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Si dian jin, four-point gold

Two ranges front and back and a room to each side, closed round a central sky well and set on an axis: four roofs gather the rain into the middle.

Pronunciation　sì diǎn jīn｜Houses and settlement｜One entry in the Chaoshan glossary

An information plaque for the four-point gold plan at Deanli, Hongyang, Puning, with a plan cut on the right
The plaque explaining the four-point gold plan at Deanli, Hongyang, Puning, with the plan cut into the right-hand side. Photograph: Lewix, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.

What it means

Halls and rooms on four sides enclosing a sky well: a gate hall in front, the main hall behind, rooms to either hand. The roof is flush-gabled or overhanging, with decoration concentrated on the ridge and the gable walls. The plan is symmetrical, and from the street door to the rear hall there is one line straight through.

The usual explanation of the name is that the four sides stand like four points and the gold says what such a house costs. The story is widely told and has no direct record in early sources.

A plaque and painted decoration under the eaves of a hall
A plaque and painted decoration under the eaves of a hall. Image: Douyin @成事在人(金圳电子), 6 October 2026.

How to tell one

Look at the sky well: four roofs sloping inward, light coming down from above, water leaving by a hidden drain — both the daylight and the drainage depend on that square of sky. Then compare the depth of the gate hall and of the main hall: short in front, long behind, with the rank written into the dimensions.

Beams and purlins inside a hall, painted red and blue, with carved blocks under the posts
Beams and purlins inside a hall, red and blue in turn, carved blocks set under the posts. Image: Douyin @成事在人(金圳电子), 6 October 2026.
Carved panels and the doorway of a gate house, gilt carving between painted panels
Carved panels and doorway of a gate house, gilt carving set between painted panels. Image: Douyin @成事在人(金圳电子), 6 October 2026.

Words easily confused

Four-point gold, tiger coming down the hill and four horses drawing a carriage are named together but do not sit on one level: the first two describe the plan of a single house, the third the way a whole group of buildings is put together.

Read next: Four-point gold: four sides and the sky well between them.

Same group: tiger coming down the hill, four horses drawing a carriage, the side rows.

Home › Glossary › Houses and settlement › Four-point gold

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Last revised: 3 November 2026