Shaoxing Shiyeh (Private Secretaries) Museum

Shaoxing Shiyeh Museum

During China’s Ming and Qing dynasties, a group of individuals known as “shiyeh” (private secretaries) played active roles on the political stage. Shaoxing was the birthplace of the most shiyeh, and Anchang was where they gathered in great numbers.

The Shiyeh Museum is located in the former residence of Shiyeh Lou Xintian and displays this unique social group and political-cultural phenomenon from China’s late feudal society, along with its deep roots in Anchang. It introduces the types of shiyeh, their work, lives, an overview of their apprenticeships, biographies of famous shiyeh, anecdotes about them, and their professional ethics. Exhibits include the shiyeh’s reference books, works, and manuscripts—many of which are rare treasures.

Anchang is the birthplace of the Shaoxing shiyeh. In the late Qing Dynasty alone, over 30 shiyeh came from here. The ancient town built the “Shiyeh Museum” in the former residence of late Qing shiyeh Lou Xintian. The residence is built along the river and is a typical Shaoxing-style black-lacquered gatehouse. The entrance is simple, the courtyard is deep, and the building has four sections in total, surrounded by high walls and latticed windows. The front hall is called “Sigan Hall,” and in front of it stands a 2-meter-tall bronze statue of a Shaoxing shiyeh. He wears a skullcap, a long gown with a mandarin jacket, and holds a folding fan, looking as if he is striding forward with his head held high—symbolizing how shiyeh were always on the move for a living. Two pieces of furniture are prominently displayed in the Shiyeh Museum: one is a grand chair that resembles a scholar’s hat missing its wings—an example of Ming-style seating.

It is said that those who became shiyeh were usually talented individuals who failed imperial exams. Unable to wear the scholar’s hat themselves, they sat on a chair shaped like one—reflecting both the literati temperament and the mindset of shiyeh, who were officials without formal rank. The second item is a writing desk with a copper sheet covering the keyhole of the drawer. When you unlock the drawer with a key and pull it out two-thirds of the way to the partition, it seems you’ve reached the end—but if you pull further, there’s another hidden inner drawer that can hold valuable items concealed beneath a cover. This also reflects the shiyeh’s nature of working behind the scenes and being calculating. In the front hall of the Shiyeh Museum, the east room is the exhibition space for criminal law shiyeh. A model titled “Listening to Trials from Behind the Screen” is exquisitely detailed. In the rustic county government hall, the magistrate is presiding over a trial, with plaintiffs and defendants kneeling below, and attendants standing on both sides. Interestingly, a criminal law shiyeh is listening to the trial from behind a screen. If he spots any legal loophole in the magistrate’s proceedings, he can pass a note to the front to assist in the case. Such shiyeh, who “hold the name of judgment for the official but do the real judging behind the scenes,” are the criminal law shiyeh of the county office.

Next, we take a closer look at the front and back halls. It turns out that among Shaoxing shiyeh, besides the criminal law shiyeh, there were also finance and taxation shiyeh (known as qiangu shiyeh), who helped manage fiscal matters; secretarial shiyeh (known as shuqi shiyeh), responsible for drafting official documents and handling official correspondence; and tax audit shiyeh (known as zhengbi shiyeh), tasked with inspecting and assessing taxes. There were also accounting shiyeh (known as zhangfang shiyeh), who managed the cash flow within the office, and filing shiyeh (known as guaha shiyeh), who handled the distribution of various documents and arranged official engagements. According to Qing Dynasty regulations, shiyeh had to avoid serving in their home prefectures and usually worked in other provinces or regions. Many shiyeh had to leave their families behind while working away from home. The annual salary for criminal law and finance shiyeh was around 1,000 taels of silver, while others earned only about 100 taels—barely enough. The simple single beds, rattan baskets, and palm-leaf trunks used by the shiyeh in the museum highlight the modest life of shiyeh in their offices. The Shiyeh Museum also displays portraits, biographies, and related artifacts of ten renowned Shaoxing shiyeh from Anchang. These include legal texts such as "Xiyuanlu" (Records of Washing Away Wrongs), "Da Qing Lüli" (The Great Qing Legal Code), and "Liubu Xuan Chidu" (Letters from the Six Ministries), all crucial to case judgments during the Ming and Qing dynasties. There are also original handwritten manuscripts in tiny, precise calligraphy left behind by the shiyeh, covering aspects such as “Notifications to Officials and Civilians,” “Managing Finance,” “Handling Criminal Cases,” “Official Documents,” “Official Interactions,” and “Dreams of Officialdom”—demonstrating the diligence and governance skills of the Shaoxing shiyeh.

Visiting the Anchang “Shiyeh Museum” offers some insight into the unique political and cultural phenomenon of the Shaoxing shiyeh—a special group of literati in the late feudal Chinese bureaucracy that lasted for three to four hundred years.

Address: Anchang Town, Keqiao District, Shaoxing City

Type: Museum

Recommended Visit Duration: About 1 hour

Ticket Information:

10 RMB. Admission to Anchang Ancient Town is free (parking costs 10 RMB per time, but you can park for free in a nearby residential area).

If you’re only visiting the ancient town, no ticket is required. However, there are six exhibition halls inside (Shiyeh Museum, Stone Carving Museum, Former Site of Bank of China, Cultural Center, Folk Custom Museum, and Suikang Money Shop), and a combined ticket costs 50 RMB.