Siheyuan: Silly Pillar is Kind

# Rebirth of Siheyuan: Brilliant Life (Continued 29) As Siheyuan's reputation in the field of traditional cultural education spreads, more and more schools and educational institutions come to seek cooperation, hoping to jointly develop courses with more depth and breadth. He Luo and Lin Yue feel a great sense of responsibility. They understand that this is a great opportunity to carry forward the Siheyuan culture, so they devote themselves more wholeheartedly to the new course development work. At an exchange meeting with a new cooperative school, the principal proposed a new direction: "We hope to design tiered courses for students of different age groups. For example, for primary school students, we can focus on fun and experience; for middle school students, we can add some in-depth analysis of cultural connotations and academic discussions." He Luo nodded in agreement: "This is a great idea. For primary school students, we can add more story elements and interactive games on the basis of the original courses. For example, in the traditional architecture course, we can make up some stories about the elves of the Siheyuan building, so that children can understand the characteristics of the building while listening to the story." Lin Yue continued: "For the courses for middle school students, we can invite some university experts in ancient architecture or professors of folklore to give lectures and guide them to study the Siheyuan culture from an academic perspective. At the same time, students can be organized to carry out some research projects on the inheritance of Siheyuan culture and the integration of modern society." Professor Chen, a professor of folklore, also participated in the discussion: "In terms of folk culture courses, for middle school students, we can explore the social and historical background behind folk customs. For example, the marriage and funeral customs of Siheyuan reflect the social structure and interpersonal relationships at that time. Let students complete the research through field research, literature review, etc." Master Zhao, who is in charge of the traditional handicraft course, also put forward his own views: "For the handicraft course for middle school students, we can increase the difficulty and introduce some innovative design content of traditional handicrafts. For example, let students incorporate modern design elements when making kites or paper cutting, and then hold a creative work exhibition to stimulate their innovative thinking." During the course design process, He Luo and Lin Yue found that more professional resources were needed for support. They contacted some universities with relevant majors to seek cooperation. He Luo said to the dean of the Department of Architecture of a university: "Director Liu, we hope to get the support of your department, such as letting students from the Department of Architecture assist us in developing traditional architecture courses for middle school students. They can bring more cutting-edge academic perspectives and also exercise their practical abilities." Director Liu readily agreed: "This is a win-win situation. We can select some outstanding students to participate and let them apply the theoretical knowledge they learned in class to practice, and at the same time contribute to the cultural inheritance of the Siheyuan." As the stratified courses gradually advance, new problems also arise. When organizing middle school students to carry out research projects, it was found that students had limited ways to obtain information. A leading teacher reported to Lin Yue: "Teacher Lin, it is difficult for students to find comprehensive and accurate information when studying the historical changes of Siheyuan folk culture. There is too little relevant information in the library." After thinking for a moment, Lin Yue said: "We can establish a Siheyuan cultural information database to collect and organize various books, papers, video materials about Siheyuan, and at the same time establish an online platform for students to facilitate retrieval and downloading." He Luo added: "We can also contact some ancient book collections and folk museums to see if we can cooperate with them to give students the opportunity to access more precious original materials." In the traditional handicraft innovation course, some students encountered difficulties in integrating modern elements. Master Zhao said to a middle school student with a sad face: "What's wrong with you? Did you encounter problems with the design?" The student replied: "Master Zhao, I want to incorporate the style of modern abstract painting into paper-cutting, but I don't know how to combine the two. It feels very inconsistent." Master Zhao patiently instructed: "You can start with simple geometric figures, decompose the color and composition concepts of abstract paintings, and then apply them to the pattern design of paper-cutting. You will get the feeling after trying a few more times." With the joint efforts of everyone, the tiered courses are becoming more and more perfect, and the students' learning results are also gratifying. At a traditional architecture project report meeting for middle school students, a student confidently walked to the podium: "Through our research, we found that the architectural style of the Siheyuan is not only influenced by traditional culture, but also closely related to the geographical environment and economic development at that time. The layout of the Siheyuan reflects the ancient people's emphasis on family concepts and hierarchy. At the same time, the choice of its building materials reflects the characteristics of local resources..." Seeing that the students have such a deep understanding of the Siheyuan culture, He Luo and Lin Yue feel very gratified. They know that these efforts are cultivating a new generation of guardians and disseminators for the inheritance of traditional culture, and the Siheyuan will continue to shine with its unique light on the road of cultural inheritance and meet more challenges and opportunities. However, with the development of educational courses, the space and facilities of the Siheyuan are facing new pressures. He Luo and Lin Yue are once again thinking about how to provide a better environment and more resources for educational activities in a limited space? This will be another difficult problem that they need to overcome.

