Architectural Features Mr. Chen Yuan’s former residence is located at No. 13, Xinghua Hutong, south of Dingfu Street. It is an ordinary two-in-one courtyard house. In the north room of the backyard is Mr. Chen Yuan’s study, "Liyun Bookstore" . It was in this simple bookstore that Mr. Wang kept writing and conducted in-depth research on the history of the three major religions in the world - Christianity, Islam and Buddhism in my country, and became the founder of religious research in my country. His rigorous and diligent academic attitude had a profound impact on the school spirit and style of study of Fu Jen Catholic University and Beijing Normal University. The former residence is now the office of the Fu Jen Catholic University Alumni Association. Many old alumni who are already over 70 years old often come here to recall their college days and their old principals and teachers. Among Fu Jen’s famous teachers are Zhou Zuoren, Hu Shi, Liu Bannong, Zhu Guangqian, Shen Yinmo and a long list of famous scholars. They all left their hurried footprints and tireless teachings at Fu Jen Catholic University. Although Furen University has only been in operation for 27 years, it has 12,343 registered students and 4,756 undergraduate graduates. It has trained a group of experts and scholars for our country, 11 of whom have been academicians of the Chinese Academy of Surgery. Fu Jen Boys' Middle School and No. 13 Middle School, where Qi Gong and Liu Xinwu once taught. The northern half of Taobele Mansion basically maintains the original layout, facing south and divided into three roads: middle school, east and west. There are four courtyards on the middle road, there are also four courtyards on the east road, and there are only three rows of houses in the front and back on the west road. In the south is the garden, which has a winding corridor, stone rockery, and a pavilion on the mountain. This part of Taobele Mansion was used as the school building of the boys' department of Fu Jen Catholic High School. In 1952, Fu Jen Catholic High School was changed to Beijing No. 13 Middle School, which continues to this day.
In 1933, a middle school student who had received training in classical poetry and some classics and historical poems came to Principal Chen after being introduced by others, hoping to find a job in the school to support his family. Principal Chen carefully reviewed his article and thought it was very good, so he assigned him to Fu Yan Boys' High School as a Chinese teacher. Two years later, some people thought he had insufficient academic qualifications and fired him. But based on his actual level, Principal Chen arranged for him to teach Chinese in the university. This middle school student was later Qi Gong, a famous philologist and calligraphy master in my country. Taobele Mansion In the 1990s, he auctioned 100 calligraphy masterpieces and 10 paintings in Hong Kong, and used all the proceeds to establish the "Liyun Scholarship Fund" at Beijing Normal University in the name of the old principal's study room. , used to reward teachers and students who have made contributions in the field of education and teaching, and also to express their gratitude and longing for their teachers. Now Professor Qi Gong has left us, but the spirit of “hard work” is still carried forward at Beijing Normal University.
Liu Xinwu, a famous contemporary writer, has taught in No. 13 Middle School for more than ten years. His famous work "Class Teacher" may be based on his feelings during his teaching career. The story of Prince Gong’s Mansion and Principal Chen Yuan is on the east side of Liuyin Street, across the street from Taobele Mansion is Prince Gong’s Mansion. Prince Gong's Mansion is one of the best-preserved palaces in my country. A history of the rise and fall of Prince Gong's Mansion is closely related to the history of the Qing Dynasty. In this article, I will only talk about its story related to Fu Jen Catholic University and its president Chen Yuan. During the Republic of China, the Puwei brothers mortgaged the palace to Xishiku Church. In 1932, Fu Jen Catholic University repaid the deposit on its behalf, and the property rights belonged to Fu Jen Catholic University. Fu Jen Catholic University is run by a church and has many clergy. Chen Yuan attaches great importance to promoting traditional Chinese culture to them. He once founded the Priests Academy in the garden of Prince Gong's Mansion, which specialized in educating young Chinese priests in traditional historical and cultural knowledge. Whenever spring comes and flowers bloom, Chen Yuan holds poetry gatherings in the traditional way of literati drinking wine and composing poems, inviting young priests to participate so that they can be influenced by traditional Chinese culture. For this, he was criticized by a Chinese archbishop.
But he, who has always been elegant, showed no sign of weakness and argued with the bishop, which became a major incident that shocked the whole school. Later, he founded Fu Jen Girls' High School in Prince Gong's Mansion. After exiting the east entrance of Dingfu Street, you will arrive at Liuyin Street. Liuyin Street runs north-south and slightly tilts to the northwest. Most of the Xiejie streets in Beijing are related to rivers and lakes. Liuyin Street was an old river in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, with a variety of willow trees on both sides of the river. In the Qing Dynasty, a dirt road was built on the east and west sides of the river, and the two roads were collectively called Yangliu Bay. In 1952, the river course was changed into an underground ditch, and the place name was Liguangqiao South Street. In 1965, it was renamed Liuyin Street. Liuyin Street is now a must-stop for Hutong tours in Beijing and an important attraction for tours around the Shichahai area. Related links: Zhongjun Prince’s Mansion and Zhongjun Prince’s Mansion (Taobele Mansion). Gate Lao Mansion is located on the north side of Damucang Hutong Road in Xidan, and was the former Prince Zheng (Jian)’s Mansion. The first king, Yixi, was the eighth son of Emperor Xuanzong of the Qing Dynasty. In the 30th year of Daoguang reign (1850), he was granted the title of Prince Zhongjun.
In the third year of Tongzhi (1864), the palace was divided into two branches, and the former Prince Zheng's mansion was used as his residence. Death, posthumous title Duan. He had no heirs and was succeeded by Zaiying, the second son of Prince Gongzhong Yixin. Moved to Xinfu on the west side of Liuyin Street Road in Xicheng. The new mansion was originally the palace of the Prince of Yujun. Zaiying inherited Baylor and became the palace of the Prince of Yujun. In the fifteenth year of Guangxu (1889), he became the king of Jinjun. In 1900, he was exonerated and returned to his clan for offending foreigners. In 1902, Zaitao, the seventh son of Prince Chunxian Yixuan, succeeded Baylor, and in 1908 he was granted the title of Prince of County. Zaitao, whose courtesy name was Yeyun, was highly regarded during the Xuantong period because he was the younger brother of the regent. He served successively as Minister of Training for the Imperial Guard and in charge of the Military Consultative Office. During the Republic of China, he was always regarded as the leader of the royal family. After Zhang Xun's restoration, he served as the commander of the Imperial Guard and the imperial congratulatory official of the puppet Manchukuo. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he served as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. The mansion is also known as Taobele Palace. In 1929, the vacant land in front of the horse circle and garden in the south of the prefecture was sold and rebuilt into the main building of Fu Jen Catholic University. The northern part of the prefecture was changed to the High School Affiliated to Furen University, which is now the No. 13 Middle School of Beijing. The main building still exists. The front facade is five rooms wide, and the main hall, east and west annex buildings, back bedrooms, and rear main room are all five rooms wide. The auxiliary courtyards on the East and West Road are generally preserved except for the theater building. The garden in the south is still there, basically maintaining its original appearance at that time. Although this place is called the Prince's Mansion, the two owners were both Baylor, and there are not many actual Baylor Mansion from the Qing Dynasty left. It is a municipal cultural relic protection unit in Beijing.