Wu Changshuo's Former Residence [Shanghai]

It is located in the Huaxia Park of the Shanghai Pudong New Area. The architecture resembles the former residence of Wu Changshuo at the North Shanxi Road in Shanghai. Wu Changshuo (1844-1927) was a master at poetry, calligraphy, painting and sphragistics in Chinese modern times. He was well respected in art circles as 'four-art master' and leader of the Shanghai School of Painters. In early 1994, the Huaxia Cultural Tourism Area Development Company and the Wu Changshuo Art Research Committee initiated and cosponsored the construction of the Wu Changshuo’s Museum. The Huaxia Company invested 3 million yuan in it whose construction area was 972 m2. Gong Xueping, vice mayor of Shanghai, inaugurated the mnseum. The copper letters in handwritten form, 'Wu Changshuo', are inlaid in the simple pomelowood screen. In the museum, there is an exhibition room called ' Exhibition of Wu Changshuo’s Art Career'. This exhition is divided into four sections known respectively as ' Taking Root in the Rich Land', 'Weathering the Hardships', 'Winning Fame in Shanghai', and 'Flying His Own Colors in China'. It puts on show 79 pictures, over 20 painting collections and books, calligraphy and paintings by his diciples, successors and those who study his works, as well as the four treasures of the study ( writing brush, inkstick, inkslab and paper ), letters, poem manuscripts, the stationery ever used by him, and so forth.