Tomb of Yun Nantian

Tomb of Yun Nantian

The Tomb of Yun Nantian is a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangsu Province.

The Tomb of Yun Nantian is located on the west side of Xucheng in Shangdian, Mahang Town, Wujin County.

Yun Nantian, whose given name was Ge, with courtesy names Weida and Shouping (later changed to Zhengshu and Shuzi), and art names such as Nantian Caoyi and Baiyun Waishi, was a native of Shangdian, Wujin. He later moved to Guanzixiang and Baiyundu in the county town, making a living by selling paintings. His paintings excelled in landscapes and flowers, and his calligraphy was bold, graceful, and free-flowing. He was honored as the foremost among the “Six Eccentrics of Piling” and celebrated for his “Three Perfections of Nantian.” His flower paintings inherited the “boneless technique” of Xu Chongsi from the Northern Song Dynasty and were further developed with a fresh, elegant, and uniquely creative style, forming the “Yun School” or “Changzhou Painting School,” which became widely influential and is regarded as orthodox in the tradition of painting from life. His landscape paintings were refined, elegant, and unrestrained, surpassing others, and he was ranked alongside Wang Shigu as one of the “Six Masters of the Early Qing.” He authored works such as the *Ouxiangguan Collection*, *Nantian Painting Colophons*, and *Dongyuan Correspondence*.

The Tomb of Yun Nantian and the tomb of his father, Yun Richu, are situated side by side within the same burial area. In front of each tomb stands a granite gravestone: the left one bears the incised regular script inscription “Tomb of the Recluse Master Yun Nantian,” while the right one reads “Tomb of the Noble Master Yun Xunan.” These were erected by descendants of the Yun family during the Guangxu era.

In 1983, on the 350th anniversary of Yun Nantian’s birth, the Wujin County Government and Mahang Town Government raised funds to restore the tomb site and establish the Yun Nantian Memorial Hall. The tomb area has since been expanded into a cemetery covering over 700 square meters, enclosed by brick walls. The two tombs are located slightly north of the center of the cemetery, facing the tomb gate directly. To the east of the tombs stands a three-room bungalow, with a stone engraving of *Inscription for the Reconstruction of Yun Nantian’s Tomb* written and inscribed by Liu Haisu embedded in the interior wall.

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Jiangsu Province