Tomb of Qin Guan

Tomb of Qin Guan

The Tomb of Qin Guan is a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangsu Province.

The Tomb of Qin Guan is located on the southern slope of Ermaofeng Peak in Huishan, Wuxi. It was built during the Shaoxing era of the Southern Song Dynasty when his son, Qin Zhan, who served as Tongpan (vice prefect) of Changzhou, relocated Qin Guan’s coffin from Gaoyou to this site.

Qin Guan, styled Shaoyou and also known by his pseudonym Huaishijushi, was a native of Gaoyou, Jiangsu. He passed the imperial examination in 1085 (during the Yuanfeng reign) and held successive positions such as professor in Cai Prefecture, academician at the Imperial University, and proofreader at the Secretariat as well as an editor at the National History Office. After his death, he was posthumously honored as a Direct Academician of the Dragon Diagram Pavilion. He was skilled in writing ci poetry (a form of lyric poetry), and his works are characterized by their simplicity, subtlety, elegance, gentleness, and poignant delicacy. He is regarded as a representative of the “Wanyue School” (the Graceful and Restrained School) and was one of the “Four Scholars of Su’s School.” His collected works are compiled in the Huaihai Ji.

The tomb site is backed by Huishan Mountain and faces the East Pond, surrounded by shaded woods in a tranquil setting. The tomb mound is built beneath a rocky outcrop, atop and on both sides of which there was originally a nearly square stone enclosing wall. More than ten steps led up to the main southern gate, beyond which lies a flat terrace housing an altar. In the center are five steps flanked by yellow-stone protective walls. There was originally a pavilion on the tomb. Inside the pavilion were inscribed steles and stone poems; the stele bore an imperial decree from 1130 (during the Jianyan reign of the Southern Song Dynasty) posthumously granting Qin Guan the title of Direct Academician of the Dragon Diagram Pavilion, while the stone poems featured farewell verses by Huang Tingjian. By the mid-Southern Song period, the Qin descendants gradually fell into poverty, surrounding lands were encroached upon by local elites, and the tomb site was damaged. In 1206 (the second year of the Kaixi reign), the tomb pavilion was restored, the poetic stone was reclaimed, and the honorary stele was re-erected. From the Ming and Qing dynasties onward, Qin descendants undertook multiple renovations of the site. The current tomb area covers a total of 540 square meters in a square layout. In front of the tomb stands a bluestone stele inscribed with four characters: “Tomb of Qin, Dragon Diagram Academician.”

On October 22, 2002, the Tomb of Qin Guan was designated as part of the fifth group of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Jiangsu Province.

Further Reading:

· Fifth Group of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Jiangsu Province