Tomb of Shen Shixing

Tomb of Shen Shixing

The Tomb of Shen Shixing is a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangsu Province.

Among the ancient tombs in Suzhou through the ages, the Tomb of Shen Shixing is the largest in scale and the most well-preserved, which is rare in the Jiangnan region. Shen Shixing (1535–1614), courtesy name Rumo, was a prominent official born in Suzhou during the Jiajing and Wanli eras of the Ming Dynasty (the top imperial scholar from Suzhou in the Ming Dynasty). After becoming the zhuangyuan in the 41st year of the Jiajing reign (1562), he rose steadily through the ranks, eventually serving as Minister of Rites and Grand Secretary, and was posthumously honored with titles such as Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince and Grand Secretary of the Zhongji Hall. In the Wanli era, he was impeached over the issue of the crown prince's succession, resigned, and returned to Suzhou, later being posthumously known as Duke Shen Wending.

The tomb is located on the western side of Zhoujiaqiao at the eastern foot of Wushan Mountain, commonly referred to by locals as Shenjiapo. Covering an area of over 100 mu, the tomb mound rises more than ten feet above the ground. In front, there is a stone stairway of hollow layers, and originally, the sides of the tomb path were lined with memorial archways, stone statues of humans and animals. The central gate of the tomb featured a spirit way stele pavilion and a hall for offerings. Inside the spirit way stele pavilion stood a huge stele inscribed with “Spirit Way of Duke Shen Wending, Grand Tutor of the Ming Dynasty.” Behind the pavilion, the five-bay offering hall was built in the Ming style, housing seven massive steles erected in the 43rd year of the Wanli reign (1615). The grand scale of this tomb can be regarded as a typical example of high-ranking official burials in the Ming Dynasty, and it is rare in the Jiangnan region.

The tomb faces the lake with the mountain at its back, oriented eastward. Today, the spirit way stele pavilion, offering hall, reflecting pool, and tomb mound are preserved in sequence, covering an area of about 7,000 square meters. The spirit way stele is 4.66 meters high and 1.25 meters wide, with a dragon head finial and a tortoise pedestal. The offering hall has a hip-and-gable roof, spanning five bays at 19.4 meters wide and seven rafters deep at 8.2 meters, with eaves 2.9 meters high. The secondary and end bays on both sides house eight steles, including the “Imperial Sacrificial Edict” steles from the Wanli era. The reflecting pool is crescent-shaped. The tomb mound is situated in a bamboo grove on the mountainside, with the current mound about 3.5 meters high and 7 meters in diameter. Along the spirit way, there are remnants of stone civil and military officials, stone horses, ornamental columns, memorial archways, stone lions, stone tigers, stone sheep, stele pavilions, and stone pillars, all damaged and destroyed in 1966. The stele pavilion was restored in 1995, and the offering hall in 1999. The storytelling opera "The Jade Dragonfly" is widely known among the people of Suzhou, and the Ming Dynasty zhuangyuan and prime minister Shen Shixing featured in it has thus become a household name.

The offering hall is a single-eave hip-and-gable structure, spanning five bays at 19.4 meters wide and seven rafters deep at 8.2 meters, with eaves 2.9 meters high. The floor is paved with large imperial bricks. The columns rest on bluestone drum pedestals and bases, with slightly curved column tops and seated brackets. The beams are of the flat style, without carving, except for the rough mountain-cloud motifs on both sides of the ridge bracket posts. The beam framework is robust, with a gentle rise. Eight steles from the 42nd to 44th years of the Wanli reign (1614–1616)—including imperial sacrificial edicts, posthumous titles, and memorials—are placed in the secondary and end bays on both sides, varying in height from 4.24 to 4.35 meters and width from 1.1 to 1.5 meters.

Li Yuan, a scholar from the Republic of China, once remarked: “Among the grand and well-preserved ancient tombs in the Wu region, this one is the finest.” The Tomb of Shen Shixing is now part of the Shangfangshan scenic area and is a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangsu Province.

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Jiangsu Province