112 CHINESE POETRY AND ITS CONNOTATIONS 



-as has been noted, constantly used to suggest the "Kuei" 

 and its inmates. 1 



Besides the actual residential quarters there are numer- 

 ous structures which are erected in gardens, where the 

 Chinese of refined taste spend so much of their time. These 

 are the T'ing ^ or Pavilions; the Hsien $.f long, narrow, 

 covered and enclosed passages where guests might sit and 

 write poems, play chess or make music; and the Shu Chai 

 % SI the study where "the heart could be regulated to 

 receive the communications from Heaven." 



A class of building most difficult to describe is that called 

 a Lou J$|, the term designates a structure of more than one 

 storey; the women's apartments, for instance, are known as 

 the Tsou Ma Lou xir $* $J, the Eunning Horse Lou because 

 the rooms run round a court-yard and are all connected by 

 an inside passage or verandah; the Fo Lou f$ %& is an upper 

 room where the Buddhist images are kept, which is locked 

 and which can only be entered after a general lustration and 

 change of clothing. The "Lou" most frequently referred- to, 

 however, are the "pleasure houses in the air" if one may so 

 describe them, that is, an upper storey of one of the side 

 buildings which- are. used as the Italians use their belvederes. 

 Here the inmates of the house may sit and look down upon 

 the garden and upon the surrounding, country and from here 

 they may watch the sun "disappearing in the long grass at 

 the edge of the horizon," or the moon "rise like a golden 

 hook." 



Divisions of a Chinese House. 



1. — Chao Pi ftg fg = "spirit wall," placed in front of doors to 

 .avert evil influences. 



2.—Ta Men $:?%_ 



3. — Mtn Fang p^ ft} = watchman's room. 



4.— Ting Tzu Lang y ^ M- 



5. — Lang Hit = covered passage. 



6. — T'ing |§ = reception hall, great hall, a building of five divisions, 

 ■offices at the side. 



7. — Lang Jfjj = covered way. 



8. — T'ing ||| = five divisions, libraries on either side. 



9. — Ch'ih % = a stone-paved court-yard, no roof, raised in center. 

 •On great occasions, such as weddings, birthdays, etc., it can be roofed 

 and floored and made part of the house. No trees or flowers are 

 planted here. They are set about in pots. 



1 Kuei was originally the name of the smaller doors of the Palace, 

 which were made in the shape of the sceptre used by High Officials, 

 the tops were round — the shape of Heaven, the bottoms square — the 

 shape of Earth. .Later the name was adopted for the entrance to the 

 women's quarters and the composition of the character suggests that 

 the door is that "guarded by those who hold the sceptre of authority." 



