Gui Zhai

Gui Zhai

Gui Zhai is a cultural heritage site protected by Fuzhou City.

Gui Zhai is located to the northwest of the Lotus Pavilion, on the former site of the old Huanghua Pavilion.

The newly built "Gui Zhai" consists of a front and rear courtyard. The north courtyard houses the main hall of Gui Zhai and the "Study Room of Lin WenZhonggong (Lin Zexu)," with a covered walkway and a stele pavilion on the west side of the courtyard. The south courtyard features an artificial hill and a fishpond, along with a hexagonal pavilion and a stone arched bridge.

To the east outside the courtyard of Gui Zhai stands the Anti-Opium Pavilion, built in June of the 18th year of the Republic of China (1929 AD). It has a square floor plan with square concrete pillars at the four corners, a Western-style corbel cornice, and a pyramidal roof. It is the only building remaining from before 1949.

In the 9th year of the Qing Dynasty's Daoguang reign (1829 AD), Cheng Hanzhang, the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Fujian, saw that the former Li Gang Ancestral Hall on Ping Mountain was in a state of disrepair and was "deeply grieved in his heart." He thus raised funds to rebuild it. At that time, Lin Zexu was observing the traditional mourning period at home after the death of his father and was entrusted with overseeing the dredging project of West Lake. After discussing with Lin Zexu, Cheng Hanzhang selected the former site of the Lotus Pavilion at West Lake to construct a new Ancestral Hall for Li Zhongdinggong (Li Gang), and attached a "Gui Zhai" to commemorate Li Gang’s study place. After completion, there remained an inscription titled "Record of the Construction of the Song Dynasty Li Zhongdinggong Ancestral Hall," drafted by Cheng Hanzhang and handwritten by Lin Zexu. "Gui Zhai" served as the parlor of the Li Zhongdinggong Ancestral Hall, named after the residence where Li Gang spent his later years, and two osmanthus trees were planted there.

Lin Zexu once told his relatives and close friends: “I do not seek to have a memorial hall built for me after my death, but it would be enough to be enshrined alongside Li Zhongdinggong in his ancestral hall.” In the 30th year of the Daoguang reign (1850 AD), Lin Zexu passed away. The following year, local residents enshrined his portrait in Gui Zhai.

In the 31st year of the Guangxu reign (1905 AD), the Lin WenZhonggong Ancestral Hall on Macau Road was completed, and this site was then renamed the "Study Room of Lin WenZhonggong," with a seal script stone engraving embedded in the wall.

In the 18th year of the Republic of China (1929 AD), a room and the Anti-Opium Pavilion were added next to Gui Zhai.

After 1949, especially during the Cultural Revolution period, the Li Zhongdinggong Ancestral Hall and Gui Zhai were destroyed.

In 1961, it was designated as one of the first batch of municipal-level cultural heritage protection units in Fuzhou City.