Yin Yu Tang House (蔭餘堂) is a late 18th-century

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

house from

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

province that had been removed from its original village and re-erected in

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. In North America it is the only example of historic Chinese vernacular architecture. As such it provides an example of the type of dwelling an average family in China would have lived in. The Yin Yu Tang (Hall of Plentiful Shelter) was built in the late eighteenth century during the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

(1644–1911). A prosperous merchant surnamed Huang built a stately sixteen-bedroom house in China's southeastern

Huizhou region Huizhou () is a historical region in Anhui Province which is known today as the Huangshan City – the southernmost region of the province. In Ming and Qing dynasties, Huizhou was a prefecture corresponding to Huangshan city and Jixi County of m ...

, calling his home Yin Yu Tang House. This Chinese merchant commissioned the construction of the house in the province of his birth, Anhui, China. The five-bay, two-story residence was typical of its region, built of timber-frame construction, with a tile roof and exterior masonry walls of sandstone and brick. The house is about 47 feet 6 inches by 52 feet inches not including the kitchens. In addition to sixteen bedrooms there are also two reception areas, a storage room, and a courtyard in the center. There are also large intricately carved wooden panels that cover the inner windows on the first floor. The house survived economic and political upheavals, and was home to eight generations of the Huang family. By the mid-1980s the house stood empty. Local and national authorities, with the endorsement of the original owner's descendants, gave permission for the house (and its contents) to be relocated to the

Peabody Essex Museum The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, Massachusetts, US, is a successor to the East India Marine Society, established in 1799. It combines the collections of the former Peabody Museum of Salem (which acquired the Society's collection) and the ...

(PEM) in Salem, Massachusetts. The house opened in June 2003 as a permanent exhibit at the PEM. A children's book titled ''Piece by Piece'' was written by Susan Tan and illustrated by Justine Wong. It follows a young girl's adventure through the museum and Yin Yu Tang House as she searches for a lost blanket. It was published by PEM and Six Foot Press in 2019.

References

External links

Yin Yu Tang House @ Peabody Essex Museum website
{{coord, 42, 31, 16.3, N, 70, 53, 31.8, W, display=title Historic house museums in Massachusetts Houses in Salem, Massachusetts Peabody Essex Museum Chinese-American culture

See also

References

External links