Tomb of Li Lin, Prince Yong of the Tang Dynasty

Tomb of Li Lin, Prince Yong of the Tang Dynasty

The Tomb of Li Lin, Prince Yong of the Tang Dynasty, is a cultural relic protection unit of Nanchang City.

During the first cultural relics survey in 1982, a Tang Dynasty tomb was discovered on the gentle slope of Wujia Mountain, about 200 meters west of Yongmuli Village in Banhu Village, Guangfu Town (formerly Guangfu Township). Upon comparison with historical records, it was identified as the tomb of Li Lin, Prince Yong, the 14th (or possibly 12th) son of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji.

At that time, the tomb mound was 2.8 meters high, 16.7 meters in diameter, and 12 meters wide, elliptical in shape, surrounded by dry fields or rice paddies. After renovation, the current tomb mound is 3 meters high, with a protective wall around the grave standing 1 meter tall, and the tomb base (platform) covers approximately 200 square meters. Three meters west of the tomb base stands a tomb stele, with an inscription plaque and a protection marker to the northwest.

Li Lin, Prince Yong, was the 14th son of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji. During the An Lushan Rebellion, Li Lin served as the military governor of four circuits — Jiangnan West Circuit, Shannan Circuit, Lingnan Circuit, and Qianzhong Circuit — wielding immense power, with the entire Yangtze River basin and regions south of the Yangtze under his control. Historical records state that when Li Lin arrived in Jiangxi, he intended to take Jinling. Li Hen, the Crown Prince of Tang (later enthroned as Emperor Suzong), in order to curb Li Lin’s influence, ordered him to enter Shu by imperial decree. Li Lin disobeyed, and Emperor Suzong mobilized troops to suppress him. Li Lin was defeated in Jiangxi and was executed in Hongzhou in the second year of the Zhide era of Emperor Suzong (757 AD), and was buried at this site.

The Complete Tang Books provide relatively detailed accounts of Prince Yong Li Lin and the location of his tomb after his death. According to the genealogy of the Li Village (the 9th year of the Qiandao era of the Song Dynasty), after Li Lin’s death, he was buried in the third subdistrict of the 61st township of Liuzhou (present-day Li Family in Banhu Village). The ancestor of the Li family, Li Xin, was ordered to lead his relatives to guard the tomb, hence the place came to be known as the "Tomb-Guarding Li Family." The Li family multiplied over generations, forming a village known as the "Tomb-Guarding Li Village." At some point, descendants of the Li family changed "Tomb-Guarding" to "Yong Tomb," and during the Qing Dynasty, replaced the character “墓” (tomb) with its homophone “木” (wood), renaming the “Tomb-Guarding Li Village” to “Yongmu Li Village,” the name still used today.

The "Tomb of Prince Yong Li Lin" originally had an oval-shaped tomb mound, 2.8 meters high, 16.7 meters in diameter, and 12 meters wide, with no signs of having been robbed.

In June 1995, the oval tomb was reshaped into a circular one with a diameter of 9 meters, and the tomb mound was raised to 3 meters. The mound was enclosed with red bricks (coated with cement on the outside), and a new tomb stele was erected.

In August 2002, a granite tomb protective wall (1 meter high × 0.3 meters thick) was rebuilt, and a roughly square stone platform (13.8 × 14.2 meters) was laid around the tomb. Additionally, a new explanatory stele titled "Introduction to Prince Yong Li Lin of the Tang Dynasty" was erected to the south of the tomb.

In January 2005, the tomb stele was recarved, and the protection marker along with the newly carved "Introduction" stele were relocated to the northwest corner.

Approximately 1.5 kilometers northeast of Li Family Village is the Xiangtang–Leping Railway line. About 200 meters east of the tomb lies Li Family Village in Banhu Village, with the surrounding area consisting of dry land or rice paddies.

The "Tomb of Prince Yong Li Lin" has always been under the watch and protection of the Li family.

On October 27, 1983, the Nanchang County People's Government issued Document No. [1983] 157, listing it as one of the first batch of key cultural relic protection units of Nanchang County.

On December 10, 1985, the Nanchang Municipal People's Government listed it as one of the first batch of cultural relic protection units of Nanchang City.

Banhu Village: Banhu Village…… More details about Banhu Village++