Qiushui Villa

Qiushui Villa

Qiushui Villa

Qiushui Villa is a Jiangnan-style courtyard building constructed in the 1930s by Shi Liangcai, a media tycoon of China and the owner of Shanghai’s Shen Bao newspaper, who named it after his beloved wife, Shen Qiushui. Covering an area of about 200 square meters, the villa is surrounded by gardens and enclosed by walls and an iron gate along Beishan Road. It is now part of the Xinxin Hotel.

Qiushui Villa, the villa of Qiushui. Qiushui, originally named Shen Huizhi, was once a young courtesan on the Shanghai scene during the late Qing Dynasty. As an adult, she was bought out by a royal prince with a hefty sum and taken to the capital. A few years later, the prince passed away, so she took some valuables and returned to Shanghai. It is said that upon arriving in Shanghai, she went straight to the home of an old friend. Delighted to see her, the friend immediately took her out for a meal, handing her belongings to another guest present to watch over. When they returned late at night, the friend was still sitting alone, guarding the items. That’s how Qiushui met that friend—Shi Liangcai—and began the love, hate, and drama of the rest of her life.

Qiushui was skilled at playing the zither and composing music. She and Shi Liangcai shared a deep bond, appreciating each other's talents like kindred spirits. Shi Liangcai renamed her Qiushui. After giving herself to him, she became his second wife and entrusted all her belongings to him. With these resources, Shi Liangcai acquired Shen Bao and News Report, quickly rising to become a titan of Shanghai’s press world. But Qiushui’s happiness did not last long. Shi Liangcai took a mistress—a talented woman who also contributed to his career and bore him a daughter. Speaking of Shi Liangcai, the man was truly fortunate, having encountered three women who helped shape his success: first, his principal wife, also an educated woman who helped establish the Shanghai Women’s Silkworm and Mulberry School, launching his career and bearing him a son; second, Shen Qiushui; and third, his later mistress. Among the three, only Shen Qiushui had no children, giving everything she had to Shi Liangcai and depending on him entirely. When she learned of his mistress, her loneliness and sorrow must have been indescribable. Perhaps feeling he had treated Qiushui unfairly, Shi Liangcai built her a villa at the foot of Geling Mountain by West Lake in Hangzhou and personally inscribed the plaque with “Qiushui Villa.”

Women are often the most foolish and the easiest to move. When Qiushui arrived at West Lake and saw Qiushui Villa, all her grievances and resentment seemed to dissolve into the lake. Later, she often stayed at Qiushui Villa. Perhaps only there could she forget her troubles and truly be the graceful lady by the water.

In 1934, on the way back to Shanghai from Hangzhou with Qiushui, Shi Liangcai was assassinated by secret agents. Qiushui witnessed her beloved die by her side. It is said that at Shi Liangcai’s memorial, Qiushui, dressed in mourning white and looking haggard, held his favorite seven-stringed zither and played "Guangling San." As the music neared its end, the playing suddenly grew fierce—“snap”—a string broke. Qiushui picked up the zither and walked to the brazier, casting it into the flames. "Guangling San" was lost forever, and the kindred spirit was gone too.

Later, Qiushui left Qiushui Villa and the Shi family, living alone as she chanted sutras and burned incense, spending the rest of her days in solitude. Qiushui Villa was later turned into a maternity and children’s hospital, then nationalized after liberation and became a branch of the Xinxin Hotel.

Qiushui, originally named Shen Huizhi, was once a young courtesan on the Shanghai scene during the late Qing Dynasty. As an adult, she was bought out by a royal prince with a hefty sum and taken to the capital. A few years later, the prince passed away, so she took some valuables and returned to Shanghai. It is said that upon arriving in Shanghai, she went straight to the home of an old friend. Delighted to see her, the friend immediately took her out for a meal, handing her belongings to another guest present to watch over. When they returned late at night, the friend was still sitting alone, guarding the items. That’s how Qiushui met that friend—Shi Liangcai—and began the love, hate, and drama of the rest of her life.

… More details about Shen Qiushui ++

Shi Liangcai (1880–1934), originally named Jiaxiu, was from Jiangning County. He was a newspaper capitalist.

In the 27th year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty (1901), he entered the Hangzhou Sericulture Academy. After graduation, he taught successively at Shanghai’s Wang Family Yucai School, the Ordnance School, Wuben Girls’ School, and Nanyang Middle School. In the 30th year of Guangxu, he founded the Girls’ Sericulture School in Shanghai, which gained attention from Shanghai’s business and educational circles. The following year, he joined a scholar group organized by the Shanghai academic community and co-founded the Jiangsu Education Association with Huang Yanpei and others.

In the 33rd year of Guangxu, he participated in a movement by gentry and merchants from two provinces to reject foreign loans and protect railway rights, and was elected as representative of Jiangsu... More details about Shi Liangcai ++