Stone Carvings at the Tomb of Xiao Ying, Marquis of Kuankuan of Liang XinYu

Stone Carvings at the Tomb of Xiao Ying, Marquis of Kuankuan of Liang XinYu

The stone carvings at the tomb of Xiao Ying, Marquis of Kuankuan of Liang, are a protected cultural relic site of Jiangsu Province.

The tomb of Xiao Ying, Marquis of Kuankuan of Liang, is located in Dongjiabian, north of Ganjiaxiang in the northeastern suburbs of Nanjing, approximately 1 kilometer from the tomb of Xiao Xiu.

Xiao Ying, courtesy name Wenming, was the nephew of Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, and the son of Prince Shixing, Xiao Dan. In the second year of the Putong era (521), he was enfeoffed as Marquis of Guangxin, later changed to Marquis of XinYu County. He died in the winter of the tenth year of the Datong era (544) while serving as Prefect of Guangzhou. His posthumous title was “Kuankuan.”

Currently, only one stone pillar remains in front of Xiao Ying’s tomb, with part of its shaft and base buried underground. The visible portion of the pillar stands 2.1 meters tall with a circumference of 1.82 meters. The inscribed lintel faces southeast at a 20-degree angle. Due to severe erosion, only partial inscriptions remain on the lintel, reading: “The Divine Path of the Late Liang Minister of the Central Secretariat, General of Renwei, Marquis of Kuankuan of XinYu □□.” The pillar body is carved with 24 melon-ribbed ridges, but the western side is heavily damaged. Both the rounded top and the small stone beast atop the pillar are missing. Based on the arrangement of the lettering, this pillar is likely the western one.

First and Second Batch of Provincial-Level Protected Cultural Relics of Jiangsu Province, Adjusted and Announced in March 1982: Stone Carvings at the Tomb of Xiao Ying, Marquis of Kuankuan of Liang, Southern Dynasties (544), Dongjiabian, Qixia Mountain, Nanjing. In 1988, it was included as part of the “Stone Carvings of the Southern Dynasties Tombs in Nanjing” and designated as part of the Third Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· First and Second Batch of Protected Cultural Relics of Jiangsu Province