Portrait of Tan Lun and Commemorative Stele for Qi Jiguang at East Lake

Portrait of Tan Lun and Commemorative Stele for Qi Jiguang at East Lake

The Portrait of Tan Lun and Commemorative Stele for Qi Jiguang at East Lake is a Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Portrait of Tan Lun and Commemorative Stele for Qi Jiguang at East Lake (Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit)

Era: Ming Dynasty

Announcement Date: March 11, 1963

Location: East Lake, Chengguan Town. Qi Jiguang (1528–1587), styled Yuanning, also known as Wantang and later as Mengzhu, was a native of Penglai, Shandong. In the 34th year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1555), he was transferred to Zhejiang as a regional military commander to resist Japanese pirates. He recruited farmers and miners in Yiwu, organized them into a new army, and made them the main force against the pirates. Leading the “Qi Family Army,” he achieved remarkable successes in the battles against Japanese pirates in southeastern China. Tan Lun (1520–1577), styled Zili, was from Yihuang, Jiangxi. He passed the imperial examination in the 23rd year of the Jiajing reign (1544) and held positions such as Prefect of Taizhou and Deputy Commissioner of Maritime Defense. With over thirty years of military service, he was as renowned as the celebrated anti-pirate general Qi Jiguang. In the 39th year of the Jiajing reign (1560), the local people built the Xiangmin Temple in the eastern part of Linhai City. The stele with Tan Lun’s portrait and the commemorative stele for Qi Jiguang were originally erected in the temple. During the Xianfeng era of the Qing Dynasty, the temple was destroyed. It was rebuilt in the 5th year of the Tongzhi reign (1866), but later collapsed again, after which both steles were relocated to their current site. The Tan Lun portrait stele has a square top and a trapezoidal base. It stands 2.18 meters tall, is 1.08 meters wide, and 0.13 meters thick. It was erected in February of the 39th year of the Jiajing reign (1560) by Huang Gao, the then Magistrate of Linhai, among others. The stele features a line-engraved seated portrait of Tan Lun, with a seal script inscription reading “Portrait of Former Prefect Tan,” and beneath the heading is an inscription of 142 characters mainly praising Tan Lun for his “great contributions in the southeast” and detailing the process of “engraving his likeness in the hall.” The Commemorative Stele for Qi Jiguang also has a square top and a trapezoidal base. It is 2.30 meters high, 0.94 meters wide, and 0.09 meters thick. It was erected in September of the 43rd year of the Jiajing reign (1564). The full title of the stele’s heading is “Record of Meritorious Deeds of Senior Regional Commander Qi of Nantang.” The stele text contains 31 lines, each with up to 163 characters, written in regular script. The seal script heading was done by Wang Zongmu, the text was composed by Qin Minglei, and the calligraphy was by Chen Xi. The inscription describes Qi Jiguang’s victories against Japanese pirates in areas such as Haimen, Taiping, and Linhai. Both steles are important historical materials for the study of the Ming Dynasty's anti-pirate campaigns along the southeastern coast.

Source: Zhejiang Cultural Relics Website

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units