Tomb of Yuan Shao

Tomb of Yuan Shao

The Tomb of Yuan Shao is a cultural relic protection unit of Hebei Province.

The Qian Gaolonghua Ancient Tomb, named after Qian Gaolonghua Village, is said to be the tomb of Yuan Shao (locally referred to as "Da Gedah" due to the shape of its earthen mound). This is a typical Han Dynasty tomb, featuring a large, oval-shaped earthen mound standing 8 meters high, measuring 52 meters from east to west and 36 meters from north to south, covering an area of 1,510 square meters.

The tomb is situated 700 meters northeast of Qian Gaolonghua Village, Gaochuan Township, Cang County, in the southwest of Cangzhou City. About 200 meters to the north, the former course of the Fuyang River runs from east to west. It lies on a plain. Sixty meters to the south is an east-west dirt road, with north-south field ridges to the right. The soil is sandy yellow. Dates are planted in front and to the right, while pear trees grow at the back and left. Crops in the area include corn, beans, wheat, millet, and sweet potatoes.

The Qian Gaolonghua Ancient Tomb was originally under the jurisdiction of Xian County. In the early 1950s, it came under the administration of Jianguo County. After Jianguo County was abolished in 1954, it was incorporated into Cang County. There were originally two ancient tombs here—one large and one small—the larger one remains. The smaller tomb collapsed in 1956 and was excavated by production teams and individuals who removed earth from it. It was rumored that a small green-glazed pottery building and some small artifacts were unearthed but discarded by villagers as they were crude and incomplete. The existing large tomb was designated as part of the third batch of provincial-level cultural relic protection units by the Hebei Provincial Government on July 15, 1993.

Originally, the main body of the tomb was covered with various trees such as elm, poplar, and cypress. However, due to climate change and human logging, there are no longer any trees on the tomb’s top. The surrounding area was also densely planted with cypress trees, though today only small clusters remain at the four corners of the tomb. There used to be a deep hole on the top of the tomb; descending into it, one could see a side arch door built with blue bricks, inside which water flowed. In summer, touching the water felt extremely cold. This deep hole has long been filled in. In 1995, a drainage channel made of blue bricks was discovered 3 meters underground, 200 meters southeast of the tomb, oriented toward the main tomb—likely part of its drainage system.

In mid-May 2009, the tomb was burglarized twice in succession. Its earthen mound was blasted open by tomb raiders and severely damaged. Local cultural heritage authorities and villagers have since refilled the theft holes. In March 2010, signs of another theft were detected, and those theft holes were also refilled.

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Hebei Province