Tomb of Marquis Cai Shudu

Tomb of Marquis Cai Shudu

The Tomb of Marquis Cai Shudu is a cultural relic protection unit of Henan Province.

The Tomb of Marquis Cai Shudu is located northeast of Huangni Village, about 1 kilometer west of Shangcai County, and approximately 300 meters south of National Highway 331.

Cai Shudu, the progenitor of the Cai clan, was named Du and had the surname Ji. He was the fifth son of Tai Si, the principal queen of King Wen of Zhou, and the full younger brother of King Wu of Zhou. According to Records of the Grand Historian · The House of Guan and Cai, after King Wu overthrew the Shang Dynasty, “he enfeoffed Shudu in Cai,” which refers to present-day Shangcai County. In the 33rd year of King Wu’s reign (1043 BC), the King passed away. With the young King Cheng ascending the throne, the Duke of Zhou considered seizing power in the King’s stead. In response, Cai Shudu allied with Wu Geng, the Huaiyi tribes, and the Xu Rong tribes to launch a rebellion (known historically as the Rebellion of the Three Guards). The Duke of Zhou led forces eastward to suppress the revolt. “Cai Shudu was captured, along with his chariots and land registers, and imprisoned at Guolin,” believed to be the area around Chanhu Temple, northwest of the ancient Guo capital site.

Consumed with resentment, Cai Shudu soon fell ill and died. He was buried in Cai. His tomb is a circular earthen mound facing south, with a base diameter of 20 meters and a height of about 5 meters. It is surrounded by gullies and shaded by ancient towering trees. In front of the tomb stand three steles: the main one inscribed with “Tomb of Marquis Cai Shudu,” the left one erected by the People’s Government of Shangcai County titled “Record of the Renovation of the Tomb of Cai Shudu, Founding Ancestor of the Cai State,” and the right one inscribed by Jin Baofu, Prefect of Shangcai in the eighth year of the Xianfeng era of the Qing Dynasty (1858), titled “Record of the Tomb of Cai Shudu.”

The Cai surname originated from the State of Cai, and Shangcai County is the birthplace of the Cai clan. Today, the Cai family is spread all over the world, but its roots lie with the lords of the Cai State. Cai descendants from home and abroad come every year to seek their roots and honor their ancestors, establishing Cai clan associations and funding the restoration of the Cai Lords’ Mausoleum. The first phase of the Cai Lords’ Mausoleum project has now been completed and has taken initial shape. The local government also places great emphasis on the protection of the mausoleum, having established a dedicated management body — the Cai Lords’ Mausoleum Management Office — staffed with full-time personnel. Additionally, a Cai Clan Culture Research Seminar has been formed.

The Cai Lords’ Tombs (including the Tomb of Marquis Cai Shudu and the Tomb of Marquis Cai Zhong) were designated in September 2000 as part of the third batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Henan Province by the People’s Government of Henan Province.