Tomb of He Zhan

Tomb of He Zhan

The Tomb of He Zhan is a cultural relic protection unit of Anhui Province.

The Tomb of He Zhan is located in Taochong Village, Baihu Town, Lujiang County. Originally named Han Zhan, He Zhan was the second son of King Li of Han and the younger brother of King Huanhui of Han. During the Qin Dynasty, he changed his surname to He for certain reasons and is regarded as the founding ancestor of the He clan. In 2004, it was designated as part of the fifth batch of provincial-level key cultural relics protection units by the People's Government of Anhui Province.

The He clan originated from the Han clan, which itself descended from the Ji clan, the lineage of King Wu of Zhou, Ji Fa, whose second son was Tang Shuyu, the ancestor of the State of Jin. The lineage continued until Han Yu (i.e., King Jing of Han) who, along with the Zhao and Wei clans, divided the State of Jin into three. This continued until King Xuanhui (the 80th generation) officially declared himself king. Together with Qi, Chu, Yan, Zhao, Wei, and Qin, they were known as the Seven Warring States. The founding ancestor of the He clan in Lujiang, He (or Ha) Zhan (the 51st generation), was the second son of King Li of Han and the younger brother of King Huanhui of Han, as well as the uncle of King An of Han. Ancestral He Zhan was respected, diligent, and virtuous, serving as a noble minister in the Han state and sharing political responsibilities with Han Fei. Because he advised King An not to submit to Qin, but the king did not listen, He Zhan withdrew to the former Han territory. When King An was captured by Qin and the Han state fell, He Zhan was forced to flee with his wife, Lady Jiang, to Lujiang. They hid near Anjin and made a living by fishing and ferrying. After Emperor Qin Shi Huang unified the six states, he toured to Bailangsha and was attacked by unknown assailants, suspecting remnants of the six fallen states. He ordered a crackdown on the descendants of those states, aiming to eliminate them entirely. A Qin official passing by Dongxiang Xijin questioned the surnames of local residents. When he boarded a boat and asked about the Han surname, He Zhan pointed to the frozen river and said “my surname is this,” meaning to use the coldness of the river water as a metaphor for “Han.” The Qin official misunderstood and recorded the surname as “He.” Later, when He Zhan learned that the questioner had been a Qin official, he was shocked and said, “I escaped the disaster of execution thanks to the word ‘He’—how could I let it be as aimless as flowing water?” He then changed the pronunciation from “He” (river) to “He” (surname), which originally derived from Han, which in turn came from Ji—the same root as the Han clan.

Protected area: Within a 20-meter radius centered on the tomb mound.

Construction control zone: A 30-meter buffer extending beyond the protected area.

Taochong Village: Located 3.7 kilometers north of Jun’er Road in Baihu Town, Taochong Village is where the He Clan Cemetery is situated. The village currently has a population of 3,364, with 976 households and 42 villager groups. It has 2,992.5 mu of contracted arable land, averaging 0.89 mu per person, 3,200 mu of mountainous area, and 230 mu of water surface. The village has 1,354 able-bodied workers, of whom 1,160 work outside the village, accounting for 69% of the total labor force. There are 35 households under the Five Guarantees Program and 65 disadvantaged households. The village has one health clinic and one primary school. Its main industry is traditional agriculture, focusing on growing rice, ... More details about Taochong Village++