Notes On Qing Dynasty "Handicraft Regulations and Precedents" ( jiangzuo zeli ), with Special Focus on Regulations on Materials, Working Time, Prices, and Wages

In the process of ordering and evaluating source materials on the history of architecture, scholars of the Chinese Architectural Society (Zhongguo yingzao xueshe, 1929-1943) 1 have singled out a text group that was later referred to as "handicraft regulations and precedents" (jiangzuo zeli) and defined as "established rules for artisans in all sectors of the building trade." 2 The main interest of these researchers was to find information on architectural techniques that might help them to preserve and renovate historical buildings. Later conceptions of handicraft regulations not only encompass the classical building trades such as carpentry, stonemasonry, bricklaying, roofing, and scaffolding, but also other areas of civil engineering, such as river conservancy and canal construction, as well as various types of metalworking, textile, and graphical trades. Therefore, in a broader sense handicraft regulations can be understood as "rules and figures concerning techniques, materials, and funds for construction and the production of utility goods." 3 The potential of this source type as a rich mine of knowledge for a great variety of handicraft sectors has already been pointed out by Wang Shixiang. 4 Therefore, it is hardly surprising that in recent years other types of approaches also emerged. The Qinghua University Institute for History of Science and Technology and Ancient Documents (Qinghua daxue Kexue jishu shi ji gu wenxian yanjiusuo) has been active in [End Page 87] editing manuscripts of handicraft regulations and in terminological research since 1997. 5 Recently, this source type is also being used in a research project on "State and Handicrafts in Peking, 1700-1900" at the Sinological Institute of Tübingen University. 6