Stuart's Library

The first floor of the library is the reading room, the second floor is the library, the library and the editorial department of jiaolun monthly, and the third floor is the returned overseas Chinese club and conference room. There are four complete books of the Four Treasuries, the library of all things and many translations of world literary classics for readers to borrow and inquire.

Stuart's Library

Situ's popular library was initiated in 1920. It was founded in 1923 and opened in 1925. The first floor of the library is the reading room, the second floor is the library, the library and the "jiaolun monthly" department, and the third floor is the returned overseas Chinese club and conference room. There are four complete books of the Four Treasuries, the library of all things and many translations of world literary classics for readers to borrow and inquire.

origin

Situ's popular library was initiated in 1920. It was founded in 1923 and opened in 1925. The museum was founded by overseas Chinese in the United States, Canada and people from the cultural and educational circles in their hometown. The purpose is to broaden the wisdom of the people, develop cultural and educational undertakings and revitalize China. After that, the jiaolun monthly was founded, and an organization was set up to mobilize overseas Chinese to donate money to the United States.

Built by Guangzhou Yonghe Construction Co., Ltd., situ's popular library is a three-story reinforced concrete building with a courtyard in front of it. The underground of the library is the reading room, the second floor is the library and library, and the third floor is the conference room and the returned overseas Chinese club. At that time, there were more than ten thousand books, including the complete works of Sikuquanshu and wanyouwenku, as well as many translations of world-famous works. There were also many cultural relics, such as the hand written "dragon" by Empress Dowager Cixi donated by situ zhongshiweng, the palace examination papers of situ Zhao, the huge oil paintings presented by the artist situ Huai, and the crocodile specimens presented by the overseas Chinese in Singapore Shangji.

In 1926, the overseas Chinese of Stuart in Canada contributed money to build a large bell tower on the top of the building. This clock is a famous brand product of Boston. On the front of the top of the third floor of the book bag, there is a banner of "situ's Library" written by the calligrapher Tan Yankai; on the cross eyebrow of the main door downstairs, the name of "situ's popular library" is engraved with marble, which is written by the calligrapher Feng Baili.

From 1941 to 1945, Chikan area was trampled on twice by Japanese aggressors. The masses fled one after another, causing chaos. Books and various equipment in the library were stolen and a large number of them were lost. Since then, the library has been closed for 38 years. After the closure of the library, it once served as the "Si Tu Si Xiang Ethnic Affairs Promotion Association". After liberation, it was successively used as "Kaiping County Committee of the Communist Party of China", "Chikan Town People's government", "Chikan commune management committee", "office and dormitory of Guangdong Geological Exploration Team", "tanjiangqiao bridge building office", "Kaiping sixth middle school dormitory", etc.

After the reform and opening up, with the gradual implementation of the overseas Chinese policy by the state, situ's popular library was reopened and officially opened on January 20, 1982. It has become a beautiful cultural landscape in the hometown of overseas Chinese. The museum was also rated as a key cultural relic protection unit by Kaiping County in March 1983.

Situ's popular library

background information

The situ family takes "education based on human relations" as the family motto and always attaches importance to the cause of culture and education. The hardship and humiliation of the overseas Chinese in modern times made them realize the importance of developing culture and education and opening up the wisdom of the people. However, due to China's long-term feudal autocratic rule, the country is weak, the people are poor and the people are ignorant, so the development of culture and education must be the basis for the country's strong and the people's rich. In order to broaden the wisdom of the people, situ's overseas villagers proposed to set up a family library in the early years of the Republic of China to provide learning places and cultural information for young people.

In 1920, situ first rented the Evangelical Church of Xiabu Lianxing street and set up a reading room. The good and active response of the townspeople greatly inspired the overseas and Chikan people. Therefore, situ Yici, situ Yiyan, situ ZhangMou, situ Jimin, situ Xuanye living in the United States and Canada, and situ Youqiao living in the Philippines proposed to raise funds to build a new museum. This initiative was first responded by the elders of their hometown. Overseas proponents actively raised funds from overseas situ villagers. The local elders mobilized their compatriots, including Hong Kong and Macao, to give money and make great efforts. They also founded the ethnic magazine "jiaolun monthly" to strengthen the publicity work and make the feat of founding a family a household name. Because of the great significance of situ's cultural and educational cause, some overseas Chinese with different surnames also donated money to help. In 1922, the bank raised more than 40000 yuan, which mainly came from overseas.

