Tomb of Cai Zhaoyuan

Tomb of Cai Zhaoyuan

The Tomb of Cai Zhaoyuan is a cultural tourism attraction.

The Tomb of Cai Zhaoyuan is located at the foot of a small hill in Zhongjiashan Village Group, Xingfu Village, Yanglongsi Township, approximately 34 kilometers northeast of the county seat. The tomb is that of Cai Zhaoyuan, his wife Lady Feng, and their daughter Cai Ruzhen. Oriented from northwest to southeast, the tomb stands 2.4 meters high and has a diameter of 5.9 meters. In front of the tomb are a memorial stele, enclosing walls, and a stone-paved courtyard, covering a total area of about 100 square meters. The tomb stele is archway-shaped, designed in a 3-steles, 4-pillars, and 5-canopies style. The base of the stele is made of strip stones, measuring 3.77 meters wide and 0.27 meters high. The stele itself is 1.67 meters high and 0.57 meters wide, with the inscription in the center reading “The Late Qing Dynasty Honorary Literary Gentleman Cai Gong, Alias Zhaoyuan, Also Known as Zi Qiangan, His Eternal Resting Place.” On the right is inscribed: “Born on the tenth day of the ninth lunar month in the year Yisi of the Daoguang reign, at the hour of Si, native of Zhongshui Bao, Yanglongsi, under the county jurisdiction.” On the left: “Passed away on the fourth day of the first lunar month in the year Guichou of the Republic of China, at the hour of Chou, in his sleep at home.” The two side steles are both 1.17 meters high and 0.51 meters wide. The left one bears in the center: “The Tomb of Lady Feng, Honorary Gentlewoman of the Late Qing Dynasty,” and on the right: “Born in the third month at the hour of Chen in Jiachengpo, in the year Jiachen.” On the left: “Passed away on a certain date and time in this ancestral hall,” without specific dates. Of the four stele pillars, the two central pillars are both 1.67 meters high and 0.16 meters wide, engraved with couplets. The side pillars are both 1.17 meters high and 0.14 meters wide, also inscribed with couplets. On the outer sides of the side pillars, there are lion-shaped pillar-hugging ornaments, each 1.46 meters high and 0.45 meters wide at the broadest point. At the top ends of the side steles, the right is inscribed with “Also Chaste” and the left with “Also Virtuous,” each character being about 16 cm square. The main stele is topped with the inscription “Returning to Simplicity,” in regular script, each character 15 cm square. The stele’s horizontal cap is laid flat, 0.26 meters high and 1.27 meters wide, with a bas-relief theatrical stage design on the front. Above the cap is the main structure, featuring a hip-and-gable roof with upturned corners; beneath the roof is a Sumeru pedestal. Above it sits a fan-shaped top, 1.1 meters wide at the upper base, 0.66 meters wide at the lower base, and 0.7 meters high. The roof's upturned spacing is 0.98 meters, and the fan-shaped top is 4.27 meters above ground level. The two flanking structures consist of two floors, symmetrically arranged on the left and right, also with hip-and-gable roofs and upturned corners. At the ends of the roof ridges are chi dragons; beneath each roof is a Sumeru pedestal. The first floor has an upturned spacing of 0.96 meters, with the chi dragons 2.5 meters above ground; the second floor has an upturned spacing of 0.58 meters, with the chi dragons 4.27 meters above ground.