The Mysterious Tomb Cluster of the White Lotus Sect in Guanyin Bamboo Sea

The Mysterious Tomb Cluster of the White Lotus Sect in Guanyin Bamboo Sea

The Mysterious Tomb Cluster of the White Lotus Sect in Guanyin Bamboo Sea is a cultural tourism attraction.

Among the vast and verdant bamboo sea of Da'angu Mountain in Anfeng Village, Zhushan Town, Liangping District, 586 tombs are stacked layer upon layer. These tombs are arranged in neat rows, both horizontally and vertically, with less than 50 centimeters between each. The largest stands about 1.5 meters tall and covers an area of approximately 6 square meters. However, the vast majority are less than 60 centimeters high and occupy less than two square meters. Villagers who accompanied us said that these tombs are so uniformly similar that the deceased must have been buried at the same time, and the size of the tombs can be used to distinguish social status among them. On Xiao'angu Mountain, separated from Da'angu Mountain by a small valley, there is another large tomb cluster consisting of over 100 tombs. There are no tombstones, no signs of human habitation—only the cheerful chirping of birds and the sound of mountain winds rustling through the bamboo sea. Between the two mountains’ burial grounds, there are deep earth pits over one meter deep and about three meters wide, and the tomb clusters are divided by a long earthen wall more than half a meter high.

Historical records indicate that during the mid-Qing Dynasty, the White Lotus Sect rebels were frequently active in Liangping County (formerly known as Liangshan County). The *Liangping County Annals* state that in the first year of the Jiaqing reign (1796), Xu Tiande, leader of the White Lotus Sect in Dazhou, raised the banner and marched to Liangshan County to establish a stronghold. The following year, the overall leader of the White Lotus Sect, Wang Cong'er, entered northeastern Sichuan. In March 1799 alone, battles between the rebels and Qing troops in Liangping resulted in 40,000 casualties on both sides. On December 1, 1802, rebel forces led by Hu Sipeng engaged in fierce combat in the area where the current tomb cluster is located, killing hundreds including Qing garrison commander Long Tinggui of the Ebian Battalion.

However, a long-overlooked question remains: where did the remains of so many fallen White Lotus Sect soldiers go? What kind of burial practices did the White Lotus Sect employ? These remain mysteries. The discovery of the mysterious tomb cluster in the Hundred-Mile Bamboo Sea may help unravel these enigmas.