Tomb of Deng Yu

Tomb of Deng Yu

The Tomb of Deng Yu is a cultural relic protection unit of Henan Province.

The Tomb of Deng Yu is situated in Licun Village, Wangqu Township, approximately 3 kilometers west of Qinyang City, Henan Province (the former site of Huaiqing Prefecture, originally Qinyang County). It was designated as a county-level cultural relics protection unit by the Qinyang County Government in 1982, as a municipal-level key cultural relics protection unit by the Qinyang City Government in December 2001, and as a fifth batch provincial-level key cultural relics protection unit by the Henan Provincial Government in June 2008.

The Tomb of Deng Yu faces north and is divided into above-ground and underground sections. The above-ground part: the original earthen mound was quite large and had rammed layers. It has gradually been reduced over time, and now the remaining mound is 3 to 6 meters high, 54 meters long from north to south, and 46 meters wide from east to west, covering an area of 2,484 square meters (about 3.67 acres). The tomb site originally had stone carvings of a heavenly deer and a mythical beast (bi xie). The heavenly deer was stolen long ago. The bi xie, carved from bluestone, stands 1.15 meters tall and is 2.6 meters long. For better protection, in August 1984, the Qinyang Cultural Relics Management Committee relocated the bi xie to the "Riverine Stone Garden" inside the museum. The underground part: the underground features a 28-meter-long passage leading to the tomb chamber, which is built with small bricks in a domed ceiling style. Along a 26-meter axis, there are five square and rectangular tomb chambers arranged from north to south, with respective areas of 5.28, 12.42, 20.77, 11.9, and 15.37 square meters. The southernmost tomb chamber contains a square stone coffin with grooved edges. On either side of the axis are side and wing chambers — three on the eastern side with areas of 5.67, 5.28, and 9.24 square meters, and four on the western side with areas of 8.75, 6.6, 8.1, and 5.55 square meters. The heights of the chambers vary, with the tallest reaching over 6 meters. A total of 12 chambers are interconnected by crisscrossing passageways, which range in width from 0.72 to 1.86 meters, most being between 1 and 1.6 meters. The underground construction of the Tomb of Deng Yu covers an area of 416 square meters, including 136 square meters of net space. The chambers and passages are arranged in an orderly yet staggered fashion, making it the largest brick-chambered Han Dynasty tomb in Henan Province.

Deng Yu’s ancestral home was in the ancient state of Deng, present-day Dengzhou, Henan (his ancestor Deng Kuang migrated from the ancient state of Deng to Xinye during the middle period of the Western Han Dynasty). He is the 46th-generation descendant of the first Deng patriarch Man Gong, the 28th-generation descendant of the 19th-generation Deng patriarch Wu Li, and is recognized as the 47th-generation patriarch by Deng families worldwide. Next to the Ancient City Square in Dengzhou City stands the Deng Yu Taiwei Platform, built to commemorate Deng Yu’s visit to his hometown of Dengzhou during his tenure as Taiwei (a high-ranking official), where he paid respects to his ancestors. The people of Dengzhou, in recognition of his reverence for lineage, erected this monument. It is located west of the Ancient City Square and has been designated a key cultural relic protection unit by the municipal government. The Deng State Spring and Autumn Park (Tomb of Wu Li, Duke of the Deng State) in Dengzhou houses a white marble statue of Deng Yu. The Tomb of Deng Yu is one of the larger existing burial sites of Deng clan ancestors in China.

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Henan Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units