Former Residence of Guo Moruo at Wuhan University

Former Residence of Guo Moruo at Wuhan University

In Wuhan, there are several places where the renowned scholar and poet Guo Moruo once lived. On Luojia Mountain at Wuhan University stands the national key cultural relics protection unit — the Former Residence of Guo Moruo, located in the area commonly known as Wuhan University’s “Eighteen Cottages” historic villa district. Nowadays, a few lines of text are inscribed on the wall inside the gateway arch: “From April to August 1938, Comrade Guo Moruo resided here.”

In 1938, Wuhan became the national center of resistance against Japan. That April, Wuhan University relocated westward, and the headquarters of the Nationalist Government’s Military Training Corps was established here. The cluster of old villas on this mountain, originally known as the 18 Cottages, became the official residences for the corps. Thanks to the efforts of Fan Shoukang, head of the Seventh Division of the Political Department and a former professor at Wuhan University, Guo Moruo, who was in charge of wartime propaganda as head of the Third Department, managed to secure the residence of Professor Zhang Youtong.

From April to August 1938, although Guo Moruo only stayed at Wuhan University for four months amid the turmoil of war, the university’s beautiful scenery, his work during that period, his happy life with his wife Yu Liqun, and the neighbors around him left him with the most satisfying memories of any place he had ever lived: “With such lake views and such wonderful neighbors, I’ve stayed in many places in my life, but I must say this comes closest to my ideal.” Thus, he also praised Wuhan University as an “earthly paradise” among the Three Towns of Wuhan.

Guo Moruo (1892–1978). Born on November 16, 1892, in Shawan, Tonghe, Leshan, Sichuan Province, he graduated from Kyushu Imperial University in Japan and was a modern literary figure, historian, and one of the founders of modern Chinese poetry.

In 1914, Guo Moruo went to study medicine at Kyushu Imperial University in Japan. In 1921, he published his first collection of new poetry, Goddess. In 1930, he wrote Research on Ancient Chinese Society. In 1949, Guo Moruo was elected Chairman of the All-China Federation of Literary and Art Circles.

He once served as… More details about Guo Moruo ++