Tomb of Min Ziqian
Encyclopedia
The Tomb of Min Ziqian is a memorial to Min Sun (Style name Ziqian, 536 BCE-?), a disciple of Confucius
and the fourth of the 24 Confucian paragons of filial piety . The memorial is
located in the City of Jinan
, Shandong
Province, China.
While the memorial is designed as a classical Confucian tomb with an ancestral temple, a spirit way
, and a burial mound, the actual burial place of Min Sun is not known. Only some of Min Sun's clothes may have been buried at the Jinan site. Other places in Jiangsu
, Henan
, and Anhui
also have tombs erected to commemorate Min Sun.
The first records of the construction of an ancestral hall dedicated to Min Ziqian on the site in Jinan date to the year 1074 in the period of the Northern Song Dynasty. Renovations were undertaken during the Yuan
, Ming
and Qing
Dynasties. Prior to the Cultural Revolution
, the area covered by the memorial spanned about 300 meters in the north-south direction and 200 meters along the east-west axis. The burial mount had a diameter of 78 meters and a height of 10 meters. The site also featured more than 30 old trees and more than 10 historical stone sculptures. The memorial sustained significant damage during the Cultural Revolution, when the ancestral hall was torn down, masonry was destroyed, and trees were cut down. In September 1979, the memorial was identified as the first of Jinan's key historical sites deserving protection. At present, the site covers an area of only 60 (north-south) by 30 meters (east-west). A project to restore the tomb began in 1999, but ran out of funds.
s Park" in reference to the story about Min Ziqian's extraordinary filial piety
.
Confucius
Confucius , literally "Master Kong", was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period....
and the fourth of the 24 Confucian paragons of filial piety . The memorial is
located in the City of Jinan
Jinan
Jinan is the capital of Shandong province in Eastern China. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of the region from the earliest beginnings of civilisation and has evolved into a major national administrative, economic, and transportation hub...
, Shandong
Shandong
' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
Province, China.
While the memorial is designed as a classical Confucian tomb with an ancestral temple, a spirit way
Spirit way
A spirit way is the ornate road leading to a Chinese tomb of a major dignitary.The term is also sometimes translated as spirit road, spirit path or sacred way....
, and a burial mound, the actual burial place of Min Sun is not known. Only some of Min Sun's clothes may have been buried at the Jinan site. Other places in Jiangsu
Jiangsu
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...
, Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
, and Anhui
Anhui
Anhui is a province in the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny...
also have tombs erected to commemorate Min Sun.
The first records of the construction of an ancestral hall dedicated to Min Ziqian on the site in Jinan date to the year 1074 in the period of the Northern Song Dynasty. Renovations were undertaken during the Yuan
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
, Ming
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
and Qing
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
Dynasties. Prior to the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
, the area covered by the memorial spanned about 300 meters in the north-south direction and 200 meters along the east-west axis. The burial mount had a diameter of 78 meters and a height of 10 meters. The site also featured more than 30 old trees and more than 10 historical stone sculptures. The memorial sustained significant damage during the Cultural Revolution, when the ancestral hall was torn down, masonry was destroyed, and trees were cut down. In September 1979, the memorial was identified as the first of Jinan's key historical sites deserving protection. At present, the site covers an area of only 60 (north-south) by 30 meters (east-west). A project to restore the tomb began in 1999, but ran out of funds.
Location
The tomb is located to the east of Min Ziqian Road, adjacent to the Baihua Park, formerly known as "CatkinCatkin
A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster, with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind-pollinated but sometimes insect pollinated . They contain many, usually unisexual flowers, arranged closely along a central stem which is often drooping...
s Park" in reference to the story about Min Ziqian's extraordinary filial piety
Filial piety
In Confucian ideals, filial piety is one of the virtues to be held above all else: a respect for the parents and ancestors. The Confucian classic Xiao Jing or Classic of Xiào, thought to be written around 470 BCE, has historically been the authoritative source on the Confucian tenet of xiào /...
.