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Former Residence of Guo Moruo
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The Former Residence of Guo Moruo (writer and scholar) is located at the southern end of the west bank of Shicha Lake. His home was originally an annex to the Prince Gong’ s Residence. Guo Moruo spent the last 15 years of his life at this address, from 1963 to 1978. In 1982 it is listed as one of the historical and cultural sites under the state protection. His family has donated all the manuscripts and books collected here. A bronze statue of the writer was erected to mark the 10th anniversary of his death in 1988 inside the grassy courtyard among the ginko trees and pine. The signboard over the gate is in Deng Yingchao’ s hand.
Guo Moruo (1892-1978) was an outstanding revolutionary writer of the modern era. “Mao Dun,” his pen name, means contradiction. From Zhejiang Province, he made a name for himself with his first novel Midnight, a realistic work that became a milestone in the development of revolutionary writing after the May 4th Movement. In 1958, The Collected Works of Mao Dun were published in 10 volumes, including novels, novellas, short stories, dramas, and essays. In his later years, Mao Dun served as Minister of Culture of the People’ s Republic, vice-chairman of the National People’s Political Consultative Conference, vice-chairman of China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and chairman of the Chinese Writers’ Association.
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