Tomb of Ji Xiaolan

Tomb of Ji Xiaolan

The tomb of Ji Xiaolan is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The tomb of Ji Xiaolan is located about 300 meters south of Beicun Village, Cui'erzhuang Town, Cang County, Hebei Province.

Ji Xiaolan, whose given name was Yun, courtesy name Xiaolan, also known as Chunfan, with the literary name Shiyun and the Taoist name Guanyi Daoren, was a native of Xian County, Hejian Prefecture, Zhili (present-day Xian County, Hebei). Ji Xiaolan was an official and literati figure of the Qing Dynasty and a descendant of the Jis of Jingcheng in Cang County. He was born in the sixth month of the second year of the Yongzheng reign (1724) and died in the second month of the tenth year of the Jiaqing reign (1805). His ancestors had migrated from Nanjing during the Ming Dynasty. Ji held the positions of Minister of Rites and Grand Secretary, and was renowned for overseeing the compilation of the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries and authoring the novel Notes of the Thatched Abode of Close Observations. Because he was “quick-witted, studious, and skilled in writing, and capable in governance wherever assigned” (as inscribed on the imperial stele bestowed by Emperor Jiaqing), he was posthumously honored with the title “Wenda” (literally “Cultured and Accomplished”), and was commonly referred to as Lord Wenda by his fellow villagers. He lived through the Yongzheng, Qianlong, and Jiaqing reigns, and died at the age of 82. Although Ji Xiaolan entered officialdom through the imperial examination system, he was not the only official in his family, nor the earliest to do so—his family had long been prominent in Hejian, and thus the Ji family cemetery consists of more than just this site.

The Ji family cemetery where Ji Xiaolan is buried was first established during the Yongle era of the Ming Dynasty (1403–1424). It stretches 300 meters from north to south and 100 meters from east to west, and originally contained 1,194 tombs and 136 tombstones. The cemetery was severely damaged during the Cultural Revolution, and today only over ten broken steles remain, along with three newly unearthed epitaphs written by Ji Xiaolan himself and inscribed by famous calligraphers such as Liu Yong, Dong Hao, and Weng Fanggang. The tomb of Ji Xiaolan faces east and is situated on a west-east axis, with the tombstone positioned below ?? (text missing) ??

The tomb of Ji Xiaolan faces the 辛山乙向 direction. From the eastern side of the cemetery, the land stretches flat as far as the eye can see with no obstructions, and the sea lies just a hundred li away. On the northern side of the tomb mound are two large earthen mounds that resemble inkstones, while the southern side features a thicket of brambles, once known as Phoenix Grove. To the west (behind the tomb) and extending to Naotun (now a defunct village) lies an open area. Below the stele ?? (text missing) ??

To the east, south, and southwest of the cemetery lie dense jujube orchards, while to the north and northwest are threshing grounds. Beneath several tall trees—catalpa, elm, and pagoda trees—lies a burial mound, which is the grave of Ji Xiaolan. The grave faces east, and about 3 meters to the east stands the tombstone. This tombstone is the original one erected at the time of Ji Xiaolan’s burial. The stele bears an imperial inscription commissioned by Emperor Jiaqing. According to research, there are several other epitaphs buried underground. The spirit way stele erected in the ninth year of the Republic of China (1920) was originally located about 150 meters from Ji Xiaolan’s tomb mound, on the side of a north-south pathway to the east of the cemetery.

The tomb mound is about 2 meters high, with a brick base about 60 centimeters high, and the earthen part above has a circumference of 25.5 meters at the base. About 15.6 meters east of the tombstone stands a spirit way stele. This spirit way stele was re-erected in the ninth year of the Republic of China (1920) by Ji Juchen, the sixth-generation descendant of Ji Xiaolan, and is commonly known as the “Dismount Stele,” signifying that “civil officials should dismount from their sedan chairs, and military officials should dismount from their horses.” This is a re-erected stele—the original was destroyed, and the year is unknown. The front of the stele was restored in 1989 and re-engraved with the original text, calligraphy by Mr. Liu Wen Yuan, a calligrapher from Cangzhou.

