What are the components of the "door" in ancient Chinese architecture? Hainan GRC component I will introduce you. As the ancients said, "The door is the crown belt of a house". The door is the place for a family to breathe and accept, and is an indispensable part of traditional Chinese ancient architecture. Gate is the symbol of ancient social status and official rank, and its shape also reflects the strict hierarchy. The doors of old houses demonstrate the long history of ancient architectural culture and the wisdom of our ancient craftsmen and masters. In this issue, we are going to learn about the components of ancient building gates, which are generally composed of door frames, door heads, door leaves, door hairpins, door piers, door rings, door nails, etc.

1、 Doorframe

The door frame is a frame composed of two frame columns on the left and right and a flat brace on the top, which is fixed between the columns or wall openings of the house and is mainly used to place the door leaves. In this way, the width of the door leaf is naturally smaller than that between the gate posts. The addition of door frames requires the addition of many door components at the same time, so the structure of the door seems very simple, but actually there are many details of decoration and attention. The door frame can be divided into wooden door frame and stone door frame. The wooden door frame is generally installed on the wooden wall or the door head room formed by enclosing the brick and earth walls on both sides, while the stone door frame is installed on the thick brick and earth wall.

2、 Doorhead

At first, there was a simple roof with two slopes on the door frame to protect the sun and rain. The small roof on the door was called "door head". The door head not only has a functional role, but also has a decorative role, which makes the door more imposing. Later, the practical function of the door head gradually faded away, and gradually evolved into a simple decorative part covering the door. The ingenuity of the door head and the height of the threshold silently state that this nation once attached great importance to family relations.

3、 Door leaf

The door leaf is the most important part of the gate itself. In ancient times, the most common one was two, and there was also one or more than two. In ancient Chinese architecture, this kind of door leaf is made of wood. In general, the width of a door leaf is at least half a meter, while for large buildings such as temples and palaces, the door leaf can reach 1 meter or more. The gate is made of solid and heavy materials. Generally, the gate is a panel door rather than a partition door, which has better shielding effect and defense performance. The exquisite door panels shall be painted more, especially the vermilion paint, which shows the highest level.

4、 Door pillow

In order to support the door leaf, piers and abutments are often set at both ends of the lower sill under the door. Small holes are chiseled on the piers and abutments to place the door shaft. This kind of pier and abutment supporting the door shaft is called "door pillow". The sturdy door shaft with a huge door leaf, the entire center of gravity falls on the door pillow stone, and revolves freely around it. The door pillow is mostly made of stone, also known as "door pillow stone". The door pillow stone is generally divided into two parts: one is inside the door leaf and the other is outside the door leaf. The part of the door pillow stone exposed outside the door is mostly carved, which is often called "Mendang" by the ancients. Beautiful appearance and exquisite design leave space for craftsmen to fully display their skills.

5、 Door hairpin

The door hairpin is an ornament on the lintel of the ancient building gate, which is named after the head ornament of ancient women. The door hairpin was originally used to fix the couplets on the door frame for door rotation. Two door hairpins can be used to fix them. In the so-called "door to door matching" in ancient times, the door to door hairpin refers to the door hairpin on the ancient gate, so the door hairpin is also hierarchical, indicating the identity of the head of the household. The number of "household pairs" can be seen from the official title of the owner. There can be six from the first to the fifth grade, four from the sixth to the seventh grade, and two for other small officials or ordinary large families. The door hairpin has various shapes, and its front face is carved or painted, decorated with patterns or patterns of auspicious animals and rare birds. There are also words such as "spring orchid, summer lotus", "autumn chrysanthemum and winter plum", "good luck", "good fortune and longevity", and "peace in the world". When there are only two door hairpins, the words "auspicious" are carved.

6、 Door cymbal

The opening and closing of the door leaf shall be realized with the help of the handle, which also has the function of knocking. In order to make the handle look beautiful, a base is added at the connection between the handle and the door panel, which is called "door cymbal". The door cymbal is named after its shape similar to the "cymbal" in folk musical instruments. Besides the practicability of door cymbals, they also have a strong sense of decoration. It is made of metal. The plane is round or hexagonal, and a round button like an inverted bowl is raised in the middle. A ring or metal sheet is hung on the button. The part around the round button is called "circle", which is carved with hollow patterns, and also made into auspicious symbols or Ruyi patterns, which is to increase the decorative effect of door cymbals. Visitors can knock on the door cymbals to inform the owner that in the official families, the door cymbals are often made into animal faces, also known as "shop heads", and have the function of driving away evil spirits.

