Stone Carvings at Ruan’e’s Tomb

Stone Carvings at Ruan’e’s Tomb

The Stone Carvings at Ruan’e’s Tomb are a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

On the northwestern foothills of Mount Tung in County Tsung, known as the “Yellow Dragon Emerging from the Cave,” there lies a tomb covering an area of nearly 4,000 square meters. The entire tomb complex, from front to back, consists of an archway, a memorial stele, a spirit way stele, ornamental columns, the spirit way with its stone sculptures, an offering platform, a sacrificial altar, the burial mound, the grave pit, and a rear tomb stele. The structures follow the terrain and shape the landscape, embodying the creative concept of the unity of heaven and humanity.

The Ming Dynasty stone carvings on the tomb site are numerous in quantity, diverse in form, rich in connotation, and of high value—rare within Anhui Province. The 12 sets of stone sculptures lining both sides of the spirit way, each carved from a single block of fine white marble, are made of premium materials, large in size, and incorporate various techniques such as line carving, relief carving, and round carving. The craftsmanship is exquisite, with intricate and delicate knife work, vivid shapes, and lifelike expressions. These are masterful artworks jointly sculpted by human effort, natural forces, and historical significance, possessing strong artistic appeal. In May 1998, the Anhui Provincial People’s Government designated them as the “Stone Carvings at Ruan’e’s Tomb” and listed them as a Provincial Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

On October 7, 2019, the Stone Carvings at Ruan’e’s Tomb were included in the eighth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Protected Area: Centered around the burial mound, extending 17 meters east and west, 19 meters south, and 95 meters north.

Construction Control Zone: Extending 27 meters east and west, 15 meters south, and 120 meters north beyond the protected area.

Ruan’e, courtesy name Yingjian, style name Feng, was a native of Shanruanjia Xiangtang in present-day Songyuan Township. He studied under Ouyang De and researched the philosophy of Wang Yangming. In the 23rd year of the Jiajing reign during the Ming Dynasty (1544), he passed the imperial examination and was appointed as an assistant minister of the Ministry of Punishments in Nanjing. Later promoted to censor, he was assigned to patrol Shuntian. When the imperial scholar Wang Lian accused the governor Hu Zuozong of slandering the emperor, Emperor Shizong was furious and dismissed Hu from his post. Ruan’e alone defended Hu’s innocence, and Wang Lian was executed for false accusation. While supervising education in Shuntian and conducting examinations in Zhuozhou, Japanese pirates approached the capital. Ruan’e led the students to help defend the city. After the pirates retreated, he submitted ten strategies for resisting the invaders, all of which were adopted.

Soon after, Ruan’e was transferred to serve as the vice education commissioner of Zhejiang... More details about Ruan’e++

Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units