Yin Yu Tang House (蔭餘堂) is a late 18th-century Chinese house from Anhui province that had been removed from its original village and re-erected in Salem , Massachusetts . 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 (1644–1911).
16-553: A prosperous merchant surnamed Huang built a stately sixteen-bedroom house in China's southeastern Huizhou region , 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
32-501: Is a historical region in Anhui Province which roughly corresponds to Huangshan City today – the southernmost region of the province. In Ming and Qing dynasties, Huizhou was a prefecture corresponding to Huangshan city and Jixi County of modern Xuancheng , plus Wuyuan County in northeastern Jiangxi . Anhui, the name of the province, is a portmanteau word combining the first characters of Anqing and Huizhou. During
48-402: Is about 47 feet 6 inches by 52 feet 5 + 1 ⁄ 2 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
64-410: Is merely a useful category to collect these hard-to-classify varieties. He notes that they do not belong to any other top-level group due to the lack of shared innovations with any, and that they do not have any shared innovations among themselves. He also notes that the above conclusion would imply that his reconstruction is not a proto-system , but instead an "analytical device or template". During
80-534: Is noted for its massive loss of syllable codas , including -i, -u, and nasals : Many Hui dialects have diphthongs with a higher lengthened first part. For example, 話 ("speech") is /uːɜ/ in Xiuning County (Standard Chinese /xuɑ/ ), 園 ("yard") is /yːɛ/ in Xiuning County (Standard Chinese /yɛn/ ); 結 ("knot") is /tɕiːaʔ/ in Yi County (Standard Chinese /tɕiɛ/ ), 約 ("agreement")
96-508: The Hui dialect ( Chinese : 徽语 ), is a group of Sinitic languages spoken in and around the historical region of Huizhou (for which it is named), in about ten or so mountainous counties in southern Anhui , plus a few more in neighbouring Zhejiang and Jiangxi . Although the Hui area is small compared with other Chinese dialect groups, it displays a very high degree of internal variation, and
112-747: The Ming and Qing dynasties, Jianghuai speakers moved into Hui dialect areas. Some works of literature produced in Yangzhou , such as Qingfengzha , a novel, contain Jianghuai Mandarin. People in Yangzhou identified by the dialect they speak, locals spoke the dialect, as opposed to sojourners, who spoke other varieties like Huizhou or Wu . This led to the formation of identity based on one's dialect. Large numbers of merchants from Huizhou lived in Yangzhou and effectively were responsible for keeping
128-454: The Song dynasty (1211), Huizhou was named from Shezhou ( 歙州 ) or She Prefecture ( 歙 ), now the name of She County under Huangshan City. The prefecture remained intact for about 800 years with six counties: Shexian County ( 歙县 ), Yixian County ( 黟县 ), Xiuning ( 休宁 ), Qimen ( 祁门 ), Jixi ( 绩溪 ), and Wuyuan ( 婺源 ). The region was known for its production of writing utensils. In
144-772: 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 (PEM) in Salem, Massachusetts. The house opened in June 2003 as a permanent exhibit at the PEM. Yin Yu Tang is available for timed, self-guided audio tours. A children's book titled Piece by Piece
160-422: The late Ming dynasty , the city also became known for publishing texts on a broad range of subjects, such as genealogy , classic literature, and illustrated novels and dramas. The carvers of the printing blocks were highly skilled, allowing the printed works to be of high quality. Huizhou is a mountainous region in the south of Anhui province. Huizhou is also well known for the scenic Huangshan Mountains , which
176-428: The lect is also situated near many mutually unintelligible varieties, making its classification difficult. It has been previously grouped with Huai , Wu , and Gan , and some even believe that it does not even constitute a singular language family. Huizhou Chinese was originally classified as Lower Yangtze Mandarin but it is currently classified separately from it. The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences supported
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#1732776690767192-613: The main subdivisions of spoken Chinese. Peking opera , which arose in the 18th century, has its origins in a local opera form from Huizhou. Hui cuisine , which is known for its extensive use of wild herbs, is one of the eight main Chinese cuisines . Huizhou is famous for ancient streets and buildings, such as ancestral temple, memorial archway. Residential buildings in Huizhou attach importance to feng shui and yin-yang . Huizhou Chinese Huizhou ( Chinese : 徽州话 ), or
208-658: The modern-day city is named after. Since the Ming dynasty, the merchants of Huizhou, collectively known in Chinese as Huishang ( 徽商 ; pinyin: Huīshāng), were renowned for their economic prowess. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, they formed a formidable political force both regionally and nationally. After the Taiping Rebellion , Huizhou merchants became less prominent as the war disrupted trade in inland China. Huizhou has its own distinct culture as well as spoken Chinese form, known as Huizhou and recognized as one of
224-421: The separation of Huizhou from Lower Yangtze Mandarin in 1987. Its classification is disputed, with some linguists, such as Matisoff classifying it as Wu Chinese , others such as Bradley (2007) as Gan , and still others setting it apart as a primary branch of Chinese. A reconstruction of Common Huizhou by Coblin has found that the lect group is likely areal, not a "genetically related" group of varieties , and
240-495: The town afloat. Merchants in the later imperial period also sponsored operas and performances in the Hui dialect. Zhengzhang Shangfang divided the Hui languages into five subgroups, which are also used in the Language Atlas of China : Huizhou varieties differ from township to township. People in different townships, towns, etc. (even in one county) often cannot speak with one another. Phonologically speaking, Hui
256-436: 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. 42°31′16.3″N 70°53′31.8″W / 42.521194°N 70.892167°W / 42.521194; -70.892167 Huizhou (region) Huizhou ( Chinese : 徽 州 ; pinyin : Huīzhōu )
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