Beijing Exquisite Siheyuan

Although time has changed, there are still many old customs remained in the siheyuan. Boys still play games like shooting glass-balls, playing catapults and flapping triangle-cards. Girls' still play with sheep's joint bones, sandbags and rubber bands. People live in siheyuan were particular about food. "Honton for Winter Solstice, noodle for Summer Solstice, eight-precious porridge for the 8th day of the 12th lunar month." "Eating fermented drink made frorn grounded beans with shredded turnip; buckwheat cake, bean jelly and sweet-sour plum juice are good combination." In old times, Beijingers also have some special rules in choosing their dwellings: "Te rich men will not live in room that face southeast, because such room is not warm in winter and not cool in summer. If there is a temple around, it will better to live in front of the temple than behind the temple; it will better to live to the left of the temple rather than to the right of the temple. Most of those exquisite siheyuan grow cherry-apple trees. According to old rules, "White mulberry tree, date tree, pear tree and Chinese scholar tree should not be planted in people's yards; white mulberry tree, pine tree, cypress, pear tree and Chinese scholar tree should not be planted in nobilities' residences." Because the pronunciation of white mulberry in Chinese is the same of "mourning" and the pronunciation of pear sounds like "parting." Pine and cypress are plants for residences of yin nature. However, many people grow Chinese scholar trees in their yards. There is an old saying, "To judge whether a siheyuan is an old one, just look at the size of the Chinese scholar trees in the yard." Many yards also grow date trees. Famous Chinese writer Lu Xun had described two date trees in his rear garden in one of his article. His "vivid description gives us a beautiful picture: "Two date trees stand still, scratching the sky with their dry and painted branches. Under the autumn sun, the yellow-green leaves glows like silk. Dates-fruits for poor people-tremble among the branches and leaves.