Views #8 and #9: A Classic Courtyard House in Wen Sheng Xiang
The date of this particular courtyard house is not known by the author of these pages, but its style dates at least from the Ming Dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644). Buildings of this type are relatively rare in the marginal and rapidly changing Bei Men neighborhood. Even this house has been truncated. Its lot has been divided and part of it (visible on the left) has been rebuilt with more substantial materials. Originally the front gate (see below for a closer view) would have been at the center of the facade. For more details on the layout and construction of classic Quanzhou courtyard houses, see "Traditional Wide Gongting Courtyard Houses" under the Common Housing Types pages.
The old and rebuilt sections of this house illustrate how residents have improved their housing even when they have not added additional stories. The newer section on the left uses more granite, a more substantial bond of brick (as in View #1), and larger windows with glass panes in wooden frames facing the street. Most likely, the internal courtyard was made smaller or completely eliminated. The older building employs less granite and a special bond of brick which combines brick with a less expensive mud-and-shard filling inside the wall. The older building also has only a very small, unglazed window facing the street. Most rooms face onto an airy internal court.
View #9: At left is the front gate. Though faded and in ill-repair,
the wood grille doors,
decorative frescos
and tile roofing reveal fine
craftsmanship.
Note also the stone basin and bench/hitching post within the alcove of the door. Granite seems always to have been used freely (if crudely) in the making of buildings and furnishings in Quanzhou.
The internal courtyard is barely visible through the door grilles as a space filled with light in the center of the home.
