Golden Tripod Imperial Tomb Forest

Golden Tripod Imperial Tomb Forest

The Golden Tripod Imperial Tomb Forest, dating back to the Ming Dynasty, is located north of Nanhengshan Village in Lanling Town, Lanling County, Linyi City. In December 2011, it was designated as part of the third batch of key cultural heritage protection units in Linyi City. The cemetery spans approximately 100 meters from east to west and 80 meters from north to south, covering a total area of about 9,600 square meters. Wang Shouzheng (1550–1615), a native of Nanhengshan Village, Lanling Town, Lanling County, passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi (advanced scholar) in the 17th year of the Wanli era (1589) during the Ming Dynasty. He rose to the position of Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Sichuan Shoubei Dao and Concurrent Right Councillor of the Provincial Administration Commission. He passed away on June 20, 1615, while in office, at the age of 66. In recognition of his merits and virtues, Emperor Wanli posthumously honored him with the title “Golden Tripod Imperial Burial.” His tomb is a conical earthen mound with a circumference of 12 meters and a height of 2 meters. In front of the tomb are a pair of stone figures. A tombstone erected in the 47th year of the Wanli era stands facing south. The front side of Wang Shouzheng’s tombstone is inscribed with 32 regular script characters reading: “The Sacred Tomb of the Late Father, Central Dignitary and Vice Censor-in-Chief of Sichuan with Concurrent Councilor Status, and the Late Mother, Honored Lady Yang.” On the left side is the inscription “47th Year of Wanli,” all carved in regular script. The tombstone has a round top and square base, is made of bluestone, and measures 1.95 meters in height, 0.80 meters in width, and 0.28 meters in thickness. To the west of Wang Shouzheng’s tomb lie the burial mounds of his father Wang Sihui, his fourth-generation ancestor Wang Li, and his fifth-generation ancestors Wang Tong and Wang Xiang. The tomb of Wang Shouzheng has been restored through donations from the Wang family of Nanhengshan, presenting an impressive sight. This notable figure’s tomb was previously undocumented and unpublished, making it a new discovery from this survey. Currently, it is the only surviving Ming Dynasty tomb of a notable figure in the county, and one of the best-preserved Ming Dynasty notable tombs in Linyi City.

Lanling Town: Lanling Town is situated at the junction of two provinces, three cities, and four counties or districts, covering a total area of 136 square kilometers. It governs 114 villages with a population of 136,000. The town has 149 party branches and 2,929 party members, including 114 rural party branches with 2,340 members, and 35 grassroots organization party branches under the town government with 589 members.

Lanling boasts abundant natural resources, with gypsum reserves of 1.66 billion tons and iron ore reserves of 1.6 billion tons. The wheat planting area covers 126,000 mu, ranking first in the county, and the vegetable planting area is 42,000 mu. The Liyuan Vegetable Industrial Park is the largest green vegetable production base in the county. … More detailed information about Lanling Town++