In 1923, the site was built on the dongtoutan River in Xiabu. Entrusted by overseas donors, situ Yisen specially came back from the United States to supervise the use of donations and the progress of the project. Guangzhou Yonghe construction company is responsible for the construction project.

After two years of high-quality construction, situ's popular library with reinforced concrete structure was completed in 1925. In front of the building, there is a wharf leading to Tanjiang River. The building is three stories high, tall and elegant. The whole building has a distinctive Portuguese architectural style. On both sides of the large windows on the first floor are the western style window pillars built with red bricks. The combination of the ancient Roman triangle protruding window lintel and the western style window pillars not only makes the overall shape of the windows stable and dignified, but also plays a good role in the visual transition to the second floor, and enriches the decoration of the first floor facade. There is an inner corridor on the second and third floors. Six Portuguese style columns connecting the second and third floors are connected with the ancient Roman arches. Hollow guardrails are set between the columns, which brings the library a sense of openness. In the middle of the third floor is the plaque of "situ's Library" inscribed by the famous calligrapher Tan Yankai in the period of the Republic of China, which is a decorative art of traditional Chinese architecture. The roof of the library is a platform. You can have a panoramic view of Chikan ancient town. The floor of each floor in the building is made of fine colored Italian terrazzo, which is as flat as ever. There are no cracks and water leakage, which shows the high precision of the construction technology in that year.

historical significance

The completion of situ's popular library is a cultural event of the clan, a symbol of the prosperity of the clan, and a feat of cultural architecture in Kaiping's hometown of overseas Chinese at that time. In December 1925, Kaiping Ming Pao published the article "the herald of the opening of situ's Library" in volume 4, issue 52

The library of situ's family was built by donations from overseas Chinese of this family. There were also donors in other cities. They raised more than 40000 yuan. It was built on the Bank of xiabuhang River and has been completed for a long time. Bilou is towering and grand in scale. Its furnishings and decoration are very interesting. It costs nearly 30000 yuan in total. The rest of the money is more than ten thousand yuan for books. Various societies send books and artists to Tao. This newspaper also presents Mr. Sun's true image with a mirror screen. Another set of encyclopedia is being continued. The museum regularly opens on the 1st of the first month of the new calendar. People from all walks of life are invited to attend the exhibition and entertainment. The types of the exhibition include national technology, national music, dance, vernacular drama, magic, chemical games, and various sports. The curator baoyijun and his overseas Chinese scholars actively prepare for the exhibition. He also stars in 11 sets of Liyuan daronghua class in Xiabu Paifang theater.

Build an open library

On January 1, 1926, the library opened to the public. The first family library in Kaiping county was founded by Mr. situ Baoyi. The purchase in the process of building the library and the donation from all walks of life after the completion of the library have made the collection of books reach more than ten thousand at the opening of the library, which has a considerable scale. Among them, there are Sikuquanshu, wanyouwenku and many translations of world literary classics for readers to borrow and inquire. The first floor of the library is the reading room, the second floor is the library, the library and the "jiaolun monthly" department, and the third floor is the returned overseas Chinese club and conference room.

A year later, overseas Chinese living in Canada donated money again to build a Western-style clock tower on the top of the third floor. The clock was imported from the United States and made in Boston. Since then, situ's library has provided hourly time reporting service to the whole town and nearby villages. The loud bell rings regularly and reverberates over the ancient town for a long time. It has become the basis for the work and rest of the residents in the ancient town and has also added a lot of vitality to the life of the ancient town. In 1934, the overseas Chinese living in the United States donated money to build the front courtyard and Chinese style archway of the library building. A suite was added on both sides of the archway, with red walls, green tiles and four eaves dripping water, which made the library more perfect. In this way, the whole building of the library has been completed, covering an area of more than 810 square meters.

realistic meaning

After the opening of the library, it has not only become a place to spread modern knowledge and culture, but also a place where ethnic groups at home and abroad often meet. It's an important part of the life of every overseas Chinese who comes back to visit relatives or settle down in the library. If you don't go to the library for a walk, you will feel that there is something missing in the life of returning home.

The library has also become a gallery to display family culture. Walking into the first floor of the library and looking around the four walls, you can see the stories of the famous people of our family, some of them are political heroes, some of them are overseas Chinese leaders, some of them are masters of painting, some of them are celebrities of academic circles. The situ family is especially closely related to the development of Chinese culture. For visitors from outside, curator situ Liang will take the initiative to guide you through these windows and enjoy the achievements of ancestors and family celebrities

Chinese PinYin : Si Tu Shi Tu Shu Guan