Ma Zhenren
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Ma Zhenren, Male, Han, from Guyuan, Ningxia, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Guyuan Chuantongjianzhu Building Craftsmanship (Ⅷ-287). The tradition is documented in Guyuan, Ningxia. Within the regional tradition and school record of Guyuan Chuantongjianzhu Building Craftsmanship in Guyuan, Ningxia: The region's uniquely favourable loess resources and special climatic conditions provided the opportunity for the emergence and development of the traditional folk building craft. The craft of traditional Guyuan architecture absorbed and integrated Central Plains culture, Guanlong culture and Western Xia culture, forming a distinctive architectural character specific to the Liupan Mountain area. The dwellings were mainly laid out as three-sided courtyard compounds, with the principal house a double-slope-roofed frame house facing south and the side rooms single-slope-roofed lean-to houses on the east and west sides. The Sanbian General-Command Office, the Regional Military Commander's Office and the Defence Circuit Office built in the Ming Dynasty became models of traditional architecture through the ages in Guyuan.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Ma Zhenren is anchored in the documented technical standards of Guyuan Chuantongjianzhu Building Craftsmanship in Guyuan, Ningxia. Within the documented technical tradition of Guyuan Chuantongjianzhu Building Craftsmanship in Guyuan, Ningxia: Guyuan lies at the foot of the Liupan Mountains in southern Ningxia on the northwestern Loess Plateau, at the centre of the junction of Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia. It has a typical continental climate, dry with little rain, abundant sunshine and a large diurnal temperature range. Guyuan's natural environment is relatively harsh and its economy comparatively undeveloped, yet on this barren land people made use of the resource-rich loess to develop distinctive rammed-earth construction and earth-and-timber structural building techniques. Traditional Guyuan architecture uses earth, timber, brick, tile and straw as its main materials and adopts the traditional northern craftsman's methods; the building process includes site selection, breaking ground, making huaji (mud blocks), building walls, erecting the timber frame, laying tiles and applying mud plaster. The builders are a group of construction artisans led by carpenters and bringing together earth, brick and tile workers and other trades. Three to five courses of salt-resistant brick are laid at the base of the wall, above which the wall is built of huaji (earth blocks); coarse wheat straw is mixed into the loess to make a straw mud for building, and fine wheat straw and wheat husk are used for the finishing coat, which helps retain warmth and keep out the cold. Brick is used for the front pier and the rear eaves brackets, blue tiles are laid on the roof, and no ridge beasts are set on the ridge, which is made as a brick ridge or a combined brick-and-tile ridge. The courtyard wall is a rammed-earth wall, with a brick gatehouse or a 'boots and hat' gateway (a combination of a lower course of salt-resistant brick, a middle section of earth blocks and an upper section of decorative brickwork), giving the buildings an appearance that is plain, solid and simply proportioned. It is said that from the Qin and Han dynasties to the Northern Wei period the building clusters of Guyuan had already begun to take shape and the building craft had already become increasingly refined. The construction of Gaoping City under Emperor Wu of the Western Han brought traditional building craft to its zenith. Generation after generation of craftsmen, working in a distinctive natural environment and amid the interaction and clash of diverse cultures, passed the craft of traditional Guyuan architecture down through the generations by word of mouth and personal example between master and apprentice. Besides encompassing all kinds of specialist techniques and decorative arts in the building trade, the craft also carries cultural information from many fields, including geography, meteorology, medicine and philosophy. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Site choice and breaking ground": The first two stages; the site is chosen where loess is deep at the foot of the Liupan Mountains, so working the local soil shapes everything after. "Making adobe blocks (hujie)": Loess mixed with coarse wheat straw and a binding straw paste is beaten into adobe blocks, dried and used as the wall body; the straw and moisture decide frost resistance. "Salt-brick base and adobe wall body": Three to five courses of salt brick keep damp out at the base; above them adobe blocks with coarse straw are laid and finished with fine straw and awns for warmth. "Raising the timber frame": The main block is a north-facing double-pitch frame house; the side blocks are single-slope wing houses to east and west, completing the three-sided courtyard.
Site choice and breaking ground
The first two stages; the site is chosen where loess is deep at the foot of the Liupan Mountains, so working the local soil shapes everything after.
Making adobe blocks (hujie)
Loess mixed with coarse wheat straw and a binding straw paste is beaten into adobe blocks, dried and used as the wall body; the straw and moisture decide frost resistance.
Salt-brick base and adobe wall body
Three to five courses of salt brick keep damp out at the base; above them adobe blocks with coarse straw are laid and finished with fine straw and awns for warmth.
Raising the timber frame
The main block is a north-facing double-pitch frame house; the side blocks are single-slope wing houses to east and west, completing the three-sided courtyard.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Ma Zhenren was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Guyuan Chuantongjianzhu Building Craftsmanship, with Guyuan, Ningxia as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Guyuan Chuantongjianzhu Building Craftsmanship in Guyuan, Ningxia: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2021 (batch 5), with Guyuan, Ningxia as its declared area, and Ningxia Dayuangujianzhu Culture Art Co., Ltd. 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 dwellings were mainly laid out as three-sided courtyard compounds, with the principal house a double-slope-roofed frame house facing south and the side rooms single-slope-roofed lean-to houses on the east and west sides. The Sanbian General-Command Office, the Regional Military Commander's Office and the Defence Circuit Office built in the Ming Dynasty became models of traditional architecture through the ages in Guyuan.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ma Zhenren | Guyuan, Ningxia | — | 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。