How Bai Courtyards Organize Everyday Life

In Xizhou, the Bai courtyard house is not one fixed plan. The Dali municipal description names several forms, including “three rooms and one screen wall” and the four-sided courtyard known as “four buildings and five courtyards.” In the first, three wings face a tall screen wall opposite the main room; smaller light courts fit between the buildings. In the second, four wings enclose a central court and four smaller corner courts.

These arrangements shape movement as well as appearance. A screen wall reflects light into the courtyard, while covered corridors provide sheltered space for daily activity. The plan makes a household’s shared centre visible, yet leaves room for different sizes and additions. A large compound may have more than one court; a smaller home may use a simpler arrangement. The names describe a family of forms rather than a universal floor plan.

The municipal account describes Xizhou houses with their main rooms oriented to the east, a choice that can bring more sunlight into the court. It also describes roofs, walls and openings as parts of a practical design. The high screen wall has more than a decorative role: it marks the court and reflects light, while surrounding rooms and eaves create shade and sheltered edges.

Decoration belongs to this architecture too. In the account, carved beams, painted surfaces and the stepped profile of the screen wall vary across periods. Ming-era houses and later Qing and Republican-era buildings show changes in height, windows and decorative treatment. The differences allow a house to be read historically, not just as an example of an ethnic style. They also caution against treating a restored courtyard as proof that every room once served the same purpose.

The municipal heritage page describes surviving Xizhou courtyard houses as still in use. That fact brings a question into view: preservation must coexist with everyday needs. A family may repair a roof, alter services or adjust a room while retaining the courtyard structure. What looks like a single “traditional house” can therefore contain several periods of work and adaptation.