Tomb of Shao Songnian

Tomb of Shao Songnian

The Tomb of Shao Songnian is a cultural relic protection unit of Suzhou City.

The Tomb of Shao Songnian is located on Wuzhangjian on Yushan Mountain, facing east with its back to the west. It covers an area of approximately 289.41 square meters. The burial mound is circular in shape, with a base diameter of 6 meters and a height of 1.5 meters. At the back stands a stele inscribed with “Tomb of Shao Songnian, Grand Historian of the Qing Dynasty.” The site includes an outer enclosure (luocheng), a worship platform (baitai), but the tomb path has been damaged.

Shao Songnian (1849–1924), styled Boying and also known as Xian’an, was a native of Changshu. In the ninth year of the Tongzhi reign during the Qing Dynasty (1870), he passed the imperial examination as a provincial scholar and was selected as a compiler in the Grand Secretariat. In the ninth year of the Guangxu reign (1883), he became a Jinshi (presented scholar), was chosen as a Shujishi (imperial scribe), and appointed as a junior compiler. In the seventeenth year of Guangxu, he served as the Educational Commissioner of Henan, where he founded the Mingdao Academy and compiled and published the 68-volume Sequel to the Biographies of Eminent Scholars of Central China and the 2-volume Henan Examination Papers. In the thirty-second year of Guangxu, he was the Director-General of the Changzhao Educational Affairs Office, overseeing educational matters in both Changshu and Zhaowen counties. He was skilled in calligraphy and connoisseurship, and authored Continuation of the Yushan Painting Chronicles, A Sprig of Verses, and Collection of Ancient Connections. He also published the Calligraphy Models from the Chenglan Hall and Stone Inscriptions from the Laxue Studio. Most of his poetry and prose manuscripts were lost during the War of Resistance against Japan. This tomb holds certain significance for the study of Shao Songnian’s life and local history. It was designated as a municipal-level cultural relic protection unit in June 2007.

Shao Songnian (1849–1924), styled Boying and also known as Xian’an, was a native of Changshu. In the ninth year of the Tongzhi reign during the Qing Dynasty (1870), he passed the imperial examination as a provincial scholar and was selected as a compiler in the Grand Secretariat. In the ninth year of the Guangxu reign (1883), he became a Jinshi (presented scholar), was chosen as a Shujishi (imperial scribe), and appointed as a junior compiler. In the seventeenth year of Guangxu, he served as the Educational Commissioner of Henan, where he founded the Mingdao Academy and compiled and published the 68-volume Sequel to the Biographies of Eminent Scholars of Central China and the 2-volume Henan Examination Papers. In the thirty-second year of Guangxu, he was the Director-General of the Changzhao Educational Affairs Office, overseeing educational matters in both Changshu and Zhaowen counties. He was skilled in calligraphy and connoisseurship, and authored Continuation of the Yushan Painting Chronicles, A Sprig of Verses, and Collection of Ancient Connections. He also published the Calligraphy Models from the Chenglan Hall and Stone Inscriptions from the Laxue Studio... More details about Shao Songnian ++