# Rebirth of Siheyuan: Brilliant Life (Continued 30) Faced with the pressure of Siheyuan's space and facilities, He Luo and Lin Yue decided to gather everyone together to discuss solutions. They gathered the management team, teaching teachers, folk artists and other relevant personnel to the Siheyuan's conference room. He Luo spoke first: "As everyone knows, our traditional cultural education courses are developing better and better, but the space and facilities of the Siheyuan cannot keep up. We have to find a way to solve this problem, and everyone can share their ideas." Xiao Wang from the management team said: "We can consider renovating some of the existing idle spaces in the Siheyuan. For example, the west wing where sundries are stored can be cleaned out and transformed into a small multi-functional classroom for teaching and student discussions." Teacher Zhang, the teaching teacher, nodded in agreement: "This is a good idea, but when renovating, we must pay attention to lighting and ventilation issues so that children will feel comfortable studying in it." Lin Yue continued: "In addition to classrooms, we also need more display space. Now students have more and more works, such as the results of traditional handicraft courses, research reports on topics, etc., which all need a suitable place to display. We can set up some display cabinets on the corridors of the Siheyuan, or use some corners in the yard to build display racks." Master Zhao, a folk artist, suggested: "For traditional handicraft courses, we need a special material storage and preparation area. Now the materials are piled up in each classroom, which not only takes up space but also is inconvenient to find. We can build a simple workshop in an independent area of ​​the courtyard to store materials and make some large handicrafts." When discussing the facility issue, Lao Li, who is in charge of logistics, said: "We have to update some teaching equipment, such as multimedia equipment. Current courses sometimes need to play some high-definition documentaries and animation demonstrations. The existing equipment is a bit old, and the picture and sound effects are not very good." He Luo responded: "This is an important issue. We can make a list of equipment and purchase some high-quality projectors, speakers and other multimedia equipment. In addition, the desks and chairs in the classroom also need to be updated, and we must choose styles suitable for students of different ages." In the process of transforming the idle space, some structural problems were encountered. The construction worker said to He Luo, “The roof of this west wing is leaking in some places, and parts of the walls are damp. They need to be repaired before we can renovate them.” He Luo immediately contacted a professional maintenance worker. After checking, the maintenance worker said, “The tiles on the roof are damaged and need to be partially re-laid. The damp parts of the walls need to be removed and rebuilt. This will take a certain amount of time and money.” He Luo said, “No problem. The quality must be guaranteed. This is related to the children’s safety and learning environment.” When preparing the display space, Lin Yue and the staff designed the styles of the display cabinets and display racks together. Lin Yue held the design drawing and said to the staff, "The glass of this display cabinet must be highly transparent and safe, and must not have sharp edges. The height of the display stand must be appropriate to facilitate viewing by students of different heights." The staff asked, "Then how do you classify the content on display? Is it by course type or student age level?" Lin Yue thought for a moment and said, "We can consider it comprehensively and classify it by course type first, such as traditional architecture, folk culture, traditional handicrafts, etc., and then further subdivide each type according to age level or the theme of the work." When building the traditional handicraft workshop, Master Zhao instructed the workers: "The workbench in this workshop must be sturdy and the height must be suitable for people of different heights to operate. Moisture-proof and fire-proof measures must be taken in the material storage area. After all, many raw materials are flammable." The worker replied, "Master Zhao, we will pay attention to it. We have prepared all the fire-proof materials. We will make special treatments on the floor and walls for moisture-proofing." When updating the teaching equipment, He Luo and the purchasing staff selected multimedia equipment together. The purchasing staff introduced to He Luo: "Teacher He, this projector has a high resolution and good color reproduction. It can also have a clear picture under strong daylight. We chose a surround sound system for the sound system, which can give students a better auditory experience." After experiencing the effect of the equipment himself, He Luo said: "Well, the effect is really good, let's choose this one. As for the tables and chairs, we have to consider the height differences of students of different age groups and choose models with adjustable heights." After a period of hard work, the space of the courtyard has been effectively utilized and the facilities have been completely renewed. The new multi-functional classroom is spacious and bright, the display space is rich and diverse, the traditional handicraft workshop is neat and orderly, and the teaching equipment is advanced and convenient. When the students came to the courtyard for class again, they were attracted by these new changes. A primary school student said excitedly: "Wow, this classroom is so big, and there are so many new display cabinets. The things inside are so interesting." A middle school student praised the new multimedia equipment: "The picture of this projector is so clear, and the documentary played is really exciting. I feel more motivated to study." Looking at the satisfied smiles of the students, He Luo and Lin Yue knew that all these efforts were worth it. But they also understand that the development of Siheyuan is like an endless journey, and there are more challenges and surprises waiting for them ahead. They are ready to continue working hard for the brilliant life of Siheyuan and let traditional culture bloom here with more splendid brilliance.

