Former Residence of Shao Quanlin

Former Residence of Shao Quanlin

The former residence of Shao Quanlin is a cultural heritage site protected by Jiangbei District.

Shao Quanlin (1906–1971) was a proletarian literary theorist and writer in China. His original name was Shao Junyuan, and he also used the name Shao Yimin. His pen names included Lifu and Qiruo. In January 1926, he joined the Communist Youth League at Fudan University in Shanghai, and in March of the same year, he became a member of the Communist Party of China, serving as the secretary of the Communist Youth League’s Jiangwan-Wusong District Committee in Shanghai. In January 1927, he became the organizational minister of the Communist Youth League’s Hangzhou Local Committee, participated in the third armed uprising of Shanghai workers, and after the “April 12 Incident,” he served as a standing committee member of the Communist Youth League’s Jiangsu Provincial Committee. In January 1928, he became the secretary of the Communist Youth League’s Zhejiang Provincial Committee and a standing committee member of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China. With the care and help of Zhou Enlai, in 1934, he served as the propaganda minister of the Anti-Imperialist and Anti-War Alliance. Around 1936, under the guidance of Lu Xun, he began engaging in the literary movement, dedicating himself to revolutionary literary writing and translation. During the War of Resistance against Japan, he served as the secretary of the Southeast Cultural Committee under the leadership of the East China Bureau. After the Southern Anhui Incident, following the Party’s instructions, he went to Guilin in the Kuomintang-controlled area to serve as the head of the Party’s cultural work group. In January 1944, he accompanied Dong Biwu to Wuhan to organize the united front in the central-southern region. In June, he was dispatched by Zhou Enlai to Hong Kong to participate in the cultural committee work of the Hong Kong Working Committee, serving as the deputy secretary of the Working Committee and the secretary of the Cultural Committee.

After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Shao Quanlin devoted most of his energy to leading cultural work. He engaged in a head-on struggle against the ultra-leftist views of Zhang Chunqiao and Yao Wenyuan, upholding and defending the Party’s literary and artistic policies and guidelines. During the Cultural Revolution, Shao Quanlin was brutally persecuted by Lin Biao and the “Gang of Four,” and he died in prison on June 10, 1971, as a result of injustice and illness.

Shao Quanlin wrote nearly one million words of literary theory articles, forming an indispensable and important part of the treasure trove of Chinese people's literature and art.

The former residence of Shao Quanlin is located at Shao Family Grand House in Shaocun Village, Zhuangqiao East. The entire architectural complex of Shao Family Grand House consists of three axes. Built in the late Qing Dynasty, it features a central gate, wing rooms on both sides, and soaring horse-head walls, with a relatively large front courtyard. The central axis includes structures such as the gate, the front hall, and the rear hall. The gate is a single-eave flush-gable style, with three bays and finely carved beams adorned with painted designs, serving as the ancestral shrine of the Shao family. Shao Quanlin spent his childhood in the right wing room near the front hall.