The Zhou Family of Shaoxing

Shaoxing is home to many famous figures, such as Yu the Great, Goujian, Lu You, Wang Xizhi, and Wang Yangming. In modern times, the Zhou family of Shaoxing stands out, with the most notable members being Lu Xun and Zhou Enlai. Both of their ancestral homes are within the old city of Shaoxing, just two kilometers apart.

Zhou Enlai was neither born nor raised in Shaoxing, yet he showed great interest in the Zhou family of Shaoxing. He once referred to Lu Xun’s wife, Xu Guangping, as “Aunt” and recommended Shaoxing’s yellow wine at state banquets—the same wine used in Wang Xizhi’s “Lanting Xu” to play the drinking game “liushang qishui.” He also supported bringing the Shaoxing monkey opera, performed by the Zhang family, to Beijing, paving the way for the creation of the Monkey King in “Journey to the West.”

Lu Xun was born in Shaoxing and lived there until he was 17. His works vividly portray the local landscape and characters of Shaoxing, from Baicao Garden to Sanwei Study, from the characters Runtu and Tofu Beauty to Xianglin’s wife, Kong Yiji, and Ah Q. However, if one assumes that Lu Xun, with his detailed descriptions of rural life, was a poor farm boy deeply familiar with country living, they would be mistaken. Even more erroneous would be the idea that carving the character “early” on your desk, as Lu Xun did, would help you study diligently and one day afford a courtyard house in Beijing, just as he did.

Lu Xun carved “early” on his desk to remind himself not to be late, not because he was particularly hardworking, but because, as the eldest son, he had to pawn family belongings and buy medicine for his bedridden father before going to school. Though Sanwei Study was only 500 meters from his home, he was often late. His father was bedridden because Lu Xun’s grandfather had bribed officials to buy his father’s way into an official position. When the authorities couldn’t catch the grandfather, they imprisoned Lu Xun’s father instead. Although his grandfather eventually turned himself in, the damage was done. Lu Xun’s father returned home, terrified and bedridden, requiring constant care. Young Lu Xun had to juggle school, caring for his father, and representing the Zhou family at clan meetings across the street from Sanwei Study. His busy schedule led to the “early” inscription on his desk.

To summarize this long-winded explanation: Lu Xun’s grandfather had the resources to bribe for his son’s official position, Lu Xun had the means to care for his father, and while Runtu was busy protecting his watermelons from badgers, Lu Xun was attending clan meetings.

If you visit Lu Xun’s home (a 5A-level free tourist site), you will be struck by its size. Visitors, both young and old, can’t help but exclaim, “I had no idea Lu Xun’s house was this big,” or “I didn’t know Lu Xun was this wealthy.” The Zhou family’s compound includes three houses, situated next to the descendants of Zhu Xi and across the street from Shenyuan Garden. Even after the family was financially drained by their relatives and neighbors, they still managed to sell the empty house and purchase a courtyard home in Beijing for their family of 13.

As for the Zhou family’s decline, that’s another story.