The name of this hall is taken from the Great Learning《大学》: “Before the Kings of the Yin dynasty lost the hearts of the people, they could appear freely before God. Take warning from the fortunes of the house of Yin. The great decree is not easily retained. The fate of the house of Yin shows that the kingdom is gained, by winning the allegiance of the people, but, in losing their allegiance, the kingdom is lost. For this reason, the ruler will first take pains to preserve his own virtue.”

The hall was built in the Qing Dynasty by Wu Shufeng (吴树风)and Wu Xihe (吴熙和, the 32nd generation of the Wu family, 1798-1865). They paid great attention to the nurturing of virtue, educating people in morality as well as in managing their families with diligence and thrift, acknowledging the importance of farming but also, of learning. They are an example of a family tradition, that combined the cultivation of the land with the cultivation of the literary arts. They aspired to be a family of scholars. According to the oral account of a village elder, Wu Shufeng originally lived in Liangtan village. When he first moved to Gaoqian, his family was very poor and possessed nothing of value. He brought with him, simply a small iron pot. It is said that one morning when he was on his way to the mountain to cut firewood, he found a piece of clothing. He did not keep it. He took it to the market and sold it for three Yinyuan银元(silver dollars), with which he bought three mu of land. Later, it was said that he raised a throstle and in due course, he took the bird to the county town where it won a fight with a bird owned by the Wang family in Chengguan (城关city gate). This time he won 12 Yinyuan and bought 12 mu of farmland with this money. After that, he rented out the land and began offering loans. With the wealth he accumulated, he kept buying land and building houses. At the same time, he hired private tutors to educate his children and grandchildren. Four of his children and grandchildren attained Xiucai degree, and one Tongsheng. It is said that one member of the family was a genius; Wu Jiangxi (1840-1892), was the top Xiucai in the six counties of Taizhou Prefecture and often took exams for others. He was known near and far as a “substitute examinee”. Over the past three hundred years from now, more than 60 people from this hall passed different kinds of selective examinations as college students or international students, including one who became a professor at Tsinghua University and two cadets who went on to attend the Huangpu Military Academy.

Shende Hall is a large, well preserved and elegantly built two-storey, house situated among the ancient dwellings of Gaoqian, with a height of six metres and a floor area of 2,286.39 square metres, second only in its dimensions, to Xin De Hall. According to those who still live in this hall, it could accommodate 36 old-fashioned square tables for weddings or funerals. It has three courtyards: front, middle and back. This hall, together with Zhen De Hall and the Great Academy to the south (which was destroyed), formed an arrangement of three mansions with nine halls. Along the central axis are the entrance, the front yard, the principal hall, the middle yard, the back hall and the back yard. The principal hall is wide and bright. The principal hall and the left and right Xiangfang are all three rooms wide. This three-courtyard mansion has at least 28 Xiangfang (厢房chambers) covering an area of 2288.33 square metres.

The east Xiangfang is said to have been occupied by first wives, the west Xiangfang by second wives, the east and west chambers in the backyard by the head of the family, with unmarried girls in the attic in the backyard. The remaining rooms were for concubines, and sons and daughters-in-law. For generations it seems to have provided a comfortable family home with a peaceful atmosphere.