Check out the door thresholds here. These things are three inches high. If I sound resentful, I am, as it's the first thing I tripped on in China and they continue to challenge me. I spent some time mulling over the purpose of them - keeping out floods from the neighbors, keeping out the cold, keeping out the bugs (which I haven't seen many of by the way), and so on. Maybe even something to do with containing a fire.
I think I surprised the kids with my enthusiastic aha when I noticed this threshold
at the Belgium waffle cafe. Here was a decorative, and functioning door set-up fashioned after ancient Chinese architecture (assumably) wherein the door slides open and shut on these runners. Or thresholds.That's my floor of my apartment, by the way, which is another housekeeping skill I'm trying to get a grasp on. Floors are to be kept very clean - whenever the landlord comes to my apartment (with the workers) he spot cleans my floor. Truly. He goes about with a damp rag and looks for smudges. It's a race for me when they call to say they're coming to get there first and mop the floor - it's become a point of pride for me that he only finds a few places to get fussy about.
It's all achieved through the skill of shoe changing. You change your shoes when you come in, but you also have shower shoes you put on before going in the bathroom because that floor is usually wet and when you come out you will get footprints on the floor so you have to change back into your house shoes before you leave the bathroom. I haven't figured out the laundry balcony protocol - unless I mop out there twice a day I can't keep it clean enough for my house shoes so I've taken to going barefoot or just leaning out to put clothes in and out of the washer.
I wonder if they raise the floors like that in order to run pipes and wiring underneath? Since they buy a 'blank' space there wouldn't be plumbing or wiring in it, would there?
ReplyDeleteYou know why it's called a threshold, don't you? In olden times they scattered straw (thresh) on the floor and the raised board or stone under the door was to keep the straw/thresh contained or held in the house.
No, I didn't know that although it seems obvious enough now that you explain it. Maybe they run stuff under it, but not in, it, it's a solid chunk of metal. I know that, and if you don't believe me ask my toes.
ReplyDeleteMy research gives a variety of reasons - longer response in an email to you. It marks the entry into the home, one looks down to step over, thus bowing to host; keeps dust and leaves, etc., from entering the house; the higher the threshold (can be over a foot), the more important the person; it's bad manners to stand on the threshold; the door seals well against it, thus keeping out cold and spirits; reminds one to slow down from the busyness of the outside world to enter quietly into the home world. Some interesting discussion about it all.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that, Jo. I had no idea there was so much behind it but then I have very little ideas concerning architecture so that's not surprising. Appreciate the input.
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