Republic of China celebrities' tombs

Author: Yang Guoqing / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1998-01-01
Features: Huzhou, Zhejiang, located on the southern shore of Taihu Lake. It is not only a land of fish and rice but also a place of cultural prosperity. Traditional writing brushes (Huzhou brushes), feather fans, and silk have gained fame both at home and abroad. Scattered throughout the area are numerous scenic spots and historical sites. On the picturesque Xianshan Mountain outside the southern gate of Huzhou, the tomb of Chen Yingshi, one of the pioneers of the 1911 Revolution, is located. In 1986, after learning that Chen Yingshi's tomb had been restored and a memorial ceremony was held, the elderly journalist Zheng Yimei, at the age of 92, wrote with great enthusiasm: "Beside the Chen Yingshi Tomb, a green wave pavilion has been opened, splendid and lush, making the scarlet blood and loyal hearts eternal with the lakes and mountains. How profound the meaning is!" Chen Yingshi (1878–1916), styled Qimi, courtesy name Yingshi, was from Wuxing, Zhejiang (now Huzhou). In the summer of 1906, he abandoned his business to study in Japan, where he made friends with revolutionary youth and joined the Tongmenghui. After returning to Shanghai in 1908, he engaged in activities to overthrow the Qing government. At that time, secret societies in Shanghai were highly active, and he utilized their various forces to quickly expand his influence, laying the foundation for organizing the Shanghai armed uprising. After Shanghai was liberated, he served as the Military Governor of Shanghai and organized the Jiang-Zhe to capture Nanjing. In 1912, due to internal disputes among revolutionaries, he ordered Jiang Jieshi to assassinate the revolutionary leader Tao Chengzhang. Later, during the "Second Revolution," he was appointed as the Commander of the Shanghai Expeditionary Force against Yuan Shikai. After his defeat, he fled to Japan, joined the Chinese Revolutionary Party, and served as the Chief Executive. When Yuan Shikai attempted to restore the imperial system, Chen's attempt to incite an uprising in Shanghai failed. On May 18, 1916, he was assassinated in his residence at No. 14 Sapozi Road (now) in Shanghai by men sent by Yuan Shikai and Zhang Zongchang. He died at the age of 38. Due to the ruling period of Yuan Shikai, many people dared not to appear publicly, and Chen's body lay exposed in the room in a tragic state. Upon hearing the news, Sun Yat-sen immediately rushed to the scene and mourned over the body. Around 2 a.m. the next day, Jiang Jieshi moved the body to his home at No. 11 Xinminli (now Changle Road) on Pushi Road and purchased a coffin, which was placed in the coffin on the afternoon of the 20th. Since it was inconvenient for Sun Yat-sen to attend in person, he wrote a letter to Chen Yingshi's family. Nineteen days after Chen Yingshi's death, the mastermind Yuan Shikai suddenly died, and the armed overthrow of Yuan Shikai was achieved without a fight. It became possible to hold a grand public memorial ceremony for Chen Yingshi. On August 13 of the same year, revolutionaries gathered in Shanghai's French Concession at Shangyuantang, holding a solemn memorial ceremony for "Mr. Chen Yingshi and the Martyrs Who Died Since the Guichou Year." Yang Jiceng read the eulogy for Chen Yingshi and other martyrs, including Fan Hongxian and Xia Ciyan, led by Sun Yat-sen. After the ceremony, Chen Yingshi's coffin was temporarily placed in the Suzhou Jiyi Temple in Shanghai's French Concession.
By the end of 1916, Huang Xing and Cai E had passed away, and the Beiyang government decided to handle their funerals according to the "National Funeral Law." After Chen Yingshi's assassination, Sun Yat-sen was deeply grieved. When he learned that Huang Xing and Cai E would be given national funerals, he immediately wrote a letter to Tang Shaoyi (then Prime Minister of the State Council) and other ministers and members of the parliament, requesting that Chen Yingshi also be given a national funeral. This proposal fully affirmed Chen Yingshi's historical contributions while stating, "His remains are still stored in Shanghai and have no proper burial. His posthumous life is particularly difficult. The cases of Huang and Chen are the same." It demanded that "he be honored, given a national funeral, and his family be provided for." (See Sun Yat-sen Collected Works (Volume 3), pages 388–389).
