In the "Mulan Poem" of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, it depicts the heroine Hua Mulan who joined the army on behalf of her father and returned to her hometown after a heroic battle, and was ceremoniously canonized and rewarded by the Son of Heaven in the Ming Hall"When I returned to see the Son of Heaven, the Son of Heaven sat in the Ming Hall.
Twelve turns, rewards hundreds of strong"This scene is vividly reproduced. The "Ming Hall" mentioned here has a long history, the legend began in the Yellow Emperor period to worship the Haotian God created, after the Xia Shang Dynasty and the third generation, the name is different, to the Zhou Dynasty was named "Ming Hall".
Originally, Mingtang was an important place for ancient emperors to hold sacrifices to the sky, convey divine decrees, and exercise their right to rule, covering many major activities such as sacrifices, talent selection, and court meetings.
With the passage of time, the concept of Mingtang has also spread among the people, and large families often imitate Mingtang as a venue for their own important ceremonies such as sacrifices, weddings and funerals. The folk saying "Mingtang is like the bottom of a pot, and the rich and noble are difficult to compare" seems strange at first glance, but it actually contains profound principles of feng shui.
Mingtang is like the bottom of a pot, and it is difficult for rich and noble people to compare" originates from the ancient theory of feng shui, and the "Mingtang" here refers to the open area in front of the main entrance of the house in the feng shui of the yang house, which is what is called the "patio" in modern times.
Although the patio was not really intended to resemble an iron pot, the metaphor was intended to emphasize that the Ming Hall should be concave and slightly above the center on all sides, like a cornucopia. In the eyes of the ancients, this kind of terrain layout is conducive to the gathering of Tibetan wind, just as the bottom of the pot can collect oil, which can make the auspicious qi condense and bring good luck and wealth to the residents.
On the contrary, the saying also mentions that "Mingtang is like a pot navel, and the descendants are poor to the end", which refers to the flat terrain or prominent center of Mingtang such as the old-fashioned iron pot navel, the ancients believed that this pattern is not conducive to the accumulation of wealth, and it is easy to cause the loss of wealth. Together, these two sayings reveal the importance of ancient Feng Shui on the layout of the residential environment, reflecting the deep understanding and pursuit of the ideal living environment of the ancients.
In real life, modern people also cleverly borrowed from the ancients' concept of "the bright hall is like the bottom of the pot" when designing the courtyard. A visual example illustrates that when it rains, rainwater from the roof flows into the courtyard, and the ideal layout should allow the rainwater to collect in one place and eventually drain through the courtyard entrance, rather than being unfocused and disorderly like an inverted iron pot.
This scattered layout often gives people the impression of being scattered and cohesive, and the ancients regarded water as a symbol of wealth, believing that only by gathering in one place can it have a positive effect; If the flow of water is fighting separately, it means that it is difficult to aggregate financial fortune.
In reality, rainwater from the courtyard does drip from the rooftops and collect at specific locations before draining, rather than flowing along the four walls at random. Imagine that if the water continues to wash along the wall, too much moisture will cause the local area to be too wet, which is undoubtedly a major challenge to the stability of the fence.
In the long run, the heavily damp foundation is likely to cause the wall to settle, crack or even tilt. As a result, when planning a courtyard, designers often try to avoid allowing water to hit the fence or house directly, which can be the additional expense of long-term repairs.
In contrast, the design of "Mingtang is like the bottom of a pot", that is, the shape of being slightly higher and slightly lower around makes rainwater naturally collect to low-lying places and smoothly discharge out of the courtyard, which is undoubtedly an effective solution that can save maintenance costs and ensure the safety of the building.
Although the saying "Mingtang is like the bottom of a pot, and the rich and noble are difficult to compare" reflects the understanding of the ancients in feng shui, in the actual construction of the courtyard, we should not only pay attention to the consideration of feng shui, but also pay attention to the rationality and practicality of the layout.
Avoiding unnecessary economic losses caused by design errors just proves the wisdom of the design of "Mingtang is like the bottom of a pot". Regardless of whether you believe in Feng Shui or not, such a design concept is the right choice in today's architectural design because of its scientific and practical nature.