Tomb of Bi Yuan

Tomb of Bi Yuan

The Tomb of Bi Yuan is located in Shangsha Xiangli Village, Mudu, Wu County, Suzhou, on the former site of the Shuimu Mingshe Garden.

Bi Yuan, courtesy name Hengying, also known as Qiufan, and self-styled as the Hermit of Lingyan Mountain, was a native of Taicang. A Jinshi (advanced scholar) of the Qianlong era, he was appointed as an editorial compiler and successively served as governor of Shaanxi, Henan, and Shandong, eventually rising to the position of Viceroy of Huguang. His scholarship spanned the classics and history, extending to philology, epigraphy, and geography, and he was also accomplished in poetry and prose. He authored numerous works, such as Record of Scenic Spots in Guanzhong, Gazetteer of Xi’an Prefecture, Epigraphic Records of Metals and Stones from Guanzhong, Central Plains, and Shandong, and Collected Poems of the Hermit of Lingyan Mountain, among others. He also published the Jingxuntang Series.

The Tomb of Bi Yuan originally had an earthen mound measuring 20 meters in length from north to south, 11.5 meters in width from east to west, and 1.6 meters in height. It was damaged in the winter of 1969 and excavated and cleared by the Nanjing Museum in October 1970. The top had been leveled due to years of farming. The tomb chamber itself was tightly sealed with sturdy cemented earth, taking the shape of a steamed bun with a diameter of 10 meters and a depth of 2.4 meters from top to bottom. Inside, there were three interconnected burial chambers aligned from north to south: the central chamber contained two coffins, those of Bi Yuan and his wife, Wang De; the southern chamber held three coffins, and the northern chamber had two coffins, belonging to Bi Yuan’s five concubines. All the burial chambers and coffins were oriented from east to west. A total of 111 burial objects were unearthed, including regalia and clothing such as a jadeite court bead necklace and a phoenix coronet inlaid with bixia and gold; gold, silver, and jewelry items such as a gold hairpin with inlaid gemstones and beaded filigree featuring a lingzhi mushroom design, gold earrings with inlaid gemstones and filigree depicting squirrels and grapes, and a gold “Heart-to-Heart” token; curios such as a three-hole ancient jade knife, a Tang dynasty bronze mirror with a floral border featuring a heavenly horse biting a tassel and paired phoenixes inscribed with “Thousand Autumns,” imitation ancient jade axes, a lotus-petal hair bun jade crown, a jade hairpin in sapphire color, and a black-spotted white jade bear cleverly colored; and daily items such as a pair of spectacles with crystal lenses.

These burial objects provide us with a collection of standard artifacts with verifiable dating and distinct stylistic characteristics of their time, reflecting the level of manual craftsmanship in jade carving, engraving, and inlay techniques in 18th-century China. They hold certain value for the study of the historical development of Qing dynasty arts and crafts.