Tomb of Gu Xingzu

Tomb of Gu Xingzu

The Tomb of Gu Xingzu is a cultural relic protection unit of Nanjing City.

The Tomb of Gu Xingzu is located in Xiaohang, outside Andemen, Yuhuatai District, dating back to the Ming Dynasty.

When Emperor Renzong of Ming ascended the throne, he was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief. He suppressed the rebellion of ethnic minorities in Guangxi, leading to the surrender of many. During the Xuande era, when Lê Lợi of Jiaozhi rebelled, he was imprisoned for over a year for holding back his troops and failing to assist in quelling the revolt. In the late years of Emperor Yingzong’s reign, he joined the northern campaign but fled back during the Tumu Crisis, and was sentenced to death. When Esen's forces approached the capital, he served as Vice Commander-in-Chief and participated in the defense of the capital. He was later appointed as Concurrent Controller of the Army and tasked with guarding Zijing Pass. In the third year of the Jingtai era (1452), he was imprisoned again for accepting bribes but was soon released. For his role in establishing the crown prince, he was granted the title of Marquis. In the early days of the Tianshun era, he was ennobled as a Count and appointed to guard Nanjing until his death.

The tomb is situated within the Nanjing Pharmaceutical and Machinery Factory on Xiaohang Street, outside Andemen. Originally, the spirit way of Gu Xingzu’s tomb stretched over a hundred meters, featuring a spirit way stele, stone horses, stone sheep, stone tigers, and stone statues of officials. The top of the spirit way stele was about one meter high, the body of the stele stood 2.5 meters tall, and the inscriptions — “Spirit Way Eulogy of Gu Gong, Count of Zhenyuan, Joint Controller of the Army, Defender of Nanjing, and Commander-in-Chief in the Campaign against Southern Barbarians” — were faintly legible in intaglio regular script, though unfortunately, the stele itself no longer exists, with only the base remaining in its original location.

The Tomb of Gu Xingzu is a cultural relic protection unit of Nanjing City.