Despite the trauma of Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864), Suzhou was still a pleasant city which attracted numerous gentry scholars. They echoed each other with poems and essays, inherited the cultural tradition, and wrote new chapters of Jiangnan culture. All these activities showed diversified aspects of the lives of Jiangnan gentry class. Gu Wenbin (顾文彬), a famous collector and Intendant of Ning-Shao Circuit (宁绍台道), was a case in point. After his retirement, Gu Wenbin kept close contacts with local gentry and retired officials. Their wealth and talents enabled them to amuse each other with wine, music, poems, appreciating calligraphy, paintings of famous gardens and antique stone stele carvings, and sometimes gambling and courtesans. They led a varied life with gusto. At the same time, they also cared about local affairs and were enthusiastic about public welfare and social charity, playing an exemplary role in local society. Under the background of “Tong-Guang Restoration” (1862-1894), the retired officials like Gu Wenbing maintained friendly and normal relationship with the local governors, neither too close nor too alienated. Observing the rules, they carried out benevolent undertakings with the permission of the government, and engaged in scholarly pastimes such as poem composition and antique collection and appreciation. This might be the most usual and nostalgic retired rural life of Jiangnan literati.