Tomb of Qian Yu

Tomb of Qian Yu

The Tomb of Qian Yu, located in Yaowo Li in the southwestern suburbs of Xishan City, was discovered in April 1961.

Qian Yu, courtesy name Kuanfu, was a descendant of the Qian family, rulers of the Wuyue Kingdom during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. He died in the seventh year of the Yan era (1320) and was buried in the first year of the Zhi era (1321), with his wife Lady Lu buried alongside him.

The tomb structure is a vertical shaft brick-chambered grave, with a brick wall dividing two parallel chambers. The ceiling is covered by four large bluestones, sealed with lime mortar mixed with small yellow pebbles to fill the gaps. The burial items consist of one inner and one outer coffin. The exterior of the outer coffin and the inner walls of the chamber were coated with a layer of lime mortar, and the tomb floor was paved with a layer of rosin. The body of Lady Lu, Qian Yu’s wife, had not yet decomposed, and she had... in her mouth.

A total of 154 burial objects were unearthed, including gold and silver utensils, jewelry, lacquerware and jade ornaments, silk fabrics, paper currency, etc. The gold and silver utensils included gold cups, gold belt buckles, silver teacup stands, silver boxes, silver jars, silver pots, silver spittoons, silver jars, and silver bowls. Gold and silver jewelry included gold hairpins, silver hairpins, silver flower pins, and silver hair covers. Lacquerware included lacquer cosmetic boxes, lacquer powder boxes, lacquer basins, and lacquer buckets. Jade items included carved peach-shaped jade cups, jade belt hooks, jade ornaments, and jade hairpins, as well as agate, crystal, and amber accessories. Silk fabrics included robes, shirts, vests, skirts, trousers, shoes, as well as powder puffs and coin purses. Paper currency included 33 notes of the “Zhiyuan Tongxing Baochao” in denominations of 500 and 200 wen. In addition, a bronze mirror, wooden comb, wooden pillow, fruit pit beads, and an epitaph tablet were also excavated.

The burial objects unearthed from this tomb reflect the craftsmanship levels in gold and silver filigree work, lacquering, jade carving, and silk textiles in China from the second half of the 13th century to the early 14th century. They hold significant value for studying the development of arts and crafts during the late Song and early Yuan periods, as well as the local history of Wuxi.