Shikumen: Difference between revisions

'''ShikmenShikumen''' ({{Lang-zh|c=|s=石库门|t=石庫門|p=Shíkùmén|first=st|l=Stone Warehouse Gate}};, [[Shanghainese]]: zakumen''zaq⁸ khu¹ men⁶,'' [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]: [[Help:IPA/Wuu|[zᴀʔ¹¹ kʰu¹¹ mən²⁴]]]) is a traditional [[Shanghai]]nese [[architectural style]] combining [[European architecture|Western]] and [[Chinese architecture|Chinese]] elements that first appeared in the 1860s.<ref name="radical quaintness">{{cite newsmagazine

| publishermagazine= [[The New Yorker]]

|archiveurlarchive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100430142738/http://english.eastday.com/e/shmb/u1a4018862.html

|archivedatearchive-date = 2010-04-30

}}</ref> but todayhowever, the proportion is currently much lower, as most [[Shanghainese people|Shanghainese]] live in large apartment buildings. Shikumen is classified as one type of ''[[lilong]]'' residences, sometimes translated as "'''lane houses'''" in English.

Shikumens are two- or three-story structures resembling Western [[terrace house]]s or [[townhouse]]s, distinguished by high brick walls enclosing a narrow front yard. The name "stone gate" references these strong gateways.

Each residence abuts another and all are arranged in straight side alleys called [[longtang]] ([[Chinese language|Chinese]]: <small>[[traditional characters|t]]</small> {{linktextLang-zh|s=弄堂}} or {{linktext|衖t=弄堂|p=Lòngtáng}}, <small>[[simplified characters|sShanghainese]]</small>: {{linktext|弄堂}}''lon⁶ daon⁶'', <small>[[pinyinInternational Phonetic Alphabet|pIPA]]</small> ''lòngtáng'';: [[ShanghaineseHelp:IPA/Wuu|[loŋ¹¹ dɑ̃²⁴]]:], ''longdhang''sometimes written as 衖堂<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Qian | first1 = Nairong | year=2007 |title=Shànghǎi 2007huà dà cídiǎn | script-title = ''zh:上海话大词典 |trans-title=Shanghainese publisherDictionary |publisher=[[Shanghai Lexicographical Publishing House]] |author-link1=Qian Nairong | isbn = 9787532622481}}</ref>). The entrance to each alley is usually surmounted by a stylistic [[paifang|stone arch]].

The shikumen is a cultural blend of the elements found in Western architecture with traditional [[Jiangnan|Lower Yangtze]] architecture and social behavior. [[Traditional Chinese architecture|Traditional Chinese dwellings]] had a courtyard, and the Shikumen was no exception. Yet, to compromise with its urban nature, it was much smaller and provided an interior haven to the commotions in the streets, allowing for raindrops to fall and vegetation to grow freely within a residence.<ref name="WenWeiPo">[http://pinglun.eastday.com/p/20100118/u1a4959441.html 文汇报:从石库门走入上海城市文化] (''Wen Wei Po'': Stepping into Shanghai's urban culture through the Shikumen), ''Wen Wei Po'' 18 January 2010</ref> The courtyard also allowed sunlight and improved ventilation into the rooms.

