Feng Zikai

Feng Zikai (1898-1975), a native of Shimenwan or Stone Gate Bay literally situated at a bend of an ancient canal in Tongxiang, was a renowned Chinese literati scholar celebrated for his modern Chinese paintings, essays, music, cartoons and translations. 

In 1933, he designed and had a residence built in his hometown. He called it Yuanyuantang or Hall of Predestined Fate. The residence was a grand structure glorified with a collection of several thousand books and inscriptions by famed masters such as Ma Yifu, Wu Changshuo and Master Hongyi. Feng Zikai considered the house home to his heart and soul. 

Feng Zikai loved Shimenwan. He became aware of the beauty of his birthplace after he had seen more than one hundred river towns in five provinces. The residence made him love Shimenwan much more deeply. 

The happiness didn’t last, alas. In November 1937, Japanese soldiers launched a sudden attack on Shimenwan. Feng and more than 10 family members hastily fled. He was not able to come back and see his home again. In January 1938, the grand house was destroyed in a battle. Later Feng wrote several essays in memory of his beloved residence. 

The present-day Yuanyuantang was rebuilt in 1985 with funds partly from a Buddhist monk in Singapore. The Buddhist monk was a friend of Feng. In 1998, Tongxiang had Feng Zikai Art Gallery built next door to Yuanyuantang on the site of a dyeing business. 

The restored residence is a structure with rooms in the front and a garden in the back. Inside the compound is a glass cabinet showcasing the gate of the original Yuanyuantang. The gate looks partially black and charred. It is the only part of the original residence that has survived the war. 

A view of Puyuan, Tongxiang

Viewing the charred gate, one can imagine the atrocity of the battle more than 80 years ago. Back then, no one in China could have escaped the calamitous impact of the war. Feng and his ravaged home bore testimony to the savage past. 

Feng was a Buddhist. Before the war, he had promoted the justice of the world and abstained from warring against evils. The war changed his worldview and opened his eyes to cruelty, sorrow, ugliness and darkness. During the war, he realized that blasting evils and devils was necessary for promoting justice of the world and promoting justice wouldn’t go far without annihilating devils and evils. He said he had passion for four things: gods and stars in the cosmos, art and children in this human world. 

The ancient canal hasn’t changed much. It bends past Shimenwan as it did so many centuries ago. The peach trees in front of Yuanyuantang bloom annually. A visit to Yuanyuantang does help one better understand what Feng wrote about the residence. A visitor can glimpse into the residence and view how time flies and imagine how the life in yesteryears at the house looked like: swallows chirped in springtime; in summer, cherry trees bore red fruits and palm trees had green fronds, reds and greens in pleasant contrast; the residence was submerged in silver moonlight in autumn, turning the cement ground in front of the house into a pond of light; in winter days, sunshine made the rooms warm and pleasant, the aroma of tea wafted from the teakettle on the charcoal oven. This was how Feng enjoyed life at home.