The former residence of Song Cao is located at No. 4 Confucian Street, Yancheng. The inscription was inscribed by Shen Peng, vice chairman of the Chinese Calligraphers Association. The former residence originally had several entrances and dozens of houses. The houses in the south were demolished and a municipal kindergarten was built. The houses in the north were demolished and the Yandu County Finance Bureau office building was built. Only a few houses in the middle remained. With the approval of the city people's government, they were In 1986, renovation and restoration began, and it became the site of the Yancheng Painting and Calligraphy Academy.

Song Cao, courtesy name Binchen (Bing Chen) and nickname Sheling, was born in Xinxingchang, the northern suburb of Yancheng City. He was born in November of the Gengshen Year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (AD 1620). He loved to practice ink when he was still young, and in his early thirties, he was praised in his hometown for his poetry and calligraphy. He was a calligrapher and patriotic poet in the early Qing Dynasty. He left a large number of calligraphy works throughout his life, which are scattered throughout Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, and are also collected by the Palace Museum in Beijing. His "Calligraphy Essays" is a famous treatise on calligraphy, and later generations included it in "Selected Essays on Chinese Calligraphy in the Past Dynasties". Cao Cao of the Song Dynasty was profound in poetry and his works include "An Interpretation of Du's Poems" and "Collected Poems of Hui Qiutang" handed down to the world.

Song Cao's talent was unparalleled, and he was awarded the title of Zhongshu Sheren during the Hongguang period of the Southern Ming Dynasty. After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, he retired to Tangcun outside the south gate of Yancheng. He called himself the husband of the plowing sea and built a vegetable platform to support his mother. In the fourth year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1647 AD), Yancheng scholars Si Shipan, Li Yu and others successively launched armies to resist the Qing Dynasty. After their failure, the Qing government searched and arrested him everywhere. Song Cao was also implicated, but was rescued and released. After that, he traveled to Jiangsu and Zhejiang everywhere. At that time, there was Wan Nian Shao, a righteous soldier who resisted the Qing Dynasty in Xuzhou, who was friendly with Song Cao. Wan Nian Shao failed to raise troops in the south of the Yangtze River to fight against the Qing Dynasty. He fled back to the north of the Yangtze River and lived in seclusion by Hongze Lake. Song Cao Cao visited Wan Niang Shao, and the famous scholar Gu Tinglin was also there. Three people engaged. In the first year of Kangxi's reign in the Qing Dynasty (AD 1662), he was ordered to live in seclusion in the mountains and forests, but he resigned because his mother was old. Another 16 years later, the Qing Dynasty compiled the history of the Ming Dynasty, opened the Erxue Hongci Department, and recruited famous scholars from home and abroad. At that time, the minister Yan Hang and the governor of Jiangsu Mu Tianyan recommended Song Cao and Wei Shuzi, but they both refused to go.

Song Cao was friendly with Liu Wenzhen, cousin of Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty. Liu Wenzhen's aunt was the concubine of Zhu Changluo, Emperor Guangzong of the Ming Dynasty, and the biological mother of Emperor Chongzhen (the imperial concubine of Yancheng Li and the queen of the later Jin Dynasty). After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, Liu Wenzheng wandered around the world. Cao Cao of the Song Dynasty advised him that "it is better to return home than to travel in the mountains for half a year, and sing songs everywhere that goes against everything." Liu Wenzheng moved to Yancheng in the 21st year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, lived in seclusion in Tangcun with Song Cao, and married his only daughter to Song Cao's fourth son Huan Yi. Huan Yi died early and gave birth to a posthumous son. Song Cao made him Liu Wenzheng's grandson, named Liu live. There is Huanggu's tomb in Tangcun, which is the tomb of Heng Yi's wife Liu.

In the 22nd year of the Lianxi reign of the Qing Dynasty, Governor Yu Chenglong invited Song Cao to Nanjing to compile "Jiangnan Tongzhi" and the general affairs of the school. He wrote it without his signature. Yu Chenglong respected him very much and called him Sheyang. gentlemen. In the 40th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1701 AD), Song Cao died of illness at the age of 82.

The restored former residence of Song Cao has the main door facing east. When entering the former residence, there is a statue of Song Cao standing in front of the door. He wears a civilian bun and cloth clothes. His face is clear and his long beard is fluttering. A scholarly demeanor that is arrogant and refined.

The front hall is the Vegetable Thatched Cottage, located in the north and facing south. This is built in accordance with the style of the Vegetable Thatched Cottage built by Cao Cao in the Song Dynasty. The south eaves of this hall have a rolling shed, and the corridor columns have couplets: calligraphy Zen and Rong Huishu masters have pagoda rhythms, and poems Chongqin rhyme open up the Du Lao Watering Flower Hall.

To the west of the Shuping Thatched Cottage is the Tongyin Tower. It was named after Cao Cao of the Song Dynasty used the metaphor of falling phoenix leaves to know the autumn. Downstairs is Song Cao's study, which is connected to the bedroom. The study displays the original calligraphy works of Song Cao.

The middle hall is the Huiqiu Hall, where Cao Cao of the Song Dynasty studied. There is a couplet on the pillars:

A man who plows the sea and lurks in the sea is bright and the breeze is high,

The calligraphy of Shelingyi's historical articles is worthy of the ages.

Passing through the middle hall is the backyard. There is a Qin pavilion and a Qin-listening tea house facing north and south. It is surrounded by rocks and water, with a steady trickle and gurgling sound. Song Cao often met friends here to write essays, play the Qin and sing harmony, and enjoy the music. After Ming took a rest, he passed the Qin Pavilion and entered the Stele Corridor. There are 12 stone steles written by Cao Cao of the Song Dynasty in double-hook cursive and thousands of characters embedded in the outline. The original stele has been stolen by the Japanese invaders. This is a re-engraved version based on the rubbings of the original stele. This is a masterpiece of Song Cao's calligraphy. The writing is wild cursive, follows the law and is plain, the writing is vigorous, and the calligraphy moves like flying. His exquisite calligraphy skills will be passed down to future generations. Respected by the calligraphy community.

After passing through the bamboo forest from the stele gallery, there is a drinking water pond imitating the Orchid Pavilion. It is shaded by bananas. The water is clear and full of life with fish jumping around. There is also an ink pond here. It is said that when Cao Cao of the Song Dynasty was a boy, he often spread it with banana leaves. Use it as paper, put water into ink, and learn calligraphy in the pond. The entire former residence is simple and elegant, which is quite popular among tourists. It is a key cultural relic protection unit at the Yancheng City level.