Jiaye Hall Library and Xiaolian Manor

Jiaye Hall Library and Xiaolian Manor

Jiaye Hall Library and Xiaolian Manor are National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units and patriotic education bases.

Adjacent to Xiaolian Manor, Jiaye Hall Library derives its name from the “Qinruo Jiaye” (Admiring the Glorious Cause) nine-dragon golden plaque bestowed by the Qing Emperor Puyi. The library is grand in scale and abundant in book collections. Originally, the library and its garden were integrated, renowned for housing ancient texts. It stands as one of China’s most famous private libraries from the modern era and is a nationally protected key cultural relic.

After the liberation, the original owner of the library donated it to the Zhejiang Library. Today, the library serves both as a public library and a tourist attraction, welcoming readers and visitors alike.

Jiaye Hall Library is located by the Partridge Stream in Nanxun, facing Xiaolian Manor across the stream, connected by a small bridge. The library is nestled within the garden, with the garden surrounding the building and a pond within.

Following the lotus-shaped lotus pond, you will find rockeries piled with Taihu stones, shaped like the twelve zodiac animals. On either side of the pond stand the “Huanbi” (Washing Jade) and “Zhanghong” (Obstructing Red) pavilions, forming a triadic composition with the “Mingse” (Clear and Graceful) pavilion on the solitary island in the pond. To the southwest stands a “Xiaoshi” (Howling Stone”) over three meters tall with small holes that produce a tiger’s roar when blown into—it is one of Nanxun’s three famous odd rocks.

The founder of the library was Liu Chenggan, known as the “wealthy magnate of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.” Liu Chenggan, a late Qing scholar, was the grandson of Liu Yong. He named the library “Jiaye” (Glorious Cause) because during the late Qing Dynasty, he had donated a huge sum to support the renovation of Emperor Guangxu’s mausoleum, and the Xuantong Emperor had bestowed upon him the plaque inscribed with “Qinruo Jiaye.” Taking pride in this honor, he named the library after it.

The library is a two-story corridor-style building, consisting of seven rooms in two sections with wing rooms on both sides, totaling 52 book storerooms and a large central courtyard.

The library’s collection has two notable features: first, it emphasizes not only Song and Yuan editions but also focuses on those from the Ming and Qing dynasties; second, it extensively collects local gazetteers, with over 1,200 types. Among them, there are 62 rare editions that can be called “treasures hidden within the country.”

Liu Chenggan also gained fame nationwide for his block-printed books, having printed over 200 titles with more than 30,000 printing blocks. He printed many books that the Qing court had listed as — including such works as Anlong Yishi (The Unofficial History of Anlong) and Xianyu Xianxian Lu (Leisurely Records of a Leisurely Fisherman). Lu Xun mentioned in his essay “Random Talks After Illness”: “Only a silly young master like him would have these printed; thus, he is not entirely useless.”

Background Information:

Liu Chenggan (1881–1963), courtesy name Zhenyi, art name Han Yi, was a native of Nanxun and a late Qing scholar. His grandfather Liu Yong (1825–1889) became wealthy through the silk trade. However, he valued culture over wealth and strongly encouraged his descendants to study and pursue official careers. His father, Liu Jinyu (1862–1934), excelled in literature and history, achieved the jinshi degree in the 20th year of the Guangxu reign (1894), and authored works such as Xu Huangchao Wenxian Tongkao (Continuation of the Comprehensive Examination of Literature of Imperial Dynasties), Nanxun Beizhi (Records of Nanxun), and Jianpou’an Shiwencbao (Collected Poems and Essays of Jianpou’an).

Liu Chenggan, who came from a scholarly background, was immersed in poetry, literature, and art from childhood. In adulthood, he associated with famous archaeologists such as Wang Guowei and Luo Zhenyu, bibliographic scholars such as Ye Dehui and Miao Quansun, and developed a passion for appreciating ancient texts. He also inherited his father’s historical scholarship and the book-collecting legacy of his stepfather Liu Anlan (Liu Jinyu’s elder brother).

As early as before the Xinhai Revolution, Liu Chenggan began collecting books. Backed by his substantial financial resources and his obsessive love for books, he was willing to pay high prices. “Whenever a bookseller came with books, I never wanted to disappoint them; any book I didn’t yet possess, regardless of whether it was new or old, I bought.”

Hearing the news, booksellers traveled from far and wide. Within a few years, he spent nearly 300,000 yuan—“almost possessing the scale of ten thousand families”—and successively acquired collections from over ten families, including the Baoginglou of the Lu family in Yongdong, the Yingshan Caotang of the Mo family in Dushan, the Jieyilu of the Zhu family in Renhe, the Chijingzhai of the Ding family in Fengshun, and the Dongcang Shuku of the Miao family in Taicang. Thus, the Liu family’s collection almost epitomized the essence of book collections from Beijing, Yangzhou, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and other places, amassing 600,000 volumes totaling 160,000 books.

Nanxun Town: Nanxun is an economically developed and culturally prosperous ancient town in the Jiangnan region. Its geographical coordinates are 120°25’–120°26’ east longitude and 30°52’–30°53’20” north latitude. Located by Taihu Lake and bordering Suzhou, it serves as the eastern gateway for Huzhou connecting to Shanghai’s Pudong area. The Chang-Hu-Shen waterway and National Highway 318 run through the town, offering superior geographical conditions and convenient land and water transportation. The town covers a total area of 141.3 square kilometers, governs 51 administrative villages and 10 residential communities, with a total population of 116,000 and cultivated land area of 122,500 mu. In 2000... Detailed information about Nanxun Town++

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units