Fu Naqing
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Fu Naqing, Male, Li, from Dongfang, Hainan, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Li Boat-shaped House Building Craftsmanship (Ⅷ-182). The tradition is documented in Dongfang, Hainan. Within the regional tradition and school record of Li Boat-shaped House Building Craftsmanship in Dongfang, Hainan: The boat-shaped-house method is among the Li the result of layer upon layer of reduction. According to Song-dynasty records, the earliest stilt buildings were elevated, their components standing off the ground; the short-legged granaries still seen in Li villages today, shaped like boat-shaped houses, are regarded as a surviving evolved form of the stilt dwelling—the layer of structure that lifted the whole house off the ground was omitted, and the house rose against the earth, becoming boat-shaped. Thereafter the dwellings split into two lines, the boat-shaped house and the gold-shaped thatched house: the former is framed along the slope, the latter takes a gable roof. In terms of distribution, the places that preserve this form and serve as living specimens are the Li villages in the mountainous center of Hainan Island, of which the Li boat-shaped houses in Jiangbian Township, Dongfang City, Hainan Province, are a representative: the house shape resembles a covered boat, the interior space like a boat cabin, with living and storage both compressed into the low boat body. Local sourcing is the premise that allowed it to survive: the bamboo, timber, and thatch come from the hills behind the house, and a single household can prepare materials and build it themselves without waiting for others. The dwelling-renovation of the late 20th century rapidly shrank the usable space of this form; with thatched boat-shaped houses planned for complete elimination by the end of 2007, the occasions for actual building on site disappeared, and the craft survives through village-site protection and oral documentation. According to Song-dynasty records, the ancient dwellings of the Li people adopted a stilt-house (ganlan) architectural form. Li villages commonly contained short-legged granaries shaped like boat-shaped houses; these are an evolved form left over from the ancient stilt dwellings. In the long course of historical development, Li dwellings gradually evolved from the stilt type into the boat-shaped house and the gold-shaped thatched house. In recent years, the government has attached importance to improving the living conditions of the Li people, adopted measures for dwelling renovation, and advanced it year by year, planning to completely eliminate thatched boat-shaped houses by the end of 2007.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Fu Naqing is anchored in the documented technical standards of Li Boat-shaped House Building Craftsmanship in Dongfang, Hainan. Within the documented technical tradition of Li Boat-shaped House Building Craftsmanship in Dongfang, Hainan: The traditional residence of the Li people resembles a covered boat in external form and a boat cabin in its interior, hence the name "boat-shaped house." The Li boat-shaped houses in Jiangbian Township, Dongfang City, Hainan Province, reflect this evolution while displaying the distinctive architectural art style of the Li. Under these circumstances, the craft of building Li boat-shaped houses has lost any room to play its role, and faces the danger of complete extinction. The formal constraints of the boat-shaped house are at the same time its technical essentials: the body is long and narrow, with no beam frame dividing the interior into several rooms; the whole house's weight is borne by the side wall frames and end props, so the walls may be opened with windows as needed, and it is no problem to leave only a door on one side; the roof pitch is steep, catching the heavy rains of the Li island's rainy season; all materials are taken from local bamboo, timber, and thatch, with short transport distances, so a single household can prepare materials and build it themselves within half a year. The short-legged granary shares the same origin as the dwelling, only further lowering the raised ground floor to just enough for damp-proofing; this detail in turn proves that the boat-shaped house indeed came by gradual reduction from the stilt type. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Walls and props as the load-bearing frame": Without beams, the side frames and end props carry the load, so walls can be opened at will and the interior stays clear like a cabin. "Erecting on a slope": Pitched along the slope, the dwelling sits low at the entrance and high inside, separating living from storage. "The short-legged granary": Granaries with short legs keep the boat-like outline of the raised prototype while reducing it to the height needed against damp. "Divergence into gabled thatched houses": The stilted form diverged into boat-shaped houses and gabled thatched houses, two answers to different local conditions.
Walls and props as the load-bearing frame
Without beams, the side frames and end props carry the load, so walls can be opened at will and the interior stays clear like a cabin.
Erecting on a slope
Pitched along the slope, the dwelling sits low at the entrance and high inside, separating living from storage.
The short-legged granary
Granaries with short legs keep the boat-like outline of the raised prototype while reducing it to the height needed against damp.
Divergence into gabled thatched houses
The stilted form diverged into boat-shaped houses and gabled thatched houses, two answers to different local conditions.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Fu Naqing was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Li Boat-shaped House Building Craftsmanship, with Dongfang, Hainan as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Li Boat-shaped House Building Craftsmanship in Dongfang, Hainan: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Dongfang, Hainan as its declared area, and Dongfang Cultural 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
According to Song-dynasty records, the ancient dwellings of the Li people adopted a stilt-house (ganlan) architectural form. Li villages commonly contained short-legged granaries shaped like boat-shaped houses; these are an evolved form left over from the ancient stilt dwellings.
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.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fu Naqing | Dongfang, Hainan | — | This page |
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。