Former Residence of Sun Yirang in Yanxia

Former Residence of Sun Yirang in Yanxia

The former residence of Sun Yirang in Yanxia is a cultural heritage site protected by Rui'an City.

The former residence of Sun Yirang in Yanxia is located in Yanxia Village, Pandai Subdistrict, Rui'an City. It was the birthplace and youthful home of Sun Yirang (1848–1908). The residence faces south and consists of an entrance gate, main building, side wings on the left and right, and a rear garden, covering a total area of about 3,700 square meters. There are two entrance gates—the front one slightly to the east and made of wood. Both gates lie along the central axis, each 4 meters wide and 4.5 meters high, built with brick in a flush-gable style, and bear a plaque inscribed with the characters “Tai Shi Di” (Residence of the Grand Historian).

The main building has nine bays, with a total width of 33.72 meters and a total depth of 13.95 meters. It features corridors with rolled-brim roofs at the front and back. The corridors use round columns, while the rest are square. The roof is of the flush-gable style, and the large wooden structural elements are robust and exquisitely crafted. The latticed doors and carved windows are finely decorated, and the beam lintels and spandrels are intricately carved.

In front of the main building is a large central courtyard, divided by a decorative wall into upper and lower sections, creating an open and imposing atmosphere. On either side of the end bays of the main building are east and west side wings. The western one is destroyed, while the eastern side wing has three bays, with a total width of 10.53 meters and a total depth of 7.95 meters. Its southern gable connects with the decorative wall, forming an inner courtyard.

Source: Wenzhou Museum

Sun Yirang (1848–1908), also known as Dehan, with the courtesy name Zhongrong and the pseudonym Zhougu, was a native of Zhejiang. He came from a scholarly family. A prodigy in his youth, he began studying the classics and history at age 13 and authored the book "Corrections to Surnames in the Guangyun" at that age. By 18, he had written "Supplements and Corrections to the Baihu Tong." He traveled with his father to the capital and regions such as Jianghuai, where he collected rare books, associated with eminent scholars, and greatly broadened his knowledge. In the sixth year of the Tongzhi reign (1867) during the Qing Dynasty, he passed the imperial provincial examination. After five unsuccessful attempts at the metropolitan examination, he abandoned ambitions for an official career and devoted himself to scholarship. He authored over 30 works covering a wide range of fields including classical studies, historiography, philosophy, philology, textual criticism, and collation… More details on Sun Yirang ++

Pandai Subdistrict: Located on the northern bank of the Feiyun River, Pandai Subdistrict borders Jinhu Subdistrict to the east and Tongpu Town to the west. It covers an administrative area of 28.9 square kilometers and governs 21 administrative villages. As of the end of 2015, the subdistrict had a registered population of 21,705, including 1,314 non-agricultural residents, and a resident population of 25,855, including about 7,000 migrant workers. The subdistrict has 49 Party branches, including 1 government organ branch, 21 village branches, 1 retired cadres branch, 1 economic and trade branch, 1 subdistrict health center branch, 2 school branches… More details on Pandai Subdistrict ++