Tomb of the Imperial Princess in Mian County

　　The Tomb of the Imperial Princess is situated in the well-known Yunwu Mountain scenic area, right next to Yunwu Temple. The cultural and ecological attractions in this region—including Yunwu Temple, the Tomb of the Imperial Princess, Chaoyang Cave, Lelu Pagoda Forest, rapids, waterfalls, perilous shoals, and giant stone turtles—span an area approximately 18 kilometers wide from east to west and about 30 kilometers long from north to south. Among them, Yunwu Temple and the Tomb of the Imperial Princess cover an area of about 100 acres.

　　During the Ming Dynasty, Grand Secretary Su Yanzhao was fiercely loyal to the imperial court. To quell a rebellion plotted by treacherous officials, he sent his talented daughter—who was skilled in both literary and martial arts—into the deep palace armed with a nine-eyed bronze hammer bestowed by the former emperor, in order to protect the crown prince and the empress. After the crown prince, Emperor Wanli, ascended the throne, he was still young and vulnerable. To guard against unforeseen dangers, the loyal and honorable Grand Secretary Su Yanzhao consulted with the Empress Dowager and arranged for his daughter to marry Emperor Wanli, so she could accompany and protect him day and night. As Emperor Wanli grew up, he naturally had a large harem, but due to the age gap, the Eastern Palace’s Empress Su found her chambers neglected. Reflecting on her years of hard work and sacrifice, yet living a life of simplicity and sorrow, she often wept incessantly, which eventually led to her blindness. The emperor issued an imperial edict across the capital, seeking skilled physicians to cure the empress. At that time, a monk from Yunwu Temple happened to be traveling through the area. He responded to the call, entered the capital, and successfully cured the empress’s eyes. The emperor wished to reward the monk with high-ranking official positions, wealth, and treasures, but the monk refused all material gains. His only request was for the empress to visit Yunwu Temple and offer incense in gratitude to the divine.

　　After making the pilgrimage to Yunwu Mountain, the Empress Su felt the mountain air was fresh and invigorating, filling her with peace. The scenery moved her—towering peaks competing in majesty, cliffs vying in beauty, murmuring streams, blooming wildflowers, lush green trees and vines, all surrounded by peaceful bamboo groves. The environment felt serene and profound. Lost in the vast sea of clouds, she found the experience delightful. Towering pines stood still while cranes circled the mountains, and though the mountain echoed with flowing water, everything seemed timeless. Listening to nature’s sounds calmed her heart like a quiet wilderness, washing away all worldly worries. Gazing at the bright stars, she felt as if she were under an endless blue sky, becoming humble and open-hearted. She then resolved to reside permanently at Yunwu Temple, vowing never to descend the mountain again. From that moment on, she committed herself to a life of Buddhist practice, vegetarianism, and spiritual cultivation. The emperor had no choice but to assign 500 soldiers, servants, and maids to accompany the empress into the mountain. Following the plans of the monks from Chaoyang Temple, they commenced large-scale construction and officially built a temple. Additionally, tax revenues and silver from five counties—Liuba, Baocheng, Nanzheng, Mianxi, and Luoyang—were allocated to support the empress and the temple. Hence, Yunwu Mountain also came to be known as “Mount of the Five Counties.” After the temple was completed, it was renamed Rongwu Temple (Temple Embracing the Five Counties). In its prime, the temple boasted twenty grand halls for enshrining deities, with the main gate of the upper hall hanging a plaque personally inscribed and bestowed by Emperor Wanli. Inside the hall were statues of Sakyamuni Buddha, Maitreya Buddha, and Confucius, flanked by the Eighteen Arhats. The ceiling featured a painting of the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions traversing the cosmos. The left hall was the Princess Hall, the right hall the Medicine Master Hall, and the lower hall the Guanyin Bodhisattva Hall. After its completion, the temple flourished with incense offerings. The Dowager Empress Xiaoding Li bestowed 678 volumes of Buddhist scriptures, and for a time, it became a widely revered Buddhist site.

　　Later, Empress Su passed away and was buried beside Yunwu Temple, becoming the famed “Tomb of the Imperial Princess.” Due to historical circumstances, the reputation of Yunwu Temple declined thereafter. During the Republican era, water transport on the Han River ceased, reducing merchant activity. Furthermore, after the construction of the Baoxie Highway, the ancient Chen-Cang route was abandoned, leading to sparse population and overgrown paths, causing the temple to fall into disrepair. By the late Republican period, only six monks remained to guard the temple. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the monks all returned to secular life and went back to their hometowns, leaving the temple unattended. In 1958, during the mass steel-smelting campaign, the temple bell, incense burner, and a legendary cauldron said to be able to cook 300 kilograms of congee were all destroyed and smelted. The temple’s deity statues were also vandalized. In 1967, a fire accidentally started by a lacquer harvester from Sichuan razed the temple. The blaze raged for seven days and nights, obliterating a vast trove of precious cultural relics and documents. Today, remnants of Yunwu Temple still stand amid scattered debris, broken walls, and desolate ruins. Only the solitary Tomb of the Imperial Princess remains, silently bearing witness to history’s sorrows and grievances. In 1983, the county government designated both Yunwu Temple and the Tomb of the Imperial Princess as county-level key cultural heritage protection sites.