Former Residence of Zhao Yi

　　   The former residence of Zhao Yi is situated at No. 7 Qianbeian (Yanling West Road). Zhao Yi (1727–1814), styled Yun Song, also known as Yun Song, and with the pseudonym Ou Bei, was born in 1727 in Xiganqi Village, Anshang Township (now Daixi Township, Wujin), Yanghu County. He did not move to his residence beside Baiyun Stream in the urban area of Changzhou until he was 57 years old. He passed away in Changzhou in 1814 during the 19th year of the Jiaqing reign.

　　   Zhao Yi was a renowned historian, litterateur, and poet of the Qing Dynasty, and was grouped with Yuan Mei and Jiang Shiquan as one of the “Three Great Masters of Jiangzuo.” The Zhao residence originally had five sections of single-story houses. Currently, the first and fifth sections have been destroyed, while the second section retains a two-room sedan hall, and the third section has a five-room main hall, all of which are residential buildings. The fourth section consists of three rooms that served as Zhao’s study and writing place, “Zhan Yi Tang” (Hall of Tranquil Legacy): a hard mountain-style wooden structure, 20.3 meters wide, 15.7 meters deep, and 7.6 meters high. To the west, there is also a three-room study called “Xiao Zhai” (Flute Studio), all of which are early Qing Dynasty architecture and are currently inhabited by his descendants. Originally, there was a pair of stone lions in front of the main gate, along with a plaque inscribed with “Ranked Top in the Imperial Examination.” The central hall once housed a plaque inscribed “Zhan Yi Tang,” written by the famous Qing calligrapher Wang Wenji, but these were completely destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.