Former Residence of Sun Chuanzhe

Former Residence of Sun Chuanzhe

The former residence of Sun Chuanzhe is a cultural heritage site protected by Haishu District.

The former residence of Sun Chuanzhe, a Qing Dynasty building, originally had a second structure that served as a library named “Woji Lodge,” one of the few private libraries in Ningbo. Descendants of the Sun family donated the collection to the Tianyi Pavilion and Ningbo University. Sun Chuanzhe (1915–1995) was a renowned master of stamp design in China. In 1980, during the national selection of the best stamps from the first 30 years of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, one-third of the selected works were designed by him. He also attended the World Stamp Exhibition in Vienna and was awarded an honorary certificate by the organizing committee.

The former residence of Sun Chuanzhe is located on Taqian Street, south of Ningbo's Tianfeng Pagoda. In 2001, it was designated as a district-level cultural heritage site by the Haishu District People’s Government. Three generations of the Sun family lived in this residence, each making their mark on society. Sun Jiagui, styled Xiangxiong and also known as the Master of Woji Lodge, had a passion for collecting books. Amid the chaos of the 20th century, he went to great lengths to rescue rare editions that were on the verge of being lost, including texts scattered from libraries such as the Tianyi Pavilion, the Lu Family’s Baojinglou, and the Xu Family’s Yanyulou. Notable titles included the Yuan Dynasty edition of the Book of Sui, the Complete Works of Fan Zhongyan, Ming Dynasty editions of the Collection of Cai Zhonglang, and handwritten Ming copies of the Four-Six Collected Pearls of Famous Scholars of the Glorious Song, totaling about 447 titles and roughly 20,000 volumes—half of which were precious rare editions. For books he couldn’t purchase, he copied them by hand. After Sun Jiagui’s passing, his eldest son, Sun Dingguan, carried on the legacy. The book-collecting endeavors of the Sun father and son made a significant contribution to preserving China’s valuable cultural heritage. Sun Chuanzhe (1915–1995), son of Sun Dingguan, was a celebrated master of stamp design. Over his more than 40 years in stamp design, he created or co-designed 153 sets of stamps, earning the title of China’s foremost stamp designer of the new era. After the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, he took part in designing the country’s first set of commemorative stamps, first set of special stamps, first set of definitive stamps, first set of airmail stamps, and first set of postage due stamps. Among the 30 best stamps from the first 30 years of the PRC selected in 1980, over one-third were designed by him, including stamps such as the Founding of the Nation Commemorative Stamp, the Mei Lanfang Stage Art Stamp, the Ancient Chinese Scientists (Sets 1 & 2), the Yellow Mountain Scenery, the Taiwan Scenery, the Goldfish, the Panda, and the Golden Snub-nosed Monkey stamps. These were not only highly acclaimed in China’s philatelic circles but also beloved by collectors abroad. The former residence of Sun Chuanzhe produced not only two outstanding bibliophiles but also a master stamp designer.

Sun Chuanzhe (1915–1995) was a renowned master of stamp design in China and the first stamp designer of the People’s Republic of China. He once served as director of the Stamp Design Office at the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications’ Stamp Issuance Bureau and as a senior designer. His stamp designs, such as the Founding of the People’s Republic of China Commemorative Stamp, the Mei Lanfang Stage Art Stamp, the Yellow Mountain Stamp, and the Goldfish Stamp, won awards in national competitions.

Sun Chuanzhe was born in 1916 in Ningbo, Zhejiang. The picturesque scenery of his hometown endowed him with an eye for beauty from an early age. His father was a bibliophile and skilled in calligraphy and painting. Influenced by his father, Sun Chuanzhe developed an early... Sun Chuanzhe – More Details ++