You can see the screen wall in the Forbidden City, the Forbidden City, the palaces of royal gardens and even the streets and alleys of Beijing. Shadow wall is defined in the dictionary as: the wall used for shielding in the gate or screen door. The screen wall we see has the following shapes: first, the I-shaped screen wall in the gate is about ten feet away from the gate. Divided into independent screen wall and mountain screen wall. An independent shadow wall is an independent wall. Zuoshan screen wall is a screen wall directly built on the gable of the wing, and the screen wall and the gable are connected as a whole. Second, the screen wall outside the gate, also known as the screen wall, is often built opposite the alley or street, facing the door. The shadow wall also has two shapes. The plane is I-shaped, which is called the shadow wall, and the plane is I-shaped, which is called the wild goose wing shadow wall. These two kinds of screen walls can exist independently, or they can be pasted on the wall of the opposite house. It is called "low wall" because its height is generally flush with the eaves, not higher than the roof and lower than the courtyard wall. The third is the shadow wall located on both sides of the gate, which is called "the shadow wall of the mountain" or "the shadow wall of the reverse picture", and forms an included angle of 120 degrees or 135 degrees with the cornice of the gate, and the plane is splayed. This screen wall requires the gate to retreat inward 1 to several meters, thus forming a space in front of the gate, either a step or an empty field, which is a buffer before entering the gate. It is very grand, open and more private. When the screen wall appeared, there is no clear textual research. According to archaeological findings, the screen wall existed in China during the Western Zhou Dynasty. Among the architectural relics of the Western Zhou Dynasty excavated in Shaanxi Province, there is a shadow wall with a length of 240 cm and a height of 20 cm. This is the earliest screen wall discovered by China.
In addition to practical value, there are many different opinions about the function of the screen wall. Some people even think that it is influenced by geomantic omen, and the shadow wall can improve the visibility of the hospital and keep evil spirits out of the hospital. The ancients believed that the evil spirits of ghosts were straight, so the shadow wall of the courtyard door could block their harm. In fact, everything exists for a reason, and the shadow wall is no exception. Siheyuan, especially Siheyuan, has a concept of privacy and defense in its own structure. Rooms in the yard, whether facing east, south, west or north, have doors facing the yard. There are only windows and walls outside the courtyard, so you must walk through the gate. The gate is closed at night, but it is open during the day for convenience. When the gate is opened, people outside can see people's activities in the hospital through the gate. Behaviorally speaking, people will feel alert, nervous and uncomfortable when they are watched or peeped by others or outsiders. People spend most of their time at home to rest and relax. If someone snoops and interrupts at this time, naturally you can't have a normal rest. During the day, the gate of the yard needs to be opened to facilitate access and avoid being disturbed by outsiders, so the screen wall naturally comes into being. In fact, the word "shadow wall" itself has revealed the secret: this wall is not called a wall, nor a wind wall, but a shadow wall, originally to block the figure of yourself or outsiders. In addition, the existence of shadow wall can also block the cold outside the hospital in cold winter and prevent the strong wind from pouring directly into the hospital. As for feng shui theory, it should be another matter. There are mainly brick, tile, stone, wood, glass and other types. It is mainly composed of three parts: wall seat, wall body and wall top. Exquisite screen wall, the wall seat is carved from brick; The wall is built into a frame, and the surface of the frame core is paved with square bricks or glazed tiles with a square foot. The center and four corners can be carved with glazed tiles with auspicious words or flowers, such as "Fu" and "Shou", or flowers, birds and animals, meaning good luck. Tiles are installed on the wall, which are made of brick or glass in purlin shape, including hard mountain type, hanging mountain type, resting mountain type and temple type.
