The Tomb of Chen Gongyin and His Wife

The Tomb of Chen Gongyin and His Wife

The Tomb of Chen Gongyin and His Wife is a cultural relic protection unit of Guangzhou City.

The Tomb of Chen Gongyin and His Wife is located at the southern foot of Xiangyun Mountain in Longdong, Guangzhou. The tomb faces south and is built with lime-sand materials, consisting of three parts: the grave head, the mountain arms, and the front terrace. It is divided into four levels descending from the grave head. The grave head is semi-cylindrical in shape, constructed with lime-sand rammed earth, and features a large bluestone stele from Lianzhou embedded in the center. The stele bears an inscription in regular script: “Joint Tomb of Mr. Chen Dulu and His Wife Madam Zhan Guo.” On either side between the two mountain arms are black stone stelae; the right one inscribed with “Tomb of the Honorable Chen Gong of the South,” (referring to Chen Gongyin’s third son named Shi), and the left one with “Tomb of the Thirteenth Generation Ancestress Madam Wu” (referring to Chen Shi’s wife). In front of the tomb are three protective stelae, namely “Stele for the Reconstruction of Mr. Chen Dulu’s Tomb,” “Record of the Reconstruction of Mr. Chen Dulu’s Tomb,” and the “Panyu County Government Notice” for the protection of the tomb.

Chen Gongyin (1631–1700), styled Yuanshao or Banfeng, and also known by his pseudonym Dulu, was a native of Shunde, Guangdong. The Southern Ming regime of the Prince of Gui appointed him as an officer of the Imperial Guards, where he secretly engaged in anti-Qing activities. Later, he lived in seclusion and called himself “a commoner of Luofu.” In his later years, he built a small retreat named Xiaoyushan Cabin on Yuxian Lane in Guangzhou and spent his remaining years as a loyalist of the fallen Ming dynasty. Many of his poems praise those who resisted the Qing conquest. Together with Qu Dajun and Liang Peilan, he was known as one of the “Three Great Masters of Lingnan.” He authored the collection *Dulu Hall Collection*.

In 1983, the Guangzhou Municipal People’s Government designated it as a cultural relic protection unit.

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Guangzhou Cultural Relic Protection Units