Former Residence of Sheng Xuanhuai in Suzhou

Former Residence of Sheng Xuanhuai in Suzhou

The former residence of Sheng Xuanhuai in Suzhou is a Suzhou Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The former residence of Sheng Xuanhuai is located at Tianku Qian and was listed as a Suzhou Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit in 2004.

This was the residence of Sheng Xuanhuai’s concubine, and the front part was the site of the former telegraph office. During the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty, Sheng Xuanhuai established the Suzhou Telegraph Office, which was first set up here. Sheng Xuanhuai, a prominent figure in the Self-Strengthening Movement, founded the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company, the Huasheng Textile Mill, and the Imperial Bank of China, and was once the owner of the Lingering Garden in Suzhou.

Sheng Xuanhuai (1844–1916), courtesy names Xingsun and Youxu, also known as Xingsheng or Xingsheng, styled Ciyi or Bulou, also used the pseudonym Yuzhai, and in his later years called himself Zhisou, was a native of Wujin, Jiangsu Province, born into a bureaucratic landlord family. In the ninth year of the Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1870), he entered the service of Li Hongzhang. He held positions such as Director of the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company, General Manager of the Imperial Chinese Telegraph Administration, Director of the Huasheng Textile Mill and the Imperial Chinese Railway Administration, and founded the Imperial Bank of China. He rose to the rank of Minister of Posts and Communications, with the first-rank official title. Shanghai was the center of his activities. Through his involvement in the Self-Strengthening Movement, he deeply recognized the importance of foreign language proficiency and technical knowledge, advocating for "self-strengthening"... More details about Sheng Xuanhuai ++