Ye Chucang (1887-1946), born in Zhouzhuang, Jiangsu province, was a Chinese poet and patriot. He spent his childhood in the family manor in Zhouzhuang, which is now known as the former residence of Ye Chucang.

The manor was built during the Emperor Tongzhi era of the Qing dynasty (1861-75) by Ye Chucang’s grandfather, who was a businessman and made his fortune before building the manor. The dwelling covers an area of more than 1,100 square meters, and its architecture features a typical Suzhou style.

The manor can be divided into three parts. The first part is the lobby, where the family met and entertained their guests. The second part is a living room, the main hall in the middle of the manor, to meet guests and host family events.

The third part is the private space that includes many bedrooms of family members. Nowadays the bedrooms display Ye Chucang’s books, manuscripts, calligraphy works and photos. In one of the bedrooms, you can see two fox fur coats. Ye Chucang was chief editor of Republic Daily and once pawned these two coats to fund the newspaper.

Ye Chucang was knowledgeable, modest and eager to learn when he was a child. In his schooldays, Ye was influenced by Sun Yat-san’s revolutionary thoughts and later joined Sun’s revolutionary group, which aimed to overthrow the imperial Qing dynasty and establish the Republic of China. Ye became a journalist when he was 21 and later worked as chief editor at many newspapers, during China’s turbulent years at the beginning of the 20th century.

Rooms in the former residence of Ye Chucang.