Former Residence of Gu Jiegang

Former Residence of Gu Jiegang

The Former Residence of Gu Jiegang is a cultural heritage site protected by the Suzhou Municipal Government.

In Xuanqiao Lane on Pingjiang Road, there once stood a sizable and picturesque garden—Baoshu Garden. Built during the Ming Dynasty by Gui Zhan chu, Baoshu Garden shared the same owner as Huiyin Garden. Today, Baoshu Garden has long vanished, and in its place lies a quiet alley called Gu Family Garden. Numbers 4 and 7 of Gu Family Garden are extremely ordinary Suzhou-style residences, no different from the other homes in the lane. It was in this unassuming dwelling that the renowned scholar Mr. Gu Jiegang spent his childhood and adolescence.

The ancestors of Mr. Gu Jiegang were originally a family of scholars and farmers from Weiting Town. During the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty, they relocated to the city of Suzhou. “From then on, we were townsfolk. Although our family’s economic resources still relied on land taxes, our way of life shifted from that of wealthy farmers to urban citizens—this was the first major change in my family’s history,” Mr. Gu himself described the family’s past. The Gu family once built seven gardens and residences in the city, none of which were small in scale. The original Baoshu Garden, which had belonged to the Gui family, also became part of the Gu family’s property. Due to the passage of time, the exact details of the transfers and ownership changes are difficult to trace, but the lineage from Baoshu Garden to Gu Family Garden is clearly discernible. After the Qing Dynasty was established, several members of the Gu family served as officials or were involved in editing, compiling, and printing books and texts. When Emperor Kangxi visited the south of the Yangtze River, he praised the family as “the foremost scholarly family in the south of the Yangtze.” However, by the end of the Qianlong era, due to involvement in a relief scandal, some of the family’s properties were confiscated, leading to their decline, and most of these residences and gardens were destroyed.

Mr. Gu Jiegang was born on the 23rd day of the third lunar month in the 19th year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty, which corresponds to May 8, 1893. He spent his childhood and youth in his hometown. From an early age, Gu Jiegang refused to accept things blindly when reading, often marking up books with his own opinions, thereby developing the habit of critical reading and thinking.

In 1913, Mr. Gu Jiegang was admitted to the preparatory course of Peking University. A modern scholar born in an erstwhile paradise began to grow, spreading his wings to soar into the wider world, stepping out from that very lane which had produced luminaries such as the Ming Dynasty top imperial scholar Shen Shixing, Qing Dynasty top imperial scholar Hong Jun, Ministry of Works Minister Pan Zuyin, as well as modern scholars like Gu Tinglong, Ye Shengtao, and Guo Shaoyu.

Now, the man is gone, but the scholarly aura remains. In 1993, the centennial of Mr. Gu Jiegang’s birth, scholars from across the country gathered in Suzhou to hold an academic symposium in his honor. Cultural figures such as Hu Sheng, Fei Xiaotong, Lei Jieqiong, and Qian Weichang traveled from Beijing to Suzhou to attend. With deep reverence, the attendees visited the former residence and solemnly unveiled a memorial plaque inscribed with “Former Residence of Gu Jiegang.”

Historic District Community: The Historic District Community is located in the northeastern part of the ancient city in Pingjiang District, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province. It stretches from Xiangmen River in the east to Pingjiang River in the west, and from Zhongzhangjia Lane in the south to Guanyuanjia in the north, covering a total area of 0.4 square kilometers. The community currently has over 3,400 households and more than 9,000 residents. The area is rich in cultural relics and steeped in historical atmosphere, featuring World Heritage Site Couple’s Retreat Garden, cultural heritage sites such as the Opera Museum, Pingtan Museum, the Pan Mansion, and the former residence of the celebrity Tang Na. It also retains many vestiges of the old city, including canals, small bridges, alleys, ancient residences, ancient memorial archways, old trees, and ancient wells—showcasing the charm of “small bridges, flowing water, and people…” More details about the Historic District Community++