Ancient Stone Carvings at the Ao Family Tombs

　　Ancient Stone Carvings at the Ao Family Tombs The Ancient Stone Carvings at the Ao Family Tombs are located in Loulou Village, Shichang Township, and consist of two tomb clusters, north and south. The southern cluster was built in the 31st year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty (1905); the northern cluster was built in the 24th year of the Guangxu reign (1898). The two clusters are spaced over 30 meters apart, built against the mountain and ascending in tiers. The tomb complex covers an area of more than 1,200 square meters. This tomb group was created to bury seven members of three generations of the Ao family—Ao Zhengke and his descendants. According to the inscription on the northern cluster’s stele: the ancestors of Zhengke lived in poverty, but by the time of his father, Ao Zhiguo, the family had gradually become wealthy. After Zhiguo’s death, Zhengke inherited the family estate and became a prominent local figure. In the 22nd year of the Guangxu reign (1894), Zhengke’s only son died young, and two years later, Zhengke himself also passed away, leaving behind two widows from two generations. After two years, the Ao widows completed the construction of the northern tomb cluster. Less than ten years later, the Ao widows all died in succession, and the Ao lineage came to an end. Sympathizing with their plight, the family’s clansmen used up the remaining estate to build the southern tomb cluster as a burial site, naming it the “Ao Family Memorial Tomb.” The southern cluster has a plan shape resembling a bell and is divided into four terraces. The lowest level is a stone-paved courtyard. From there, one ascends fifteen stone steps and passes through a stone gate to reach the second-level stone courtyard. Originally, this area featured carved stone screens, as well as stone tables and stools, none of which remain today. The stone gate is tall and wide, built in the style of a memorial archway. At the top center of the stone lintel is a vertically arranged seal script inscription in intaglio that reads “Ao Family Memorial Tomb.” On either side of the gate are embedded stone slabs, each 1.50 meters high and 1.30 meters wide—the left one engraved with the character “Shou” (longevity), the right with “Fu” (blessing). There are two couplets on the stone gate, and thirty relief carvings on various components of the gate. Inside the gate are two chambers: the left one is the joint burial tomb of Ao Zhengke’s spirit tablet, his wife Gu, and their daughter Ao Memei; the right one is the joint tomb of Ao Zhengke’s eldest daughter and her daughter-in-law Zeng. The upper edges of both tomb skirts feature shallow eaves decorations. The tombs connect to the fourth terrace, which they share in height. The tomb tablets are of the same design, styled like memorial archways with upturned wing corners, standing 5 meters tall in total. At the junctions of the second and third terraces on the left and right sides are placed screen walls arranged in a figure-eight pattern, each featuring one relief carving, 1.27 meters long and 0.90 meters high, depicting ancient war stories. These screen walls are connected in front by stone railings and in the back by a curved wall. The inner wall of the wall features six symmetrical reliefs showing animals such as lions, qilins, deer, and sheep. Directly behind the main tomb is a horizontal stone plaque inset in the screen wall, inscribed in regular script with the characters “Bingxue Jingcao” (Exemplary Integrity in Ice and Snow). On either side are a pair of couplets, and the top is adorned with openwork dragon and phoenix patterns.

　　The northern tomb cluster was built on flat ground, surrounded by walls and fences, with many reliefs and inscriptions on the interior walls. Particularly notable are the eight reliefs on the fence panels on either side of the stone gate, which depict vivid human figures. The northern cluster has three stone tombs aligned in a row: the tomb of Ao Zhengke in the middle, his father Ao Zhiguo’s tomb to the left, and his son Ao Bu?j’s tomb to the right.

　　The Ao Family Tomb Complex includes a total of seven tomb gates and steles with base structures, five side and rear screen walls, and a total of 28 embedded stone tablets and plaques. The entire tomb complex contains over 1,000 carved and painted panels, featuring calligraphy in regular, running, cursive, and seal scripts. The sculpted components depict over 1,000 different human figures, nearly 100 horses, as well as more than 20 types of animals and over 50 kinds of decorative patterns. The texts were composed by Yang Zuqing and the carvings were done by Tang Zaiting.