Guō Mòruò Museum 郭沫若纪念馆

前海西街18号，离恭王府很近
Part of A Better Guide to Běijīng’s coverage of North, Around the Back Lakes

Old Guo, not so old
Many poems, not so good.
Everybody, work together
Learn from Chairman Mao!

Dissident astrophysicist Fang Lizhi (方励之) quoting one of many rhymes mocking Guō. From Fang Lizhi, The Most Wanted Man in China, (trans. Perry Link), New York, 2016.

Guō (1892–1978) was a poet, novelist, playwright, literary critic, calligrapher, and historian whose quickness to jump on the communist bandwagon despite a wealthy background has largely spared him from objective criticism. Historian Frances Wood describes him in her Blue Guide China with memorable tartness as ‘a tireless apologist for whatever seemed safest to defend’. This approach no doubt helped him qualify for both the International Lenin Prize in 1951 and a large mansion in which to live. He was sufficiently flexible to end up holding several token offices and survived the Cultural Revolution, although he lost two of his children to it.

Guō lived here from 1963 until his death, and his parlour, office, and bedroom have been preserved in their original state. Side halls have photographs of Guō with the usual suspects. Once the site of a princely mansion, the current elegant courtyards date from the early Republic and were built by a family of traditional medicine entrepreneurs who were probably dispossessed in 1949. Today’s leaders have a different approach: it’s the poor who get chased out of their homes, not the rich.

Between 1950 and 1963 the building was the Mongolian Embassy, finally opening to the public in 1988. The courtyards are prettily planted with flowering shrubs, including the unusual Malus micromalus or makino berry, and a ginkgo planted by Guō himself.

While Guō is now little read other than as compulsory curriculum, the calligraphy on the Bank of China sign and that now on the ‘Kolind Tablet’ (see Zhōngshān Park) are both Guō’s.

▶ Guō Mòruò Jìniànguǎn, Qián Hǎi Xī Jiē 18. Qián Hǎi Xī Jiē runs north from Píng’ān Dàdào just west of the north entrance to Běi Hǎi Park. t 6612 5984, www.guomoruo.net, 9am–4pm, Tues–Sun. ¥20. m Běi Hǎi North (Line 6); Píng’ān Lǐ (Line 4) and walk E. b to 北海北门: 13, 42, 90电车外环,
90电车内环, 107电车, 111电车, 118电车, 609, 612, 623, 701.

It’s a short walk from here to Prince Gōng’s Mansion, and on to the Back Lakes (Hòu Hǎi) with their numerous bars and restaurants.

Next in North, Around the Back Lakes: Prince Gōng’s Mansion
Previously: Introduction to North, Around the Back Lakes
Main Index of A Better Guide to Beijing.

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