Main attractions of Li Hongzhang's former residence

Enter the gate from the pedestrian street and walk a few steps to the hall. In the middle of the hall is a screen with a plaque on it, and the words "Jun Hu" are written. Jun Heng is a metaphor for the prime minister of the country. Sincere; This is a great blessing. It means that Li Hongzhang's official career is prosperous, favoring one side and favoring another. These four words were given by Emperor Guangxu on Li Hongzhang's seventieth birthday to praise his contribution to the Qing Empire. In the past, I waited for guests in the hall, and then after the servant informed me, I went back to the central hall to meet my master. Now it is also used as an exhibition hall. All kinds of pictures, materials and objects related to Li Hongzhang are displayed in the hall. The exhibition is divided into five parts: "Li Hongzhang's youth, Li Hongzhang and Huai Army, Li Hongzhang and Westernization Movement, Li Hongzhang and diplomacy, and a lifetime of sharing weal and woe". Nave, also known as Fushoutang, is 9 meters high and is the largest private residence hall in Jianghuai area in the late Qing Dynasty. Each lattice door is carved with exquisite and elegant patterns, and the beams are tenons without a nail. The two ends of the beam are carved into heads, which means good luck (picture). The birthday picture of She Taijun is engraved on the beam directly above, and the characters are lifelike. The east-west hatchback is the study of Li's descendants, elegant and spacious, with blue bricks all over the floor.

On the bench above the central hall, there is an ancient clock, with a mirror on the left and a vase on the right, which means that the house is "quiet (mirror) all its life". In the middle of the central hall, four wooden pillars just form a bay, one on the left and one on the right, each with a bay. Together with the east and west wing rooms, it forms a pattern of bright three and dark five, which has the architectural characteristics of a rich family in Jianghuai area. The east wing is the study, and the antique shelf inside is called "crossing the bridge", and the left and right parts can just overlap. This principle comes from China's ancient complementary theory of Yin and Yang. The nanmu bookcase on the left can just hold twenty-four histories. Pushing open the screen door that closely separates the front yard from the back room is the elegant and quaint Miss Building. There is a wall between the building and the front yard, and the door in the middle of the wall is the second door. The wall door closely separates the building from the outside world. Men are forbidden to enter the second door. Miss Lou, also called "Zouma Lou", is where Li Fu's wives live. There are ancient embroidered beds, carved dressing tables and marble stools upstairs behind the Miss Building. Beds, tables and stools are all mahogany furniture with a history of hundreds of years. A beautiful pastel porcelain in the room, placed in front of the mahogany dresser, looks antique.

Miss Lou has a unique shape, which is a closed cloister-style wooden structure. There is a courtyard in the middle of the downstairs, which is connected with the sky and grounded at the bottom, in line with the harmony of Yin and Yang. The first room in the east of the building is said to be where Li Hongzhang's youngest daughter lives (the grandmother of the famous writer Zhang Ailing) and the old lady lives in the middle. The original old house had a back garden with a much larger area than it is now, but with the passage of time, the back garden has already disappeared beyond repair, leaving only this beautiful and elegant building for people to watch.