Li Jie’s Yingzao fashi (Building standards) had puzzled architectural historians for years. The Society for the Study of Chinese Architecture (Zhongguo Yingzao Xueshe) was eager to study the historical text since the time of its establishment. And yet, after joining the Society, Liang Sicheng and his colleagues turned their attention first to the six-centuries-younger Qing style; their preliminary understanding of traditional Chinese architecture was published as Qingshi yingzao zeli (Building regulations of the Qing style). Then, to explore the earlier Song style recorded in Yingzao fashi, Liang studied actual buildings dating from the Tang, Liao, and Song that had survived. After more than a decade of surveying and mapping, in which Liang also fifinished his survey titled Zhongguo jianzhushi (History of Chinese Architecture), he finally began writing an annotation of the Song text under very difficult conditions. Before his death, Liang completed the text of his Yingzao fashi zhushi (Annotation of Yingzao fashi): the first volume was published in 1982, and together with the second volume reprint in 2001. Liang’s groundbreaking research has laid the foundation for anyone interested in Chinese architecture to learn about the historical construction methods and features specifified in the Song text.