Tomb of Ji Zha

Tomb of Ji Zha

The tomb of Wu Ji Zha (also known as Wu Ji Zi) is located at the southern end of Shengang Town, Jiangyin City. Ji Zha was a figure from the Spring and Autumn period, the fourth son of King Shoumeng of Wu and the nineteenth-generation descendant of Wu Taibo. He is historically referred to as the "Third Most Virtuous Man" for emulating ancient sages by thrice yielding the throne. Also, having been enfeoffed in Yanling, he is also called Ji Zi of Yanling. In order to yield the throne, Ji Zha avoided power and farmed in the foothills of Shun’guo Mountain (now south of Shengang), and after his death, he was buried in Shenpu (the former name of Shengang). A postscript in *Records of the Grand Historian · House of Wu* cites *Imperial Readings* as saying: “The tomb of Ji Zi of Yanling is located in Jiyang Township, Piling County (formerly part of Jiangyin).” *A Comprehensive Gazetteer* records: “Ji Zi’s tomb is 70 li north of Jinling County, west of Shenpu.”

The tomb complex is grand in scale, with a shrine (temple) built atop the tomb mound, and an ancient seal script stele in front of the tomb inscribed with “Alas, here lies the nobleman Ji Zi of Yanling,” commonly known as the “Ten-Character Stele,” which is mistakenly believed to have been written by Confucius. The Ji Zi Shrine was destroyed in the tenth year of the Xianfeng era (1860) and rebuilt during the Tongzhi era of the Qing Dynasty, but both the shrine and the stele were destroyed again during the Anti-Japanese War.

The current tomb mound is about 5 meters high and covers an area of 3,500 square meters. In 1984, a rubbing of the newly erected “Ten-Character Stele” from the first year of Chongning in the Song Dynasty (1102) and a rubbing of Peng Yulin’s Plum Blossom Painting were discovered in Jiangyin, followed by the unearthing of a stone offering table in front of the tomb. In 1990, a stele inscribed with “Tomb of Ji Zi of Yanling, Wu” and a stone incense burner were also found, all of which have since been restored and placed in front of the tomb.

There is also a theory that the tomb is located behind the Ji Zi Temple in Jiuzhen Town, Danyang. The temple no longer exists, leaving only the stele of Ji Zi of Yanling in front of the temple. The stele has a round top, and its inscription is identical to the “Ten-Character Stele” of Ji Zha in Jiangyin. It was recarved in the fourteenth year of the Tang Dynasty's Dali era (779) by Xiao Ding, with calligraphy by Zhang Congshen in 20 lines. The blank spaces on both sides of the inscription bear five inscriptions from the eighth month of the first year of the Jianzhong era (780), the third year of the Zhenyuan era (787), the third year of the Yuanyou era (1088), the fourth year of the Zhengde era (1509), and the sixth year of the Jiajing era (1527), though the characters have become unclear. The reverse side of the stele bears the seal script heading “Record of the Renovation of the Temple of Ji Zi of Yanling, Wu” and the “Record of the Renovation of the Temple of Ji Zi of Yanling, Wu” written by Xiao Ding and calligraphed by Zhang Congshen, which were recarved later based on rubbings. The sides and end of the stele also feature inscriptions from the Ming and Qing dynasties.