# Rebirth of Siheyuan: Brilliant Life (Continued 31) With the improvement of the space and facilities of the Siheyuan, the educational courses are being carried out more smoothly. However, He Luo and Lin Yue are not satisfied with this. They began to think about how to further expand the cultural influence of the Siheyuan and spread traditional culture to a wider range of people. One day, He Luo got new inspiration when communicating with a leader of the cultural department who came to visit. The leader said: "Your Siheyuan has done a good job in cultural education, but you can consider cooperating with traditional cultural institutions in other regions to carry out cultural exchange activities, learn from each other and develop together." He Luo told Lin Yue about this idea, and Lin Yue's eyes lit up: "This is a good idea! We can cooperate with other places with distinctive traditional culture, such as cooperating with the ancient towns in the Jiangnan water towns, and hold activities such as comparative exhibitions of traditional culture between the north and the south." They immediately took action and contacted the cultural management departments of several ancient towns in the south of the Yangtze River. In a video conference with one of the ancient town leaders, He Luo introduced the idea of ​​the Siheyuan: "We hope to carry out cultural exchange and cooperation with your town. We can display the cultural elements of the Jiangnan ancient town in the Siheyuan, such as Jiangnan architectural models, introductions to water town folk customs, etc., and we can also bring the culture of the Siheyuan to you." The person in charge of the ancient town responded enthusiastically: "This is a great proposal. Our Jiangnan ancient town has a unique water town culture, such as exquisite garden architecture, delicate silk culture, and unique boat songs and folk customs, which can all be used as display content. We are also looking forward to learning about the Siheyuan culture, such as the relationship between the Hutong life in old Beijing and the Siheyuan." The two sides hit it off and began to prepare for the North-South Cultural Exchange Exhibition. On the Siheyuan side, He Luo and Lin Yue organized staff to collect and organize cultural materials of the Jiangnan ancient town. Lin Yue said to Xiao Wang, who was in charge of data collection, "Xiao Wang, we need to collect comprehensive data on the ancient towns in the south of the Yangtze River, from various aspects such as architecture, folk customs, and handicrafts. The architecture should include the architectural features of typical ancient towns like Wuzhen and Xitang, as well as the layout characteristics of gardens. The folk custom data should be detailed, such as the traditional festival celebration methods, wedding and funeral customs of the ancient towns. The handicrafts should cover silk embroidery, bamboo weaving and other contents." Xiao Wang nodded and said, "Sister Lin, I will try my best to collect them. However, some information may require further communication and acquisition with the ancient towns over there, such as some exclusive folk photos and architectural design drawings." He Luo said, "No problem, we will keep in close contact with them. At the same time, we must also prepare the content of the Siheyuan cultural display, and show the most essential parts of the Siheyuan." When preparing the Siheyuan cultural display materials, folklorist Professor Li proposed: "We can focus on the family culture and ritual culture in the Siheyuan culture. For example, show the ritual process of Siheyuan family sacrifices, the compilation and inheritance significance of the genealogy, etc. These contents can well reflect the connotation of northern traditional culture." The staff encountered some problems when making exhibition models and arranging exhibits. Zhang, who was in charge of model making, said to He Luo: "He Luo, the model making of Jiangnan gardens is a bit complicated. It is difficult to grasp the proportions of its rockery, pools and pavilions, and it must reflect the exquisite and elegant charm of Jiangnan gardens." He Luo suggested: "We can find some professional garden designers to guide, or refer to some actual surveying and mapping data of Jiangnan gardens. We should also pay attention to the selection of materials and restore the real texture as much as possible." Regarding the exhibition layout, Lin Yue said to the staff: "The exhibits of Jiangnan ancient towns and quadrangle courtyards should echo each other, forming a contrast and integration. For example, next to the area displaying Jiangnan silk culture, a quadrangle courtyard traditional clothing culture display area can be set up to show the differences in materials, patterns and production processes between the north and south clothing cultures through comparison." After several months of careful preparation, the North-South Cultural Exchange Exhibition opened grandly in the quadrangle courtyard. At the opening ceremony, guests from all parties gathered. A cultural scholar commented after visiting: "This exhibition is so meaningful! It allows us to intuitively see the differences and integration of traditional cultures in the north and south. The tenderness of the water town of Jiangnan ancient town and the grandeur and solemnity of the quadrangle courtyard collide here to create wonderful sparks." Tourists were also attracted by the exhibition. A tourist said to his companion: "Look at this Jiangnan garden model, it is so exquisite, it feels like the whole Jiangnan has been moved to the Siheyuan. There is also a family sacrifice display in the Siheyuan, which gives me a deeper understanding of the traditional culture of old Beijing." During the cultural exchange exhibition, a series of cultural lectures and interactive experience activities were also held. The silk embroidery master from the Jiangnan ancient town came to the Siheyuan to hold an embroidery experience workshop to teach tourists how to embroider the patterns of the Jiangnan water town. The embroidery master said to a tourist who was learning embroidery: "When embroidering, the stitches should be fine and even, and the color matching of the thread should reflect the softness of the Jiangnan water town. Look, embroidering a lotus like this, don't you feel it?" Folklore experts from the Siheyuan also held lectures on the Siheyuan culture in the Jiangnan ancient town, introducing the architectural feng shui and folk taboos of the Siheyuan. Through this North-South Cultural Exchange Exhibition, the cultural influence of the Siheyuan has been greatly enhanced, attracting more tourists and cultural enthusiasts from all over the country. But He Luo and Lin Yue did not stop. They began to plan the next cultural exchange and cooperation, hoping to spread the Siheyuan culture to a wider world.