Tomb of Jin Shengtan

Tomb of Jin Shengtan

The Tomb of Jin Shengtan is a cultural relic protection unit of Suzhou City.

The Tomb of Jin Shengtan is located in Xishanwu Valley at the foot of Boxueling on Wufeng Mountain, Cangshu Township, Wu County.

Jin Shengtan was from Changzhou (now Suzhou). His original name was Zhang Cai, with the courtesy name Ruocai. He later changed his surname to Jin, took the name Kui, and also used the name Renrui. "Shengtan" was his literary name, which he adopted in reference to Confucius praising Zeng Shen—a man who refused to take an official position. He was a famous literary and drama critic and enlightenment thinker in China.

He lived during a period of dramatic change between the Ming and Qing dynasties, when class and political tensions were extremely sharp. He advocated the idea that "the people are more important than the ruler," maintained a non-cooperative stance toward the Qing rulers, and led an anti-Qing protest movement known as the “Grain Refusal and Temple Weeping Incident” shortly after the death of the Shunzhi Emperor. He was ultimately accused of “inciting rebellion and disturbing the spirit of the late emperor,” and on July 13, 1661 (the 18th year of the Shunzhi reign), he was executed along with over 200 other scholars by the Qing government in Nanjing.

Jin Shengtan was highly knowledgeable and prolific, especially known for his commentaries on classic and fictional works. His annotated version of the vernacular novel *Water Margin* emphasized the theme of being “forced onto Liangshan,” transforming the novel into a textbook for popular uprisings—“those who had become outlaws reading it with pride, and those who hadn’t yet become outlaws reading it and becoming outlaws.” Because of his innovative approach, he was denounced by orthodox feudal literati, and none of his books were included in the *Complete Library of the Four Treasuries*. Official compilations such as the *Biographies of Literati*, *Biographies of Confucian Scholars*, and *Biographies of Local Worthies* also excluded him. The Qing government even explicitly banned the Jin-edition *Water Margin*. However, the public remembered him fondly; shortly after his execution, locals erected the “Eighteen Martyrs Shrine” on Yangshan Mountain in honor of Jin Shengtan and the other “heroes” involved in the Grain Refusal and Temple Weeping Incident. In the global literary community, Japanese sinologists regarded the Jin-edition *Water Margin* as the finest version, and Pearl S. Buck gained international fame partly through translating this edition. Contemporary literary giants such as Guo Moruo and Zheng Zhenduo also spoke very highly of Jin Shengtan.

Originally, there was a stele in front of Jin Shengtan’s tomb inscribed with the words “Tomb of the Literary Figure Jin Renrui,” written by Wu Yinpei of the Wu Zhong Tomb Preservation Society. This stele is now lying in a pond at the Wu County Forest Farm. During the Anti-Japanese War, Japanese forces dug tunnels on Boxueling and excavated Jin Shengtan’s tomb, taking away a small iron box but not digging to the bottom. During the 1959 cultural relics survey, the tomb mound was restored and pine trees were planted. During the Cultural Revolution, some people came to the site of Jin Shengtan’s tomb to “discuss *Water Margin*” and proposed excavating the grave, but nothing came of it. Plans are currently underway to restore the tomb.