Tomb of Wu Rulun

Tomb of Wu Rulun

The Tomb of Wu Rulun is a cultural relic protection unit of Anhui Province.

The Tomb of Wu Rulun is located in Yijin Town, Zongyang County. The tomb faces south and covers an area of 400 square meters. Both the burial mound and the burial chamber are built with bluestone. A stele stands behind the mound, and there are three ceremonial platforms in front of the tomb. The entire burial site is well-preserved.

It is a joint burial tomb—the right mound houses Wu Rulun and his elder brother Wu Zhunfu, while the left mound contains Lady Wang and Lady Ou. In front of the tomb are two white stone tomb steles. The inscription on Wu Rulun’s stele reads: “Tomb of Wu Zhipu, Late Qing Dynasty, Posthumously Honored as Capital Donor, Officially Awarded the Title of Middle-Grade Gentleman, Fifth-Rank Minister with the Title of Chief Instructor of the Imperial University of Peking.”

The tomb faces south and covers an area of 400 square meters. Both the burial mound and the burial chamber are built with bluestone. A stele stands behind the mound, and there are three ceremonial platforms in front of the tomb. The entire burial site is well-preserved.

There are three steles erected in front of the tomb:

A cultural relic protection unit stele at the county level of Zongyang, erected by the People’s Government of Zongyang County in 1988;

An introduction stele for the Tomb of Wu Rulun, erected by the Bureau of Culture and Sports of Zongyang County and the Cultural Relics Management Office of Zongyang County in 1998;

A cultural relic protection unit stele at the provincial level of Anhui, erected by the People’s Government of Zongyang County in 1998.

Protected area: Centered around the burial mound, extending 40 meters east, 21 meters south, 15 meters west, and 12 meters north.

Construction control zone: Extending 20 meters outward from the protected area in all four directions—east, south, west, and north.

Wu Rulun (1840–1903), styled Zhipu, was a modern literary figure and educator. He was born in Laoqiao, Huigong Township, present-day Zongyang County. In the third year of the Tongzhi reign (1864), he passed the imperial examination as a provincial scholar, and the following year became a presented scholar. He served successively in the retinues of Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang, holding official positions as Prefect of Shen Zhou and Ji Zhou (both now in Hebei) in Zhili. Starting in the 15th year of the Guangxu reign (1889), he served as head instructor at the Lianchi Academy in Baoding, teaching for many years and mentoring numerous students. In the 28th year, Zhang Baixi, Minister of Personnel, recommended him as an instructor at the Imperial University of Peking. He volunteered to go to Japan to study its education system. While in Japan, he had a dispute with the Chinese envoy Cai Jun over issues concerning overseas students and subsequently returned to China... More details about Wu Rulun++

Yijin Town: A town under the jurisdiction of Zongyang County. Established as Yijin Commune in 1961, it became a township in 1984 and was upgraded to a town in 1987. In 1992, Niuji Township was merged into it. Located in the northwest part of the county, it is 35 kilometers from the county seat. Covering an area of 71.1 square kilometers with a population of 41,000, it is traversed by the Tongcheng–Zongyang Highway. It administers 20 village committees: Yijin, Tuxiu, Zenzhan, Yixi, Yidong, Beisheng, Longwang, Liyu, Gaotang, Yuping, Wuligua, Yijun, Niuji, Yaowang, Yinglong, Fengle, Zhugong, Ruanfan, Gaizhuang, and Risheng. Local industries include a special bearings factory, a computer recording paper factory, and new building materials... More details about Yijin Town++