The Former Residence of Zhu Yizun is located on Haibai Lane, in Xuanwu District. Before nationwide liberation in 1949, it was called Shunde Country Guild, but now it is an ordinary house. In May 1984, it was listed as one of the historical and cultural sites under the state protection.
Zhu Yizun (1629-1709) was a Qing Dynasty literary figure from Zhejiang Province who wrote and edited On Classical Works, Old Stories, Collection of the Works Completed at the Pushu Pavilion, On Poses and On Poems of Ming Dynasty.
There are several former residences of Zhu Yizun in Beijing. His first Beijing home was located to the north of Jingshan Hill and was bestowed to him by Emperor Kangxi. In 1684, Zhu Yizun led a group of court workers to transcribe books in the palace against the court rule of the time. Zhu was caught impeached and suffered a demotion. He was forced to move to Haibeisi Street outside the Xuanwumen Gate. In the poem?From Rongyuan to Outside the Xuanwumen Gate?he writes,?I took my furniture to Haibeisi (now Haibai Lane), and there, in September, were green vine seedlings that had not yet withered.?Because the courtyard was home to two Chinese wisteria plants, he called this dwelling?the Ancient Vine Library.? During his stay at this library, he mainly worked on Old Stories. His contemporaries, Feng Pu and others, stated that?wind or rain, he was always editing books. His candle always burned straight through the night. He had a rattan bed and a bamboo desk. On the bookshelf were 10,000 scrolls, surrounding him on all sides.? Feng often went to visit the old man, and asked him about the days gone by, or about his work making carved reproductions or rubbings of stone tablets. Feng stated that Zhu? s life?had been a tough climb all the way.?
After being demoted, Zhu did not become downcast, nor did he forget his obligations to society. He took two years to write and publish Old Stories and thus presented Beijing with a valuable regional document. In writing Old Stories, Zhu collected and edited more than 1,600 books. To sundry these books, he built Pushu Pavilion for the purpose opposite in a collection. The pavilion was destroyed in the?cultural revolution.?
