Tomb of Zhu Zhian

Tomb of Zhu Zhian

The Tomb of Zhu Zhian is a Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Tomb of Zhu Zhian is located in Hongqiao Town, Yueqing City, and dates back to the Ming Dynasty.

Along a stream west of Ya’ao in Hongqiao Town, Yueqing City, there is a newly paved cement road that winds up the stream. Amidst the winding paths and changing scenery, one can find a rather imposing ancient tomb — this is the Tomb of Zhu Zhian at Lingshan in Ya’ao.

The most prominent feature of Zhu Zhian’s tomb is its long, winding tomb passage, stretching approximately 200 meters from the valley entrance to the burial site. The passage begins at the spirit way gate, passing by upright stone pillars, as well as stone beasts and civil and military officials carved from block stones. These stone beasts, especially the preserved tiger and horse, although weathered black over more than 500 years, still appear endearing.

The stone warrior statues flanking the tomb passage were discovered by cultural relics authorities among the scattered stones in the valley stream during the restoration of the tomb. One is an upper torso, wearing armor and wearing a solemn expression; the other is a lower half, standing 1.67 meters tall, clad in armor, with hands gripping a long sword held upright in front. These two fragments do not belong to the same statue. Based on the style of these two figures, the authorities created a new statue from the same type of stone, then divided it and joined it with the existing fragments to form the current pair. Originally, there were four warrior statues, all military figures, which were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, and their remnants have been lost.

Another unique feature of Zhu Zhian’s tomb is the dressing chamber along the tomb passage — supported by eight pillars, with horizontal stone beams and a stone slab roof, it is about the size of a room and represents a typical Ming Dynasty structure. At the top of the passage, built into the hillside and ascending step by step, are four burial terraces. On the third terrace stands a memorial stele inscribed with “Tomb of Mr. Zhu Zhian, Late Scholar and Honorary Vice Minister of the Nanjing Military Department, of Ya’ao.” The tomb shrine has been destroyed, but a stone tablet inscribed with “Record of the Lingshan Tomb Shrine of the Zhu Family of Yaochuan” by Li Xian, Chief Justice of the Ming Dynasty’s Supreme Court, remains.

Perhaps for this reason, the overall layout and grave decorations appear rather casual — for example, the placement of the stone statues: the stone warriors are positioned on the front terrace while the stone civil officials are on the burial terrace, an arrangement that puzzles observers. Zhu Zhian himself held no official rank in life; his eldest son, Zhu Jian, entered government service, and it was due to the son’s achievements that the father was posthumously granted the title of Honorary Vice Minister of the Nanjing Military Department. This tomb was begun in the third year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1524) by Zhu Jian and his son Zhu Shouxuan, and took several years to complete. The position of Vice Minister of the Nanjing Military Department, according to my research, was only a fifth-rank official — equivalent to a deputy department head today. For someone of such a rank to construct a tomb of this scale would certainly have been considered “overstepping ritual norms” at the time.

It is said that there is no similar case across Zhejiang Province. Therefore, this tomb is considered a special exception and is worthy of study by relevant authorities. Zhu Zhian’s son, Zhu Jian, passed the imperial examination in the spring of 1496 and successively served as county magistrate, prefect, and provincial governor. He authored thirteen volumes of Selected Annotations of Li’s Poetry, two volumes of Doubts on Li’s Poetry, and the Chronicles of Yanshan, among others. Historical accounts describe Zhu Jian as embodying the demeanor of a scholar, poet, and elder.

On January 13, 2017, the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province designated it as part of the seventh batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Hongqiao Town: Located 15 kilometers from the urban area of Yueqing City, Hongqiao Town is a key industrial and trade hub in northern Wenzhou. The town covers an area of 57 square kilometers, with a total population of 72,425. In 1998, the total industrial and agricultural output value of the town reached 4.07 billion yuan, with per capita income of residents at 8,150 yuan. Its economic strength ranked among the top thirty towns in Wenzhou, earning it titles such as Provincial Civilized and Sanitary Town, Provincial Sports Strong Town, Provincial Green Small Town, and Wenzhou Civilized Town.

Hongqiao Town currently hosts over 2,000 industrial enterprises. In addition to its six major leading industries — electronics, plastics, machinery, food, instrumentation, and garments — in recent years... More details about Hongqiao Town ++

Further reading:

· Seventh Batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units