Shikumen House 石库门

In 新天地 Xintiandi I visited a museum featuring a renovated shikumen 石库门 of the 1920's.  In this house is a tiny room located at the turn of the staircase called a tingzijian.  It usually faced north, so the  room would be cold in winter and hot in summer. During the 1920s and 1930s  many highly educated people and artists came to Shanghai to escape social and political unrest in other parts of China. Many of them were single and tingzijian afforded them a cheap, convenient form of accommodation.  Famous writers such as Lu Xun, Cai Yuanpei, Guo Moluo, Mao Dun, Ba Jing, Ding Ling and Feng Zikai  lived in tingzijian. Many of their works reflected life in tingzijian and shikumen, and were hence called "Tingzijian Literature".  On the desk are the four treasures: 文房四宝 wenfang si bao: brushes, ink sticks, ink stone, and writing paper. Also an abacus, some Chinese books, western pens and an ancient typewriter.