Former Residence of Guo Shaoyu

Former Residence of Guo Shaoyu

The Former Residence of Guo Shaoyu is a cultural tourism attraction.

The Guo family had long resided in Suzhou but, due to financial hardship, had always rented homes and were frequently forced to relocate. In 1927, after Guo Shaoyu became a professor at Yenching University, his life became more stable and he had some savings, so he purchased an ordinary late Qing dynasty residence on Daxinqiao Lane in Suzhou. He bought it to provide a comfortable home for his parents in their retirement and invited his elder brother, Guo Jitang—who was then teaching back in their hometown—to live there with his family to keep his parents company, while he himself often returned to Suzhou during holidays to visit them.

This former residence is now located at No. 13, Daxinqiao Lane. According to the recollections of Guo Shaoyu’s children: outside the main gate, along the river, there used to be a tall screen wall, flanked by stone steps leading down to the riverbank. Passing through the gatehouse and crossing a courtyard paved with pebbles, one would reach the sedan-chair hall, with white low walls lining both sides of the courtyard. The courtyard behind the sedan-chair hall was also paved with pebbles, with a flower stand against the western wall planted with roses, gardenias, and other flowers, as well as some Taihu rocks. The eastern side featured a corridor, with a low wall along its exterior.

Beyond the courtyard lies the flower hall, behind which there is an arched gate inscribed with six large seal characters—“Great Prosperity Also Brings Longevity”—handwritten by Guo Luqing. Passing through the archway, on the right is the square hall, which has a floor paved with square bricks and a very high ceiling, making it extremely cool in summer. The upper part of the walls features transom windows inlaid with multicolored stained glass, which could be opened or closed using ropes. Outside the square hall is a well that could be used for cooling food in summer. The interior perimeter is furnished with armchairs and tea tables, with a long table in the center and two sofas on the side—the only Western-style furniture. Guo Shaoyu often met with friends from the cultural and educational circles in the square hall. Between the inner and outer sections of the square hall is a partition made of carved wooden lattice windows; the inner section serves as a study where dozens of crates of books that Guo Shaoyu brought back from Beiping during the War of Resistance were once stored.

The main hall, located northwest of the square hall, served as the primary reception area. On the wall behind a long rectangular table at the front of the hall hung a painting depicting what appeared to be deities. On the walls on either side of the painting and on the pillars in the rear courtyard were couplets, one of which was written by Wang Tongyu. The hall was entirely furnished with rosewood furniture, with marble inlays on the backs of the armchairs. Facing the courtyard on the southern side of the hall were a row of floor-to-ceiling windows. The courtyard had a stone-paved floor and held several large jars, some used to collect rainwater, and two others used by Elder Guo Luqing to grow lotus flowers. In summer, the red and white blossoms contrasted beautifully with the green leaves. On the southern wall of the courtyard was a green-glazed tile flower-wall niche. The western side of the courtyard housed a Buddhist shrine where Guo Shaoyu’s mother chanted prayers morning and evening. Behind the main hall were two rooms that opened onto a small courtyard, also with floor-to-ceiling windows. A well in the small courtyard provided drinking water. In the kitchen courtyard behind, there was another well, shared with the neighboring Anjie Bureau, used for daily washing.

To the west of the main hall was the women’s hall, painted in a dark purplish-red. Like the other courtyards, it also featured floor-to-ceiling windows, and the interior displayed calligraphy and paintings with couplets. There was also a well in the courtyard. The upstairs of the women’s hall was where Guo Jitang’s family lived. Further west of the women’s hall was where Guo Shaoyu’s parents (his father, Guo Luqing, who passed away in 1937 in Dongshan, a rural area of Suzhou, while fleeing the war, and his mother, Zhu Shufang, who died in the former residence in 1947) and his own family lived. His parents stayed on the ground floor, while he lived on the upper floor. The rooms also had floor-to-ceiling windows facing the courtyard, which contained a small flower stand. The back door in the northwest corner led through a small garden to Huzilane, where a date tree and some flowers and plants grew.

Guo Shaoyu (1893–1984), originally named Xi Fen and styled Shaoyu, was a native of Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. He was a Chinese linguist, literary scholar, and historian of literary criticism. Guo Shaoyu dedicated himself primarily to the study of classical Chinese literature, the history of Chinese literary criticism, Chinese linguistics, phonology, philology, and calligraphy theory. He authored works such as *A History of Chinese Literary Criticism*, *Annotations and Explanations of the Canglang Poetry Talks*, *Studies on Song Dynasty Poetry Talks*, and *Compilation of Lost Song Dynasty Poetry Talks*. Mr. Guo Shaoyu adopted the name “Zhao Yu Chamber” for his study. In his later years, he published collections including *Collected Essays on Classical Literature from the Zhao Yu Chamber*, *Collected Essays on Language and Writing from the Zhao Yu Chamber*, and *Zhao Yu Chamber…* More detailed information about Guo Shaoyu ++