"Two halls sandwiched by one room, the family is broken and people die", this is a common saying that circulated in the countryside in the past. With the change of the times, the change of building customs, the time has changed, and there are fewer and fewer people who understand the deep meaning.
So, what does this rural proverb mean?In the old days, there would be such an emphasis on building houses in rural areas
This proverb is a popular saying that was widely spread in the countryside in the past, and it should have originated among the people in the feudal society.
In the long history, especially in the feudal period, the construction culture of traditional houses in China often closely integrates people's moral norms and social etiquette ideas. The architectural layout of the dwelling should not only conform to the moral norms, but also conform to the social etiquette law, that is, the rural areas often say that there must be norms.
In terms of feudal traditional moralityThe most profound influence on people is the content of the "Three Principles and Five Constants" proposed by Dong Zhongshu in the Han Dynasty, the three outlines are the father for the son, the monarch for the minister, and the husband for the wife, and the five constants are benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, and faith.
The "Three Principles and Five Constants" reflects a special moral relationship between monarchs and ministers, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives in ancient feudal society. The king is in the dominant position in the state, the minister is absolutely obedient to the king, the father is in the dominant position in the family, and the wife and son are in the subordinate position.
As a result, in ancient times, there were "no two days in the sky, and no two kings in the earth." There are no two masters in the family, and there are no two superiors".
This idea is embodied in traditional houses, that is, the construction of houses in the courtyard, which should be different from the main house (main house) and the auxiliary house (wing house and other ancillary buildings). The main house is in the dominant position, and the allotment house is in the subordinate position. The allotment can only be lower than the main house, not higher than the main house.
From the past rural Xi, a house represents a family, and when a new house is built, only one main house can be built in the house, that is, as the saying goes, "no one has two surnames, and there is no two halls";Open a door, that is, as the saying goes, "if you open two doors in one household, it will be difficult for people and money to survive".
From the perspective of feudal etiquetteIn ancient China, starting from the Zhou Dynasty, all dynasties have formulated a building hierarchy, and in private residences, according to the individual's social status, to determine the form and scale of the building that the person can use. For the construction of private residences, all dynasties have special laws and regulations, which must not be violated.
After the Song Dynasty, the hierarchical system of private housing was further refined, and the regulations were more stringent, and clear regulations were made on the scale, shape, and decoration of residential buildings from the king, duke, marquis and all levels to the common people. For example, there is such a provision in the "Ming Huidian" formulated at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty:
"The main hall of the prince and the prince is seven to eleven rooms (later changed to seven), five to seven rooms for officials of the fifth rank and above, and three ......rooms for officials below the sixth rank to the commoners”The "main hall" here is the main house, which is commonly called the main house and the hall house in folk Xi. "Ma" is the bay of the main house. In the Qing Dynasty, the architectural hierarchy of the Ming Dynasty was basically followed.
The key to understanding this old proverb is how to understand "hall" and "room".
Tang, can be understood as a hall. For halls, different places have different titles, and some places are called halls, halls, etc. The hall is located in the middle of the main house (main house) on the first floor of a traditional house. The hall can also be used as the main house. For example, in some places, the main house is called a hall house, and in some places, the main hall or main house.
A room, which can be understood as a room, is a part of the interior space of a house;It can also be understood as a house, usually referring to the side house of the main house, also known as the wing house, which is the whole house.
The understanding of "hall" and "room" is different, and there will be different interpretations of this proverb.
If you understand "do" as a main house,That is, the main house (the north house is called the north house, also known as the south house), and the "house" is understood as a house, and the meaning of "two halls and one house" is that in a house, in the case of not dividing the courtyard, or the brothers are not divided, two main houses are built at the same time, and there is a wing house in the middle, or other houses, this kind of house layout, there is no distinction between primary and secondary, and the farmer thinks that it is an unreasonable layout.
Of course, in some well-preserved ancient villages, there are two or three main houses in a house, the main reason is that the brothers are separated, each has its own door, and it is necessary to build the main house, and it is impossible to build a house independently, so they have to build another main house in the original house.
In this special case, the new main house should be side by side with the old main house, and there can be no other houses (wing rooms, tool rooms and other outbuildings) in the middle, that is, no other houses can be sandwiched between the two main houses, and the gate of the house cannot be separated, only one gate can be shared. This symbolizes that brothers are of the same heart, and the family is not separated.
If the "hall" is understood as a hallIf we understand "house" as a house, then "two halls and one house" means that a main house has two halls, and there is a bay between the two halls. The main house of this structure is at least a house with more than five bays, and if the common people build this kind of main house, it will exceed the rule that the main house of the common people can only build three bays, which is a kind of trespass and violates the laws of the imperial court.
In addition, the traditional Xi of building houses in rural areas, the opening of the main house should also be singular, such as three rooms, five rooms, seven rooms, etc., so that the hall is always the bright room in the middle of the room, symbolizing that in the whole house, the hall is in the dominant position, is the backbone, and also symbolizes that the main house is in a dominant position among all the houses in the house, which is the core.
If the main house is an even number, there is no room in the middle, and the hall is either left or right, and there is no distinction between primary and secondary. The folk summarize the main house of this structure as "four or six are not the master" in the common saying, which does not conform to the layout of traditional houses.
Under the traditional Xi of building houses, the main house pattern of "two halls and one house" in civilian houses is also impossible.
The meaning of a broken family is that the family is in ruins and decaying, and the family is separated from each other. It is often used to describe a home that has been destroyed or that has been subjected to a catastrophe.
Nowadays, many people think that the saying "the family is ruined and the person dies" is an exaggerated statement, or a superstitious statement, which is inaccurate. This is very likely to happen in the context of the old society, especially in the context of feudal society.
The main reason for this is that the size and shape of the "two halls and one room" residential layout violated the laws of the imperial court and was punished by the government.
For example, the Tang Law of the Tang Dynasty stipulated that anyone who violated the order by building a house would be beaten with a hundred rods and forced to demolish or rebuild it. If you imitate the palace architecture to build a house, you will be imprisoned in the light case, and you will be killed in the worst case. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the enforcement of this ban became more stringent.
If the built house is to be demolished or rebuilt, it is undoubtedly a huge economic loss for the old civilians, and some people's life savings are used to build houses, which will cause the family to fall into decay.
Whoever is beaten with a hundred rods and a board dies for life. In the feudal period, twenty or thirty canes and boards were beaten, and people could make people's skin and flesh bloom, and those who could survive forty or fifty canes were all healthy people, and generally only half a breath was left, and those who could survive a hundred canes were either dead or disabled. Being subject to this criminal law will of course lead to the death and separation of family members.
It is worth noting here that China's ancient residential feng shui Xi customs, ** in social life, take the lessons of the ancestors as the guide for future generations to build houses. Therefore, the saying "two halls sandwiched by one room, the family is broken and the person dies" has been included in the ancient feng shui knowledge and has become a feng shui saying.
With the development of the times, as a rural modern person, our life today has undergone earth-shaking changes compared with the old life. The old laws on private housing have long since been abolished, including some traditional ideas of rural housing construction and the layout of houses.
Therefore, the saying "two halls sandwiched by one room, the family is broken and the person dies" has lost its guiding role in modern rural areas. However, when building houses in rural areas, it is also necessary to strictly abide by the relevant laws and regulations of the state. As a citizen, we must respect the law, learn the law, abide by the law, and use the law in everything we do, which has been inherited from ancient to modern times and has not changed. History of the Humanities