Former Residence of Hu Shi

Former Residence of Hu Shi

The former residence of Hu Shi is a cultural relic protection unit of Anhui Province.

The former residence of Hu Shi is located in Shangzhuang Village. It was built in the 23rd year of the Guangxu reign during the Qing Dynasty (1897). The structure is a two-courtyard, one-story, interconnected design constructed by Hu Tiehua, the father of Mr. Hu Shi. The main house faces south and features a brick-and-wood structure with two courtyards, three rooms, two side wings, and a “revolving” corridor-style upper floor. It covers an area of 208 square meters, with a construction area of 350 square meters. The facade has a two-pillar, single-door, one-story style, inlaid with brick carvings among other decorations.

The front courtyard includes a skywell, with side rooms on both sides. The upper floor is a “revolving corridor,” while the lower floor serves as the main hall. The rear courtyard is an inner garden, with finely carved lattice partitions and panels. A pair of lotus fairy figures on the beam brackets are vividly sculpted, and the doors and windows are adorned with orchid carvings made by Hu Guobin, a master mold-maker from the Hu Kaiwen Ink Shop. These elements reflect Hu Shi’s deep nostalgia expressed in his verse “I come from the mountains, bringing orchids with me,” as well as his distinctive style. This section has been converted into a nunnery.

A black plaques with gold characters, personally inscribed by the renowned Chinese calligrapher Sha Menghai, reading “Former Residence of Hu Shi,” hang both above the main gate and inside the central hall—one vertical, one horizontal. The interior of the hall remains furnished as it was originally. Below the black plaque with gold characters reading “Former Residence of Hu Shi” above the entrance hangs a mid-life portrait of Hu Shi, flanked by a couplet: “Traveled ten thousand miles across half the world, with eyes higher than the seas, none can rival.” Tea tables and armchairs are arranged on the east and west sides, and charts of Hu Shi’s immediate family members are displayed on the walls.

The room where Mr. Hu Shi got married is located in the western part. It was the bridal chamber of Hu Shi and Jiang Dongxiu, furnished with a wooden bed, table, chairs, cabinet, and stools. Notably, there is an exquisitely decorated “moon palace bed” with vermilion lacquer and gold inlay, in a luxurious and elegant style, featuring intricate Huizhou-style carvings of operatic scenes and flowers and birds. Above the headboard is a small red lacquered box inscribed with the characters “Imperial Decree,” which is a keepsake of Hu Shi’s father, Hu Tiehua. To the right of the bed also hangs a seven-star sword that Hu Tiehua once wore.

The front side room was where Hu Shi studied as a child. The eastern room along with the side room was used by Hu Jue (Hu Shi’s second elder brother). The main hall and adjacent rooms display manuscripts handwritten by Hu Shi’s family, some of his publications, the Hu family genealogy, calligraphy and paintings gifted by prominent individuals from China and abroad, poetry, and a “family portrait” of the Hu family. The rear hall is relatively shallow in depth, with a portrait of Hu Shi’s father, Tiehua, hanging at the front. On the east side is a photo of Hu Shi’s birth mother, Feng Shundi. A large plaque with gold characters on a red background is hung above, inscribed with the four characters “Upholding Integrity and Demonstrating Authority,” written by Cheng Dongping, a local scholar, and inscribed as a gift from Zhu Yayun, the then Magistrate of Jixi County, in the 31st year of the Republic of China. Twelve floor-length lattice doors in the residence feature engraved orchids, and four window lattice panels are carved with floral designs and inscriptions, all crafted by the master mold-maker Hu Guobin.

The residence also displays photographs of Hu Shi from various periods, a vertical scroll calligraphy by Hu Shi of Fan Zhen’s “On the Destructibility of the Soul,” a hat stand gifted to Hu Tiehua by Zhang Zhidong, Hu Tiehua’s seven-star sword, the imperial decree box, and a conch shell brought back from Taiwan. The side rooms display Hu Shi’s family letters, as well as many calligraphies and paintings gifted by modern celebrities.

Passing through the main hall leads to the rear hall, separated by a small skywell. A large red plaque with gold characters is hung in the small hall, inscribed with the four characters “Upholding Integrity and Demonstrating Authority.” It was a gift from the Nationalist Government when Hu Shi served as the Chinese Ambassador to the United States.

Hu Shi (December 17, 1891 – February 24, 1962), of Han ethnicity, was from Shangzhuang Village, Jixi, Anhui. He was a renowned modern scholar, poet, historian, litterateur, and philosopher. As an advocate for literary reform, he became one of the leaders of the New Culture Movement. His original name was Simai, his formal name Hongxing, courtesy name Xijiang, later changed to Hu Shi, with the courtesy name Shizhi. His courtesy and pen names, Shizhi and Shizhi, were derived from the then-popular Darwinian theory of “survival of the fittest.”

Hu Shi began his education at the age of five and received nine years of private schooling in his hometown of Jixi, laying the foundation... More detailed information about Hu Shi++