Niche: The Only Decorated Place in the Room

A traditionally formed recessed alcove. It is a niche about 1.8 meters wide and 80 centimeters deep, with a wooden floor slightly raised above the surrounding ground; the back wall is a rough earthen wall, slightly darker in color than the rest of the room; on one side is a natural curved log column, with the bark peeled but the shape unadorned. Inside the alcove, there are only two items: a slender hanging scroll on the wall, with light ink and sparse composition; on the floor below, a simple flower vessel holds a seasonal flower or a dry branch. Other than this, the entire room has no decoration. The illumination inside the alcove is slightly higher than the rest of the room. Avoid: placing multiple items in the alcove, adding ornate decorations and frames, decorating other parts of the room, using straight processed columns.

Translated from Chinese by AI.

一個傳統形式的內凹壁龕。它是一個寬約一米八、深約八十公分的凹室,底部鋪著木板並略高於周圍的地面;背牆是粗糙的土壁,顏色略深於房間其他部分;一側是一根保留自然彎曲的原木柱,樹皮已剝但形狀未經修飾。凹室內只有兩樣東西:牆上掛著一幅細長的掛軸,墨色淡而構圖疏;下方地板上放著一只樸素的花器,插著一枝當季的花或一段枯枝。除此之外整個房間沒有任何裝飾。凹室內的照度比房間其餘部分略高。避免:在凹室內放置多件物品、加入華麗的裝飾與框飾、把房間其他地方也裝飾起來、使用筆直加工的柱子。