The Qiao Family Courtyard

Shanxi businessmen used to be the best at financing and the richest in China. While the rich businessmen in the old days have passed away， their exquisitely built， magnificent mansions have been preserved. Like solid castles， they witnessed the prosperity， wealth and artistic taste of businessmen in those days.

In addition to all the merchant homes in Pingyao City in central Shanxi Province（山西平遙）， the most successful families built compounds out of town. The best known of those is the Qiao Family Courtyard， Qiao Jia Dayuan（喬家大院）， about 30 kilometers away from Pingyao.

Still fairly unknown to foreign visitors， the onceprivate complexes have only opened to the public in recent years. Following the filming of a number of movies such as “Raise the Red Lantern” by Zhang Yimou， the Qiao home has a much higher profile.

The first courtyard was started in 1756 by Qiao Guifa， who made his money selling tea and bean curd. Subsequent generations added additional courtyards， and it grew into the huge complex visible today.

The massive， castle-like compound covers an area of 20，000sq meters， and has six courtyards containing 313 rooms. The buildings continue to be well maintained despite the fact that the Qiao family had ceased to have any influence since the 1940’s.

The mansion is arranged in a traditional manner with elaborated design and beautiful architecture. The architectural details such as dougong (arch) and eaves with colorful and golden decorations inside demonstrate the unique style of residential houses in northern China from the Qing Dynasty.

The Compound has been converted into a museum and has period furnishings distributed throughout. Visiting here is like looking through a window into the day-today life of upper class Chinese of centuries ago.

The family history

The prosperity of the Qiao Family originated with Qiao Guifa who was an orphan and made a living as a servant during the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1711 -1799) in the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911). He first started a business when he met his business partner， Qin. Initially， they sold fodder， bean sprout and bean curd. Several years later， they had become very wealthy.

The “golden age” for this family was under the instruction of Qiao Zhiyong， the third-generation of the family. He attained his fortune by running banks， pawnshops and teahouses across the nation. His principles of credibility， integrity， modesty and generosity are acclaimed as the fine embodiment of the ancient Chinese entrepreneurship. The family fortunes began to decline in the beginning of the 20th century， due to the large amount of money offered to the Qing Army， the spoliation of the Japanese army， and most importantly the chaotic state of China at that time.

The family enjoyed a prestigious status during the Qing Dynasty， not only for their business empire but also for their credibility and generosity. Their trading and banking services were present nationwide in China and even extended into foreign lands. Business partners and clients could always rely on the integrity of the Qiao family. Besides， the family made large sums of donations both to the local community but also to the Qing government and loyal family.

The compound

The compound was first built in 1756 in the Qing Dynasty and renovated twice and enlarged once. When people first saw the compound， they were astonished to find that the complex was so large and magnificent; however， few knew that the value of the compound was less than one percent of the family’s assets. Situated in the central part of Qiao Town， Qi Xian County in Shanxi Province， it occupies an area of 8，274 square meters (about two acres) with a construction area of 3，870 square meters (about one acre). It consists of six main courtyards， twenty smaller courtyards and 313 rooms.

The family built the complex like a castle for safety considerations， as well as to create tranquil surroundings in which to relax， away from the furious competition of the business world. With three sides facing the street， it has ten-meter (about 32 feet) high parapet walls (a kind of wall as high as the house， used to keep the yard safe). Some girls in large families could not resist the temptation of the outside world， so they managed to climb up the high wall to look at the outside world that was forbidden to them. Gradually， this kind of wall became known as“Nü’er”(daughter) wall. The exquisite design and meticulous craftsmanship make these walls unrivalled.

Viewed from above， the Qiao Compound looks very much like the double Chinese character of ‘xi’， which means happiness and luck. As one enters through the main gate， an eighty-meter (about 262 feet) long paved path leads to the main hall， at the western end of which， is the ancestral temple of the family. This path divides the compound into two parts: the Southern Yard and the Northern Yard. The Southern Yard is further divided into three sections respectively called the Southeast Yard， the South Yard and the New Yard. The three subdivisions of the Northern Yard are respectively called the Old Yard， the Northwest Yard and the Study Yard. The given names reflect the location of the yards within the compound. Another important feature of the compound is the fact that the roof of every house is connected. This makes it easier for guards to protect the yard. What’s more， the 140-plus chimneys on the roof all vary from each other in their design.

The Qiao Compound gained its renown not only for its large scale but also for the exquisite craftsmanship reflected in the brick carving， woodcarving and murals.

Brick carvings can be found on the wall and balus- ters， depicting various subjects such as flowers (traditional propitious pictures in the culture of Shanxi Province). For example， the carving on the corbie-step doorstep of the third yard shows Kylin (a mascot in Chinese culture) carrying a son to a mother figure. They caved this picture in the hope of having more male offspring.

The wood carvings are widely praised for they are extremely lifelike and possess some kind of meaning. For example， the caving of the three gods of fortune， prosperity and longevity can be found on the main gate of the second yard. These three gods represent all human desires， so they are very popular in China.

Beautiful gold murals are located under each eave of the compound. Some of these paintings portray fables and some others concern more prosaic subjects such as flowers， birds， railway lines， railway stations， clocks， etc. Although exposed to the wind and sun for hundreds of years， they are still shining.

There are many tablets in the compound， two of which are most valuable.

The tablet ‘ren zhou yi fu’（仁周義溥）displays the handwriting of Li Hongzhang (1832-1901， a famous gen- eral in Chinese history during the Qing Dynasty). At the time when the Qing Army was at war with the invaders， the Qiao Family donated 400，000 taels of silver (705，479 ounces) towards a warship. Li wrote this tablet in praise of their patriotism.

The tablet ‘fu zhong lang huan’（福種瑯繯）was presented to the Qiao Family under the verbal instruction of the Empress Dowager Cixi (1836-1908) who made her escape after the Eight Powers Allied Army seized Beijing. When she arrived in Shanxi Province， the Qiao Family donated 400，000 taels of silver (705，479 ounces) to pay for her journey.

In 1985， the local government set up the Folk Art Museum of Qixian County， exhibiting 5，000 objects of folk custom in the compound grounds. These objects concern folk art， agricultural custom， clothes， foods， shelter and means of travel. Many films were also shot here， among which the most famous being ‘Raise the Red Lanterns’ featuring Li Gong. Information and materials on these films are exhibited， too.