Tomb of He Hongjing

Tomb of He Hongjing

The Tomb of He Hongjing is a cultural tourism attraction.

The Largest Epitaph in China – The Epitaph of He Hongjing

This epitaph is located in the northeast section of the Forest of Stone Steles. The Epitaph of He Hongjing is the largest Tang Dynasty epitaph ever unearthed in China. Both the epitaph and its cover are made of bluestone. The cover is dome-shaped, with the top surface measuring 0.96–1.00 meters on each side, the base 1.88–1.96 meters, and a thickness of 0.88 meters. The center of the top is inscribed in seal script with 25 characters: “Epitaph of the Late Tang Dynasty’s Wei-Bo Military Governor, Honorary Grand Tutor, Concurrent Director of the Imperial Secretariat, Posthumously Honored as Master Lujiang, Mr. He.” The four sides feature raised carvings of beast masks and the Four Symbols, with animals such as oxen and horses carved at the intersections. The craftsmanship is exquisite and the expressions vivid. The four edges are engraved with wave patterns, featuring simple yet smooth designs. The epitaph itself is square, measuring 1.95 meters on each side and 0.53 meters thick. The central sections of the four edges of the outer stone slab are carved with floral patterns, donors’ figures, and wave, petal motifs above and below. The epitaph is inscribed in regular script, with 60 lines per page and 58 characters per line, totaling 3,800 characters.

He Hongjing is documented in both the New and Old Books of Tang. According to the epitaph: “He passed away in the sixth year of the Xiantong era (865 AD) at the age of sixty,” which means he was born in the first year of the Yongzhen era (805 AD). At the age of eighteen, He Hongjing joined the military. During the reign of Emperor Wenzong of Tang, he served as Censor-in-Chief and Grand Censor, and was granted the title of Shaoguo Xun. During the reign of Emperor Wuzong, he inherited the position of Military Governor of Wei-Bo, and was appointed as General of Guerrilla Warfare, General of the Imperial Guards, Senior General of the Imperial Guards, Silver-Green Light Duke, and Minister of Revenue. After Emperor Yizong ascended the throne, he was further granted the concurrent titles of Palace Attendant and Director of the Imperial Secretariat. In the sixth year of Xiantong, he was conferred the title of Grand Tutor and Director of the Imperial Secretariat. He passed away in the same month.

The Epitaph of He Hongjing stands out among Tang Dynasty epitaphs for its grand scale, exquisite carvings, and extensive inscriptions. It provides a glimpse into the historical reality of late Tang military governors acting as regional warlords—essentially “local emperors” who operated independently of central imperial authority. Although the text primarily focuses on the tomb’s owner, it offers detailed historical accounts covering a broad range of topics, serving as a valuable reference for the study of late Tang military separatism and the relationships between the Tang court and frontier military governors.

This epitaph was excavated in 1973 from the Wanti Farm in Daming County, Handan. It is the largest Tang Dynasty epitaph ever discovered in China. In 1993, a national-level cultural relics appraisal panel identified it as a “national treasure-level cultural relic.”