Iron Qin and Bronze Sword Tower

Iron Qin and Bronze Sword Tower

The Iron Qin and Bronze Sword Tower is a Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Unit.

Located in Guli Town in the eastern part of Changshu, this tower is a renowned library both at home and abroad. Initially named “?? Yuzhai,” it was later renamed after the Qing Emperor Guangxu’s name was avoided for taboos and due to the acquisition of an iron qin (a musical instrument) and a bronze sword, two ancient relics.

The existing structure is a two-courtyard, two-story building and is a municipal-level cultural relic protection unit. It was the residence of Qu Shaoji, a local gentry during the Jiaqing and Daoguang reigns of the Qing Dynasty. Qu and his son Qu Yong were avid book collectors. They spared no expense or effort in gathering precious ancient books, which they stored in the study, hence constructing this tower.

The Qu family’s collection was passed down through five generations, amassing over 100,000 volumes of rare manuscripts and fine editions. It was renowned alongside the “Haiyuan Pavilion” of the Yang family from Liaocheng, the “? Song Tower” of the Lu family from Guian, and the “Eight Thousand Volume Tower” of the Ding family from Qiantang, collectively known as the Four Great Book Collections of the Qing Dynasty. After the liberation, their descendants fulfilled the family's long-held wish by donating all the ancient books to the state.

Guli Town: Guli Town is a National Historic Town and a National Sanitary Town, located in the eastern suburbs of Changshu. It enjoys a prominent geographical location—just 5 km from downtown Changshu, with National Highway 204 running through it. It lies 89 km from Shanghai to the east, 48 km from Suzhou to the south, 54 km from Wuxi to the west, and borders the Yangtze River to the north. It is also 10 km from Changshu Port and the planned Sutong Bridge. The Suzhou–Jiaxing–Hangzhou Expressway’s Changshu East Interchange, currently under construction, is located in Guli. The Qingdun Pond and Bai'mao Pond waterways run across the town, making transportation by land and water extremely convenient.

On February 10, 2003, Guli Town and Miaquan Town were merged... More details about Guli Town++

Further reading:

· Sixth Batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units