Liu Nance was a core member of the Zhongguo Yingzao Xueshe (Society for Research in Chinese Architecture) and a full-time employee in the early days of the Society. Liu’s educational background, life, and career reveals that he was the first professional engineer hired by Zhu Qiqian for the Society. Before that, Liu had created architectural drawings for the Tao edition of Yingzao fashi; he had also participated in the preparation for the Society’s establishment. Afterwards, Liu engaged in the compilation of Yingzao cihui and the building of acceptance for the Forbidden City Corner Tower restoration project. Later, he was hired by the Beiping Municipal Bureau of Public Works. Liu’s work, especially his engineering drawings and his professional surveying and mapping, reflects not only his own academic contribution, even more so, it demonstrates Zhu Qiqian’s academic farsightedness and vision for the development of traditional Chinese architectural research.