The screen wall used by the royal family is the most luxurious and gorgeous. In front of Ningshou Palace, where Qianlong lived when he was the emperor's father in the Forbidden City, there was a large zhaobi made of colored glazed tiles. The wall is inlaid with glazed tiles into nine dragons, playing in the waves and the sea of clouds, full of movement, as if to face, both luxurious and magnificent. This is the world-famous Nine Dragon Wall of the Forbidden City. In the East and West Palace of the Forbidden City, there is almost a shadow wall in front of each courtyard palace, which is made of wood, stone carving and glass, and is engraved with auspicious patterns, which is very beautiful.
There are also several screen walls that are equally famous. The zhaobi in front of the Emperor Temple in Funei Street is the longest in Beijing. This photo wall is about 34 meters long, 1.3 meters thick and 5.5 meters high. The zhaobi in front of the Great Round Mirror Zhenyitang on the west side of the north shore of Beihai Park is a national treasure. Built in Liao Dynasty, it was rebuilt in the 21st year of Qing Qianlong (1756). The latest measured data is 5.96m high,1.6m thick and 25.52m long. The wall seat is a blue and white stone base. The wall is a city brick, and 424 pieces of yellow, purple, white, blue, red, green and cyan glazed tiles are inlaid on the outside. The top of the wall is in the shape of a temple. There are nine yellow, purple, white, blue and orange dragons flying between heaven and earth, playing with pearls in the sea of waves and clouds, which are lifelike. There are dragons on the front ridge, fork ridge, dripping water, hook head and line brick of zhaobi, and there are 635 dragons and dragons. It is the only double-sided nine-dragon wall among the three existing nine-dragon walls in China (including the one in front of the Ming Palace in Datong, Shanxi), which shows the high specifications. In the northeast of Wulong Pavilion in Beihai Park, there is also a legendary shadow wall-"Iron Shadow Wall", which is in front of the Quick Snow Pavilion. It used to be the screen wall in front of an ancient temple outside Jiandemen (now Deshengmen) in Yuan Dynasty. Because of its reddish brown color and very hard texture, it seems to be cast from pig iron, so it is called "iron shadow wall". The Yuan Dynasty perished and the Ming Dynasty was established. When Beijing was ruled, the North Wall moved southward to the position of Deshengmen, and all the treasures outside the city moved into the city. This "Iron Shadow Wall" was also moved to the city and placed in front of Desheng Temple in Deshengmen to protect the country, which is today's Iron Shadow Wall Hutong. Later, Desheng Temple was destroyed, leaving only the iron shadow wall. 1947 iron shadow wall moved to Beihai. 1986, when the cultural relics were cleared, it was found that the iron shadow wall had no wall seat, so I went back to the iron shadow wall alley to look for it. Finally, it found a complete wall seat and moved to Beihai to reunite with the wall. The iron shadow wall is1.89m high and 3.56m long. The wall body, wall seat and wall top are all carved from a whole piece of neutral volcanic conglomerate. There are tiles, dripping water, purlins and rafters carved on the top of the wall, and the wall seat is carved with weathering, which makes the pattern unclear. This wall is the most beautifully carved. On the north side is a magnificent unicorn, lying under a rocky forest with two long-tailed birds on its branches. There is a lion playing with hydrangea carved on the south side, and there are three little lions playing beside it. There is a deer in the sun in the east, a crane in the sun in the west, and an unknown animal. The wall is engraved with 18 galloping horse. The whole wall is wide and narrow, with unique shape.
The screen wall was created by the working people, but it has been owned by the ruling class for thousands of years. It was not until the Qing dynasty was overthrown that the screen wall was widely used in residential buildings, and even the small farmhouse in the suburbs often saw the simple clear water screen wall in the courtyard gate. The large and small shadow walls in the streets and lanes of Beijing are gradually decreasing with the urban transformation, but some well-preserved shadow walls are also being protected and become a landscape that highlights the charm of the ancient capital.
The so-called shadow wall is actually a psychological hint of the ancients, and the theory of ghosts and gods is not desirable. This psychological suggestion has been getting stronger and stronger for thousands of years. If the screen wall is built without it, there will be no sustenance in my heart, and it is not surprising that anything happens. Therefore, the screen wall was first covered with a mysterious coat.