Zhao Haixian’s Western-style House

Zhao Haixian’s Western-style House

Zhao Haixian’s Western-style House is a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangsu Province.

Zhao Haixian’s Western-style House, also known as the Former Residence of Zhao Haixian, is located at No. 16 Jia Shu Lane, outside the east city of Xinghua City, and was built in the late Qing Dynasty.

Zhao Haixian, whose given name was Lü’ao (1830–1904), was born into a traditional Chinese medicine family in Xinghua during the late Qing period. He began studying medicine from childhood and fully inherited his family's knowledge. Building upon his profound understanding of ancestral medical skills, he further promoted and developed them, mastering classical Chinese medical texts, adhering to ancient doctrines without being confined by them, and excelling in treating difficult and complex diseases. He became a renowned physician of his time and an outstanding representative of the “Xinghua Medical School” that emerged in the late Qing Dynasty. His disciples spread across provinces such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui, and patients came to seek his treatment from all over the country. During the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty, when Empress Dowager Cixi fell ill, she summoned famous doctors from across the nation to the capital for imperial consultations. Liu Kunyi, the Viceroy of Liangjiang, recommended Zhao Haixian for the role, but he declined the invitation on grounds of illness. Later, Zhang Zhidong, the Viceroy of Huguang, also sent a special envoy to invite him for treatment. Zhao Haixian not only possessed extraordinary medical skills but also upheld high medical ethics. Whenever there were floods or epidemics in his hometown, he actively participated in free clinics and distributed medicine. For those who were poor and came seeking treatment, he not only provided care free of charge but also offered food and lodging, earning him the reputation of a benevolent doctor and the moniker “Zhao the Half-Immortal.” The renowned contemporary Chinese medical scholar Qin Bowei, who once served as an advisor to the Ministry of Health, included Zhao Haixian in his pre-liberation publication *Essence of Famous Physicians' Medical Cases from the Qing Dynasty*, noting that Zhao “diligently studied ancient teachings, had unique insights, and was a physician with the heart of a Confucian scholar. Throughout his life, he took joy in doing good deeds, once saying, ‘Medicine is a benevolent art; what use is there in practicing medicine without benevolence?’ His legacy is still fondly remembered in his hometown.”

Zhao Haixian dedicated himself to medical research and authored medical works such as *Dialectics of Cholera*, *Theory of Yin-Yang and Five Elements*, and *Zhao Family Secrets*, which were included in national medical dictionaries. He also became one of the 20 most renowned traditional Chinese medicine practitioners of the Qing Dynasty in China.

The entrance gate of Zhao Haixian’s former residence is a three-bay traditional Chinese single-story building, with the central bay serving as the entrance hall and side bays as wing rooms. Passing through the entrance hall, the courtyard is flanked by single-story corridor rooms to the south and north.

The southern corridor room consists of five bays: the eastern two bays serve as a flower hall, while the western three bays are connected to the flower hall via a carved inner door, functioning as a traditional Chinese medicine dispensary. Currently, the eastern bay has been restored as a traditional Chinese medicine dispensary, the middle bay houses a wax figure exhibit depicting Dr. Zhao Haixian treating patients, and the western bay serves as an exhibition room showcasing the Xinghua Medical School and Dr. Zhao’s medical achievements.

The northern corridor room, consisting of four bays, now functions as the Xinghua Traditional Chinese Medicine Museum, displaying physical materials such as famous physicians, their medical works, and medical cases from Xinghua since the Song Dynasty.

Passing eastward through the courtyard, there is a tall blue-brick screen wall in the shape of a painting, featuring a round door with a stone plaque inscribed in clerical script reading “Yu Garden.” In the center of the garden is a pool shaped like a “yu” (an ancient ritual vessel), surrounded by rockeries, with arched gateways on either side of the main peak. Passing through the gateways to the south leads to a rectangular pond, across which a small wooden bridge called the “Longevity Bridge” is built—compact and exquisitely designed.

To the north of Yu Garden lies the main structure, the “Western-style House.” It is said to have been funded by Yangzhou salt merchants, constructed in collaboration with Jiangdu timber merchants, and specifically built by craftsmen from Ningbo. The design blends Chinese and Western elements, featuring upturned eaves, blue bricks and dark tiles, surrounding corridors, carved railings, and layers of enclosures.

To the east of Yu Garden and extending southward along the wall is a connected corridor that links to a pavilion. The pavilion has two open bays with lattice windows; the northern bay originally served as the Zhao family’s bathhouse, while the southern bay was a space for enjoying the scenery and leisure. It currently functions as an exhibition room for Chinese herbal medicine specimens.

After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Zhao Haixian’s Western-style House was nationalized. In 2006, it underwent comprehensive restoration following the principle of “restoring the old as it was.” In 2008, alongside the restoration and exhibition of Zhao Haixian’s former residence, the Xinghua Traditional Chinese Medicine Museum was established, along with a clinic for contemporary renowned traditional Chinese medicine experts in Xinghua. It is open to the public year-round and has become a base for traditional Chinese medicine culture education in Jiangsu Province. Zhao Haixian’s Western-style House is not only an important site for people to pay homage to a distinguished figure, showcase Xinghua’s excellent traditional Chinese medicine culture, receive education in this field, and seek medical advice, but also a highlight of Xinghua’s cultural tourism.

In 1986, it was designated as a cultural relic protection unit by the Xinghua County People’s Government.

Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units