Tomb of Miao Yu

Tomb of Miao Yu

The tomb of Miao Yu, Prefect of Pengcheng during the Eastern Han Dynasty, is located at the southern foot of Qinglong Mountain in Youcun, Yanzipu Township, about 55 kilometers northwest of Pizhou County.

The tomb mound stands 4.5 meters above the ground. It was discovered in 1966 and excavated in 1982 by the Pizhou County Cultural Center and the Nanjing Museum. As the tomb had been looted long ago, no relics remain inside, and the surrounding stone walls have also been ruined. Remnants of the wall foundations and ridge decorations can still be seen on the ground.

The tomb is a stone relief-carved burial structure, with its entrance facing 5 degrees west. The tomb chamber consists of three parts: an antechamber, a main chamber, and a corridor. The total length is 7.2 meters, and it features a corbelled vault. The main chamber is 2.72 meters long, 1.55 meters wide (north-south), and 1.85 meters high, also with a corbelled ceiling. The corridor is 1 meter wide and 1.7 meters high, with a flat stone slab roof. The north wall next to the door of the main chamber has a lattice window, and there is a stone pillar on the western side.

There are seven surviving stone carvings inside the tomb. Three are distributed along the horizontal lintels on the four walls of the antechamber, and four are located on both sides of the doorway to the rear chamber. The carvings depict scenes such as a kitchen, a chess game, liubo (an ancient board game), music and dance, and archery hunting. The horizontal lintel stone on the western wall is 4.65 meters long and 0.52 meters high. From right to left, it shows scenes of a banquet and a hunting expedition. On the lintel above the tomb door, there is an inscription in the style of an epitaph. Although partially damaged, it reveals details such as the name, official position, date of death, and burial time of the tomb owner. The text reads as follows:

“The late Prefect of Pengcheng, Acting Chief Clerk of the Commandery, Magistrate of Lüshou, Miao Yu, style name Shuyi”

"The esteemed Miao, of noble character and pure virtue,"

"His heart resolute and discerning, his conduct..."

"...following the path from the capital..."

"...respectful, frugal, courteous and yielding, benevolent..."

"...never forgetting those near or far, respectful to the young, upholding the values of the community..."

"...withdrew from office in the government hall..."

"...remembering the alleys... the worthy among the prefects..."

"...appointed (or summoned?), encountered the Assistant Magistrate Guang, leading a black funeral procession"

"The Lord passed away on the seventh day of the seventh month in the first year of the Heping era"

"and was buried on the twentieth day of the third month in the first year of the Yuanjia era."

Han dynasty tomb epitaphs have been rarely unearthed. The discovery of the inscriptions in the tomb of Miao Yu can be regarded as an early form of the tomb epitaph. It provides valuable physical material for studying the periodization of Han dynasty pictorial stone tombs, as well as related historical and burial system issues.