Tomb of Zhuang Chang

Tomb of Zhuang Chang

The Tomb of Zhuang Chang is a municipal cultural relics protection unit in Nanjing.

Tomb of Zhuang Chang [Behind the ruins of Dingshan Temple in the Pearl Spring Scenic Area, Pukou District · Ming Dynasty · Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit] Zhuang Chang (1437–1499), courtesy name Kong?D, sobriquet Mushan, and later sobriquet Huoshui Weng, was a native of Pukou. He passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi in the second year of the Chenghua reign (1466) during the Ming Dynasty, and was subsequently appointed as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy. In the third year of the Chenghua reign, Zhuang Chang opposed Emperor Zhu Jianshen’s plan to hold an extravagant lantern festival on the Yuanxiao Festival. Rather than writing praise poetry or memorial eulogies, he submitted a memorial titled “Memorial on Cultivating the Emperor’s Virtue,” in which he wrote: “...The current practice of setting off fireworks may not be in line with the way of Yao and Shun; poems about fireworks may not contain words of benevolence and righteousness... By cutting such wasteful expenditures, we can save the lives of displaced and suffering people, reward soldiers who have labored in battle, then wars may cease, disasters may vanish, the people may prosper, and the four barbarian tribes may submit.” For speaking out, he offended Emperor Xianzong and was demoted from office, gaining the title of one of the “Four Remonstrating Officials of the Hanlin.” Later, he lived in seclusion at Dingshan for 30 years, constructing buildings such as the “Dingshan Thatched Cottage,” “Tianfeng Pavilion,” and “Banyun Pavilion” near the Pearl Spring. He also built the “Shuangquan Bridge” (at the confluence of Pearl Spring and Zhuoxi Spring) around the cottage, along with seven pavilions: “Huo Shui” (“Flowing Water”), “Chun Feng” (“Spring Wind”), “Xi Yun” (“Valley Clouds”), “Yuan Fei Yu Yue” (“Kites Flying and Fish Leaping”), “Hui Hai” (“Sea Returning”), “Tian Di Yi Wo” (“Heaven, Earth, and I Are One”), and “Dong Gu” (“Gazing East”). He pioneered the development of the Pearl Spring garden area. His collected works, the “Dingshan Literary Collection,” were included in the “Complete Library of the Four Treasuries.” The tomb mound of Zhuang Chang has a diameter of 6 meters, with the earthen mound standing 3 meters high. Originally, there were two steles in front of the tomb: one was the “Tomb Stele of Master Zhuang of Dingshan,” written by Zhan Ruoshui, the Libationer of the Nanjing Imperial College in the thirteenth year of the Jiajing reign (1534) and engraved by Liu Jin, the magistrate of Jiangpu County; the other was a poetic stele of Zhuang Dingshan, written in the tenth year of the Wanli reign (1582) by an unnamed Minister of Personnel and engraved by Bo Zuolin, the Langzhong of the Guizhou Clearing Office under the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue. Both steles are 2 meters tall, 0.85 meters wide, and 0.2 meters thick. The tomb stele is now located at the ruins of Dingshan Temple, with a damaged upper left corner, recording Zhuang Chang’s life story and offering high praise for him. The poetic stele stands beside the tomb, inscribed with the poem: “This old man’s heart was made of iron, / Yet his poems always carried the fragrance of plum blossoms. / If you know his origins, only a fisherman would understand; / He believed his boldness surpassed even the madness of Chu. / His noble spirit soared over rivers and seas, / The upright qi of heaven and earth still fills this hall. / Even today, when people visit his grave, / The pines and cypresses are often frosted with snow and frost.” The poem praises his talent and righteous spirit. In 1983, it was designated as a district-level cultural relics protection unit, and in 2006, it was listed as a municipal-level cultural relics protection unit.