Princess She Xiang’s Tomb

　　 In the 29th year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty (AD 1396), Princess She Xiang passed away at the young age of 35. The Ming court sent envoys to her hometown in Shuixi to attend her funeral, posthumously honored her as “Dame Shunde of the Great Ming,” and bestowed upon her ceremonial court robes and silk fabrics. Her tomb was built according to the regulations for a third-rank official, incorporating the architectural style of the Yi people.

　　 Princess She Xiang stood out in Shuixi, her reputation spread across China, and her legacy shines through the ages. She is a heroine in Chinese history who made great contributions to safeguarding ethnic unity and national unity. Over the past 600 years since her death, her tomb has endured many upheavals—its hills eroded, a mound of earth all that remains. Travelers come to pay respects through the misty desolation, brushing moss aside to read her inscriptions. In the 3rd year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (AD 1664), when Wu Sangui, the Prince Who Pacifies the West, led troops to “suppress Shuixi,” the tomb was destroyed in the war. In the 13th year of the Daoguang reign (AD 1833), She Xiang’s descendant An Ganxin petitioned the Dading Prefecture for repairs to the “Dame Shunde Temple and Tomb” on the grounds that She Xiang had taken her husband’s position, opened nine courier stations, “left meritorious deeds recorded in history as a hero of the nation, and remained steadfast and chaste as a model wife.” The Dading Prefecture approved the request, stating: “Dame Shunde, with her unwavering loyalty as firm as gold and stone, her name recorded in history, respected by all. She opened nine courier stations, carving paths through mountains with steadfast effort; she governed the hundred tribes, her enfeoffment solidifying the land. Truly a great figure through the ages. Her small mound remains, and she deserves recognition to inspire devotion.” Later, Wang Xukun, the Dading Prefect, and Wu Songliang, the Qianxi Prefect, oversaw the restoration of the tomb in the 18th year of the Daoguang reign (AD 1838). It was rebuilt with a stone enclosure and earthen mound, with new front and epitaph steles erected, and a stone marker inscribed “Hometown of Princess She Xiang” placed beside the road near the tomb. In the following decades, lack of maintenance led to gradual deterioration. In 1960, the government recognized Princess She Xiang’s historical contributions, carried out preliminary repairs to the tomb, and designated it as a Guizhou Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit. By the 1980s, as reform and opening-up flourished, women’s achievements were celebrated, and cultural heritage was promoted. Starting in 1985, governments at central, provincial, prefectural, county, and district levels allocated funds to renovate the tomb. In January 1988, with State Council approval, Princess She Xiang’s Tomb was designated as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

　　 The restored Princess She Xiang’s Tomb has returned to its original scale and structure. It covers an area of 20,000 square meters. The tomb mound is enclosed by stone and earth, standing 4.5 meters high with a diameter of 6 meters and a circumference of 18.84 meters. It features a Sumeru pedestal-style base, constructed with nine tiers of encircling stone slabs, each tier using 36 fine white stones—four times the number nine. The sixth tier includes nine panels and nine columns of high-relief carvings, with tiger-head patterns on the columns and nine dragons and nine tigers in transformed designs on the panels. The ninth tier consists of tile cylinders adorned with 72 high-relief tiger-face tiles. Two terraced stone platforms were built along the terrain in front of the tomb, each 1.5 meters high. The first platform is 46.8 meters long, featuring a nine-meter-wide, nine-tiered central pathway. Flanking the steps are three 120x60 cm stone slab and column reliefs each, while the sides of the platform are inlaid with 36 120x80 cm double-sided white stone tiger-head pattern reliefs and 38 120x30 cm white stone tiger-head column carvings. The second platform is 23.4 meters long, also with a nine-tiered central path, flanked by three slabs and three columns on each side, plus 18 additional slabs and 20 columns. At the center of the first platform’s axis stands a 3.6-meter-high, 1.45-meter-wide stele inscribed with the bilingual (Yi and Chinese) text “Tomb of Princess She Xiang, Dame Shunde of the Ming Dynasty and Pacification Commissioner of Guizhou,” each in 14 characters. The back of the stele bears a 248-character five-character poem praising Princess She Xiang. In front of the first platform stand a pair of 2.6-meter-tall stone lions. The 7-meter-wide, 70-meter-long spirit path in front features a pair of 6.4-meter-high ornamental columns. Each column is supported by 16 120x80 cm white stone relief bases and columns, with cloud-and-crane high-relief carvings atop and seated beasts at the top. The tomb site is enclosed by imitation ancient walls, with a pond, pavilions, stone railings, small bridges, flowers, trees, and lawns creating a serene environment for visitors.

　　 The site of Princess She Xiang’s Tomb was originally the location of a fortress built by the ancestors of the Yi people for the Kingdom of Luodian. According to *The Southwest Yi Chronicles: Origins of the Six Clans*, Tu’aozhe, the 25th-generation descendant of the Mu clan of the Yi people in Shuixi, Guizhou, allied with Zhuge Liang at Chuaoshan in the 3rd year of the Jianxing reign of the Shu Han Dynasty (AD 225). For his contributions in aiding Zhuge Liang’s southern campaign, he was granted the title King of Luodian and tasked with governing Mugu (present-day Dafang). He established his capital here and built the fortress. The kingdom was called “Mu’ege” in Yi and “Luodian” in Chinese. The Yi people of Shuixi revered the dragon and tiger as their totems and ancestors, referring to themselves as “Nuosu” or “Nishu,” meaning “land of dragons and tigers” or “tiger clan territory.” In Chinese, they were also called the “Lulu tribe” or “Luodian,” carrying the same meaning. Thus, this place can be described as a strategically vital land where dragons and tigers hold sway.

　　 Nine-tiered terraces adorn Princess She Xiang’s tomb, embodying the Yi imagery of dragons, humans, and tigers. The tomb faces south, with a “Green Dragon” to its left—the majestic Yulong Mountain, described as “encircled by myriad peaks, a ridge reaching the sky.” From its heights, layered mountains shrouded in mist resemble a vast ocean, inspiring a sense of grandeur and ambition. To its right lies a “Living Dragon”—the first high-grade highway in northwestern Guizhou, the Da-Na Highway, which connects Dafang County to Naxi in Sichuan and links to the Yangtze River waterway. Ahead lies Langfeng Terrace “racing to its south,” and behind stands General Mountain, “presiding over its north.” Surrounded by lush, towering peaks, the tomb’s layout exudes grandeur, solemnity, and monumental presence. The stone slabs, tile cylinders, roof tiles, railings, and ornamental columns around the tomb are adorned with intricate, ancient-style carvings of vivid, powerful dragons and tigers, vividly reflecting the unique traditional culture and artistic style of the Yi people, with high aesthetic value.

　　 The totem worship of dragons and tigers is a spiritual and cultural symbol of the Yi ancestors. It also serves as a cultural bond for the Chinese nation, predominantly Han, with a long and enduring history. Shuixi connects to China, sharing a common lineage. As a historical testament to ethnic unity and Yi-Han integration, Princess She Xiang’s Tomb not only stands as a splendid site promoting tradition and inspiring future generations but also serves as a vivid textbook for fostering ethnic unity, patriotism, and historical materialism. Moreover, it is a distinctive cultural attraction for domestic and international visitors exploring northwestern Guizhou, seeking history, and paying homage.