Yan Xishan's Former Residence Introduction
Yan Xishan (1883-1960), courtesy name Bochuan, experienced significant events in modern Chinese history, including the Tongmenghui's anti-Qing movement, the Xinhai Revolution, the Hongxian Emperor's regime, the establishment of the Republic of China, the Central Plains War, Kuomintang-Communist cooperation, the Second Sino-Japanese War, and the Chinese Civil War, all the way to the relocation of the Kuomintang to Taiwan. He is considered one of the important figures in modern Chinese history. He served as the Minister of the Exterior and Minister of National Defense of the National Government before its relocation to Taiwan, and after stepping down, he retired to Yangmingshan with his subordinates. During the last ten years of his retreat in Yangmingshan, he devoted himself to research and completed works such as "The Great Unity of the World" and "China in Three Hundred Years," embodying the Confucian ideals of establishing virtue, merit, and discourse. In his later years, longing for his homeland and based on military defense needs, he chose to build stone houses, "Zhongeng Cave" and "Red Brick House," on the windswept slopes overlooking the Tamsui River estuary and the Taipei Basin. "Zhongeng Cave" features a style inspired by the cave dwellings of Shanxi, incorporating elements from Chinese, Japanese, and Western architectural styles. Its age and scale differ significantly from typical historical sites; it serves as the main building of the Yan residence, personally named by Yan, reflecting his worldview centered on the observation of cosmic changes. This fortress-like residence became the final resting place of this significant figure in modern history. The "Red Brick House" was designed as an air raid shelter, with walls three feet thick, reinforced doors and windows, and features like camouflage shelters and lookout posts. Both the "Red Brick House" and "Zhongeng Cave" were designated as city-level historical monuments, known as the "Yan Xishan Residence," in 2004, while the nearby Yan Xishan Tomb was announced as a historical site in 2010.
