Stone Carvings at the Tomb of Gu Hao

Stone Carvings at the Tomb of Gu Hao

The stone carvings at the tomb of Gu Hao are a municipal-level cultural relics protection unit in Nanjing.

Stone Carvings at the Tomb of Gu Hao [On the Buddha’s Hand Lake Peninsula in the Pearl Spring Scenic Area, Pukou District�Ming Dynasty�Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit] Gu Hao, whose birth and death years are unknown, also known as Qinfu and styled Shipo, was a native of Gucun in Pukou. In the 31st year of the Jiajing reign (1552) of the Ming Dynasty, he passed the imperial examination at the provincial level and later served as a deputy prefect in Jiaxing Prefecture. At that time, Japanese pirates were most rampant in their raids on the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions along China's southeastern coast. Over the three to four years following 1552, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians along the Jiangsu and Zhejiang coasts were killed. After taking office, Gu Hao placed great emphasis on military training to improve the combat effectiveness of his troops, which earned him high regard from Zhang Jing, the military commander-in-chief in Jiaxing. In the 34th year of the Jiajing reign, with the help of internal collaborators, Japanese pirates suddenly launched a surprise attack on Jiaxing. Zhang Jing ordered Gu Hao to lead troops in a counterattack. Gu Hao encircled the pirates in Pingwang County, “beheading 180 and capturing hundreds,” which significantly weakened the pirates’ arrogance. For his meritorious service in resisting the pirates, the imperial court specially “granted him one rank higher, two ingots of red gold, one fur coat, and promoted him to Prefect of Yunnan.” In his later years, he retired to his hometown and was buried at the foot of a small hill behind Guchong Village, his birthplace. The tomb mound is 2.5 meters high and 4 meters in diameter. In front of the tomb stands a stele inscribed with the words “The Joint Tomb of Gu Gong, Honored as Qianjun, Prefect of Yunnan, Styled Qinjun, of the Glorious Ming Dynasty, and His Primary Wife Zhao, Honored as Longgongren,” measuring 1.52 meters long, 0.42 meters wide, and 0.17 meters thick. This stele was erected in the 12th year of the Jiaqing reign (1807) by his descendants. Additionally, next to Gu Hao’s tomb lies the tomb of the wife of his son, Gu Xiaopo. The mound is 1.5 meters in diameter and 1 meter in remaining height. A tombstone in front reads “The Tomb of Madam Dai, the Virtuous Wife of Xiaopo Gu of the Glorious Ming Dynasty,” measuring 0.87 meters long, 0.5 meters wide, and 0.17 meters thick, erected by the Gu descendants. Gu Hao was also quite literary; according to the county annals, he wrote the *Collected Works of Shipo* and the *Poetry Collection of Baoqing*. Since 2003, due to the construction of the Buddha’s Hand Lake reservoir, Guchong Village and the surrounding low-lying fields, ponds, and tea gardens have gradually been submerged. The tomb of Gu Hao is now just over ten meters away from the water’s edge. It was designated as a district-level cultural relics protection unit in 1983 and as a municipal-level cultural relics protection unit in 1992.