The tombstone is mounted on a bluestone base. The original stone tortoise that carried the stele (from the 17th century) was damaged, leaving the current stele measuring 168 cm in height, 109.5 cm in width, and 38 cm in thickness. The top features a dragon-shaped cap, which was recarved in 1989. The cap is 120 cm high and larger than the body of the stele in both length and width. There is an irregular crack running down the center of the stele body. The front and back, as well as all four sides of the stele, are adorned with intricate relief carvings of clouds and dragons. There are twelve dragons in total—two on the top and bottom each, and four on each side. The western side of the stele bears the original imperial inscription, about half of which is still legible, while the other half is worn and illegible. The spirit way stele is inscribed with: “The Spirit Way Stele of Lord Wenda, Minister of Rites, Grand Secretary, and Vice President of the Grand Council of the Qing Dynasty.”

The spirit way stele is 195 cm high, 66 cm wide, and 20.5 cm thick. The front (eastern) side is inscribed with large regular script characters reading “The Spirit Way Stele of Lord Wenda, Minister of Rites, Grand Secretary, and Vice President of the Grand Council of the Qing Dynasty.” The reverse (western) side contains the commemorative inscription. The cap of the spirit way stele is 63 cm high, 77 cm wide, and 24.5 cm thick, featuring a dragon design and the seal script heading “Immortal Legacy.”

The cemetery also has scattered fragments of broken stone and broken steles, among which two carved stone fragments are said to be remnants of the stone turtles that once supported the original tomb steles.

There are also over 30 other tombs in the cemetery. On either side of the main tomb are three smaller tombs, said to be the burial sites of Ji Yun’s six concubines. Further out, with a half-burial interval, there are two larger mounds on each side, which are the graves of Ji Yun’s four sons—Ji Ruji, Ji Ruchuan, Ji Rushi, and Ji Ruyi. The graves of his grandchildren are located even further forward in sequence. This burial arrangement is said to have been approved by Ji Xiaolan himself during his lifetime based on the advice of a feng shui master, and is called the “carrying sons and embracing grandchildren” style.

In 2006, the tomb of Ji Xiaolan was included in the sixth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units by the State Council as an ancient Qing Dynasty tomb.

Ji Xiaolan (1724–1805), also known as Ji Yun, courtesy name Xiaolan, also called Chunfan, with the literary name Shiyun and the Taoist name Guanyi Daoren, was from Cui’erzhuang Town, Cang County, Hebei. He was born in the sixth month of the second year of the Yongzheng reign (1724) and died in the second month of the tenth year of the Jiaqing reign (1805). He lived through the Yongzheng, Qianlong, and Jiaqing reigns, and died at the age of 82. Because he was “quick-witted, studious, and skilled in writing, and capable in governance wherever assigned” (as inscribed on the imperial stele bestowed by Emperor Jiaqing), he was posthumously honored with the title “Wenda” (literally “Cultured and Accomplished”), and was commonly referred to as Lord Wenda by his fellow villagers. Representative works: General Catalogue of the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries, Notes of the Thatched Abode of Close Observations.

Introduction:

The Ji family’s relocation to Xian… More details on Ji Xiaolan++

Cui’erzhuang Town: Located 35 kilometers west of Cangzhou City, Cui’erzhuang Town administers 48 administrative villages, covers an area of 115 square kilometers, has 113,000 mu of arable land, and a population of 71,000. In 2017, it achieved fiscal revenue of 26.6 million yuan, with a total industrial output value of 3.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.9%. The town’s Party committee and government are striving to accelerate Cui’erzhuang’s economic development, aiming to build it into a small commercial town with preliminary scale integrating jujube planting and processing, market trade, and tourism.

Cui’erzhuang enjoys convenient transportation… More details on Cui’erzhuang Town++

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units