Tomb of Zhong Yuyan

Tomb of Zhong Yuyan

The Tomb of Zhong Yuyan is located on Mantou Mountain, Luofeng Village, Luogang Street, Huangpu District. There are five other tombs of the Zhong clan nearby. All tombs face the west and are in orderly arrangement. Tombs are arranged in three tiers according to the terrain -Zhong Yuyan’s tomb is in the top tier, his wife Ms. Huang’s tomb in the second tier and the remaining four tombs in parallel arrangement in the last tier, namely, the tomb of Zhong Zhangyi and his wife, the tomb of Zhong Zhaojue and his wife, Zhong Guozhen’s tomb and his wife Ms. Xu’s tomb. These six tombs were built in the Southern Song or the Yuan and all renovated in the 8th year of the Qing Emperor Daoguang’s reign (1828). The existing ‘Jiaoyi’ tombs are built from granite, featuring exquisite stone carvings, large size and good preservation. Zhong Yuyan’s tomb is most impressive, as it is comprised of Huling, Xiangtang, platform, Shanshou, Yuechi, Qiantai and Houtu. In the center of the tombstone lies “the Tomb of Zhong Yuyan, the Song’s Central Secretariat and Grand Master of Court Discussion and Forefather of the 2nd Generation” carved in regular script. The epitaph was written by Cui Yuzhi, prime minister of the Southern Song Dynasty. When you stand beside the tomb and look into the distance, you can get a broad field of view. The tombs represented by Zhong Yuyan’s tomb on the mountain and the Grand Ancestral Hall of the Zhong Clan at the foot of the mountain complement each other, becoming an attractive place of historical interest with rich cultural connotation in Huangpu District.