Yingzao Fashi

This edition, published in Pingjiang (now Suzhou, Jiangsu), was later handcopied into the Yongle Encyclopedia and Siku Quanshu.

Some of Li's book used material from preexisting architectural writings, but most of it is documentation of the inherited traditions of craftsmen and architects passed down by word of mouth.

[5] Li's work incorporates building rules and regulations, accounting information, standards for materials used in construction, and the classification of various crafts.

[6] The 34 chapters in the book specify in detail the units of measurement, the construction of moats and fortifications, and standards for stonework as well as for greater and lesser woodwork.

[7][8] It includes the specifications (and illustrations) for constructing bracketing units with inclined arms and joints for columns and beams,[9] as well as directions for wood carving, turning and drilling, sawing, bamboo work, tiling, wall building, painting and decoration, and the formulas for decorative paints, glazes and various coatings.