The Li Shutong (Former Residence) Memorial Hall is a specialized memorial hall built to commemorate the pioneer of modern Chinese culture and a master of Buddhism, Li Shutong (Master Hong Yi). It is located at the intersection of Haihe East Road and Binhai Avenue in Hebei District, Tianjin, and is a cultural relics protection unit and a 3A scenic spot in Tianjin, covering a total area of 4000 square meters, divided into a garden and a former residence, making it a unique cultural and museum venue in our city.
The garden covers an area of 2600 square meters, composed of Taihu stone rockeries, artificial lakes, memorial pavilions, and rest pavilions. In the center of the memorial pavilion, there is a bronze statue of Li Shutong (Master Hong Yi) standing about 2.7 meters high, and on the wall behind it, there is an inscription of Li Shutong’s (Master Hong Yi) last words: ‘The friendship of gentlemen is as light as water, seeking the image, an inch apart but a thousand miles apart, asking where I am going, vast and speechless, the spring is full of branches, the heart of heaven is round. ‘ Inside the garden, there are plaques and couplets praising Li Shutong (Master Hong Yi) by Zhao Puchu, the former president of the Chinese Buddhist Association, and Mr. Zhang Hai from the Chinese Calligraphers Association. The former residence covers an area of 1400 square meters, consisting of four courtyards and 48 rooms, with a traditional brick and wood structure in a ‘field’ pattern, gray brick walls, and vermilion doors and windows, solemn and dignified, with the plaque ‘Jinshi Di’ on the gate tower, highlighting the prominent status and identity of the Li family. The basic exhibition of the memorial hall, ‘The Son of Haihe – Li Shutong,’ is composed of three parts: ‘Patriotic Feelings,’ ‘Brilliant Talent,’ and ‘Moral Cultivation,’ with a total of 8 exhibition halls, in addition to 3 restored exhibition rooms and 1 screening room. The first part, ‘Patriotic Feelings,’ mainly focuses on Li Shutong’s family background, early growth experiences, learning practices, teaching career, and pioneering in aesthetic education, respecting teachers and valuing morals, and patriotic feelings, with a focus on Li Shutong’s living environment and growth process during his time in Tianjin, showing Li Shutong’s connection with Tianjin, especially the nourishment, influence, and foundational role of Tianjin’s regional culture on Li Shutong, emphasizing the significance of Tianjin as the cradle of Li Shutong’s growth; the second part, ‘Brilliant Talent,’ comprehensively covers Li Shutong’s tremendous achievements and cultural contributions in calligraphy, seal cutting, music, fine arts, drama, and poetry; the third part, ‘Moral Cultivation,’ explores the ideological foundation of Li Shutong’s (Master Hong Yi) life from the perspectives of revitalizing Vinaya studies, self-discipline and frugality, patriotism and modesty, and seriousness in all matters, praising his spirit of unity of knowledge and action, and striving to find the motivation for his monastic life from traditional Chinese culture, with a profound and innovative intention. The entire exhibition reviews Li Shutong’s (Master Hong Yi) life in detail with more than 250 photographs, newspaper photos, and images, as well as 97 sets of documentary materials, especially the high-definition versions of his genealogy research and his father’s archives, which are exhibited for the first time, making the exhibition content more detailed and rich, and ‘Li Shutong’s Connection with Tianjin’ is more eloquent than ever in the face of historical materials.To enhance historical authenticity, the memorial hall has restored the living scenes of the Li family at that time, such as the living room, Western-style study, and Chinese-style study. Furniture, decorations, ornaments, bedding, and supplies have been carefully selected to make it more reminiscent of the era and have a stronger sense of historical weight, as well as possess the unique temperament and characteristics of Li Shutong’s family.
To bring the sleeping cultural relics out of the warehouse, the exhibition showcases old items such as door frames and window lattices preserved from the original old residence, becoming a highlight that surpasses other similar museums. In addition, there are three’recreated scenes’ on the exhibition route, namely ‘Tongda Bank’, ‘Li Shutong’s teaching’, and ‘Spring Willow Club’s drama performance’, making the exhibition more three-dimensional and vivid. To highlight the family tradition of attaching importance to education of the Li family and show Li Shutong’s artistic achievements in calligraphy, seal engraving, etc., a certain number of plaques, couplets, calligraphy, and seal engraving works are displayed in the outdoor art exhibition area. To break through the limitations of the exhibition route, enhance the dynamic display effect and interaction with the audience, and bring cultural relics to life, there are a total of 13 multimedia installations used to display Li Shutong’s activities at different times. Visitors can copy Li Shutong’s paintings, calligraphy, and seal engravings, listen to songs composed by Li Shutong, reproduce the elegance of Li Shutong’s debut drama performance, appreciate his artworks, and learn about his friendships with teachers and friends and teacher-student relationships. Visitors can freely read the content they are interested in through the touch screen, deeply understand the owner of the former residence, leave their visiting impressions, and pay tribute to the master. The west gate of the former residence on the side of the Haihe River is composed of the stone with the name of the museum, ecological ramps, and evergreen plants in four seasons. Its landmark significance is prominent and it has become an important part of the Haihe River sightseeing belt. Tianjin is the birthplace of Li Shutong (Master Hongyi). It records his beautiful youth. His glorious achievements in his life benefited from the profound cultural heritage of Jin Gu region. His noble character and outstanding contributions are an important part of Tianjin’s urban cultural characteristics and a historical manifestation of Tianjin’s urban spirit. We believe that through visiting, you will definitely have a relatively deep understanding of Li Shutong (Master Hongyi)’s extraordinary life, outstanding cultural contributions, and noble personality cultivation, and develop a feeling of deep admiration. The opening hours for the whole text are from Tuesday to Sunday, 9:00 – 16:00 all year round.Related posts:
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