Tomb of Song Sheng

Tomb of Song Sheng

The Tomb of Song Sheng is a cultural relic protection unit of Nanjing City.

The Tomb of Song Sheng is located at No. 113 Yuhua West Road, Yuhua District, dating back to the Ming Dynasty.

The Tomb of Song Sheng is located on Yuhua West Road in Yuhua District. Song Sheng, the Marquis of Xining (1342–1407), was a native of Dingyuan, Anhui. In his youth, he followed his father Song Chaoyong and elder brother Song Guoxing in joining the uprising led by Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Upholding the legacy of his forebears, he held successive positions as commander of the four regional military commissions: Jianning, Jiangxi, Datong, and Shaanxi, as well as serving as an officer in the Right Army Command. In the third year of the Yongle era during the reign of Emperor Chengzu, he was granted the title of Marquis of Xining for his achievements in the western campaigns, along with an annual stipend of 1,100 dan of grain, hereditary in his family. Throughout the entire Ming Dynasty, the title of Marquis of Xining was passed down through 11 generations, inherited by 14 individuals in total. From Song Sheng onwards until the fall of the Ming Dynasty, the Song family held noble rank, intermarried with the imperial family, and maintained a covenant of loyalty that lasted until the end of the dynasty, making them one of the most prominent families of the Ming period.

In the fifth year of the Yongle era (1407), Song Sheng passed away from illness and was posthumously honored as the “Duke of Yanzhou,” and was granted a burial site within the Song family cemetery at the western foot of Leijia Mountain in Nanjing (present-day Langzhai Mountain in Nengrenli, outside Zhonghua Gate, Nanjing). The tomb of Song Sheng and that of his father, Song Chaoyong, both face west. The spirit way stele also faces west, and the two tomb steles share the same design. The stele on the right is the “Spirit Way Stele of Marquis Song Sheng of Xining,” standing 510 cm tall overall, with the stele itself measuring 289 cm in height, 114 cm in width, and 31 cm in thickness. The top of the stele is round and carved with a design of dragons amid clouds. The top bears an inscription in seal script reading: “Spirit Way Stele of the Late Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, Pillar of the State, Marquis of Xining, Lord Song,” arranged in three vertical lines of six characters each. The text was composed by Yang Shiqi, Academician of the Huagai Hall, Minister of Works, and Vice Minister of Rites; calligraphy was done by Yang Rong, Minister of Works; and the title was inscribed by Pi Ling, an official from the Censorate. This spirit way stele was erected by Song Ying, the sixth son of Song Sheng, who inherited the marquis title as a royal son-in-law.

The Tomb of Song Sheng is a cultural relic protection unit of Nanjing City.

Song Sheng (d. 1407), courtesy name Jingyang, was a native of Dingyuan (present-day Dingyuan, Anhui). He was a meritorious official of the early Ming Dynasty. His father, Song Chao Kai, and elder brother, Song Guoxing, both followed Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang in battle. Song Sheng successively inherited the positions of his brother and father, and was stationed in various regions including Jiangxi, Datong, and Shaanxi. He guarded Liangzhou for over twenty years, engaging in numerous battles with ethnic groups beyond the frontier and achieving remarkable military accomplishments. He rose to the rank of General Who Pacifies the Qiang and was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Xining.

In the fifth year of the Yongle era (1407), he died in office. In the seventeenth year of the Chongzhen era (1644), he was posthumously honored as the Duke of Ningguo.

In the early stages, Song Sheng succeeded his elder brother Song Guoxing... More detailed information about Song Sheng++