Duan Yucai Memorial Hall

Duan Yucai Memorial Hall

Duan Yucai Memorial Hall is located in the South Scenic Area of Jintan District, Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province. Covering an area of 15,000 square meters, it is a Qing-style ancient building with a brick-and-wood structure, laid out as a traditional courtyard surrounded by water on all sides, and adorned with lush trees and fragrant flowers. The hall was opened on October 25, 1985, to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Duan Yucai’s birth.

A plaque inscribed with “Duan Yucai Memorial Hall,” written by the renowned calligrapher Shu Tong, hangs above the memorial’s gate. Inside the grand entrance lies a spacious courtyard paved with lush green lawns. Passing through the courtyard leads to the memorial hall, which features upturned eaves and painted beams, exuding an antique charm. Above the main hall’s door hangs a golden plaque inscribed with the words “Master of Philology,” written by calligrapher Sha Menghai.

Stepping into the main hall, one can see two pairs of couplets hanging on vermilion-painted pillars at the front and back. One couplet was written by Zhao Puchu, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference: “Refined through the Nine Classics, he nurtured talent; from the origin of each word, he laid a foundation for all.” The other was penned by Zhou Zumo, advisor to the Philological Society and professor at Peking University: “His achievements in explaining characters and interpreting classics surpassed Xu and Zheng; his fame in analyzing phonetics and tones shook the Qian-Jia era.”

At the center of the hall stands a solemn half-length plaster bust of Master Duan. On the surrounding walls hang calligraphy and paintings by notable figures. On both sides are side rooms and corridors. The side rooms display Duan Yucai’s related works, biography, and chronology, while the corridors feature a series of comic strips titled “Duan Yucai.”

Exiting through the back door of the main hall leads to a single-arch bridge spanning a small stream. Crossing the bridge takes you to the city museum, with eye-catching green landscaping along the way.

Duan Yucai (1735–1815)

A Qing Dynasty scholar of Confucian classics, phonology, and philology. His courtesy name was Ruoying, and his pseudonym was Maotang. He was a native of Jintan, Jiangsu, and the maternal grandfather of Gong Zizhen. Duan Yucai extensively read and produced a wealth of writings, approaching the study of ancient scripts through the lens of Confucian classics. Within the field of philology, he further explored the study of characters and their meanings through phonology. His scholarship was solidly grounded and deeply insightful. His work, *The Six-Writing Phonetic Chart*, based on Gu Yanwu’s *Five Books on Phonology* and Jiang Yong’s (1681–1762) *Standards of Ancient Rhymes*, divided ancient rhymes into 17 categories, marking an epoch-making contribution to the study of ancient phonology. *Annotations on Shuowen Jiezi* is a comprehensive and profound... Duan Yucai detailed information++