Tomb of Zhao Yunu

Tomb of Zhao Yunu

The Tomb of Zhao Yunu is a cultural relic protection unit of Dongguan City.

The Tomb of Zhao Yunu is located on Lion Ridge in Shijing Village, Dongcheng District. Also known as the Imperial Princess Tomb, it was built in the sixth year of the Chunyou era during the Song Dynasty (1246), covering an area of 80 square meters. It has been renovated three times. The stone statues of figures, horses, lions, sheep, and the ornamental columns that once stood in front of the tomb are no longer extant. During the 1988 renovation, a stele from the 25th year of the Kangxi era (1686) was discovered on the left central wall of the tomb, inscribed with an inscription by Magistrate Ma Fengle of Dongguan regarding the protection of the tomb.

Zhao Yunu (1159–1245), the daughter of Emperor Gaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty, was separated from the imperial family during the southern migration and taken in by Deng Rui, a Dongguan native who raised troops in support of the emperor. She was later betrothed to Deng Rui’s son, Deng Weiji. After Emperor Guangzong ascended the throne, Yunu was officially recognized as an imperial princess. Her husband, Deng Weiji, was granted the title of “Tax Bureau Commandery Prince,” while Huang Shouchang, the son-in-law of Zhucheng’s Zhushan Village, was titled “Commandery Prince’s Son-in-law.” Zhao Ruyu, the Prime Minister of the Song Dynasty’s Privy Council, specially wrote a wooden plaque inscribed with “Family of National Kin and Distinguished Lineage” (measuring 2.36 meters long and 0.95 meters wide) for Huang Shouchang. The characters were raised and gilded in gold foil, and the plaque now hangs in the ancestral hall of the Huang family in Zhushan Village. Zhao Yunu’s residence was filled with plum blossoms, hence it was called the “Plum Villa,” and some remnants of it still exist today.

In 1989, the Dongguan Municipal People’s Government designated it as a cultural relic protection unit.

Dongcheng Subdistrict: Originally named Fucheng District (renamed in 2000), Dongcheng District is one of the four urban districts of the city, covering an area of 110 square kilometers with a permanent population of over 52,000 and a migrant population of more than 280,000. Located in the golden section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Economic Corridor, it boasts a superior geographical position, adjacent to the Guangzhou-Shenzhen and Dongguan-Shenzhen expressways, near the Beijing-Kowloon and Guangzhou-Kowloon railways, and intersected by the Donglong, Dongchang, and Dongzhang highways, as well as multiple urban roads within the district, forming a highly accessible transportation network.

Over the past 20-plus years of reform and opening up, Dongcheng Subdistrict has fully leveraged its cultural and geographical advantages, embodying the Dongguan spirit of “exploration, innovation, unity, integrity, and pragmatism…” More details about Dongcheng Subdistrict++