With the development of different times, the forms of arched buildings have gradually developed. Archway can be regarded as an advanced form of archway. The difference between the two has been mentioned before, but the two names are not strictly defined and can often be used universally.
Regarding Chuo Wedge and Gentleman Wedge, "Chuo" and "Cihai" are interpreted as leniency. "Gentry" and "Cihai" are defined as the big belts worn by ancient literati outside their clothes, which refer to the home of literati bureaucrats. "Wedge" and "dimension" are defined as wooden columns on both sides of the door. Therefore, the meaning of "Chuo Wedge" and "Gentleman Wedge" refers to a well-off family, such as the residence of a scholar-bureaucrat and an official, and the wooden column erected at his front door contains the meaning of keeping watch, reflecting the unusual things in the archway.
At present, there is no unified view on the origin of memorial archway in academic circles. As for the time of origin, some say that it originated from the Han Dynasty, some say that it was built in the Tang Dynasty, and some say that the archway began in the Song Dynasty and flourished in the Qing Dynasty. Some scholars infer that the origin of archway can be traced back to the mid-Spring and Autumn Period.
The appearance of memorial archways is closely related to the traditional household registration system in China.
Well-field system appeared in Shang Dynasty and matured in Western Zhou Dynasty. A minefield divides the land into squares shaped like "wells" The mining field belongs to the king of Zhou and is distributed to the people. The Lord shall not buy, sell or transfer the mining area and pay certain taxes.
In the natural economic society of the well-field system, people gradually produced the basic organization "Yi Li" which accompanied the well-field system. It has been recorded in Mozi Shang Zhong Xian. "Every ruler, politician, city, and sage of the country." In the city, it is the country. It can be seen that as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the rural areas may already have the layout of latitude and longitude. With the appearance of iron farm tools, people's productivity has gradually improved, and the well field system has gradually disintegrated, resulting in the "hedge system."
People take Lu as their basic living unit, and there are dozens of families in Lu. These houses are surrounded by the outer wall of the road or their houses are located in a group. With the improvement of capital construction, the hedge system has gradually become a familiar Li Fang system.
Li Fang usually has its own name, such as "Yong 'an Square" and "Ming Kai Square" in Chang 'an period of Tang Dynasty, and these names will be written on the doors of the square. According to the system of expressing praise, the deeds and names should be engraved on the wooden sign and hung on the door of the square when singing praises. Since then, this form of recognition has been used to this day.
By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the so-called Li Fang system had long since ceased to exist. As an important carrier and function of the form of identity, the door of the square has remained. Moreover, it has been vigorously promoted and decorated with various decorations. In the group relationship, it is usually located in the front of the building group as a landmark building or as a gathering place within the group. This is the archway we are familiar with now.
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