Mao Dun Memorial Hall

　　History: Its predecessor was the renowned Fenshui Academy in the Jiahu region, located west of Fenshui Dun at North Barrier in Wuzhen. In the tenth year of the Xianfeng era during the Qing Dynasty, fighting between Qing troops and the Taiping Army in Wuzhen led to the academy being destroyed in the war.

　　Five years later,

　　when Yan Chen and others proposed rebuilding Fenshui Academy, the old site at North Barrier had become too dilapidated for reuse, while a residence on Guanqian Street, formerly belonging to a Taiping Army military officer surnamed Xiang and then sealed by the imperial court, became available.

　　Yan Chen and his associates took a liking to this property and petitioned the government to repurpose it as an academy and expand it.

　　In the seventh year of the Tongzhi era, the academy was completed. Due to the change in location and the fact that the buildings were all new,

　　Yan Chen decided not to retain the old name “Fenshui Academy.” Instead, he chose the word “Lizhi” (Determination) from the motto of the Neo-Confucian scholar and local luminary Zhang Yangyuan: “In all learning, first one must determine their resolve,” and named the new academy Lizhi Academy. Yan Chen served as the head of Lizhi Academy.

　　Introduction

　　Lizhi Academy stretches from Guanqian Street in the front to Guanhou Street in the back, covering a total of five courtyards. Today’s academy largely retains its original appearance. The plaque above the gate bears the name “Lizhi,” and the couplet on the pillars reads: “First establish the greater self; the resolute will surely succeed.”

　　Upon entering, one passes through a hallway and arrives at a small courtyard with an osmanthus tree. Beyond the courtyard lies the lecture hall, adorned with a plaque reading “The Resolute Will Surely Succeed,” inscribed by Yang Changjun, Governor of Zhejiang.

　　On either side hangs a couplet composed by the Confucian master Yu Quyuan: “The old layout of Fenshui Academy – may all who hear of it be inspired to determination;

　　The talented peaks of Shushan Mountain – assuredly will produce future achievers.”

　　.”

　　Behind the lecture hall, separated by a large courtyard planted with flowers and plants, is the teaching building; another building, named “Yunlou” (Cloud-Seizing Tower), was inscribed by Head Yan Chen. The character “? (yun)” carries the meaning of “grasp,” and “Yunlou” can be interpreted as “Grasping the Clouds” or “Soaring to the Clouds,” echoing the idea of “Determination” and carrying an obvious symbolic meaning.

　　The third courtyard consists of a single-story house used as a kitchen. The very last section of Lizhi Academy was converted into the Zhang Yangyuan Shrine (built in the ninth year of the Tongzhi era), which was also used as dormitory space for students when enrollment was high.

　　Today’s Lizhi Academy has been arranged as the Mao Dun Memorial Hall, using texts and images to introduce us to the brilliant life of this literary giant.

　　Mao Dun (1896~1981)　　Mao Dun (July 4, 1896 – March 27, 1981), originally named Shen Dehong, used pen names including Mao Dun, Langsun, Xuanzhu, Fangbi, Zhijing, Pulao, Weiming, Shen Zhongfang, and Shen Mingfu. His courtesy name was Yanbing, and he was a native of Tongxiang, Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province. Mao Dun was born into a family with rather progressive ideas and received a modern education from childhood. Later, he was admitted to the preparatory program at Peking University and after graduation, he worked at the Commercial Press, thereby embarking on a path of reforming Chinese literature and art. He was a pioneer of the New Culture Movement and a founding figure of Chinese revolutionary literature. Mao Dun was also a renowned modern Chinese writer, literary critic, cultural activist, and... More+