This style of housing originally developed when local developers adapted Western-style terrace houses to Chinese conditions.<ref>[http://tszyk.bucea.edu.cn/jwjszyk/hddq/shskmmj1/ Shikumen architecture] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.isorg/web/2014072604283720140724223029/http://tszyk.bucea.edu.cn/jwjszyk/hddq/shskmmj1/ |date=2014-07-2624 }}, ''Beijing Institute of Architectural Engineering''</ref> Migrant labourers from surrounding provinces entered Shanghai in large numbers with the establishment of Shanghai as a [[treaty port]] in 1843. The 1853 [[Small Swords Society|Small Swords Rebellion]] and the [[Taiping Revolution]] drove more migrants and refugees into Shanghai. With the upsurge in demand, property developers began to build a large number of residential buildings for the new Chinese residents of the city. At first, these tended to be wooden buildings that were cheap and quick to build.<ref name="建筑史">{{Cite book |title = Architectural History of a Century of Shanghai (1840-1949) (上海百年建筑史(1840-1949)) |publisher = Tongji University Press |author = Wu Jiang |year = 2008 |pages = 32, 76, 113 | isbn = 978-7-560-83895-2 | url =3 }}</ref> These wooden buildings were built as terraces, and usually name with "''Li''" ({{lang|zh|里}}, [[Shanghainese]]: ''li⁶'') as suffix. These were the first "''[[lilong]]''" buildings in Shanghai. Within 10 months from 1853, 800 dwellings of this type were built.<ref name="建筑史"/>

Because of their flammability, this type of construction was banned by [[foreign concession|concession]] authorities in Shanghai. However, with a burgeoning property development market in Shanghai, developers adapted these wooden terraces into the Shikumen. They used the traditional Chinese "''litie''" technique of wooden frame and load-bearing brick veneer construction,<ref name="江南民居"/> and for each residence used the traditional three-sided courtyard or [[siheyuan|four-sided courtyard]] layouts commonly found in the [[Jiangnan]] region.

[[File:The Wall of a Shikumen Building.JPG|thumb|right|220px|Exterior of a shikumen residence, in the Chang Garden ({{lang|zh-Hans|张园}}) development]]

From the 1910s, various innovations were made to the shikumen in response to social change. With a burgeoning [[middle class]], designers increased the width of lanes between terraces, but the width of each dwelling decreased - from a three-bay hall and two side wings (as was standard in the 19th century) to a two-bay or one-bay hall, and one side wing.<ref name="建筑史"/> Decorations became more elaborate: the main doors of the houses acquired the characteristic elaborate lintels, featuring [[architrave]]s, [[archivolt]]s and [[pediment]]s. By around 1919, increasing population pressures and an increasing [[wealth gap]] encouraged the development of smaller, but better equipped, "new type" shikumen.<ref name="江南民居"/> "New type" shikumen were three storeys tall instead of two, and were equipped with modern sanitary equipment. Great emphasis was placed on natural lighting, with most shikumen orientated towards the south, and an internal staircase skylight or atrium to supplement the front and back courtyards. Developments became larger, with a trunk lane leading off the street, and branch lanes leading off the trunk lane. Cars became more popular, so the trunk lanes were typically designed to accommodate cars.

It was common for families who could not afford the rent on a whole house to sub-let some of the rooms. They were known as "second landlords" ({{linktext|二|房东}}, ''èr fángdōng'') (as opposed to the head-landlord ({{linktext|大|房东}}, ''dà fángdōng'')). "Second landlords" often lived in the same shikumen residence with their tenants.<ref name="黄浦区">[http://www.shtong.gov.cn/node2/node4/node2249/huangpu/node34914/node34935/node62404/userobject1ai19826.html 区县志 >> 区志 >> 黄浦区志 >> 第十一编特色建筑 >> 第三章石库门房屋 >> 第三节　使用状况] 上海地方志办公室.</ref> The phenomenon blossomed after the start of the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]]: with refugees rushing into the unoccupied concessions from the Chinese zones in [[Hongkou]] and [[Zhabei]], and further afield, there was dramatically increased demand for housing in the concessions. "Second landlords" used increasingly creative ways to sub-divide rooms and build add-ons and lean-tos in the courtyards and on the terraces. Shikumen residences became known for being crowded and disorderly. It was not uncommon for a single shikumen residence to be inhabited by dozens of families. A famous satirical comedy of the time, set in one of these houses, was called "''The 72 Tenant Families''" ({{lang|zh|《七十二家房客》}}).

