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The Lei Family

Original nameThe Lei FamilyAlsoYangshi Lei

Qing dynasty of imperial architects, eight generations heading the Design Office

Another Set of Rules for Building the World · Eastern Building
Qing DynastyImperial ArchitectureModelsDynasty

Who they are

"Yangshi Lei" is the name for the Lei family that directed imperial architecture design in the Qing dynasty. From Lei Fada on, the Lei family, eight generations over more than two hundred years, all but monopolized the post of chief of the Qing imperial architecture design office, the "Yangshi Fang," directing the design of parts of the Forbidden City, the Old Summer Palace, the Summer Palace, the Chengde Mountain Resort, and the imperial tombs — nearly every major imperial project of the Qing. They left a great many precious design drawings and "tangyang" (fine three-dimensional building models of paperboard and wood, that could be lifted layer by layer to see the interior). These "Yangshi Lei archives" are a rare, systematically complete design archive of ancient architecture, listed in the Memory of the World — proof that ancient Chinese architecture too had a precise tradition of "design," not merely on-the-spot craftsmanship.

Primary sourcesthe Yangshi Lei archives (Memory of the World)the "tangyang" models

Key stories

Making Building Models with "Tangyang"

Designing imperial buildings, the Yangshi Lei family first made exquisite three-dimensional models, "tangyang": the shape of the building in paperboard, sorghum stalk, and wood, with roofs that could be lifted to reveal the beam frame within, for the emperor to inspect. This is the equivalent of today’s architectural models and design schemes. The drawings and models eight generations left let posterity see clearly how precisely ancient Chinese imperial architecture was designed before it rose.

Relationships

Ally
🪴Ji Cheng　both representatives of the ancient Chinese tradition of building and garden design

Echoes today

Below are how modern works borrow or reinterpret this name or story — not the original material. The two differ, so keep them apart.

The "Yangshi Lei archives" prove an ancient design traditionThe Lei family headed Qing imperial architecture design for eight generations, and their drawings and "tangyang" models are a rare, systematically complete design archive of ancient architecture, listed in the Memory of the World, proving that ancient Chinese architecture too had a precise tradition of "design."
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