqingshijia is known as the richest man in the west of Tianjin and one of the eight largest families in Tianjin. Shi Hua, a famous performing artist and known as "emperor of drama", is the descendant of the Shi family.

Shi's courtyard is Shi's residence in Shi Baoheng. The first year of Guangxu (1875) began construction. Two years later, the main building was completed, and then continued to expand and demolish. It was not until 1923 that the Shi family moved away. After nearly 50 years of construction, a large residence with an area of more than 6000 square meters, 15 courtyards and 278 houses was built. After the removal of the Shi family, the compound began to decline. During the period of the Kuomintang, troops were stationed in the compound many times, and it was demolished and destroyed arbitrarily. After the cultural revolution, the compound was beyond recognition. It began to be restored in 1987. It took six years and invested 5.6 million yuan. It was opened to the public as Yangliuqing Museum in 1992.

Related Legends

The Shijia courtyard was built in 1875 and has a history of more than 120 years. Therefore, it is called Millennium ancient town. Yangliuqing is not only the birthplace of world-famous New Year pictures, but also the location of Shijia courtyard, one of Tianjin's "eight masters".

It is said that as early as a hundred years ago, it spread in Tianjin: Han, Gao, Shi, Liu, mu, Huang, Yang, Yi Zhaolin. Their formation and the prosperity of Tianjin's maritime transportation in Ming and Qing Dynasties, and the development of grain, rice and salt industry led to the development of the forefathers who engaged in water transportation. The Shi family is an example. The ancestors of the family trafficked grain and cotton and made huge profits. They bought houses and land and exploited them with heavy profits. At that time, the Shi family, known as Yang Liuqing's richest man, had ten thousand mu of fertile land, also known as "Shi Wanqian".

At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the Shi Family

Chinese PinYin : Shi Jia Da Yuan