Stele of the Jiang Family Spirit Way

The Stele of the Jiang Family Spirit Way

The Stele of the Jiang Family Spirit Way is a cultural tourism attraction.

The Stele of the Jiang Family Spirit Way

The Stele of the Jiang Family Spirit Way is located near Baima Village in Chengxiang Town, Zhongshan. Because the inscription is carved into a rock formed by two stones joined together like a pair of palms, it is also known as the Palm-to-Palm Stone Stele. The full text of the stele contains nearly 1,300 characters and documents the historical fact that during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, Jiang, a native of Zhongshan, remained loyal and sacrificed her son to uphold national unity.

In order to maintain his rule, the last ruler of the Southern Chen Dynasty, Emperor Chen Shubao, sought to control Fu Bo General Zhong Shixiong—who commanded a powerful army in Lingnan and was also the chieftain of Guangnan—thereby restraining various armed forces. He took Jiang, Zhong Shixiong’s mother, as a political hostage.

“Jiang was repeatedly held hostage in the capital.” In the eighth year of the Kaihuang era of the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Wen of Sui launched a campaign against Chen. Chen was defeated, and in the ninth year, Jiankang (present-day Nanjing) was captured, leading to the fall of the Chen Dynasty. Yang Guang, the Prince of Jin, sent Jiang, who had been held hostage by the Chen court, back to her native place, Linhe, reuniting her with her son Zhong Shixiong. At that time, a fellow townsman, Yu Zimao, raised an army to attack the city in resistance to the Sui. He sent Zhong Wenhua to invite Zhong Shixiong to join the alliance. Zhong Shixiong was about to agree when Jiang, demonstrating great righteousness and fully aware of the disasters war brings to the people, foresaw that national unification was inevitable. She persuaded Shixiong, saying, “I have endured great hardship in the capital. Now, blessed by the emperor’s benevolent rule, my son and I are reunited. I could never repay such grace in this lifetime, let alone turn to rebellion. If you harbor thoughts like a beast and betray virtue, I will die before you.” Zhong Shixiong heeded his mother’s advice. Jiang then wrote a letter to Yu Zimao, explaining the consequences of his actions, but Yu did not listen and was later defeated by the Sui army. When the Sui court learned of these events, they “granted Jiang the title of Lady of Anle County.” After the fall of the Sui and the rise of the Tang, Emperor Taizong of Tang, “deeply mindful of the loyalty of earlier ministers,” “issued a resplendent imperial edict, allocating 3,000 strings of cash from the imperial treasury,” and ordered “Situ Xu, Vice Minister of Works and Duke of Xuguo, to compose the text,” which was then engraved on stone as a stele titled “Spirit Way Stele of the Lady of Anle County.” Initially, the stele was embedded in the Longevity Welcoming Temple, which had been bestowed upon her. Later, due to the chaos of the Five Dynasties period, the temple was destroyed and the stele was lost. The current Palm-to-Palm Stone Stele was recarved in the fourth year of the Huangyou era of the Song Dynasty by Liu Xun, the magistrate of Fuchuan County, who inscribed the lost text onto the palm-to-palm stone. This is a rare piece of patriotic educational material, and the historical facts recorded in the stele are documented in the Twenty-Four Histories of official Chinese historiography.