In 1526, a scholar named Yang Shiyun walked away from the imperial court in Beijing. As a supervising censor in the Hanlin Academy who had achieved the highest imperial degree, he chose to leave behind the corruption of the capital. He returned to his hometown of Xizhou to care for his aging mother and dedicate his remaining years to quiet study. When local officials offered to build him a grand estate, Yang refused. He declared that even the wealthiest person requires only a seven-foot grave upon death.

This philosophy shaped the Seven-Chi Library at No. 8 Dajie Lane. For his final twenty years, Yang lived, wrote, and taught within this modest earth-and-wood sanctuary. The building faces east, capturing the first pale morning light across its three primary bays. Built in the traditional Bai style known as "Three Rooms and a Screen Wall," the structure rises into two floors of weathered timber and packed clay.

Inside, the air carries the dry scent of aged pine and old paper. Visitors can touch the wooden partitions, where the marks of Ming Dynasty chisels remain preserved under layers of wax. The window frames and doors feature traditional woodcarvings, their smooth surfaces worn down by centuries of hands. The library underwent restorations during the Qianlong Reign and the Republican era. It retains its original sixteenth-century structural style.

In 2001, the Chinese State Council designated the library as a national heritage site, protecting it as part of the Xizhou Bai Nationality Ancient Architecture Group. It remains a physical manifestation of clean governance and familial devotion. The small courtyard, enclosed by its protective screen wall, mutes the noise of the modern town outside. Here, the physical scale of seven feet—the height of a standing man, the length of a final resting place—becomes a lesson in spatial and moral economy.