Former Residence of Chen Duansheng

Former Residence of Chen Duansheng

Opposite the main entrance of "Orioles Singing in the Willows," one of the Ten Scenes of West Lake, stands a courtyard enclosed by tall stone walls. The gate bears the bold inscription "Goushan Qiaoshe."

Inside the courtyard, there is a small hill known as Goushan—likely the source of the courtyard's name. This tranquil courtyard was once the former residence of Chen Duansheng, a female poet of the Qing Dynasty.

Chen Duansheng may not be a widely recognized name, but her work *Renewed Fate* is well known among scholars and literary enthusiasts. *Renewed Fate* is a romantic long-form narrative poem, a storytelling verse that holds a significant place in the history of Chinese literature and art.

In the 16th year of the Qianlong reign during the Qing Dynasty (1751 AD), Chen Duansheng was born into an official family in Qiantang, Zhejiang (modern-day Hangzhou). Her grandfather, Chen Zhaolun, was a high-ranking official and also a literary figure; her parents were also skilled in poetry and prose. As a result, Chen Duansheng developed a love for literature from a young age. Blessed with intelligence and a strong desire to learn, poetic lines flowed effortlessly from her. She was regarded as a prodigy from childhood.

In the autumn of 1768, the sunlight filtered through the treetops and cast slanted rays onto Goushan. The surface of West Lake was still, without a ripple, and no cooking smoke rose from lakeside homes. Sitting at the stone desk by the window, Chen Duansheng began writing the seven-character regulated verse *Renewed Fate*. That year, at just 18 years old, she completed the first three volumes of the work.

By the autumn of the following year, she had finished volumes four through sixteen. However, misfortunes and upheavals in her family dealt a heavy blow to the youthful and talented Chen Duansheng. First, her mother passed away, then came the devastating news of her grandfather’s death. At the age of 29, her husband Fan Qiutang was caught cheating in the imperial examination and was exiled to Ili, Xinjiang. The accumulated grief, sorrow, and longing for loved ones forced her to halt the writing of *Renewed Fate*.

In 1784, the 49th year of the Qianlong reign, after repeated urging from relatives and friends, Chen Duansheng painfully picked up her pen again. She spent a year completing volume seventeen. Afterward, her father passed away, and her daughter died in infancy. Heartbroken and impoverished, the middle-aged Chen Duansheng fell seriously ill.

In the winter of 1796, the first year of the Jiaqing reign, a heavy snow blanketed West Lake, suddenly rendering everything eerily silent. A talented woman from the south, enduring the torment of illness, with tears and helplessness in her eyes, took her brilliance and spirit with her, leaving behind the unfinished *Renewed Fate*, and passed away.

Chen Duansheng, only 46 years old, was gone forever. Who would continue *Renewed Fate*? It seemed this sorrowful storytelling verse was destined to remain an incomplete love story—an eternal regret that Chen Duansheng’s brief and tragic life seemed fated to leave behind.

As a romantic long-form narrative poem, Chen Duansheng wrote the first seventeen volumes of *Renewed Fate*. Fortunately, female writer Liang Desheng (1771–1847, courtesy name Chusheng, from Qiantang, Zhejiang) continued with volumes eighteen to twenty, bringing *Renewed Fate* to a close.

In 1961, Mr. Guo Moruo visited Goushan Qiaoshe at West Lake and composed a poem expressing his feelings: “The orioles have returned, leaving the willows of the lake; wild geese pass, outshining the pine winds. Goushan Qiaoshe remains, but the lady cannot be met.” In the 1960s, Guo Moruo proofread *Renewed Fate*. For unknown reasons, the proofread edition remained unpublished for 40 years. On the eve of Guo Moruo’s 110th birth anniversary, the Beijing Ancient Books Publishing House finally brought this buried masterpiece to light.

And “Goushan Qiaoshe,” this rustic and weathered walled courtyard, still stands silently within the rich cultural ambiance of West Lake.