Densely populated shikumen neighbourhoods provided camouflage for revolutionaries. The [[Chinese Communist Party of China]] held its first conference in a shikumen residence in ''Shude Li'', and its second conference in another shikumen residence in the [[Shanghai French Concession|French Concession]].{{cn|date=May 2023}} The [[Communist Youth League of China|Communist Youth League]] first operated out of a shikumen residence on [[Avenue Joffre]].{{cn|date=May 2023}}

By the late 1930s, shikumen buildings were already on their way out, overtaken by newer styles of ''lilong'' residences, and large apartment buildings. Commercial property development in Shanghai virtually ceased during the [[Second World War]] and the [[Chinese Civil War]] that followed it. After the end of the war 1949, shikumen construction ceased completely, replaced with planned construction of residential buildings on collectivist principles.<ref name="静安区">[http://www.shtong.gov.cn/node2/node4/node2249/node4412/node17436/node18417/node62251/userobject1ai6809.html 区县志 >> 区志 >> 静安区志 >> 第八编房屋建筑 >> 第三章旧有住宅 >> 第四节　旧式里弄住宅] 上海地方志办公室.</ref> In the early 1950s, it was calculated that there were more than 9000 shikumen buildings, comprising 65% of residential housing stock by area in Shanghai.<ref name="新民晚报WenWeiPo">{{Cite web |title = 文汇报：从石库门走入上海城市文化 |url = http://opinion.people.com.cn/GB/10784884.html |publisher = 人民网 转 上海文汇报 | date = 2010-01-18 | accessdate = 2014-01-20 }}</ref> While constructions of new residential buildings decreased this percentage over time, most shikumen neighbourhoods remained unchanged in their crowded state until economic reforms in the 1980s and 90s began the wave of demolition and reconstruction which, by the early 21st century, has left only a few shikumen developments intact. In [[Xuhui District]] alone, it has been calculated that shikumen residences had decreased from 2.68 million square metres in 1949, to 0.25 million square metres by the late 1990s.<ref name="徐汇区">[http://www.shtong.gov.cn/node2/node4/node2249/xuhui/node38190/node38195/node38197/userobject1ai23317.html 区县志 >> 区志 >> 徐汇区志 >> 第十四篇房屋建筑 >> 第二章里弄住宅 >> 第一节　旧式里弄] 上海地方志办公室.</ref> The forced demolition of crowded and stable shikumen communities gave rise to controversies, such as a 2005 incident where a developer resorted to arson to persuade residents to leave, resulting in the death of two elderly residents.<ref name="纵火">{{Cite web |title = 上海纵火逼迁案黑幕 开发商为牟利烧死两老人 |url = http://news.xinhuanet.com/house/2005-09/22/content_3527064_1.htm |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051001104210/http://news.xinhuanet.com/house/2005-09/22/content_3527064_1.htm |url-status = dead |archive-date = October 1, 2005 |publisher = 新华网 | date = 2005-09-22 | accessdateaccess-date = 2014-02-16}}</ref><ref name="南方周末">{{Cite web |title = 强拆阴影再现麦琪里？ |url = http://www.infzm.com/content/57121 |publisher = 南方周末 | date = 2011-04-01 | accessdateaccess-date = 2014-02-16}}</ref>

Architectural historians classify shikumen into two types, the "old type" and the "new type". The old type was predominantly built from the 1860s until the end of the [[First World War]], while the new type prevailed from after the [[First World War]] until the development of shikumen ceased after 1949. Old type shikumen is further divided into an early period and a late period.

The defining characteristic of a shikumen building is the prominent main gate - which also gives rise to the name "shikumen". Typically, this gate is located on the central axis of each dwelling, with twin doors made of heavy wood, painted glossy black. Typical width is around 1.4 metres, with a height of around 2.8 metres. The doors usually possess brass or iron knockers.<ref name="江南民居">[http://www.shtong.gov.cn/node2/node71994/node81772/node81776/index.html 典雅幽深的石库门和江南民居] (Sikumen and Jiangnan residential architecture), ''Local History Office of Shanghai''</ref> The original documented name for such buildings was "''shigumen''" ({{lang|zh-Hant|石箍門}}, [[Shanghainese]]: ''zaq⁸ ku¹ men⁶''), which in [[Shanghainese dialect|Shanghainese Wu]] meant "gate framed with stone", but over time corrupted into the similar-sounding "''shikumen''".<ref name="WenWeiPo"/> Each individual dwelling displays typical characteristics of traditional [[Jiangnan]] architecture, while the layout of the development as a whole is adopted from Western [[terrace house]]s.

