Tomb of Guan Ying, Chancellor of the Han Dynasty

Tomb of Guan Ying, Chancellor of the Han Dynasty

The Tomb of Guan Ying, Chancellor of the Han Dynasty, is a cultural relic protection unit of Jining City.

"Guan Zhong" refers to the tomb of Guan Ying, a great general of the Han Dynasty, located 250 meters north of Xiguanzhuang Village and 250 meters southeast of Gaomiao Village in Jiezhuang Subdistrict, Rencheng District.

According to the *Chinese Historical Figures Dictionary*: "Guan Ying (?–176 BC), a minister of the early Han Dynasty, was from Suiyang (present-day southern Shangqiu, Henan). Originally a small merchant dealing in silk. At the end of the Qin Dynasty, during the peasant uprisings, he joined Liu Bang and fought in various battles. Later, he followed Han Xin in defeating the Qi army and in killing Xiang Yu. When the Han Dynasty was established and Liu Bang became emperor, Guan Ying was appointed as General of Chariots and Cavalry and granted the title of Marquis of Yingyin. He later worked with Chen Ping and Zhou Bo to suppress the Lü Clan rebellion, welcomed Emperor Wen to the throne, served as Grand Commandant, and soon became Chancellor." He died in Rencheng and was posthumously honored with the title "Yi."

Volume 15, Part 2 of the *Jining Direct-Controlled Prefecture Annals* on Antiquities states: "The *Tomb Records* say that the tomb of Han Guan Ying is thirty li east of the prefecture." The tomb mound is large, covering several acres, with a stele and ancestral hall in front, surrounded by lush pines and cypresses. By the Yuan Dynasty, the area around the tomb had been expanded with added earth, cypress trees planted, and walls built. A twelve-bay ancestral hall was erected, along with one stone ding and one stone table. In the sixth year of the Ming Zhengtong era (1441), a stele was erected to commemorate it. The ancestral hall was destroyed long ago, and the pines and cypresses were cut down. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, due to farmland water conservancy projects and land leveling, the mound was flattened. However, remains still exist underground. In 1985, it was designated as a municipal-level key cultural relic protection unit.

"Clear Mist over Guan Zhong’s Tomb" is one of the Eight Scenic Spots of Ancient Jining. It describes how, on clear, breezy days in March, white mist hovers over Guan Ying’s tomb, a beautiful natural phenomenon caused by rising spring qi, which has been admired for generations. The Qing Dynasty literatus Wang Qing wrote a seven-character quatrain titled *Passing Guan Zhong’s Tomb*:

No greater feat than aiding Xiang Yu’s fall and Liu’s rise,

Yet who in those days did not speak of heroes?

West winds sweep the wild mound where the unicorn grows old,

Amidst the setting sun, millet and grass sway desolate.