Nanjing Tan Yankai’s Tomb

Nanjing Tan Yankai’s Tomb

Nanjing Tan Yankai’s Tomb is a cultural tourism attraction.

Nanjing Tan Yankai’s Tomb

Nanjing Tan Yankai’s Tomb was designed by renowned architects Guan Songshe and Yang Tingbao. Covering an area of 300 acres, its design features make use of the existing mountainous terrain, constructing a winding and serene tomb path along the hillside, along with a graveyard that showcases the characteristics of Jiangnan-style gardens, giving it a unique style.

The starting point of Tan’s Tomb is the scenic Basheng De Shui (Eight Merits Water) on Purple Mountain. This water flows down from the mountain and is said to have eight health benefits that strengthen the body and cure illnesses. To the north lies the Linggu Deep Pines Stele. Originally serving as the tomb stele for Tan Yankai, the inscriptions were written by Chiang Kai-shek, with a line of small characters in the upper right corner reading “September 4, 1931,” the central characters stating “Tomb of Mr. Tan Kai, Former Chairman of the Executive Yuan of the Chinese National Government and Premier of the Executive Yuan,” and the lower left corner signed “Respectfully offered by Chiang Kai-shek, Chairman of the National Government.” The top of the stele bears a red stone seal reading “Seal of Honors,” above which is the blue sky with a white sun Kuomintang emblem, and below is “Monument of State Funeral.” After the liberation, all the original inscriptions on the stele were ground off, and a staff member from the Zhongshan Gardens Management Office wrote the four characters “Linggu Deep Pines,” which were then carved onto the stele.

Behind the stele is a stone memorial archway. Further back is the tomb path. The tomb path has a cobblestone surface, flanked by tall trees that block out the sky. About 300 meters to the north, after crossing a small bridge, there is a square with a circular flower bed at its center. To the south of the square stands a 5-meter-high stone stele, the upper part of which once bore an inscription about Tan Yankai’s life, but the text has been ground off and is now illegible. To the north of the square is a white marble memorial archway with four pillars and three bays. The stone pillars of the archway originally bore a couplet: “A noble figure soaring like an eagle and a phoenix, respected across the land in his era; a mausoleum nestled among eternal hills and dragons, adjacent to Sun Yat-sen.” On the right slope of the hill was originally the Monument of the State Funeral Decree, while the left tablet once bore the four characters “Climb Yet Higher,” though these have also been ground off.

Passing through the archway and ascending the steps, one encounters a pair of stone horses on either side. Further up is a roughly 200-meter-long cement tomb path, with a palatial-style sacrificial hall on the left, solemn and magnificent, currently displaying a photo exhibition of historical relics from the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. To the east is a peony flower bed, said to be a relic from the Old Summer Palace. Continuing along the path, a turn leads to the burial site, with a chariot hall in front and a cement platform behind. At the center of the lawn directly ahead is a granite flower stand planted with lotus flowers, while on both sides of the lawn are placed white marble ceremonial columns and stone lions. The steps of the cement platform are engraved with nine patterns of good fortune, leading upward to the tomb mound. In front of the mound is an exquisitely carved white marble altar, also said to be a relic from Beijing’s Old Summer Palace. The materials used in Tan’s Tomb are very refined, with some white marble stones specially transported from Beijing, and others being existing stone carvings from the Old Summer Palace, such as the peony flower bed to the east of the sacrificial hall.

The graveyard is built upon the scenic flowing-cup stream, using the land to create a garden. Along the winding and cascading stream, pavilions, terraces, towers, and archways have been constructed, arranged ingeniously and complementing each other in charm. Facing the stream is the “Linbo Pavilion,” with a couplet on its front pillars reading: “Drawing water from the Yangtze, not from the deep springs, gathering myriad emotions, reverently receiving the flow of all; not far from the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, standing together for eternity, still bound by the heart encompassing the universe.” Behind the pavilion is a round door, with walls on either side inscribed with a biography of Tan Yankai and a stele record of the tomb’s construction by Zhejiang Province. Along the stream upstream are structures such as the Qianqiu Archway, Water Pavilion, Small Bridge, and Xin Pavilion, all harmonizing with the surrounding mountains and blending seamlessly with the greenery, offering breathtaking scenery.