In the 1920s
The influential businessman known as “coal king”, “king of matches”
Liu Jisheng, the younger one of the Liu brothers
He requested the famous Hungarian architect Hudec
To design a garden for him
As elegant as a love story from the myths of Ancient Greece
In 1931
The garden located at Julu Road was finished
Liu presented this villa covering an area of over 1700 square meters
To his wife Chen Dingzhen
As a gift for her 40th birthday
It is known as the “Eros’ Garden”
My name is Zhang Jie
I’m studying historical architectures at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
I heard of the Eros’ Garden as a child
It resides over a piece of land over 4000 square meters
Liu entrusted his wife with the project
And Mrs. Liu communicated with Hudec about their requests
The design of the villa shall convey
The deep affection between husband and wife, and the harmonious relation between children
The garden lies on the centerline
It’s also a design of Hudec
Facing the house is a white marble statue
Of the Greek princess Psyche
She is taking off her light dress, to take a bath
Under her feet are four Cupids
In Greek Mythology
Psyche and Cupid overcame innumerable obstacles before their ultimate union in a sacred marriage
Hudec was deeply moved by the love of Liu and Chen
So he ordered this lifelike statue of Psyche from Italy
As a present for the couple
The foreign architect who spoke Chinese
And understood his clients very well
Designed the main building in Italian Renaissance style
Granting the three-storey building a certain palace-like quality
The Ionic order columns
The cornices and the decorative pots
The triangular lintels of window
And the patterned railings of the balcony
These elements of classic architecture
Are all manifestations of grace and delicate
The driveway locates east to the main building
Guests would get off their cars under the rainshed
The dining hall on the west wing
Was decorated with creamy white plaster
On columns and walls
Especially the west niche
There are plaster beam hangers and sparrow braces on the ceiling
And glass painted with grapes as windows
Grapes represent purity and fertilization
And there are ceiling relief of assorted patterns
No one would be surprised that
It cost the owner 200 thousand sliver dollars (the average annual expense of Shanghai people at the time was 5 silver dollars)
Parties were thrown every day
And grand parties at least once a week
The ball room faces the back garden
Words have it, the family hired four Chinese chefs
Two Western chefs
And 40 servants
When the masters came home
They could go through the entrance hall
Directly upstairs via the main staircase
The main staircase through all three storeys was cleverly designed by Mrs. Liu
Whether it’s the heart pattern
Or Mr. Liu’s initials in the railings
“KSL”
The rose patterns on the lateral windows represent love
And meanwhile Mrs. Liu’s English name is Rose
The second floor includes the master living room and bedroom
And a huge open balcony
Eighty years ago
The Liu couple might have had some wonderful afternoons here
Having tea in the sunshine
Looking at the gentle curves of the columns
And gazing into the garden downstairs
Through the columns
In 1947
The couple left for Hong Kong
And never returned
His brother Liu Hongsheng donated the house to the government in 1952
And since then it became the office of the Shanghai Writers’ Association
As a witness of history
The old villa tells the love story on and on