Epitaph of Feng Heyao

Epitaph of Feng Heyao

The Epitaph of Feng Heyao is a cultural tourism attraction.

The full name is the Epitaph of Feng Shi Jun, Governor of the Mounted Cavalry Regiment, General Who Establishes Might, and Governor of Luozhou, Marquis of Changguo. It was unearthed in 1980 near Xiaozhan Village, about 8 kilometers west of Datong City. The tombstone is 0.42 meters high and 0.32 meters wide. It features twelve lines of regular script, with twelve characters per line, totaling 141 characters. The stone is engraved with shallow (top character 'qi', bottom character 'shi') grid squares, each measuring between 2.7 and 2.9 centimeters. Carved in the first year of the Zhengshi era (504 AD) during the reign of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the stone is of excellent quality, with both carving and calligraphy being finely executed, and the inscriptions remain as clear as when first made. The names of the carver or calligrapher are not recorded.

The tomb owner, Feng He

, was a native of Pingcheng in Dai Commandery (present-day Datong City) during the Northern Wei Dynasty. He was born in the third year of the Taiping Zhenjun era (438 AD) under Emperor Taiwu Tuoba Tao, and was active mainly during the reigns of Emperors Wencheng, Xianwen, Xiaowen, and Xiaowu.