Tomb of Fan Chunyuan

Tomb of Fan Chunyuan

The Tomb of Fan Chunyuan is a cultural relic protection unit of Haishu District.

The Tomb of Fan Chunyuan is located in Shanghetou Natural Village, Shanxiazhuang Village, Jishigang Town, Haishu District. The tomb faces west, with an oval-shaped mound measuring 3.4 meters in diameter and 1.27 meters in height. The total width of the tomb facade is 4.63 meters, divided into three levels, consisting of a base, a gravestone, and ornaments in front of the gravestone. The gravestone is 2.22 meters long and 0.72 meters high, engraved with the large characters “Chunyuan Fan’s Burial Ground,” written by Tan Yankai, former Chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Government. The top of the gravestone is carved from a single piece of stone, measuring 3.22 meters in length and 0.83 meters in height. The central part of the top is inscribed with four running script characters “High Mountains and Long Waters,” bordered on all sides with scrollwork patterns. The upper part features a double-dragon spitting-toad ornament, with two additional sets of theatrical character designs on the sides. The wing sections are engraved with a couplet: “Pine and catalpa stand tall casting far-reaching shade; orchids and osmanthus pass on enduring virtue.” All are in clerical script. Two stone pillars stand on each side of the tomb facade, one 1.05 meters high and the other 1.92 meters high. The shorter pillar is 0.43 meters wide and bears a couplet: “Clouds veil the blue hills; mountain air lingers over this blessed ground.” The taller pillar, 0.7 meters wide, also bears a couplet: “Together ascending to the realm of benevolence and longevity at a hundred; forever guarding auspicious clouds through the ages.” Additional decorations include stone lions and a peacock holding osmanthus motifs.

Fan Chunyuan was a descendant of the Fan family of Tianyi Pavilion and passed away during the Republican era. The tomb features exquisite carvings and calligraphy. The gravestone was inscribed by Tan Yankai, a founding member of the Kuomintang and a renowned calligrapher, giving the site significant historical, cultural, and artistic value. In 2010, it was designated as the ninth batch of district-level cultural relic protection units in Yinzhou District, and in 2016, it was placed under the jurisdiction of Haishu District following an administrative division adjustment in Ningbo City.