7、 Shop head

The most distinctive form of door cymbals is Pushou, which is called Jipin in door cymbals. Most of them are made of bronze with animal shaped eyes, exposed teeth and a big ring in their mouth. The animal face at the head of the shop looks like a dragon rather than a dragon, like a lion rather than a lion, which means avoiding evil spirits and controlling houses. The shop head is just the base of the door knocker, and the shop head ring is a complete door knocker. The traditional door head is not just a decorative component. In ancient times, the use of the head has strict grade regulations. It is recorded that "the main gate of the four cities of the Prince's Mansion is nailed with a copper ring made of red paint gold; the gate of the Lord's Mansion is green with a copper ring; the gate of the middle duke of the Hundred Officials is gold with a tin ring with a beast face; the gate of the first and second officials is green with a beast face; the gate of the third and fifth officials is black with a tin ring; the gate of the sixth and ninth officials is black with a iron ring...".

8、 Knocker

Door knocker, commonly known as buzzer, is a handle installed on the gate. The origin of door knockers can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period, and up to the Tang Dynasty, only the gates of the government and the ancestral temples can enjoy the "shop head title ring", and ordinary people's house doors cannot have any decoration. After the Song Dynasty, door knockers gradually became popular. The door knocker is fastened on the front of the door in a dignified manner, and the gorgeous door knocker makes the finishing point for the door. When people in the hospital go out, they hold the leaf or iron ring in the middle with both hands and bring it to the door; Outsiders gently buckle the door knocker to call people in the hospital to open the door. When acquaintances come, the number and weight of buckles are constant. The door knocker is an ancient building component integrating practicality, decoration and door rank, which is a very important part of the "door culture" of Chinese ancient buildings.

9、 Doornail

At first, the door nails only played a role of reinforcement. Because most of the door panels were assembled, the door nails were installed at the junction to reinforce. The exposed nail caps were shaped like mushrooms, and later gradually became decorations on the door. In ancient times, the door nail was also called "Fu Ou Nail". Fu Ou is the bubble on the water surface, which means that the door nail on the door panel seems to be the bubble floating on the water. The door nail is usually nailed to the door panel about an inch. The number of door nails is very particular. According to the Qing Dynasty, nine door nails can only be used in palaces, seven in the Prince's Mansion and five in the Prince's Mansion. The house of common people shall not be decorated with door studs. For example, there are 81 door nails on the gate of the imperial palace. In ancient times, it was called "95 Zun" to refer to the position of the emperor.

10、 Threshold

The threshold is the horizontal wooden strip and stone strip set at the lower end of the door frame, which is the boundary between the inside and outside of the door. A higher threshold can, to some extent, prevent the invasion of sandstorms, pests, rats, etc. The threshold is a symbol of the ceremony of guests and hosts. When guests cross the threshold to enter the hall, they need to lower their heads and watch their steps to prevent bumping. This is respect for the host. There is a saying that "when the threshold is folded, there is no inside or outside", which indicates that the threshold is the boundary of different etiquette systems inside and outside the family order. In ancient times, stepping on someone's threshold was disrespectful to the owner of the house. Later, the threshold was extended to block both wealth and life. Therefore, people often said "I met the threshold" when things went wrong. They often heard that someone's threshold was high, indicating that the family's conditions were good.

One button and one push, a Chinese door full of historical charm. Watch the pattern of holding drum stones on the stone piers, silently count the "household pairs" on the door hairpin, knock out the deep crash sound with the laying hand clasp, push open the squeaky ancient building gate, and the long historical legend rushes forward. As the facade of a Chinese style courtyard, the house gate often gives people the most intuitive impression. Whether from the shape, structure, sculpture, decoration, it is the most concentrated embodiment of Chinese traditional ancient architectural art. Want to know more about Hainan Sculpture GRC components, EPS industry related content, welcome to pay attention to the official website of Hainan Jin'ao Garden Sculpture Art Co., Ltd.