Tombs of Ming Princes Lu Hui, Lu Gong, and Lu Duan

Tombs of Ming Princes Lu Hui, Lu Gong, and Lu Duan

The Tombs of Ming Princes Lu Hui, Lu Gong, and Lu Duan are cultural heritage protection units of Shandong Province.

Tombs of Ming Princes Lu Hui, Lu Gong, and Lu Duan

The tombs of Ming Prince Lu Hui, Lu Duan, and Lu Gong, formerly known as the Three Princes' Tombs, are located behind Huangcheng Village at the foot of Erqi Mountain in Shengshuiyu Township, Sishui County. To the southwest lies Mount Ni, to the south stands Daomu Mountain, and to the east is Yanmu Mountain. Surrounded by four mountains with peaks cradling one another, Erqi Mountain is the most prominent. The terrain here is flat and open with fertile land. The site is quite spectacular and has a unique atmosphere. Among the Three Princes' Tombs, the tomb of Prince Hui is on the east, that of Prince Duan in the center, and the tomb of Prince Gong on the west. The three tombs are roughly mound-shaped, with Prince Gong’s being the largest. Its earthen mound is 3 meters high and approximately 4 meters long and wide. The tomb was built on what is called the "Nine-Tiered Steps," formed by nine rectangular terraced fields, situated centrally at the foot of Erqi Mountain. Originally, there was a mausoleum garden around the tomb, with a hall and other structures in front of it. Today, stone column bases and fragments of glazed tiles can still be found. Below the "Nine-Tiered Steps" lies a north-south thoroughfare. About a li in front of the tomb is the site of the mausoleum gate, which measures 6 meters long, 3 meters wide, and about 1 meter high. It is built of limestone, with large amounts of lime and sand remaining. Approximately 200 meters in front of the gate site is a stone bridge. The bridge is 4 meters long, 3 meters wide, and 2.5 meters high, and is a single-arch stone bridge. A pair of carved stone animal heads extends from each side of the bridge’s arch. Aside from slight damage to the animal heads, the rest is well preserved. About 300 meters south of the bridge once stood a stone memorial archway. Majestic in appearance, it bore the inscription “The Tomb of Lu Gongwang, Built in the Wanli Era,” but unfortunately, it was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. The mounds of Princes Duan and Hui are quite small and now barely distinguishable from ordinary graves.

According to the Sishui County Annals: “The Tomb of Lu Huiwang is located on the sunny side of Erqi Mountain, 25 li south of the county.” “Lu Duanwang is on the shady side of Erqi Mountain.” “The Tomb of Lu Gongwang is west of Duanwang’s tomb, with a memorial archway in front of the mausoleum inscribed with ‘The Tomb of Lu Gongwang, Built in the Wanli Era.’” It also records the epitaph of Prince Hui, indicating that his tomb had been robbed and looted early on. Checking the Ming History, Biographies of the Princes, and the Genealogical Tables of the Princes, we find that Lu Huiwang Zhu Taikan was the son of Lu Jingwang Zhu Zhaohui, and the grandson of Lu Huangwang Zhu Tan, the tenth son of the Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. He inherited the title in the third year of the Chenghua reign and died in the ninth year of Chenghua. His son, Zhu Yangzhu, the Zhuangwang, inherited the title in the twelfth year of Chenghua and died in the second year of the Jiajing reign. After Zhu Yangzhu’s death, his son Zhu Guanding inherited the title as Duanwang and died in the twenty-eighth year of Jiajing. His son, Zhu Yitan, inherited the title in the thirtieth year of Jiajing as Gongwang. Gongwang died in the twenty-second year of the Wanli reign. The number of his sons is not clearly recorded in historical texts, only that his eldest son, Shoujue, died young, and his sixth son, Shouzeng, inherited the title as Xianwang in the twenty-fourth year of Wanli and died in the ninth year of the Chongzhen reign. His ninth son, Shouyong, inherited the title as Suwang in the ninth year of Chongzhen and died in the twelfth year of Chongzhen. The legitimate son of Suwang, Yipai, inherited the title in the ninth year of Chongzhen. In the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, when Qing troops captured Yanzhou, he hanged himself. His younger brother, Yihai, inherited the title in the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, later took refuge in Taizhou, then moved to Shaoxing, and was known as the “Usurper King.” In June of the third year of the Shunzhi reign, when Qing troops captured Shaoxing, Yihai fled to the sea and sought refuge with Zheng Chenggong. In the eleventh year of Shunzhi, he was “thrown into the sea” by Zheng.

The records about Lu Huiwang from the epitaph match those in historical texts. From the above, it can be seen that from the eighteenth year of the Hongwu reign when Lu Huangwang was enfeoffed in Yanzhou, to the seventeenth year of Chongzhen when Yihai fled to Taizhou, there were eleven successive generations of princes who were enfeoffed during their lifetimes, spanning a total of 259 years—coinciding with the duration of the Ming Dynasty.

Lu Huiwang Zhu Taikan (January 29, 1412 – November 14, 1473), the third Prince of Lu of the Ming Dynasty, was the son of Jingwang Zhu Zhaohui.

His mother was Consort Yan. He was born on the sixteenth day of the intercalary twelfth month of the ninth year of the Yongle reign. On the twelfth day of the seventh month of the second year of the Xuande reign, he was appointed as heir apparent. In the second year of the Chenghua reign (1466), his father Zhu Zhaohui passed away, and he inherited the title of Prince of Lu on the nineteenth day of the tenth month of the third year of Chenghua (1467), reigning for seven years. He died on the twenty-fourth day of the tenth month of the ninth year of Chenghua (1473) at the age of 63. His posthumous title is Hui. His son, Zhuangwang Zhu Yangzhu, succeeded him. ... More details on Zhu Taikan++

Lu Gongwang Zhu Yitan (?–1594), the sixth Prince of Lu of the Ming Dynasty, was the son of Duanwang Zhu Guanxing. In the twelfth month of the twenty-eighth year of the Jiajing reign (1549), he was granted the title of Baoqingwang, and was then promoted to Prince of Lu in the thirtieth year of Jiajing (1551). Unlike his cruel and absurd father, Zhu Yitan was filial. He donated fields and lakes from the princely residence to relieve the poor, declined his regular salary, and provided for impoverished relatives. The emperor bestowed imperial edicts upon him seven times to praise his conduct. Zhu Yitan passed away in the twenty-second year of the Wanli reign (1594), after which his sixth son, Zhu Shouzeng, succeeded him. ... More details on Zhu Yitan++

Zhu Yangzhu (1447–1523), from Fengyang, Anhui, was the great-grandson of the Hongwu Emperor and the eldest son of Lu Huiwang Zhu Taikan. He inherited the title of Prince of Lu in the twelfth year of the Chenghua reign (1476). He reigned for 48 years and died in the second year of the Jiajing reign (1523) at the age of 77. His eldest son, Dangcong, and eldest grandson, Jianyi, had both died earlier, so his great-grandson, Guanding [fire + ding], inherited the title. ... More details on Zhu Yangzhu++

Further Reading:

· First Batch of Cultural Heritage Protection Units of Shandong Province

· Second Batch of Municipal Cultural Heritage Protection Units of Jining City