Tomb of Hua Yanjun

Tomb of Hua Yanjun

The Tomb of Hua Yanjun is a cultural relic protection unit of Wuxi City.

The Tomb of Hua Yanjun is located by the Chunsen Stream on the west side of the "Second Spring Under Heaven" in Huishan, Wuxi.

Hua Yanjun, also known as A Bing, was a native of Wuxi. From childhood, he learned musical skills from the Taoist priest Hua Qinghe (his father) at the Leizun Taoist Temple. After his father passed away in 1915, he succeeded him as a priest. In 1928, he became blind, left the temple, and made a living on the streets as a street performer. He gained popularity among the public for his instrumental performances and storytelling news bulletins, and was known as "Blind A Bing." In 1950, the China Conservatory of Music recorded three of his erhu compositions—“Erquan Yingyue,” “Ting Song,” and “Han Chun Feng Qu”—as well as three pipa pieces—“Da Lang Tao Sha,” “Long Chuan,” and “Zhao Jun Chu Sai”—in order to discover, study, and preserve outstanding folk music materials. He is recognized as an outstanding folk musician in China.

Originally buried in the Taoist graveyard of Yangming Temple on Can Shan Mountain, Hua Yanjun’s tomb was destroyed in 1966. The current tomb was rebuilt in 1983 with funding from the Wuxi Municipal Government. Shaped like a music stage, the tomb is rectangular in plan, measuring 2.9 meters in length and 9.3 meters in width, covering an area of 300 square meters. At the center of the back wall is embedded a granite tombstone inscribed with “Tomb of Hua Yanjun, Folk Musician, Also Known as A Bing.” The inscription was written by Yang Yinliu. In front of the tomb is a platform with stone benches nearby, and a pathway leads up to it. The remains are buried within a small slope located at the center-back against the tomb wall, with no visible mound or burial pit on the exterior. It is a modern architectural tomb with musical characteristics.