Tomb of Dai Jin and His Wife

Tomb of Dai Jin and His Wife

The Tomb of Dai Jin and His Wife is a cultural tourism attraction.

The Tomb of Dai Jin and His Wife is located at Xianglangang, Meihua Village, Dongshan, Guangzhou. It was excavated in 1956. This is a joint burial tomb with separate chambers. Above ground, there is a granite-built grave mound, which was renovated in the 13th year of the Tongzhi reign during the Qing Dynasty (1874). The two tomb chambers are constructed from granite, placed side by side but not connected, and buried 2 meters underground. One black stone epitaph is placed at the front and one at the back of each chamber. The right chamber is the burial site of Dai Jin, measuring 3.18 meters in length and 1.94 meters in width, while the left one belongs to his wife, Lady Zhou, measuring 2.9 meters in length and 1.46 meters in width. Both chambers have identical structures. The four stone walls are joined using mortise and tenon joints, and the ceiling is covered with round stone slabs. The space between the stone chamber and the upper wall of the burial pit is filled with lime sand. Dai Jin’s coffin set includes an outer and inner coffin. The wooden outer coffin measures 1.96 meters in length, 0.71 meters in width, and 0.71 meters in height, with all sides, lid, and base fitted together using mortise and tenon joints. The inner coffin is also joined using interlocking tenons. Inside the coffin lies a bamboo mat bed, beneath which is filled with tooth ash (ash made from burnt grain husks). Lady Zhou’s burial contains only an inner coffin without an outer coffin. The structure of her coffin is identical to Dai Jin’s, but the bamboo mat bed beneath is filled with lampwick grass. Both the tomb chambers and the coffins are filled with pine resin from top to bottom and all around. The bodies of the couple were preserved as mummies and remain intact. Both corpses are heavily wrapped in various types of garments. Dai Jin is wrapped in 15 layers, forming a cylindrical shape. Burial items include one wooden hairpin, two wooden combs, one gold and one silver ear pick, and a piece of gold about half the size of a soybean placed in the mouth. Lady Zhou is wrapped in six layers, and her burial items include two gold-plated silver hairpins, two wooden hairpins, one silver ear pick, one pair of jade pendant gold and silver earrings, and two wooden combs. The fabrics of the clothes include cotton, hemp, and silk, serving as physical materials for the study of Ming Dynasty clothing and textile techniques.

According to the epitaphs, Dai Jin was born in the 2nd year of the Xuande reign of the Ming Dynasty and died in the 5th year of the Zhengde reign (1427–1510), serving as the Minister of Works in Nanjing during the Chenghua era. Lady Zhou was born in the 21st year of the Yongle reign and died in the 15th year of the Hongzhi reign (1423–1502).