Zheng Banqiao’s former residence is located at No. 7-8 Zhengjia Lane, Dongchengwai, Xinghua City.
Banqiao’s former residence is in Zhengjia Lane outside the east gate of Xinghua. Sitting north and facing south, with two entrances, there are three main rooms, three north-facing south rooms, a gatehouse, a small study, and a kitchen. The walls are white and the tiles are black, the orchids and bamboos are rustling, and the courtyard is quiet. The architecture of the entire former residence is simple and elegant, fully embodying the artistic conception of what Zheng Banqiao wrote during his lifetime: "There is no need for a large room to be elegant, as long as there are not many flowers."
The former residence displays Zheng Banqiao’s daily utensils, reproductions of Zheng Banqiao’s calligraphy and paintings, research materials on Zheng Banqiao, etc. There is a bronze full-length statue of Zheng Banqiao on the balcony in the hall. Completely renovated in 1983. It is a municipal cultural relic protection unit.
“You can’t live without bamboos” is one of Banqiao’s favorites. There is a clump of green bamboo planted under the eaves of the study room of Banqiao's former residence. Banqiao can admire the bamboo shadow through the window paper in the study room, just like admiring a natural picture. As you can imagine, it rains on Xiaoxiao night, and the sound of rain hitting green bamboo is exciting. Banqiao, who is studying in the study room, will have infinite elegance and imitate the ink. He said: "Whenever I paint bamboo, I have no teacher. I mostly get it from paper windows, pink walls, sunlight, moonlight and shadow."
Zheng Banqiao's achievements in calligraphy:
Zheng Banqiao's calligraphy works His composition is very unique. He can intersperse the size, length, square and circle, fatness and thinness, and density, like "a street paved with random stones". There are rules in the indulgence. It seems to be a casual stroke, but when viewed as a whole, it produces a jumping and lively rhythm. For example, the banner of "On Running Script" was painted in the 27th year of Qianlong's reign. He was already seventy years old and is a masterpiece in his later years.
The general idea is that Su Dongpo liked to use Xuancheng Zhuge's Qifeng pen, and he wrote very well. Later, when he used other pens, his palms did not respond. Banqiao himself likes to use Taizhou Deng's sheep's hair brush, which makes his writing smooth and flying, which is always satisfactory. So he compared Taizhou Deng's sheep hair to Xuancheng Zhuge Qifeng, and finally said: "How dare I imitate Dongpo? But when writing with a pen, they like fat rather than thin, which is also the meaning of slope."
The whole work has large and small characters, thick and thin strokes, and slanting and slanting postures. The stippling, lifting, and turning are like music to the ears, birds flying in the air, fish swimming in the water, in a state of emotion The arbitrary rhythm reveals the strength and vitality of the bones. He Shaoji of the Qing Dynasty said that his calligraphy is "especially interesting because of the orchid and bamboo."