Former Residence of Zhao Shuru

Former Residence of Zhao Shuru

The former residence of Zhao Shuru is a cultural tourism attraction.

The former residence of Zhao Shuru is located at Nos. 1, 2, and 3, Baoxing Lane, Haishu District, Ningbo. In December 2010, it was designated as one of the third batch of district-level cultural heritage protection sites in Haishu District.

This residence was built by Zhao Youchen, a Hanlin academician of the Xianfeng era in the Qing Dynasty (father of Zhao Shuru), with the main structure facing east and situated to the west. Zhao Shuru, a native of Cicheng, in his later years acquired two crossbow mechanisms from the Yanxi period of the Eastern Han Dynasty, after which he styled himself “Erlu Laoren” (the Old Man of Two Crossbows), and named his study “Erlu Jing She” (Refined Studio of Two Crossbows). He was a scholar in the late Qing Dynasty, once served as Tongzhi in Fujian, and in 1911, settled in Tilanqiao, Shanghai. Zhao was also an outstanding educator in epigraphy, calligraphy, and painting, having trained renowned masters such as Sha Menghai, Fang Jiekǎn, Chen Julai, and Xu Bangda. His disciples were said to number seventy-two. It is documented that after settling in Shanghai, Zhao sold the front section of the residence to Feng Mengxuan, a renowned bibliophile from eastern Zhejiang, who used it as the Fufu Chamber library.

Source: Haishu District Cultural Relics Management Office