Xiguan House

Go into a place and walk around leisurely; finally, return to the place where you live. If no part of this journey is impressive when we talk about it in the future, then I’m afraid it was indeed a wasted trip.

Talking about Xiguan in Guangzhou, if you can’t remember the rest, you should know that this was the place where Miss Xiguan lived and grew up in the past. Miss Xiguan and Young Master Dongshan are actually a manifestation of the phenomenon of well-matched couples in Guangzhou. Both houses belong to local prominent families or wealthy businessmen. From an ancient perspective, they are naturally a perfect match. In Dongshan at that time, if you wanted to know the status of a family, you could tell by looking at the height and luxury of the small foreign-style building. In Xiguan, what needs to be checked is the condition of the Xiguan mansion. Therefore, someone has made the following definition of Xiguan House in Guangzhou: "Guangzhou Xiguan House flourished in the late Qing Dynasty. It is a traditional residence with Lingnan characteristics built by prominent families and wealthy businessmen in the "Xiguanjiao" generation in Guangzhou." [1]

The appearance of Xiguan House is related to the two Opium Wars.

Before the end of the Qing Dynasty, Xiguan was a land of plenty in the suburbs of Guangzhou. Due to its developed water system, the local area focused on aquatic crop cultivation and fish pond breeding. Commercial markets were located along the lines of "Yong'anwei - Xilewei - Daiheji - Heji - Penglaiji-Liji-Chenji-Xianji" distribution. In the third year of Daoguang's reign, a fire broke out in the Xiguan area. Some businessmen left the commercial area along the river and moved to the west of Baohuafang. In the 20th year of Daoguang's reign (AD 1840), the first Opium War broke out. The following year, the British army occupied Guangzhou City, looted the Thirteenth Line, and the people fled to Foshan and other places. In the first year of Xianfeng's reign, the Taiping Army approached Guangzhou many times. Amid the instability in public security, a large number of officials, gentry and wealthy businessmen fled to Hong Kong and other places. After the war, most of the wealthy officials and gentry in the Xiguan area settled away from the Thirteenth Line. At this point, the Xiguan area to the north of Shibafu Commercial District and west of Baohuafang began to build large-scale buildings with larger blocks, higher construction standards, and regular buildings. The new residential block's orthogonal street and lane system is the residential building built in Xiguan House. [2]

In "Guangdong Folk Residences", the residential forms of bamboo tube houses and clear-cut houses are recorded. Bamboo tube houses are single-bay folk houses. The plane layout is characterized by a narrow width of each household, usually four meters. The depth depends on the length of the terrain. The plane layout is like a bamboo section, so it is called a "bamboo tube house". (Figure 1) The Mingzi house has a double-bay floor plan and is composed of a hall, a room, a kitchen and a patio. Mingzi houses in Xiguan, Guangzhou are generally owned by relatively wealthy residents. The layout is basically the same as that of bamboo tube houses, but with more rooms. (Figure 2) The Xiguan House is not recorded in the book "Guangdong Folk Residences". According to the author's speculation, it may have been formed by the expansion of the Mingzi House by the wealthy officials and gentry. (Picture 3)

Xiguan mansions generally have two floors, and their plan features are three bays and a large depth. The main hall on the ground floor is in the middle, with the gantry, gate hall, sedan hall, main hall, first room, second hall, second room, etc. arranged in sequence on the central axis. The patio is used for separation and lighting; its structure is similar to that of a bamboo tube house. The two sides are mainly rooms and stairs, which are smaller in scale than the central hall. The overall appearance is a primary and secondary layout.

The decorations of Xiguan House mainly include shrines, calligraphy and painting, wood carvings, couplets, hangings and Manchurian windows. Overall, it's more elegant. Shrines, paintings, calligraphy, wood carvings, couplets and hangings are all located inside the sedan hall. The shrine is above the sedan hall, facing the dragon gate. Calligraphy, paintings, couplets and hangings are placed on the walls on both sides of the sedan hall, while exquisite wood carvings are placed in the sedan hall and become a kind of art decoration. Manchurian windows are windows in a room that reflect light from the skylight and create a soft light environment indoors.

References:

[1] Cao Zhijiao. Architectural Characteristics of Xiguan House in Guangzhou [J]. Southern Architecture, 2002(03):43.

[2 ] Huang Qiaoyun. Research on the residential houses of Xiguan House in Guangzhou[D]. South China University of Technology