[[File:Xingrenli a Typical Old-Style Shikumen.jpg|thumb|left|An old image of Xingren Li (street front buildings pictured), a typical early old type shikumen development from the early period, Lane 120, Ningbo Road, Huangpu District. Photoed in 1872.]]

Early period old type shikumen were built between 1869 and 1910. They retained more of the style of traditional Chinese houses, but with a much condensed footprint. There are typically 3 to 5 bays to each dwelling, and two storeys. They used the traditional ''litie'' ({{lang|zh|立帖}}) (or "brick nogging") style of [[brick veneer]] for load-bearing walls. The houses possessed walls of equal height at the front and back, so that each dwelling (despite being part of a terrace) was an enclosed whole, separated from the outside world. This made them popular with the upper end of the residential property market.

In terms of internal lay-out, immediately within the main gate is the front courtyard (''tianjing'' {{lang|zh|天井}}), flanked by wings (''xiangfang'' {{lang|zh-Hans|厢房}}) of the house on the left and right. At the centre, facing the courtyard is the hall, or ''ketang jian'' ({{lang|zh-Hans|客堂间}}). This large room typically has an area of about 12 square metres, and is used like a modern sitting room or living room. On either side of the hall are the ''cijian'' ({{lang|zh-Hans|次间}}) or "secondary rooms". Stairs to reach the first floor are located behind the ''cijian''. Behind the hall and the ''cijian'' is the back courtyard (''houtianjing'' {{lang|zh-Hans|后天井}}), which is about half the size of the front courtyard. The well, which provided water for the house, was located here (though later houses were connected to [[tap water]] instead). At the back of the back courtyard are back buildings, usually used as the kitchen, toilet and storage room. On the whole, each dwelling preserved the main features required for traditional Chinese day-to-day living, while saving the land required.{{cn|date=May 2023}}

Most early period old style shikumen have been demolished or rebuilt. Representative examples include the ''Xingren Li'', built in 1872 (demolished 1980), and ''Mianyang Li'' and ''Jixiang Li'', both located near the ''Shiliupu'' dock area.{{cn|date=May 2023}}

Late period shikumen were mostly built between 1910 and 1919. The three-bay wide frontage with two side wings was reduced to one- or two-bay wide, with one side wing. The back courtyard was reduced, but more attention was paid to natural lighting, and the laneways were widened. More Western architectural details found favour: bannisters, doors and windows, staircase, pillar capitals and arch buttresses all used Western decorative styles.<ref name="江南民居"/> The [[lintel]] of the main gate also became increasingly elaborate, decorated with semicircular [[archivolt]]sarchivolts, triangular [[pediment]]spediments or rectangular [[architrave]]sarchitraves.

Late period old type shikumen are far better preserved than early period examples. Representative examples include the west and east ''Siwen Li'' (in the process of being demolished), north ''Shude Li'', and ''Daqing Li'', built in 1915. One of the few old type shikumen developments to be preserved largely intact is ''Bugao Li'', or ''Cité Bourgogne'' (built in the 1930s), in the former [[Shanghai French Concession.{{cn|Frenchdate=May Concession]].2023}}

