On May 20th, 2007, I attended a field trip to Yin Yu Tang, a Chinese house that was taken apart in China and then reassembled back in the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. I found it interesting and informative and learned quite a bit about ancient Chinese architecture. My group first inspected a few displays and watched a series of three short movies about Chinese life, which were at times amusing [namely when the bride said that the chickens stank, pooped, and made noise so she kicked them] and other times, scary [when the bride and the groom were talking about how they felt when they were about to be married off to somebody they hadn’t even met yet]. Afterwards, we entered the Chinese house.
The house has two levels, all of the rooms facing inward surrounding a small courtyard with two fish ponds. It is actually outside, not underneath a roof or inside the museum. The sturdiness of the house amazed me. It was already standing for so many years, and it could – and would – still last through rain and whatever other terrible weather conditions New England can bring it. After walking around and viewing the first floor, I climbed the stairs to the second floor. Rooms included bedrooms, storage rooms, a kitchen, a room with a coffin, and a worship room for their religious beliefs. Delicate little details were spread throughout the whole house, such as intricate designs on the doors. Many items from the past were also placed in each of the rooms as they would have appeared in any normal Chinese home. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip and the opportunity to learn more about Chinese history and architecture. I hope to be able to revisit the house of Yin Yu Tang in the future.
Yin Yu Tang is a great example of late Qing dynasty homes, and was remarkably well preserved in the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. I really enjoyed touring the house, learning about family life in China, as well as architecture of that time period. Along with the actual home, the video we watched gave us even further insight into the lifestyle of families during the Qing Dynasty.
While walking around the house, I learned a myriad of things I previously did not know about Chinese architecture, including the “heated baby pen”, the large quantities of communist Mao propaganda with the mandatory speaker box, the intricacies of the sky well, and the fish ponds that were constantly supplied by underground aqueducts. The personal audio players with the walkthrough narration really assisted in the learning process and gave detailed descriptions of each room, as well as the whole house in general.
The architectural feats featured in the construction, as well as the disassembly and reassembly of Yin Yu Tang both amazed me and intrigued me. I found the room connecting Yin Yu Tang to the rest of the museum extremely informational about construction, including tools used the Chinese, building materials, and joints for the frame that don’t require any actual nails.
Overall, I feel that Yin Yu tang is a valuable piece of history, and we should try our best to preserve other houses from around so the world the culture won’t be lost.
I thought the house from China in the Peabody Essex Museum was very interesting. I thought it was cool to see a real house from China. It is very different from the houses and apartments in America so it was a treat to see. I thought it was really fun to see everything inside the rooms also. I learned a lot about what the living conditions were in China a long time ago. What I thought was especially interesting was what the used to keep their babies warm and not running around, I thought it was creative.
June 9th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
Michaella Chung 愛璦
On May 20th, 2007, I attended a field trip to Yin Yu Tang, a Chinese house that was taken apart in China and then reassembled back in the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. I found it interesting and informative and learned quite a bit about ancient Chinese architecture. My group first inspected a few displays and watched a series of three short movies about Chinese life, which were at times amusing [namely when the bride said that the chickens stank, pooped, and made noise so she kicked them] and other times, scary [when the bride and the groom were talking about how they felt when they were about to be married off to somebody they hadn’t even met yet]. Afterwards, we entered the Chinese house.
The house has two levels, all of the rooms facing inward surrounding a small courtyard with two fish ponds. It is actually outside, not underneath a roof or inside the museum. The sturdiness of the house amazed me. It was already standing for so many years, and it could – and would – still last through rain and whatever other terrible weather conditions New England can bring it. After walking around and viewing the first floor, I climbed the stairs to the second floor. Rooms included bedrooms, storage rooms, a kitchen, a room with a coffin, and a worship room for their religious beliefs. Delicate little details were spread throughout the whole house, such as intricate designs on the doors. Many items from the past were also placed in each of the rooms as they would have appeared in any normal Chinese home. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip and the opportunity to learn more about Chinese history and architecture. I hope to be able to revisit the house of Yin Yu Tang in the future.
June 9th, 2007 at 10:04 pm
Yin Yu Tang
Yin Yu Tang is a great example of late Qing dynasty homes, and was remarkably well preserved in the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. I really enjoyed touring the house, learning about family life in China, as well as architecture of that time period. Along with the actual home, the video we watched gave us even further insight into the lifestyle of families during the Qing Dynasty.
While walking around the house, I learned a myriad of things I previously did not know about Chinese architecture, including the “heated baby pen”, the large quantities of communist Mao propaganda with the mandatory speaker box, the intricacies of the sky well, and the fish ponds that were constantly supplied by underground aqueducts. The personal audio players with the walkthrough narration really assisted in the learning process and gave detailed descriptions of each room, as well as the whole house in general.
The architectural feats featured in the construction, as well as the disassembly and reassembly of Yin Yu Tang both amazed me and intrigued me. I found the room connecting Yin Yu Tang to the rest of the museum extremely informational about construction, including tools used the Chinese, building materials, and joints for the frame that don’t require any actual nails.
Overall, I feel that Yin Yu tang is a valuable piece of history, and we should try our best to preserve other houses from around so the world the culture won’t be lost.
June 10th, 2007 at 11:58 am
Thoughts on the Yin-Yu Tang Field trip
I thought the house from China in the Peabody Essex Museum was very interesting. I thought it was cool to see a real house from China. It is very different from the houses and apartments in America so it was a treat to see. I thought it was really fun to see everything inside the rooms also. I learned a lot about what the living conditions were in China a long time ago. What I thought was especially interesting was what the used to keep their babies warm and not running around, I thought it was creative.