Delicate Screenwall Architecture 　  Experts Reviews Liu Zhixiong Deputy Director at Information Center of CNICP His effort saved these delicate architectures from distinction. Yin Lixin Researcher at China Art Institute Screen walls in Shanxi boast for complicated structures.  Screenwall ABC  Screen Walls and Shanxi Merchants  Nine Dragon Walls  Screen Walls and Siheyuan  Five Types of Screen Walls 　 　  Building a Home for Screen Walls     An intricately decorated six-meter-high screen wall caught my eye as the gate slowly opened to a private home in the eastern outskirts of Beijing.The spacious courtyard is home to up to ten screen walls adorned with gorgeous brick carvings.The owner here is Zhang Yipei, an ardent collector of screen walls. (read more) 　  Delicate Screen Walls     Dating back to at least the Western Zhou Dynasty (1100 BC to 771 BC), the screen wall is an important architectural element in the siheyuan, or courtyard. Either for practical or geomantic purposes, the screen wall was constructed in almost every courtyard in the past. Screen wall reveals the house owner's social status and pursuit.(read more) 　  Auspicious Patterns on the Screen Walls     Combining the art of architecture, engraving, calligraphy and painting, screen wall is a precious carrier of traditional Chinese culture. House owners in the past engraved their pursuit of a peaceful and wealthy life on the screen walls. Through the combination of Chinese characters, plants, animals and figures in myths or historical events, the patterns on brick carvings compose a variety of auspicious expressions. (read more) 　  Profile of Zhang Yipei 　 Mr. Zhang Yipei, painter, designer, collector and researcher of screen walls. (read more) 　  Screenwall Craftsmanship The first step of brick carving is to prepare the bricks by cutting and polishing followed by numerous steps including painting, tilling, external carving, internal chiseling, and final touch-up, etc. (read more) 　 　 　 Delicate Screenwalls 　 　 　  more 　 　 Auspicious Patterns 　 　 　 　 "The deliberate brick carvings remind me the fashion of extravagancy in the past." 　 　 　  Auspicious Pattern 　     Chinese brick carving is an imitation of stone carving. More economical than and yet as durable as stone carving, brick carving, which can be as delicate as woodcarving, was popular in ancient China. On the front side (facing the gate) of screen wall, there are usually brick carvings of auspicious Chinese characters, such as Fu (good fortune), Lu (wealth) and Shou (longevity). Sometimes there are patterns of pine and crane, which are the symbol of longevity in China; or magpie on plum blossom, meaning happiness; or peony and phoenix, implying wealth and honor. (read more) 　    more

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