“Hundred Flowers Tomb” Cliff Carvings

“Hundred Flowers Tomb” Cliff Carvings

The “Hundred Flowers Tomb” Cliff Carvings are a Guangzhou Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Hundred Flowers Tomb is located in Meihua’ao on Baiyun Mountain in Guangzhou. It is the tomb of Zhang Qiao, a renowned female singer in late Ming Dynasty Guangzhou. The tomb has been destroyed. According to the *Collected Works of Lotus Fragrance*, there was originally a stone stele in front of Zhang Qiao’s tomb inscribed with the four characters “Tomb of Lady Zhang,” along with an epitaph. Now, only a large rock about 3 meters high remains at the site, bearing three clerical script characters “Hundred Flowers Tomb.” Everything else is gone.

Zhang Qiao (1615–1633), styled Qiaojing and also known as Erqiao. The *Epitaph of the Singing Lady Zhang* states that Zhang Qiao was born in Guangzhou, skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She had a tragically short life and died at the age of 19. Peng Mengyang, a notable scholar in Guangzhou, chose a burial site for her in Meihua’ao on Baiyun Mountain. On the day of her funeral, over a hundred literati and poets came to pay their respects, each holding a flower which they planted around the tomb and composing a poem to express their grief. As a result, Zhang Qiao’s tomb was surrounded by flowers and came to be known as the “Hundred Flowers Tomb.” Zhang Qiao left behind 130 poems, which were compiled and published by Peng Mengyang under the title *Collected Works of Lotus Fragrance*.

Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of Guangzhou Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Units