Video of a house building in what appears to be Lijiang

Posted by Wencheng Yan on Dec 7th, 2008

I had this video playing in my sidebar for a while, but I’ve decided to start embedding videos directly into my posts so that they are easier to view and so that I can add more dynamic content.

9 Responses

  1. Ken'ichi Says:
    February 10th, 2009 at 3:24 am

    It’s very enlightening to discover your blog. I have been trying to find a source of information about Chinese architecture for quite sometime now, and have finally stumbled here. As I don’t read Chinese well, it is doubly frustrating to understand Chinese architecture.

    This video, I presume, was made fairly recently, which gives us some hope that the traditional way of constructing a house in China is not lost. Over here in the UK, with the obsession in houses amongst the British, preserving, admiring and appreciating traditional architecture fuel many passions.

    CHeers,

  2. Wencheng Yan Says:
    February 15th, 2009 at 5:41 pm

    Hi, thanks for your nice comment! I’m feeling uneasy because there just never seems enough time to update or upload anything more regularly! I found this video from youtube and am not sure when it was made, although it does appear pretty recent. I don’t presume to talk like I know everything about constructing a home in China now, but I guess if you’re willing to venture beyond well-trodden tourist spots, and go to the real countryside (not sure either if there’s still such a thing), you’ll find things done in more traditional ways.

    I don’t know how familiar you are with Chinese architecture in English, but if not, Professor Liang Sicheng’s A Pictorial History of Chinese Architecture could work as a good start. Or something more recent, out of the top of my head, Nancy Berliner’s Yin Yu Tang: the Architecture and Daily Life of A Chinese House would be a good read too. ( Yin Yu Tang is a Chinese house transported to Peabody Essex Museum in MA, where it is made into a museum itself. They have a really cool, informative webpage about the house museum here: http://www.pem.org/yinyutang/ ).

    Or grab any of Ronald Knapp’s books, and you’ll find how easy it is to be addicted to Chinese vernacular architecture! :)

    Hope your exploration of Chinese architecture will be easier and more enjoyable now!

    Cheers,
    Wencheng

  3. KH Says:
    March 10th, 2009 at 1:19 pm

    Hello, Wencheng!
    I am enjoying your blog!
    I have many books of Chinese Architecture and Art in my house.

    Let me introduce myself first. I currently live in California, and was a student in China and got master degree of Chinese Architecture. After coming to US, I decided to change my major, so I do not need those books anymore.

    Do you have any idea to sell those books in US? My collection includes almost all famous and valuable books whose titles are shown in your book list. I can simply throw them away into trash can, but it is so hard to do because I know their value.

    If you have any idea, could you please email me?
    Thanks!

    PS: I am sorry to write this twice because of error. I hope you can read my comment.

  4. Wencheng Yan Says:
    March 13th, 2009 at 2:15 pm

    Hello,

    Thanks for your comment! It was good to know about your collection on Chinese architecture and art. It would indeed be a shame to throw them away; I would be very interested in taking a look at the titles myself if you could send me a more detailed list. Or may I suggest donating them to my school library? We have a main library as well as an arts library at UCSB and I think we would really benefit from the additional titles. You can call/write them directly, or I can also ask about how to make a donation to the library. You can be assured that your books will be in good hands. Please let me know if you would consider this as an alternative way of dealing with those books.
    Cheers,

    Wencheng

    Here are my school library websites:
    http://www.library.ucsb.edu/
    http://www.library.ucsb.edu/arts/

  5. knulp Says:
    September 19th, 2009 at 6:28 pm

    thank you for your blog.
    in case of videos would it be possible to upload them in china friendly websites (ex. vimeo?) so no need to use slow proxy?
    thx

  6. Wencheng Yan Says:
    September 21st, 2009 at 10:54 am

    Thanks for your suggestion, but I don’t know how much I can do to help. This is not my video; I found it on Youtube and posted it here.

  7. Somchai Suwanmosi Says:
    September 23rd, 2009 at 2:51 pm

    I stumbled upon your website, and wow. I have to say you’ve done a great job. Adding this video certainly caught my eye, and made me stop and look. I’ll be looking forward to seeing more videos on your blog. I’m not an architect, but I definitely found your site informative. Thanks for listing links about Architectural Programs, organizations, etc… You’ve definitely saved me a lot of research time.

  8. Wencheng Yan Says:
    September 23rd, 2009 at 5:26 pm

    Thank you; you’re being extremely kind and generous in your comment! I’m embarrassed about not taking better care of this site. – Time time time! There never seems to be enough time isn’t there? Good luck with your research! Are you applying to graduate school?

  9. knulp Says:
    October 3rd, 2009 at 11:44 pm

    hello,
    i will go 10 days in anhui,jiangxi,fujian. do you have any particular building or village to see?
    also do you know any online resource on huizhou architecture?

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