Former Residence and Tomb of Lu Jianzhang

Former Residence and Tomb of Lu Jianzhang

The former residence and tomb of Lu Jianzhang are cultural tourism attractions.

Lu Jianzhang (1862–1918), courtesy name Langzhai, childhood name Bageng, was a native of Luwafang Village, sixty Chinese miles southeast of Mengcheng. He once served as a second-rank Qing dynasty official, military commander of Caozhou, and military governor of Shaanxi under Yuan Shikai’s government. Later, he was lured and assassinated in Tianjin by Xu Shuzheng under the direction of Duan Qirui, and was buried back in his hometown of Mengcheng.

The residence and tomb were built and selected by Lu Jianzhang during his tenure as military governor of Shaanxi. The residence is located within the village, while the tomb lies at the eastern end of the village, with a straight-line distance of about 100 meters between them, separated by a large north-south ditch.

The residence is 60 meters long from north to south and 27.3 meters wide from east to west. Only the front gate (see photo), two side wing rooms, and the rear hall remain today. The gate tower is over three feet taller than the wing rooms. The buildings are all of brick-and-wood structure, featuring carved wood patterns, with door sills about one foot high. On both sides of the sills are two rectangular mounting stones, with carvings of flowers, birds, fish, and insects on the front and inner sides — exquisitely crafted and lifelike. The rear hall is relatively tall, with seven parallel rooms, featuring eaves, wooden pillars, and stone bases. The main hall roof is covered with small tiles. The rear hall, east and west wing rooms, and rear stable were all burned down by Japanese troops in 1938.

The tomb is located about 30 meters east of the village, covering a total area of 18 mu, densely planted with pine and cypress trees. It stretches 143 meters from north to south and 61 meters from east to west. There are two tombs located slightly north of the center. The one in the front is Lu Jianzhang’s tomb, and at the southeastern corner of Lu Jianzhang’s tomb lie the graves of his eldest son, Lu Chengwu, and his daughter-in-law, Lady Meng. Lu Jianzhang’s grave mound is large, shaped like a conical earthen mound with a base diameter of about two zhang. The tomb contains both an inner coffin and an outer coffin chamber, oriented northeast to southwest. In front of the tomb are stone incense burners, stone candlesticks, a stone table, and stone stools used for worship — giving it a solemn and dignified appearance.

Both tombs were leveled during the Cultural Revolution. According to eyewitnesses at the time, when the tombs were dug up, a round hole about the size of a bowl was found at the front of the coffin. When the coffins were opened, it was discovered that Lu Jianzhang’s skull was not in its original place, and a gold tooth shell was taken from the alveolus of the skull. Beneath the bones were several silver coins thinner than regular yuan coins, arranged in no particular order — clearly indicating the tomb had been robbed. According to the recollection of Comrade Lu Yueliang, the robbers were irregular troops, with several hundred participants. The first robbery occurred in 1941, and the second in the spring of 1942. They dug holes at the head of the coffin and reached in to feel around for items.

The entire tomb area is covered by a pine forest, including both pitch pines and oriental arborvitae, lush and shady, blocking out the sunlight. To the right front stands a stone memorial archway composed of six or seven stone tablets, about one zhang five chi tall and two zhang long. The four corners have wind bells hanging from the eaves, which tinkle softly in the breeze. To the left front are two tomb-guarding houses, now destroyed. During my investigation, I also found one of the main tablets of the archway, currently placed at the stone bridgehead in the southwestern corner of the pine forest.

Lu Jianzhang (1862–1918), courtesy name Langzhai, was a native of Mengcheng, Anhui, and a graduate of the Beiyang Military Academy in Tianjin. In the 21st year of the Guangxu reign (1895), he followed Yuan Shikai in training the New Army, serving successively as the captain of the rear guard of the right-wing third battalion, patrol inspector and vanguard officer, and assistant commander of the left-wing first infantry battalion. In the 29th year of Guangxu (1903), he was promoted to deputy director of the Military Training Department of the Ministry of War. In the 31st year (1905), he became the commander of the seventh brigade of the fourth division of the Beiyang Army. He was later appointed military commander of Caozhou in Shandong, Gaozhou in Guangdong, Beihai in Guangdong, and again commander of the seventh brigade of the Gaozhou division. In 1912... More detailed information about Lu Jianzhang ++