Former Residence of Zhang Hongzhao (Disan Ruithall in Digang)

Former Residence of Zhang Hongzhao (Disan Ruithall in Digang)

The Former Residence of Zhang Hongzhao (Disan Ruithall in Digang) is a cultural relic protection unit of Huzhou City.

The Sanrui Hall was built by the eighth branch of the Zhang family during the Qing Dynasty's Qianlong era. It is located southwest of the town of Digang, facing south with its back to the north, adjacent to the town river to the north, comprising 64 rooms with a total area of over 3,200 square meters.

The Zhang family were a scholarly and distinguished clan in Digang. Zhang Hongzhao (March 11, 1877 – September 6, 1951) was a famous geologist, the founder of Chinese geology, and a native of Disan Ruithall in Digang, Huzhou. His courtesy name was Yǎnqún, and his art names were Yǎncún and Àicún; he also used the pen name Bànpiào. As a child, he studied at the Jichuan Private School. At the age of 21, he traveled to Japan, graduated from the Department of Geology at Tokyo Imperial University, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree.

In September 1911, the Beijing Ministry of Education held an imperial examination for overseas students. He went to Beijing to take the test and achieved the highest score, earning the title of “Gezhi Ke Jinshi” (Imperial Scholar in Science). Zhang Hongzhao was the first Chinese person to teach geology at the Imperial University of Peking (now Peking University). In 1912, he served as the Chief of the Geological Section of the Mining Bureau under the Ministry of Industry of the Provisional Government of the Republic of China (Nanjing), and later became a Technical Specialist at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of the Beiyang Government. In 1913, China’s Geological Research Institute was officially established in Beijing, with Zhang Hongzhao appointed as its director. In 1916, he became the head of the Geological Division of the Geological Survey Bureau, engaging in comprehensive research on geology and mineral resources. In 1922, under his active advocacy, the Geological Society of China was established, and Zhang Hongzhao was elected as its first president. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in 1946, he was appointed as an advisor to the Geological Research Institute under the National Compilation Bureau in Nanjing; he compiled the Glossary of Petrology and the Collected Papers on Geology, and was awarded the prestigious Gold Plum Award by the Geological Society of China. In September 1949, Zhang Hongzhao became an advisor to the Geological Research Institute under the Department of Finance and Economics of Zhejiang Province. On June 12, 1950, he was appointed as a specialist member by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. On August 25, 1950, the China Geological Work Planning Advisory Committee was established, with Li Siguang as its director. Premier Zhou Enlai appointed Zhang Hongzhao as an advisor to the committee. In 1969, Li Siguang recommended Zhang Hongzhao’s book The Elegance of Stones (Shi Ya) to Chairman Mao Zedong for reference. The British Library included Zhang Hongzhao’s work The Elegance of Stones in its archives. Zhang Hongzhao was a renowned Chinese geologist, geological educator, and expert in the history of geological science. He was one of the founders of modern geology in China. He trained China’s first generation of geologists, studied ancient Chinese texts from the perspective of modern geological science regarding paleontology, minerals, rocks, and geological resources, and authored 32 major works including Sanling Jie (Explanation of the Three Spirits), Shi Ya (The Elegance of Stones), Gu Kuang Lu (Records of Ancient Mines), Liu Liu Zi Shu (Sixty-Six Autobiographical Accounts), and Bao Shi Shuo (On Gems), pioneering the study of the history of geological science in China. He passed away in Nanjing on September 6, 1951, due to liver cancer. To commemorate the Chinese geologist Zhang Hongzhao, a newly discovered boron-magnesium salt mineral (MgO·2B₂O₃·9H₂O) found in 1957 at Lake Da Qaidam was named Hungchsaoite (also translatable as Hongzhaoite). Hungchsaoite is also the first mineral resource in the world to be named after a Chinese person. At Zhang Hongzhao’s memorial service held by the Geological Society of China in 1951, Li Siguang said: “Mr. Zhang was a man of integrity and principle, never compromising with evil forces. He stood with the Chinese people and repeatedly refused to collaborate with the Japanese. His contributions to the establishment of China’s geological industry were especially significant. Therefore, the founder of China’s geological industry is none other than Mr. Zhang.” The four great figures Zhang Hongzhao, Weng Wenhao, Ding Wenjiang, and Li Siguang are known as the four founding fathers of Chinese geological science.

Zhang Hongzhao (1877–1951), courtesy name Yǎnqún, art names Yǎncún and Àicún, pen name Bànpiào, was a native of Digang, Wuxing (now Huzhou). In the 24th year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty (1898), he passed the imperial examination for Xiucai (a scholar). In the 27th year, he studied at the Anding Academy and Aishan Academy in Huzhou. In the late autumn of that year, he ranked first in the entrance exam for the Dongwen Academy of Nanyang Public School in Shanghai. In the 30th year, he went to Japan to study, enrolling in the Science Department of the Third Higher School in Kyoto. After graduating in the 34th year, he entered the Department of Geology at the Faculty of Science, Tokyo Imperial University. In the 3rd year of the Xuantong reign (1911), he graduated in June with a Bachelor of Science degree. After returning to China, he was hired by … [More details about Zhang Hongzhao]++