Style Lei

2020-11-12

“Style Lei” is a honorary title bestowed upon the Lei family, a prominent lineage that oversaw imperial architectural design for more than 200 years during the Qing Dynasty. The Lei family—Lei Fada, Lei Jinyu, Lei Jiaxi, Lei Jiawei, Lei Jiarui, and Lei Siqui—was a renowned dynasty of court architects in China’s Qing Dynasty. Lei Tingchang Wait.

Lei Fada.

The Lei family, renowned for their architectural expertise, originated from Yongxiu in Jiangxi Province and was born at Sanxi Bridge, by the shores of Xihai Lake in Lushan. The first-generation Lei ancestor, Lei Fada, whose courtesy name was Mingsu, was born on the 21st day of the second month of the 47th year of the Wanli era (April 5, 1619) and passed away on the 11th day of the eighth month of the 32nd year of the Kangxi era of the Qing dynasty (September 29, 1694). During the Kangxi period, the family moved from Jiangning (present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu Province) to Beijing. By the time the seventh-generation descendant, Lei Tingchang, passed away at the end of the Guangxu era, the Lei family had spanned seven generations, dedicating themselves to the design and construction of imperial palaces, gardens, mausoleums, government offices, and temples. Because several generations of the Lei family served as chief architects in the Qing court’s Style Office—what we would today call the chief architectural designers—they came to be widely known as “Shiyang Lei,” or colloquially as “Yangzi Lei.”

Almost all of the important imperial palace buildings and royal projects from the Qing Dynasty—such as palaces, imperial tombs, and imperial gardens—were designed by the Lei family. The Lei family can be considered a gem among Jiangxi-style architectural masters. Rooted in the picturesque landscapes and rich cultural heritage of the Jiangyou region, the prosperous Lei clan thrived for more than fifty generations, leaving an indelible mark on China’s ancient architecture.

In the late 17th century, a southern craftsman named Lei Fada came to Beijing to participate in the construction of imperial palaces. Thanks to his exceptional skills, he was quickly promoted to take on design responsibilities. Starting with him, for eight generations until the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Lei family was entrusted with overseeing the construction of major imperial buildings—including palaces, imperial tombs, the Yuanming Garden, and the Summer Palace. This hereditary family of architects became known as the "Lei Style."

For a long time, Lei Fada was considered the progenitor of the “Yangshi Lei” family. Among the Yangshi Lei clan, the second-generation member Lei Jinyu enjoyed the greatest reputation, wielded the greatest fame, and was most highly regarded by the imperial court. It was he who began to oversee the work of the Yangshi Fang after having been commissioned to build the Yuanming Garden—making him the first member of the Lei family to hold this position. In his "Record of Changchun Garden," Emperor Kangxi once mentioned that he was deeply concerned about an outstanding artisan—referring precisely to Lei Jinyu.

Until the end of the Qing Dynasty, six generations of the Lei family held the position of chief designer at the Yangshi Fang, taking charge of the design of numerous important architectural projects, including the Forbidden City in Beijing, the Three Seas, the Yuanming Garden, the Summer Palace, the Jingyi Garden, the Chengde Mountain Resort, and the Eastern and Western Imperial Tombs. Among their peers, this family was known as the “Yangshi Lei.” Whenever the Lei family prepared architectural design proposals, they first created miniature models at a scale of 1/100 or 1/200 and submitted them to the imperial court for approval. These models were made by hot-pressing straw paperboard, hence the name “tangyang” (hot samples). The foundations, tiled roofs, columns, beams, doors and windows, as well as beds, tables, chairs, screens, and cabinets—all were crafted according to precise scales. The Lei family’s tangyang models are unique and serve as invaluable historical documents for understanding Qing-dynasty architecture and design procedures. Some of the surviving tangyang models are now housed in the Forbidden City in Beijing.

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