Former Residence of Liu E

Former Residence of Liu E

The former residence of Liu E is a cultural tourism attraction.

The former residence of Liu E was purchased by his father, Liu Chengzhong, and is located on Xigongqiao West Street in the southeast of Shaohu Lake within the city of Huai'an. It borders Jingangshe Lane to the east, Di'zang Temple Lane to the west, and originally faced wasteland to the north. The property is composed of an eastern garden, a central main residence, and three western sections that can function as self-contained courtyards (according to Liu Dexin, these are the southern part of the western residence, the middle part of the western residence, and the rear residence), totaling over 140 rooms.

According to contracts seen by later generations of the Liu family, the original owner of the house had the surname Liao. In the fifth year of the Tongzhi era (1866), Liu Chengzhong asked his son-in-law, Gao Weizhi from Huai'an, through an intermediary and official broker under the name “Ge Feng Tang,” to first purchase the garden owned by the Liao family. In the tenth year of the Tongzhi era (1870), he bought the rest of the Liao family’s houses. In the third year of the Guangxu era (1877), after Liu Chengzhong retired, he moved to live in this residence.

Liu E (1857–1909), originally named Yunpeng, also known by his courtesy names Yuntuan and Gongyue, as well as the alias Tieyun, later changed his name to E and used the pseudonym Hongdu Bailian Sheng. He was a native of Dantu County (now downtown Zhenjiang). He is the author of one of the Four Great Condemnation Novels of the late Qing Dynasty, “The Travels of Lao Can.” Liu E was highly knowledgeable, proficient in mathematics, medicine, hydraulic engineering, musical theory, philosophy, and more. He was a collector and connoisseur of antiquities and was among the first scholars to identify, collect, and organize oracle bone inscriptions from the Yinxu ruins. He compiled and printed rubbings such as “Tieyun Canggui” (Tieyun's Collection of Tortoise Shells), “Tieyun Cangtao” (Tieyun's Collection of Pottery), and “Tieyun Cangni” (Tieyun's Collection of Clay Seals). His father, Liu Chengzhong, was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), served several terms as a provincial governor, and in the Qing… Liu E – More Details ++