Quick Answer: What Is a Bai Courtyard House?
Bai courtyard houses around Dali, Yunnan, organize rooms and covered walks around an open court. Two documented layouts use either three building ranges and a screen wall or four ranges enclosing a large central court with four smaller ones at the corners. Both survive in the historic houses of Xizhou.[1][2]
- Find the open center: Rooms and passages look onto the main court.[1][2]
- Read the fourth side: A painted wall may face the main range, or a fourth range may close the court.[1]
- Check the corners: Smaller open spaces can sit between adjoining ranges.[1]
Start with the plan, then look at how the wall and roof details vary from one household to another.[1][3]
From the court, the fourth side tells you how the compound is arranged. A high white wall can define the space as clearly as a row of rooms.[1]
Three Ranges Facing a Screen Wall
In the three ranges and one screen wall (三坊一照壁, sān fāng yī zhàobì) layout, the main range faces the wall across the court. Two side ranges enclose the other sides. In this description, a range is a building wing containing several bays. The gaps where ranges meet can contain smaller open areas.[1]
The pale wall can reflect light into the courtyard. A veranda faces the court from each building range and offers a sheltered space to move or sit. Dali’s heritage account describes some screen walls with a higher center section and two lower sides, which give the wall its own profile above the court. In this setting, a Chinese screen wall forms a whole side of the domestic space and provides a surface for painted decoration.[1][4]
Four Ranges and the Smaller Corner Courts
The four ranges and five courts (四合五天井, sì hé wǔ tiānjǐng) plan places a building range on each of the four sides. The large court occupies the center. Four smaller open courts sit near the junctions between the ranges. The count describes the open spaces rather than the number of rooms or buildings.[1][2]
From the main court, the corner openings may be partly hidden by the walls and roof edges. On a plan, look for open space where neighboring building wings approach each other. Those corner courts are part of the arrangement even when they are hard to see from the center.[1]
How to Read the Houses in Xizhou
Dali’s conservation plan describes Xizhou as preserving examples from the Ming and Qing dynasties and the Republican period. The Yan family compound is among the named houses in the protected ensemble. Many buildings use dark tiles, pale walls and painted or carved details. Some compounds also incorporate Western architectural elements.[1][2][3]
Look closely at the center of a painted screen wall. In interviews published by Xinhua, a Dali painting practitioner explains how inscriptions can invoke family values or recall stories about ancestors. One recorded phrase, 清白世家, evokes a family known for integrity. Such phrases expressed how a household wished to present itself.[4]
FAQs About Bai Courtyard Houses
Does a range mean one room?
A range is a wing with several bays. Count the wings to read the plan.[1]
Do all Bai courtyard houses have five courts?
Five courts describe one documented plan. Another common arrangement uses three wings and a screen wall.[1][2]
Why are the screen walls painted or inscribed?
They provide a place for ornament and for words that express family values or lineage stories.[1][4]
Sources
[1] Dali Municipal Government. Painting and Layouts of Traditional Bai Houses
[2] Dali Municipal Government. Conservation and Interpretation Plan for the Cangshan and Erhai Heritage Area
[3] Dali Tourism Group. The Protected Bai Residential Ensemble at Xizhou
[4] Xinhua. Bai Screen-Wall Painting and Family Inscriptions