Tomb of Zeng Pu

Tomb of Zeng Pu

The Tomb of Zeng Pu is a Suzhou Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Located on the slope of Dapeng Mountain in Baoyan Bay, Yushan, it is a municipal-level cultural relics protection unit. The tomb and that of his father, Zeng Zhizhuan, who was a Langzhong in the Ministry of Punishments, form a double-chamber burial site, with Zeng Pu's tomb situated on the left (Zhaoyi) position. The site covers an area of 355 square meters, with a mound diameter of 3 meters and a height of 1.5 meters. The tomb passage is about 10 meters long. In front of the mound stands a stele inscribed with “Tomb of Zeng Mengpu, the Sick Man of East Asia,” which was re-erected in 1980.

Zeng Pu (1872–1935), born into a bureaucratic landlord family in Changshu, was a renowned modern novelist and translator. His courtesy names were Mengpu and Xiaomu, his art name Zhuzhai, and his pseudonym Mingshan. He used the pen name “Sick Man of East Asia” to draw attention to the need for China’s healing and reform. Zeng Pu’s major works include *The Sea of Regret*, *The Man of Lu*, *Supplement to the Bibliographic Treatise of the Book of the Later Han* (one volume), *Annotations to the Supplement to the Bibliographic Treatise of the Book of the Later Han* (ten volumes), and *Diary of the Sick Man*, among others. His novel *The Sea of Regret* advocated anti-feudalism and sympathized with the democratic revolution. It is widely regarded by scholars as the most accomplished among the “Four Great Condemnation Novels” of the late Qing Dynasty, and is the first modern Chinese novel to depict the democratic and national revolutions with sympathy.

Zeng Pu (1872–1935), courtesy name Mengpu, also known as Xiaomu and Zhuzhai, and using the pen name “Sick Man of East Asia,” was one of the authors of the novel *The Sea of Regret*. A native of Changshu city, he obtained the title of Juren (successful candidate in the imperial examinations) in the 17th year of the Guangxu reign (1891). He failed the metropolitan examination in the 18th year of Guangxu (1892) but purchased an official position as a mid-level clerk in the Grand Secretariat. In the first year of the Xuantong reign (1909), he served as an aide to Duanfang, the Viceroy of Liangjiang. The following year, he purchased a position as a candidate prefect and was assigned to Zhejiang. In the early years of the Republic of China, he joined the Republican Party and became a member of the Jiangsu Provincial Assembly. He later held positions such as Director of the Jiangsu Official Property Office, Finance Commissioner, and Administrative Affairs Commissioner. He resigned in the autumn of the 15th year of the Republic of China (1926). He then returned to his hometown... More details about Zeng Pu++