Ban Fengbin
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Ban Fengbin, Male, Han, from Wenxueyishujielianhehui, Inner Mongolia, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Yurt Building Craftsmanship (Ⅷ-181). The tradition is documented in Wenxueyishujielianhehui, Inner Mongolia. Within the regional tradition and school record of Yurt Building Craftsmanship in Wenxueyishujielianhehui, Inner Mongolia: The Mongolian yurt and its building craft are an important component of the Mongol people's nomadic culture; they were accumulated and formed through long-term production struggles and life practice, adapted to the natural environment, and possess a distinctive regional cultural style. The Mongolian yurt (ger) is the most representative dwelling of the Mongol and northern nomadic peoples. As early as the Qin and Han dynasties it appeared in our historical records under names such as "qionglü" (domed lodging) and "zhanzhang" (felt tent), and from the Qing dynasty it was renamed "Mongolian yurt" (Menggubao) through Manchu transliteration and translation. The people of Chen Barag Banner moved from Qiqihar to Mongolia in the tenth year of the Yongzheng reign of the Qing dynasty (1732) to garrison Hulunbuir; adapting to local conditions, they used local willow branches and lakeside reeds to build yurts for summer dwelling.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Ban Fengbin is anchored in the documented technical standards of Yurt Building Craftsmanship in Wenxueyishujielianhehui, Inner Mongolia. Within the documented technical tradition of Yurt Building Craftsmanship in Wenxueyishujielianhehui, Inner Mongolia: The Mongolian yurt combines three integrated sets of materials: wood, hair rope, and felt; the three-in-one frame of "toonoo" (skylight), "uni" (umbrella-spoke radiating rafters), and "hana" (lattice wooden wall); and the three-in-one covering felt of "meng zhan" (the part covering the skylight), the canopy (the part covering the uni), and the wall felt (the part covering the hana)—together forming a unique dwelling most suited to the northern climate and nomadic production. Because it is essentially a "three-section composite" house that can be broken into parts, with light and portable materials that can be reused, its construction, dismantling, relocation, and repair are all very convenient. West Ujimqin Banner is located in the northeast of Xilingol League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region; its Mongol residents number nearly 50,000, accounting for 68% of the total population. The yurt-making craft of West Ujimqin Banner is exacting; its structure mainly consists of three parts—frame wood, covering felt, and mane rope—generally made of elm wood, with no iron nails allowed in the frame. Such a yurt is spacious and comfortable inside; it uses specially made wooden frames as "hana," is wrapped in two to three layers of wool felt, and is bound on the outside with ropes twisted from horse mane or camel hair. Its top uses "uni" as supports, taking the form of a canopy. The round, pointed roof has a skylight called the "toonoo"; the toonoo is covered with square wool felt and allows for ventilation and daylight. The Chen Barag Banner yurt is also called the "reed-curtain yurt," built from reeds. This kind of yurt uses local materials, is handmade, simple and practical, elegant in appearance, neither seeping nor leaking, and pleasantly cool. The yurt-building craft consists of making and decorating the frame wood and covering felt; it integrates carpentry, embroidery, carving, painting, and weaving, embodying the full range of Mongol folk handicrafts. The "hana" is extensible and can change freely; the height and size of the yurt can be adjusted as needed, and it can cope readily with abrupt climate changes in the rainy or windy seasons and with fluctuations in the number of occupants. The round structure reduces the assault of wind, rain, and sand on the yurt, enabling it to better adapt to the severe cold and scorching heat of the continental climate of the Mongolian Plateau. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Khana, uni and taonao": The frame consists of the lattice wall khanas, the radiating rafters uni and the roof opening taonao. "The three felt coverings": Felt comes in three parts covering the roof opening, the rafters and the lattice wall respectively. "Assembly in three separable parts": A three-part structure that breaks down into portable members, making erection, dismantling, transport and repair easy. "Making and decorating frame and felt": The craft covers frame making, felt making and decoration, drawing together carpentry, embroidery, carving, painting and weaving.
Khana, uni and taonao
The frame consists of the lattice wall khanas, the radiating rafters uni and the roof opening taonao.
The three felt coverings
Felt comes in three parts covering the roof opening, the rafters and the lattice wall respectively.
Assembly in three separable parts
A three-part structure that breaks down into portable members, making erection, dismantling, transport and repair easy.
Making and decorating frame and felt
The craft covers frame making, felt making and decoration, drawing together carpentry, embroidery, carving, painting and weaving.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Ban Fengbin was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Yurt Building Craftsmanship, with Wenxueyishujielianhehui, Inner Mongolia as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Yurt Building Craftsmanship in Wenxueyishujielianhehui, Inner Mongolia: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Wenxueyishujielianhehui, Inner Mongolia as its declared area, and Inner Mongolia Art Research Institute (Inner Mongolia Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding Center) as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
The Mongolian yurt (ger) is the most representative dwelling of the Mongol and northern nomadic peoples. As early as the Qin and Han dynasties it appeared in our historical records under names such as "qionglü" (domed lodging) and "zhanzhang" (felt tent), and from the Qing dynasty it was renamed "Mongolian yurt" (Menggubao) through Manchu transliteration and translation. The people of Chen Barag Banner moved from Qiqihar to Mongolia in the tenth year of the Yongzheng reign of the Qing dynasty (1732) to garrison Hulunbuir; adapting to local conditions, they used local willow branches and lakeside reeds to build yurts for summer dwelling.
05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage
National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。