Wang Desheng Family Stele Cluster

Wang Desheng Family Stele Cluster

The Wang Desheng Family Stele Cluster is a cultural relic protection unit of Lianyungang City.

Wang Desheng Family Stele Cluster (Qing Dynasty)

The Wang Desheng Family Stele Cluster is located in Xizhufan Village, Shilianghe Town, Donghai County, Lianyungang City. The cluster includes the “Tongzhi Imperial Decree” stele, the “Guangxu Imperial Decree” stele, the “Wang Desheng’s Biography” stele, and the “Wang Desheng and His Wife Joint Tomb” stele.

Wang Desheng, styled Jiezhi, also known as Meibo, was the firstborn. He was born into a poor family on February 12, 1825, in Zhufan Village, Lanshan County, Yizhou Prefecture, Shandong Province (now Xizhufan Village, Shilianghe Town, Donghai County, Jiangsu Province). In the sixth year of the Xianfeng reign, he joined the Qing Southern Camp. In March of the seventh year of the Tongzhi reign (1868), he was promoted to deputy general, designated for appointment as full general, and bestowed the honorary title “Zhiyong Baturu.” In February of the sixth year of the Guangxu reign (1880), he was appointed as the general of Nangang Commandery in Jiangxi. In July of the twenty-first year of the Guangxu reign (1895), he was granted the position of general of Hezhou Commandery in Shaanxi. He passed away at home on January 21, 1908, during the thirty-fourth year of the Guangxu reign, at the age of 84.

The “Tongzhi Imperial Decree” stele and the “Guangxu Imperial Decree” stele are located about 1 kilometer southwest of Xizhufan Village, standing upright in the fields facing due south. Both stelae are made of limestone, similar in size and shape, measuring 227 cm in height, 105 cm in width, and 37 cm in thickness. The surfaces of the stelae are surrounded by shallow-relief carvings of two cloud-dragon motifs, and the inscriptions are clear and neatly engraved. They record the contents of imperial decrees from the fourth year of the Tongzhi reign (1865) and the fifteenth year of the Guangxu reign (1889), respectively, which conferred honors upon Wang Desheng’s paternal uncles and Wang Lin’s parental uncles. These provide valuable physical evidence for the study of the format and content of late Qing imperial decree stelae.

The “Wang Desheng’s Biography” stele and the “Wang Desheng and His Wife Joint Tomb” stele are currently preserved in the courtyard of the Xizhufan Village Committee. The “Wang Desheng’s Biography” stele, measuring 80 cm in width, 182 cm in height, with characters and inscriptions uniformly 3×3 cm, was engraved in the twenty-sixth year of the Guangxu reign (1900); the “Wang Desheng and His Wife Joint Tomb” stele was engraved in the third year of the Xuantong reign (1911). These two stelae document Wang Desheng’s life story, from a military officer to a general and designated military governor. The inscriptions include phrases such as “captured alive the rebel Lai Wenyuan,” making them important historical materials for studying late Qing military figures, especially activities in the later period. Shilianghe Town: The former Nan Chen Township and Shilianghe Town have been merged to form the new Shilianghe Town. After the adjustment, the town covers an administrative area of 103.6 square kilometers, with a total population of 63,000, governing 24 village committees, and the town government is located at the original site of the Shilianghe Town government.

Shilianghe Town is located in the northernmost part of Donghai County, 32 kilometers south of the county seat, bordering Linshu County of Shandong Province to the west, and sharing the Xinshu River border with Ganyu County to the north. The town has a total area of 70.83 square kilometers, with 44,000 mu of arable land and an average of 1.1 mu of arable land per person. It governs 15 administrative villages and 35 natural villages, with a total population of 40,100... Detailed information about Shilianghe Town++

Further Reading:

· The Fifth Batch of Municipal-Level Cultural Relic Protection Units in Lianyungang City