Liu Jisheng's Former Residence

Located at 675-681 Julu Road, this is the former home of Liu Jisheng, brother of China's industrialist Liu Hongsheng. The Liu brothers were the "coal magnate," one of the four biggest industrial and commercial magnates before 1949 (the other three were the Rong Brothers, the Jians' Nanyang Tobaccos, and the Guos' Yong'an Group). In 1921, Liu Jisheng purchased the land at 681 Julaida Road (presentday Julu Road) in the French concession and began to build his residence. In 1924, Liu Jisheng also bought the land to the east of his former residence at today's 675 Jululu and built a Western-style house, designed by the Hungarian architect L.E.Hudec.

The house Liu Jisheng newly built occupied an area of 2.5 mu. This main building of the architecture faces south, with four Ionian pillars from the first floor to the second floor as the porch. A platform was built between the entrance and the pillars and the space above platform is the veranda. As Liu Jisheng was a Christian and his English name was Joson Tlien, designs formed by the initials J. T. could be seen everywhere on the staircase rail. There used to be many sculptures about the stories of Jesus Christ in the spaces around, but they have long been lost.

Princess Psyche in Greek mythology accomplished three tasks given by Venus under the help of the God of Love and became Cupid's wife. In Greek Psyche means butterfly and soul, which corresponds with the vast world of the God. She created the ideal world of human beings and explained the beauty in the human nature. As an artistic image, Psyche stood for progress in neoclassicism.

On May 6, 1927 Hudec signed his name seriously on the report to the city government and together with it the complete blueprint of Liu Jisheng's residence. The 34-year-old architect was at the prime of his time when his classical designing style reached its maturity. In the design he made at first in 1926, he put the Psyche founatin as the symbol of the garden. The garden and architecture are all in the Italian style during the Renaissance period, and the four pillars at the southern entrance hall are Ionian. Approaching from the standard form of the Renaissance, Hudec placed the Psyche fountain on the central axis line, and made the architecture equally important as the garden rather than as merely the background, thus connecting them in a perfect harmony.

The whole sculpture of Psyche was made of white marble. The beautiful face of Psyche has a clear print of modernity of the last century and her half-clad body is also up to the aesthetic taste of the oriental. Facing the palace, Psyche looks up to the right at the bedroom upstairs. Hudec believed that this is a perfect work of art, so he paid a fortune to have it made specially in Itally.

Hudec didn't overlook the owner Liu Jisheng. From the southern entrance to the main hall there is a stylish spiral staircase. On the outside of the staircase are stained glass windows and along its inside among the iron designs its inside among the iron designs carved on the rail you can find K. S. L.-the initials of Liu Jisheng's name in English.

Hudec died in the United States in 1958. His marble sculptures of The God of Love and Psyche, Psyche's Grief, The God of Love Rescues Psyche are all perefectly preserved at the Louvre. The only Psyche fountain by Hudec in Shanghai should also be preserved forever. This building was Liu Jisheng's present for his wife, hence it wa called later by people as the "garden of the God of Love."

In 1949 Liu Jisheng went to live in Hong Kong. During the "Five Antis" Movement, the whole of Liu's property was confiscated and house was taken over by the government's real estate department according to the policy of the time. Now the building is used by the Shanghai Writers' Association.