UNKNOWN CHINESE ARTIST.
Chinese Export Painting of Youchao, the inventor of architecture.
THE GOD OF ARCHITECTURE
According to legend, the early Chinese people lived in caves in the wild and were attacked by wild beasts. You-chao taught them to build nests with wood to avoid wild beasts. From then on, people changed from living in caves to living in nests. This saint was therefore called “Youchao” (I have a nest). These legends actually reflect a stage of human development at that time, from primitive cave dwelling to building houses and by extension he became the God of Architecture. Although unsigned and undated this is a high quality leaf from an album featuring Chinese gods, guardians, and other deities that was produced in Canton in the first quarter of the 19th century.
See Wellcome <https://wellcomecollection.org/works/q9bf8whe/images?id=snt6txws>
