Former Residence of Yang Fang

Former Residence of Yang Fang

The Former Residence of Yang Fang is a Ningbo Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Former Residence of Yang Fang is located at No. 29 Yushi Street, Haishu District, and was built during the Qing Dynasty. It is a municipal-level cultural heritage site. Originally inhabited by the Qin family, the identity of the original owner remains unclear. Later, it was sold to Yang Fang, a Ningbo-born businessman who lived in Shanghai.

The entire residence comprises a gatehouse, sedan gate, ceremonial gate, main house, and left and right wing rooms. The main building faces south and is situated on a north-south axis, with the gatehouse facing east. It has a three-bay, flush-gable roof style, with horsehead-shaped gable walls adorned with decorative patterns. The central bay features a post-and-lintel structure, with carved beams, bracket arms (dou-gong) beneath the single-step cantilevered beams, and bracket figures (dou) supporting the eaves purlins beneath the front beam. The front ends of the beams are shaped like elephant trunks, while the stair corners are decorated with brick carvings. The square and basket-shaped column bases are exquisitely carved. The sedan hall has three bays and also features bracket figures supporting the eaves purlins. The ceremonial gate is made of plum rain stone and features a brick-carved “Phoenix Facing the Sun” design above the lintel, along with carved bracket sets. The main house is a three-bay, single-eave, flush-gable high-flat-roof structure adorned with Guanyin hoods. The central bay uses a post-and-lintel structure with seven ridge beams and large-sized materials. The left and right wing rooms are two-story buildings with five bays and two corridors, featuring a double-eave, flush-gable style. The gable walls have five horsehead-shaped ridges, and the front eave corridor is designed as a rolled shed. The carvings on the single-step cantilevered beams are also very elaborate.

The entire residence is well-preserved. It is not only an outstanding ancient building with distinctive features and relatively rare survival today but also the former home of a notable historical figure.

Yang Fang (?–1865) was an official of the Qing Dynasty, also known by his courtesy names Qitang and Qitan. He was from Yin County (now part of Ningbo), Zhejiang Province. In his early years, he worked as a clerk in a silk and cloth shop in Ningbo. Later, he attended a missionary school to study English. After reportedly accumulating debts, he wandered to Shanghai, where he became involved with foreign firms, eventually rising to become a comprador and profiting from the role. He opened the Taiji Money Shop outside the Dongmen Gate in Shanghai and was awarded the honorary title of Candidate Assistant Department Magistrate. He also served as a director of the Ningbo Siming Guild Hall.

With a fortune of over a million, he became a prominent figure in Shanghai. In September 1853 (the third year of the Xianfeng reign), when the Small Swords Society uprising forces occupied the county town of Shanghai and captured the Suzhou, Songjiang, and Taicang Dao Official Wu Jianzhang, Yang conspired with the American firm Russell & Co. to secretly rescue Wu from captivity... More details about Yang Fang ++