Tomb of Weng Meizhai

Tomb of Weng Meizhai

The Tomb of Weng Meizhai is a cultural relic protection unit of Jiedong District.

The Tomb of Weng Meizhai is located on the southern slope of Tieshang Mountain in Sangpu, Didu Town, Jiedong County. The tomb was built in the 30th year of the Jiajing reign (1551). Oriented from northeast to southwest, it has suffered severe damage; apart from the spirit way stele and memorial archway which are relatively well-preserved, very few other structures of the tomb complex remain. At the entrance to the tomb area stands the spirit way stele. The stele pavilion features four upturned eaves and a pointed roof, with the dome engraved with a Taiji eight-diagram pattern. The stele is three meters high and 1.5 meters wide. It was composed by Yan Song, Minister of Personnel, inscribed by Xu Jie, Minister of Rites, and titled by Sheng Duanming, also a Minister of Rites. The stele bears over a thousand characters detailing the life of the tomb owner and his son (see Chapter 5, Section 1). The 300-meter-long spirit way extends from the stele pavilion to the Doupool, along which stand two stone memorial archways in sequence. The first is located 50 meters east of the stele and is inscribed with an imperial burial edict. The second archway, 100 meters north of the edict archway, is carved with a qilin and a flying phoenix. The spirit way is paved with standardized granite slabs, flanked by a pair of stone tigers and a pair of stone sheep. The Doupool at the end of the spirit way is surrounded by stone railings. Beyond the Doupool lies the "Imperial Burial" Archway, a triple-bay, triple-opening structure inscribed with the words "Imperial Burial." Between the "Imperial Burial" Archway and the "Mysterious City" Archway is the tomb passage, flanked by a pair of stone horses, a pair of stone statues of officials (Wengzhong), and a pair of ornamental pillars (Wangzhu). After the pillars is the tomb’s ceremonial architecture—a square seven-bay structure. The central hall is the Offering Shrine, with the Sacrificial Preparation Pavilion to the left and the Attire Preparation Hall to the right. The stone bases of these halls are designed in the Sumeru pedestal style, originally surrounded by stone railings, though now only dozens of column bases remain. At the end of the passage is the "Mysterious City" Archway. The front is inscribed with "Mysterious City," while the reverse side bears the horizontal inscription "Plum Mound," marking the location of the tomb mound.

Weng Meizhai, also known as Weng Yu, with the courtesy name Wenhuang and literary name Meizhai, was the father of Weng Wanda, a Ming Dynasty Minister of War. The Jieyang County Annals · Biographies records: “Weng Yu, a native of Tojiang, gained fame for his literary and scholarly achievements… and was posthumously honored as Minister of War.” He was granted an imperial burial, and due to the distinguished military achievements of his son Weng Wanda, he was “awarded exceptional honors beyond the usual rites.”

In 1988, the Jieyang County People's Government designated it as a cultural relic protection unit.