 The professions of architect , master craftsman , carpenter , and structural engineer did not have the high status of the Confucian scholar @-@ officials during the dynastic era . Architectural knowledge had been passed down orally for thousands of years , usually from craftsman fathers to their sons . There were also government agencies and schools for construction , building , and engineering . The Song dynasty 's building manuals aided not only the various private workshops , but also the craftsmen employed by the central government . 
