Former Residence of Shen Kuo – Mengxi Garden

The former residence of Shen Kuo, Mengxi Garden

The former residence of Shen Kuo, Mengxi Garden, is a cultural tourism attraction.

The former residence of Shen Kuo, Mengxi Garden, is located on Mengxiyuan Lane in the city center. It was where the Northern Song Dynasty scientist Shen Kuo spent his later years. It was here that he wrote his monumental scientific work, Dream Pool Essays. The British scientist Dr. Joseph Needham, a modern scholar of the history of Chinese science and technology, hailed Dream Pool Essays as the “scientific coordinates of the 11th century.” Qian Weichang, a renowned contemporary Chinese scientist, said: “This coordinate stands right here in Zhenjiang.” The book has since been translated and published in the UK, France, Germany, the United States, Japan, and other countries.

The original Mengxi Garden covered an area of about ten acres and included structures such as the Shore Elder Hall, Xiao Xiao Hall, Shell Pavilion, Deep Study, Distant Pavilion, and Crag Gorge Pavilion, along with a stream running through the garden. The present-day Mengxi Garden is a partial restoration of the original, reconstructed by the municipal government in 1985. It covers an area of two acres and consists of two buildings. The front building is a flat-tiled house with a flush gable roof built during the Qing Dynasty, facing west and situated eastward. Its main entrance faces the garden, above which is inlaid a marble plaque inscribed with the name “Mengxi Garden,” written by Mao Yisheng. The rear building is a Qing-style hall, facing south and situated northward, housing a full-body seated statue of Shen Kuo, along with textual images, models, and objects that showcase his scientific achievements in astronomy, geography, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology, geology, and medicine. Two pairs of couplets hanging from the columns inside offer a high-level summary and evaluation of Shen Kuo’s life: “Immersed in travels across eastern seas, western lakes, southern rivers, and northern lands, the dreamscape of streams and mountains remains majestic; Encompassing studies of celestial phenomena, geology, humanities, physics, his writings brim with sweeping insights.” “Voluminous records of rare curiosities and cultural artifacts, penned without haste in verdant ink; A first glimpse of the crescent moon, voyaging north and south, all for the sake of the people.”

Address: No. 21, Mengxiyuan Lane, Jingkou District, Zhenjiang City

Type: Garden

Recommended visiting time: 1–3 hours

Ticket information:

Free admission.

Shen Kuo (1031–1095), courtesy name Cunzhong, was a native of Qiantang (present-day Yuhang) in the Song Dynasty. In his youth, he studied Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, and medicine, developing a broad and deep knowledge base. In the first year of the Jihe era (1054), he served as the chief clerk of Shuyang County, Haizhou. Noticing that the local Shu River, the main waterway, had long been neglected, often causing flooding, he initiated improvements — widening and deepening the channel, dredging the river, and constructing a hundred irrigation channels and nine weirs. This benefited over 7,000 acres of farmland along the waterway, transforming the land into fertile fields. In the sixth year of the Jiayou era (1061), he was appointed magistrate of Ningguo County, Xuancheng. Commissioned by Zhang Ke, the transport commissioner of Jiangnan, he implemented a “work-for-relief” approach, joining forces with… More details about Shen Kuo ++