The Gulan Stele and Gulan Tomb

The Gulan Stele and Gulan Tomb

The Gulan Stele and Gulan Tomb are protected cultural heritage sites of Hunan Province.

The Gulan Stele and Gulan Tomb

Dating back to the Three Kingdoms period. Located within the Caihou Shrine in Leiyang City, Hunan Province, this is the only surviving Wu Dynasty stele in the province.

The stele was originally located in the Gu Fugong Shrine east of Leiyang County and was later moved to the Caihou Shrine. In 1966, it was smashed and taken to repair a pond. It was recovered and restored in 1979 and remains in the Caihou Shrine. The stele is made of bluestone, standing 176 cm tall and 72 cm wide. The stele’s top inscription contains 11 characters, and the main text consists of 18 lines written in clerical script, with 24 characters per line and each character about 3.5 cm in size. The name of the author or calligrapher is not recorded.

Jiu Zhen (Jiuzhen), established by Zhao Tuo of the Qin Dynasty, came under Han rule in 111 BCE, covering areas roughly equivalent to present-day Thanh Hóa and Hà Nam provinces in Vietnam, as well as the eastern part of Nghệ An Province. After the Wu Dynasty of the Three Kingdoms, its jurisdiction gradually shrank. In addition to describing Gulan’s life, virtues, career, and contributions, the stele also touches on the governance and turmoil of the southern frontier at the time, giving it historical value. The text is refined and elegant, the calligraphy dignified, vigorous, and ancient in style, lacking any visible strokes for starts, stops, or turns. Unlike other Han Dynasty steles that typically follow standard clerical script styles, this one marks the transition from clerical to regular script. It is one of the earliest surviving steles in the province.

The Gulan Tomb is located in Liangyuan Township, Leiyang City, facing west with its back to the east. It is surrounded by granite and has a mound 0.4 meters high. Originally well-preserved, it has been damaged in recent years and is currently under restoration. A temple dedicated to Gulan once stood in front of the tomb but has now collapsed.

Gulan (218–272), courtesy name Yixian, was a native of Leiyang. Orphaned at a young age, he served his stepmother with great filial piety. In his youth, during the Wu Dynasty of the Three Kingdoms, he served as the Defender of Anyang County and later became the Magistrate of Liuyang County. Before long, he held positions such as Commandant of the Capital, Military Commandant of Guangzhou, Official of the Five Offices, and was promoted to Grand Rectifier. In the third year of the Jianheng era of Wu (271), when Jiaozhou rebelled against Wu, Gulan led troops to suppress the rebellion and was rewarded with the post of Governor of Jiuzhen. He passed away in the first year of the Fenghuang era (272) at the age of 54.

On July 24, 1956, the People's Committee of Hunan Province designated the Gulan Stele as a provincial-level cultural heritage site, with the serial number 30.

Source: Overview of Cultural Relics in Hunan