Makers › Engineer / Architect
Yan Lide
Early Tang builder and painter, elder brother of Yan Liben, who built Taizong's Zhao tomb, the Cuiwei and Yuhua palaces and the outer wall of Chang'an
A stone arch bridge is being built across a river gorge, with wooden centering under the arch and bamboo scaffolding around the piers; many small workers haul stone blocks up a ramp with ropes and pulleys, and blocks and logs lie in the foreground below a distant city wall.
Also known as Ming Rang
Yan Lide, whose given name was Rang, came from Wannian near the capital; son of the Sui palace craftsman Yan Pi and elder brother of the painter Yan Liben, he inherited the family's skill in design and building. He served on the staff of the Prince of Qin, and early in the Zhenguan era made the emperor's ceremonial robes and crowns before becoming deputy director of construction. When Empress Zhangsun died in 636 he was put in charge of the Zhao tomb, was dismissed for negligence, and soon returned as director of construction. During Taizong's 645 invasion of Koguryo, when the army bogged down in the Liao marshes, he laid earth causeways and bridges to carry it across. He later built the Cuiwei and Yuhua palaces, became minister of works, completed Taizong's own tomb, and in 654 built the outer wall of Chang'an. He died in 656 and received the posthumous name Kang.
Life and times
Dates c. 600 CE–656 CE