Tomb of the Yang Yun Family

Tomb of the Yang Yun Family

The Tomb of the Yang Yun Family is a cultural relic protection unit of Hebei Province.

The "Yang Yun Stele," also known as the "Inscription on the Ancestral Tomb of the Yang Family of Yuzhou," stands at the northern end of the Yang family tomb complex, located approximately 1,000 meters northwest of Maiziding Village, Nanyangzhuang Township, Yu County.

The stele is made of bluestone and comprises a top, body, and base, with an overall height of 3.30 meters, width of 1.20 meters, and thickness of 0.32 meters. The stele top is arched, standing 1.10 meters high and 1.20 meters wide, featuring carved relief of two coiled dragons. The dragons' heads face downward and are placed on the outer sides at the lower end of the stele top, while their bodies wrap around the top, encircling a rectangular stele header inscribed with two vertical lines of seal script reading "Inscription on the Ancestral Tomb of the Yang Family of Yuzhou." The stele body is rectangular, 2.20 meters high and 1.20 meters wide, with 38 characters per line and 23 vertical rows of running script, totaling 706 characters. The stele base is made of natural bluestone, naturally formed in the shape of a "turtle pedestal," measuring 1.70 meters in length from north to south, 1.17 meters in width from east to west, and standing 0.30 meters above the ground surface, with no traces of artificial carving.

The seal script header, the text author, and the calligrapher are all the Yuan Dynasty artist Zhao Mengfu. The stele was erected on the 27th day of the 11th month of the first year of the Zhi reign during the Yuan Dynasty. The inscription records the virtues and political achievements of the tomb's occupant, Yang Yun. To the south of the stele, stone sculptures remain on the ground surface, arranged from south to north as follows: four stone lions (one damaged and unrecognizable), two stone beasts, and two stone warriors—all headless. All the stone sculptures are made of white marble.

In July 1982, it was designated as a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit by the People's Government of Hebei Province.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Major National Historical and Cultural Sites