Guan Tianpei’s Ancestral Temple and Tomb

Guan Tianpei’s Ancestral Temple and Tomb

Guan Tianpei’s Ancestral Temple and Tomb is a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangsu Province.

Guan Tianpei’s tomb is located at Sanlitang in Nanyao Village, Chengdong Township, east of Huai’an City. His ancestral temple is situated at No. 32 Dongxian Street, east of Chenghuai Tower in Huai’an County.

Guan Tianpei, courtesy name Zhongyin and art name Zipu, was a native of Shanyang County (now Huai’an City) in Huai’an Prefecture and a patriotic general of the Qing Dynasty. In his youth, he joined the military and was promoted to the position of Viceroy of Guangdong Naval Forces in the 14th year of the Daoguang reign (1834). He expanded and reinforced the Nanshan, Hengdang, and Luwan artillery batteries, installed hundreds of heavy cannons, and built up the Humen Fort defenses. He also set up iron chain barriers and diligently reorganized and trained the naval forces. Within six years, he had fortified Guangdong’s coastal defenses to be impregnable, earning him the reputation of being a reincarnation of Qi Jiguang. In March 1839, he cooperated with Lin Zexu in the anti-opium campaign, seizing over 2.37 million jin of opium from British ships and destroying it at Humen. In November 1839, when the British instigated the Battle of Chuanbi, Guan Tianpei led from the front and achieved six consecutive victories. When Britain launched a large-scale invasion of China in 1840, and due to the Qing court’s appeasement policies, the British took advantage of the situation and invaded on January 25, 1841. Outnumbered, Guan Tianpei repeatedly repelled the landing attacks of British troops, heavily damaged three enemy warships, and inflicted significant casualties. He “sustained dozens of wounds,” with “blood soaking his clothes and armor,” and ultimately died a heroic death alongside 400 defending soldiers at the age of 62. After his martyrdom, his remains were transported back to his hometown for burial, and a temple was erected in his memory.

Guan Tianpei’s tomb was originally an earthen grave. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the government allocated funds for its renovation. The tomb mound is now constructed of block stones and cement, with a circumference of 76 meters, a diameter of 24 meters, and a height of 1.35 meters. The tombstone is 1.35 meters high, 0.4 meters wide, and 0.12 meters thick, inscribed with “Tomb of the Loyal and Righteous Duke Guan Tianpei.”

Guan Tianpei’s Ancestral Temple was first built in the 23rd year of the Daoguang reign (1843) during the Qing Dynasty. It consists of a quadrangle compound made up of front and rear halls, east and west wing rooms, and lower rooms. At the center of the courtyard stood an Imperial Stele Pavilion, which was destroyed between 1933 and 1946. In 1954, under the care of Premier Zhou Enlai, the damaged east wing room was relocated to the original site of the Hall of Worship with government funding. The current temple is a small street-facing compound facing south, with a front gate inscribed “Ancestral Temple of the Loyal and Righteous Duke Guan.” Behind it lies the Hall of Worship, consisting of three rooms with a flush-gable roof and a beam-frame structure. It is 9.85 meters wide and 5.6 meters deep (spanning seven rafters), with eaves 3.5 meters high. The central bay houses a shrine with a seated statue of Guan Tianpei in official attire. Two attendants, one holding a sword and the other a book, stand guard on either side. On both sides of the hall door hang wooden couplets written by Lin Zexu during his “awaiting punishment in Guangzhou” period upon hearing the news of Guan Tianpei’s martyrdom: “For six years you fortified our stronghold—when did the Great Wall suddenly collapse? A lone gamble left you giving your all in vain. Two loyal souls share the same fate—even our foes admired your noble spirit, as your spirit returned looking as if alive.”

Further Reading:

· First and Second Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Jiangsu Province