Tomb of Shen Zhou

Tomb of Shen Zhou

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

　The Tomb of Shen Zhou is located west of Shen Zhou Village in Xiangcheng Town, Xiangcheng District.

Shen Zhou (1427–1509), courtesy name Qinan and art name Shitian, was a renowned Ming Dynasty painter. Along with Tang Yin, Wen Zhengming, and Qiu Ying, he is known as one of the “Four Masters of the Ming Dynasty” and was the leading figure of the “Wu School of Painting,” exerting a profound influence on the history of art. Shen Zhou never took the imperial examinations and devoted his life to calligraphy and painting. He played a pivotal role in bridging the literati painting traditions from the Yuan to the Ming dynasties. His paintings were comprehensive in skill and solid in craftsmanship. Building upon the styles of the Song and Yuan masters, he developed his own creative techniques, advancing the expressive methods of literati ink-wash landscape and flower-and-bird paintings, and became a leading figure of the Wu School of Painting.

The tomb site is quite large, covering approximately over five acres, surrounded by a small river and enclosed by a bluestone wall. The burial mound is about three meters high. In front of the tomb are the remains of a memorial archway, including two bluestone pillars. In 1928, Shen Yanliang, a descendant of Shen Zhou, rebuilt a stele pavilion atop Jing Mountain. Inside the pavilion are preserved: the “Epitaph for the Recluse Shen Shitian” inscribed by Wang Fan of the Ming Dynasty, the “Epitaph for the Late Shen Liangzhuo’s Wife, Madam Xu” written by Zhang Xuan of the Ming Dynasty, the “Record of the Shen Family Stele Pavilion” composed by Shi Zhaolin in 1928, and the “Tomb of Shen Shitian, a Ming Dynasty Scholar” stele inscribed by Wu Yinpei, a remnant scholar of the late Qing Dynasty, in 1921. All these items are currently kept inside the pavilion.

Further Reading:

· First and Second Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Jiangsu Province