Tomb of Li Wenzhong

Tomb of Li Wenzhong

The Tomb of Li Wenzhong is a protected cultural heritage site of Jiangsu Province.

The Tomb of Li Wenzhong is located in Jiangwangmiao Village, Bancang Township, outside Taiping Gate in Nanjing, about 1 kilometer from Taiping Gate. Li Wenzhong, courtesy name Siben, also known as Bao’er, was a native of Xuyi, Sizhou (now part of Jiangsu Province), and the nephew of the Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty. He was one of the founding heroes of the Ming Dynasty and was posthumously granted the title of King of Qiyang, with the posthumous honorific “Wu Jing.”

The tomb faces south and sits atop a small hill, directly facing Zhongshan Mountain. There are three earthen burial mounds, with the largest mound having a stele erected in front of it. The stele bears an inscription in relief in regular script: “Spirit Way of King Qiyang of the Ming,” inscribed on the central panel, with the signature at the bottom reading “Erected on a lucky day in the second month of the 22nd year of the Guangxu reign during the Qing Dynasty,” and “Reconstructed by Yongqin, the 18th-generation descendant of the Old Ting Hall’s 18th Generation Patriarch.” The stele is 1.5 meters high, 0.58 meters wide, and 0.18 meters thick. The other two mounds are believed to be the tombs of Li Wenzhong’s family members.

In front of the tomb, stone carvings from the spirit way still remain, including two stone pillars, each 3.6 meters tall with a circumference of 1.6 meters. The tops of the pillars are adorned with flaming pearls and rest on lotus bases. The lower parts of the pillar bases are round while the upper parts are square, decorated with upward-facing lotus patterns. There is one stone horse, accompanied by a stone horse attendant dressed in formal court attire, wearing a belt and hat. The horse is 1.7 meters tall, and next to it lies an unfinished stone horse prototype. There are two stone sheep, depicted in a kneeling position, and two stone tigers, shown crouching, with tiger stripes on their bodies, each standing 1.4 meters tall. Two stone warriors, each 2.65 meters tall, wear helmets with hair visible at the edges, flowing behind their heads, and are clad in armor with boots on their feet, their hands resting on swords across their chests. Two stone civil officials, also 2.65 meters tall, wear official court hats, official robes, belts adorned with decorative tassels. All the stone carvings face each other, and the central spirit way has recently been paved with flagstones.

Fifteen meters to the right front of the spirit way stone carvings stands a spirit way stele. It has a total height of 8.6 meters, with the stele head measuring 1.4 meters high, 2.2 meters wide, and 0.75 meters thick, featuring double-dragon and cloud motifs, though the central inscriptions have faded. The main body of the stele is 5.5 meters high, 2.1 meters wide, and 0.7 meters thick. The stele text consists of 39 lines of inscriptions in regular script, carved in relief, documenting the life and achievements of Li Wenzhong, written by Dong Lun in the 19th year of the Hongwu reign (1386) and calligraphed by Zhan Xiyuan. The turtle pedestal is 1.7 meters high, 2.65 meters wide, and 4.9 meters long.

There are currently five stone column bases remaining in the tomb area, believed to be remnants of the offering hall.

In 1984, the Nanjing Cultural Relics Management Committee acquired 19 mu of the tomb site, built an antique-style latticed wall around it, constructed an octagonal pavilion on the small hill, and erected a display hall with Ming and Qing architectural styles on the west side of the spirit way. The hall hosts an exhibition titled “Cultural Relics and Historical Traces of the Early Ming Meritorious Officials’ Tombs.” The tomb area has also been landscaped.

Further Reading:

· First and Second Batch of Protected Cultural Heritage Sites of Jiangsu Province