Tomb of Prince Rongding of the Ming Dynasty

Tomb of Prince Rongding of the Ming Dynasty

The Tomb of Prince Rongding of the Ming Dynasty is a protected cultural heritage site of Hunan Province.

Tomb of Prince Rongding of the Ming Dynasty

Dating back to the Ming Dynasty. Located at the foot of Deshan Mountain in Changde City, Hunan Province. The tomb’s original eight epitaph stones are important physical historical materials for studying Ming Dynasty material culture.

The tomb is a brick chamber tomb with an arched structure, divided into front and rear chambers. It is 17 meters wide, 13 meters deep, and 6 meters high, with a burial mound standing 10.6 meters tall. The front chamber served as a worship hall, furnished with stone tables and chairs. The rear chamber functioned as the sleeping quarters, divided into three smaller rooms — each containing one coffin platform, arranged as two small and one large. The tomb’s occupant was the son of Prince Ronggong, Yizhen, along with his two consorts, Lady Li and Lady Yang. Yizhen was a descendant of Emperor Xianzong Zhu Jianshen of the Ming Dynasty. Born in the 34th year of the Jiajing era (1555), he died in the 40th year of the Wanli era (1612) and was posthumously titled Prince Rongding in the 26th year of the Wanli era (1598).

The tomb and its burial objects were looted long ago. When cultural relics archaeologists conducted a clearance in the 1950s, only the stone table and eight epitaph stones remained (four of which were damaged in 1966). This tomb is grand in scale, with majestic architectural structures, finely carved patterns on the stone coffin platforms, and vigorous regular-script inscriptions on the epitaph stones — all serving as valuable physical historical materials for studying Ming Dynasty society and history.

On July 24, 1956, the People's Government of Hunan Province designated it as a provincial-level cultural heritage site, with the serial number 70.

Source: Overview of Cultural Relics in Hunan