Each dwelling was one to two bays wide. Two-bay wide houses "inherited" only one side wing, while one-bay wide houses discarded wings completely. Stairs became less steep. The new second floor typically contained bedrooms, along with a front and a back terrace (''shaitai'', {{lang|zh-Hans|晒台}}). The ground floor were equipped with kitchens (''zaopi jian'' {{lang|zh-Hans|灶批间}}). At the back of the house, a "back wing" was added, as well as the ''tingzi jian'' ({{lang|zh-Hans|亭子间}}) or "pergola room", located above the kitchen and below the terrace. This was typically small, with low ceilings, and faced north, making it the least attractive room in the house. They were usually used for storage, or as living quarters for servants.{{cn|date=May 2023}}

Numerous new type shikumen have survived. Some well known examples include ''Jianye Li'' (now revamped into an upmarket hotel, commercial and residential complex), ''Siming Cun'', and ''Mingde Li'' located on [[Avenue Joffre]].

In Chinese, shikumen developments are typically named with a suffix of ''Li'' ({{lang|zh|里}}, "neighbourhood"), ''Fang'' ({{lang|zh|坊}}, "ward"), ''Long'' ({{lang|zh|弄}}, "lane") or ''Cun'' ({{lang|zh|邨}}, "village"). The first two are traditional suffixes for names of urban precincts, in common use since at least the [[Tang Dynastydynasty]]. Where an English name was used, "[[Terraced house|Terrace]]" was a common suffix.

Another notable now-demolished development was ''Siwen Li'', located on Xinzha Road. This late period old type shikumen development occupied 4.66 hectares, with 48,000 square metres of floor space. There were a total of 706 residences of two or three storeys.<ref name="静安区"/> Most of these buildings were one-bay wide, without modern sanitary equipment. The house gates were noted for intricate [[baroque]] style lintels.<ref name="东方网">{{Cite web |title = 搬迁人家已超半数 上海最大石库门"斯文里"面临拆迁 |url = http://sh.eastday.com/m/20130508/u1a7376054.html |publisher = 东方网 | date = 2013-05-08 | accessdateaccess-date = 2014-01-21 |archive-date = 2013-06-13 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130613204052/http://sh.eastday.com/m/20130508/u1a7376054.html |url-status = dead }}</ref> Originally a middle-class neighbourhood, the area became dense [[slum]]s due to the influx of refugees in the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]].<ref name="静安区"/> The entire neighbourhood was razed progressively in 2012-20142012–2014.

The largest shikumen neighbourhood which survives in a mostly original state is ''Jianye Li'' ({{lang|zh-Hans|建业里}}), also heritage protected. A new type development located on West Jianguo Road and Yueyang Road, the development is composed of 260 residences, all of which are two storey red brick buildings. This development is noted for its use of traditionally Chinese ''matou'' gables, and arched doorways. In 2003, the original residents were relocated, and the buildings were somewhat controversially renovated to become [[serviced apartment]]s and to house restaurants and other commercial uses.

''Shangxian Fang'' ({{lang|zh-Hans|尚贤坊}}), located on the site of the main hall of the [[International Institute of China]] of [[Gilbert Reid]], is another heritage protected shikumen precinct, which is now being renovated to become "shikumen hotels". Other re-developed shikumen precincts include [[Xintiandi]], where the buildings were extensively reconstructed, and [[Tianzifang|Tianzi Fang]], which has been redeveloped for small businesses with an artistic bent, while largely preserving the fabric of the buildings. All of these redevelopment projects have been controversial.<ref name="南都周刊">{{Cite web|title =石库门，一个远去的背影|url =http://past.nbweekly.com/Print/Article/10304_0.shtml|publisher =南都周刊|date =2010-05-12|accessdateaccess-date =2014-02-16|url-status =dead|archiveurlarchive-url =https://web.archive.isorg/web/2014021516421720120305185121/http://past.nbweekly.com/Print/Article/10304_0.shtml|archivedatearchive-date =20142012-0203-1505}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://finance.sina.com.cn/leadership/mroll/20120222/185211432164.shtml | title= 建业里躺着中枪：你触痛了谁 |publisher=新浪网 |access-date= |accessdate=2012-02-22 }}</ref>

[[Category:Architecture ofin China]]