The Former Residence of Qian Mu and Qian Weichang (Huaihai Yizhuang)

The Former Residence of Qian Mu and Qian Weichang (Huaihai Yizhuang) [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The Former Residence of Qian Mu and Qian Weichang is located at Seven Mansions Village, to the north bank of Xiaoaojing, a branch of Bodu River. The entire building has five bays and four yards (it had seven bays and seven yards in the Ming Dynasty).

The first bay is 'a family with five generations'. It got its name from Qian Shaolin, the 29th-generation offspring of Qian Miu, the emperor of Ng-Yuih Kingdom in the Five Dynasties (907-960) and Ten Kingdoms. He had a family of five generations, therefore Emperor Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty awarded him with the horizontal inscribed board written with 'Qiye Yanxiang'.

The second bay is called Hongyi Hall. Li Hongzhang, a high-ranking politician, led the army to settle here in order to discuss how to fight with the rebellions. After the battle, Li Hongzhang inscribed the board of Hongyi Hall.

The third bay is 'Sushu Hall'. The name of 'Sushu Building' in Taiwan was given by Qian Mu due to his yearning for the homeland and family members. The downstairs of the fourth bay is the Exhibition Hall of Qian Mu's Life and the upstairs is the Exhibition Hall of Qian Weiping's Life. The east side is Huaihai Yizhuang. And the two halls are integrated into one, called as 'Qian Garden'.

The location of the former residence Seven Mansions is a locally famous place that produced famous figures such as Qian Mu, the master of studies of Chinese ancient civilization, and Qian Weichang, the famous academician in physics etc. Family Qian, named as 'six academicians in one family' is also famous for Qian Junrui, an economist, and Qian Lingxi, a famous physician.