Zheseng Hall

Zheseng Hall

Zheseng Hall, named after the courtesy name of Sun Ke, son of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, was a college of engineering building funded by the Ministry of Railways during Sun Ke’s tenure as Minister of Railways. It was completed in 1931. Although the building was not funded by private donations, it was still named after an individual. It currently serves as the School of Information Science and Technology building at Sun Yat-sen University.

In the northwest area of Kangyuan Garden, there are two highly similar “imitation palace-style buildings,” one of which is Zheseng Hall. This building, designated as No. 571 in the northwest area, has a lower section made of ordinary red bricks that forms a “base,” while the upper level features bright yellow walls, crimson red columns, sapphire-blue glazed tile roofing, and traditional Chinese architectural elements such as immortal figures and mythical beasts. This presents a striking contrast to other buildings in Kangyuan Garden.

The name “Zheseng Hall” is derived from the courtesy name of Sun Ke, son of Dr. Sun Yat-sen. At the time, Sun Ke served as the Minister of Railways under the Nationalist Government. To promote the development of engineering disciplines at Lingnan University, the Ministry of Railways funded the construction of the engineering building. Strictly speaking, Zheseng Hall is a non-donated building named after an individual. American architect Henry K. Murphy incorporated the concept of combining modern construction technology with classical Chinese forms in the designs of both Zheseng Hall and Luk Yau Hall.

On the north side of the building, a wooden horizontal plaque hangs high beneath the eaves. The plaque is made of wood, with white background and raised characters in positive relief, surrounded by a decorative yellow wavy wooden frame, elegant yet ornate. The three characters “Zheseng Hall” were written by Shang Chengzuo in the style of Qin clerical script. On the left is the phrase “Spring of 1982” in six small black running regular script characters, and on the right is the signature “Shang Chengzuo.” The entire wooden plaque is delicate, refined, and naturally styled, blending seamlessly with the magnificent architecture.

On the south side of the building, there is a white stone plaque embedded above the archway, with golden intaglio lettering reading “School of Information Science and Technology.” It was inscribed by renowned Lingnan calligrapher Lu Youguang, likely around 1996 when the School of Information Science and Technology was established.

Zheseng Hall is located at No. 135, Zhongshan University Central Campus, Haizhu District, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province. It currently serves as the School of Information Science and Technology building at Sun Yat-sen University. It was a college of engineering building funded by the Ministry of Railways during the tenure of Sun Ke (son of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, courtesy name Zheseng) as Minister of Railways. Although the building was not funded by private donations, it was still named after an individual. It was completed in 1931.

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