Guo Moruo Memorial

Guo Moruo Memorial is a key historic site under national protection and a patriotic education base of Beijing Municipality. It is located in Qianhai West Street, Xicheng District. Open to the public in June 1988, it is a memorial scenic spot with a profound cultural significance.

Guo Moruo was an outstanding figure in the history of academic studies and culture of China in the 20th century, being a writer, historian, philologist, calligrapher, and social activist. When studying in Japan, he adopted the nostalgic pen name Moruo, a combination of the name of two rivers in his hometown.

He had gone to Japan to study medicine, which he believed might help to save China from subjugation. After graduating from a medical college, however, he decided to give up medical practice and devote himself to waking up his countrymen with literature. He wrote an influential collection of free verses entitled The Goddess; he founded the Creation Society, one of the most important literature societies in the May 4th New Literature Movement. During the Great Revolution (1924-1927), he joined the army in the war against warlords in the north. When the revolution failed, he joined the communist party. After that he took refuge in Japan, where, applying Marxism to studying the history of ancient China, he wrote many essays and monographs on history and philology. In 1937, he returned to China and joined the war against Japanese invaders. As a leader of propaganda, he wrote a number of historical plays that inspired people to fight on. After the People's Republic of China was founded, he held such important posts as deputy minister of the Political Affairs Department, president of China Science Academy, chairman of the National Association of Literature and Arts, deputy chief of the standing committee of the National People's congress, and deputy chairman of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He was a prolific writer, and his works have been collected in the Full Collection of Works by Guo Moruo.

The memorial used to be the home of Yue's, an old and well-known family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, a courtyard-style Quadrangle Dwelling built in the early Republican Period. Between 1950 and 1963, it served first as the Mongolian embassy, and then as Madam Song Qingling's residence. In Nov. 1963 Guo Moruo moved from No.5 Xisidayuan to this house, where he lived until his death in 1978.

Now the courtyard is decorated with lush trees and flowers planted by Guo and his wife. On the lawn stands a full-length bronze statue of Guo co-sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the National City Planning Panel. Behind the festooned gate, Guo's office, bedroom, living room and his wife's study all retain their furnishings. The east and west wing rooms and the flanking rooms in the back house are exhibition rooms of three parts-Guo's Literary Creation, Guo and History Studies in China, and Guo's Life Journey-that shows his pursuits, academic achievements, and his emotion.

Address: No.18 Qianhai West Street, Xicheng District, Beijing

Publishes at : 07-09-23 21:22

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