The Former Residence of the Shen Family

The Former Residence of the Shen Family

The Former Residence of the Shen Family is located at No. 224 Minzhu Road, Dingshu Town, Yixing City. In March 2003, it was designated as a municipal-level cultural heritage site by the People's Government of Yixing.

Constructed in the third year of the Xuantong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1911), the Former Residence of the Shen Family was the private home of Shen Gouda, a pottery business owner from the Dingshu region during the late Qing era. The structure faces south and consists of two courtyards. It spans a total width of 18.50 meters and a depth of 30 meters. The first courtyard features five bays across the front. The second is a two-story building laid out in a concave shape, with corridors wrapping around three sides facing the inner courtyard. The main hall has five bays, flanked on each side by three-room buildings that connect on all three sides, commonly referred to as a “revolving floor” (zhuandianlou). The architectural craftsmanship throughout is notably refined. Between the first and second courtyards, there is a brick gate set within a courtyard wall, complemented by a 7.20-meter-high perimeter wall that divides the compound into front and rear sections. The gate is clad in blue bricks, with decorative patterns above the lintel including the Eight Treasures and human figures. Below the eaves, imitation wood and brick carvings adorn the structure. The central part of the gate bears four relief characters in regular script, “奠厥攸居” (Dian Jue You Ju), inscribed on brick, along with the inscription: “Xuantong Xin Hai, Cui Keshen.” The carvings are exquisitely crafted. Some of the figure carvings were damaged during the Cultural Revolution. To the west of the residence are two auxiliary single-story structures, each spanning 6.70 meters in width and 30 meters in depth.

In the early 1950s, the Former Residence of the Shen Family was used as the office of the Dingshu Town government. Around 1958, it became an experimental field for a ceramics company. It currently serves as staff housing for former employees of the Yixing Color Ceramics Factory. From the outside, the residence appears quite ordinary; its main entrance eaves rise just over 3 meters, but upon entering, the ceiling gradually heightens, and the craftsmanship becomes increasingly refined. This reflects the residential architectural philosophy of keeping wealth and grandeur concealed.

Dingshu Town: Located in Yixing City, Jiangsu Province, Dingshu Town lies within the Yangtze River Delta Economic Development Zone. It borders Taihu Lake to the east and the foothills of the Tianmu Mountain range to the west, covering an area of 73 square kilometers with a population of 140,000. It is part of Yixing’s urban area. In 2000, Jiangsu Province positioned Yixing as “China’s renowned Pottery Capital, an important industrial tourism city in Jiangsu Province, and a comprehensive commercial service hub in the border region of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui.”

Dingshu Town is embraced by mountains and water, boasts beautiful scenery, and is rich in culture and history. It is an important part of the famous Yangxian Scenic Area and is one of the top tourist destinations in the Jiangnan region.

Dingshu Town is famed for its abundant production of ceramics… More details about Dingshu Town++