Since this proposal was not adopted, Sun Yat-sen issued an announcement to compatriots at home and abroad in April 1917, praising Chen Yingshi's life as one of "brilliant achievements and unwavering integrity" and planned to have his coffin returned to his hometown of Huzhou for a grand funeral on the anniversary of his death. On May 12, 1917, a solemn memorial ceremony was held at the temporary resting place of Chen Yingshi's coffin. Sun Yat-sen attended in person, and President Li Yuanhong sent Hu Hanmin to pay his respects. Other attendees included Zhang Taiyan, Sun Hongyi, Tang Shaoyi, Jiang Jieshi, Xu Chongzhi, Wu Zhongxin, Zhang Jingjiang, Tan Renfeng, Huang Fusheng, Yang Cangbai, Wu Zhihui, Dai Jitao, Pang Qingcheng, and others. Prominent social figures such as Yu Qiaqing, Zhu Baosan, Li Pingshu, Wang Yiting, Li Denghui, Xia Yuexuan, Pan Yueqiao, and Mao Yunke also came to pay their respects. On May 13, 1917, the Ministry Daily published a detailed report titled "Record of the Return and Memorial Ceremony for Mr. Chen Yingshi." In the mourning hall, wreaths, floral tributes, and mourning banners sent by various sectors were overwhelming. Sun Yat-sen sent a banner reading "To Die for Justice," Zhang Taiyan sent "May You Become a Comet Tail to Sweep the," Hu Hanmin sent "His spirit is weak, but his soul is strong; the dead also have knowledge. How long can the wolves rule? Too loyal to the party, too selfless for oneself. The world is in turmoil, how can the phoenix be auspicious?" Ju Zheng sent "Lu Zhonglian was ashamed to serve the tyrannical Qin, but ultimately led the new ruler of Jiantai to sleep peacefully; Sun the Rebel-Killer died at the hands of petty men, leaving the sons of Wu-Hui to fail to cross the river to the west." Tan Renfeng sent "The three and two led the central Tongmenghui, enduring step-by-step destruction, but my master remained to die; at the age of sixty, he ignored the dangers ahead, but only wished for his spirit to protect him and cut down the traitor's head to please the people." Jiang Jieshi sent "Heaven is blind, suffering for ten years of old rain; the Central Plains are in turmoil, yet you destroyed the Great Wall." Yu Youren sent two couplets: "Ten years of toil and danger, I lost my life; a hundred battles over the land, mourning the martyrs" and "To seek and to receive, what complaint is there? The traitor's master is not loyal." Yao Yuping sent a couplet: "The nation can still be saved, someone can fulfill the duty of the last to die; you may close your eyes. In heaven, you will be the god of freedom." Cai Yuanpei sent two couplets for his student: The first was: "Zhejiang and Shanghai remain, reforming the old and embracing the new, the martyrs may rest in peace; Yuan Feng are still alive, their fame or infamy, the people will have the final judgment." The second was: "His deeds are sufficient to prove, worthy of the biographies of the knight-errant and merchant; his virtue is equal to the ancient, truly like Zhang Liang and Lu Zhonglian." Other couplets were sent by Shao Yuanchong, Shen Junru,, and Lin Boku. Many organizations also sent collective wreaths and mourning banners. The Shanghai Chamber of Commerce, with a unique idea, presented a silver tripod inscribed with the four characters "Long Lasting tripod." In the morning of May 13, Chen Yingshi's coffin was escorted by over 10,000 people from the Suzhou Jiyi Temple, passing through Caimark Road, Xifeng Road, Aoduya Road, and Huangpu Wharf, arriving at the Jinliyuan dock of the China Merchants' Association. The grand procession carrying the coffin demonstrated that the "democratic republic" had deeply taken root in people's hearts. Such a powerful procession can also be seen as a political demonstration by the masses to defend the republic and a symbol of the revolutionaries launching a new offensive against the reactionary forces. The boats waiting at the dock had already been prepared by the Lixing Company, carrying Chen Yingshi's coffin, escorted by the Fudan University Cadets and his relatives, arriving in Huzhou in the afternoon of May 15. At about 3 p.m. on May 16, the coffin arrived at the Xianshan cemetery. At 10 a.m. on May 18, 1917, the burial ceremony for Chen Yingshi was held at the Xianshan cemetery. Hu Hanmin, as the representative of President Li Yuanhong, led the main sacrificial rites, followed by speeches and offerings from representatives from various sectors. It was only after the efforts of revolutionaries led by Sun Yat-sen that Chen Yingshi was finally given a proper resting place a full year after his death. Yu Youren wrote a couplet for this: "Tears of the people for the spring and autumn sacrifices, the mountain and lake light of the martyrs' tomb." In a concise manner, it described the scenery around the tomb while expressing the people's sorrowful remembrance of the martyrs.
Chen Yingshi's tomb faces Biliang Lake and is built on a hill, with a grand scale. In front of the stone archway, there is a stone gate inscribed with the four characters "To Die for Justice," written by Sun Yat-sen. Not far beyond the archway, the inscription "Bile Blood Endures for a Thousand Years" is visible on the top of the tomb gate. Inside the gate lies the main part of Chen Yingshi's tomb, divided into three layers. The stone railings wind upward, making the tomb particularly majestic. On the first platform, there stands a stone stele inscribed with Li Yuanhong's eulogy, with Sun Yat-sen's eulogy carved behind it. The third platform holds Chen Yingshi's burial site, with the four characters "Magnificent as Mountains and Rivers" and eight eulogies carved on the stones around the square tomb. The round top of the tomb is adorned with the emblem of the Kuomintang. The tombstone bears the six characters "Chen Yingshi's Tomb," written by Sun Yat-sen. Next to the tombstone, the two stone pillars are carved with a couplet written by Chen Yingshi in his lifetime: "To uphold the declining and stabilize the perilous, to strive for glory with the sun and moon; to die for justice and take no shame from heaven and earth."
Since its construction in 1916, Chen Yingshi's tomb has undergone two major expansions and renovations. The first was in 1932, when the Kuomintang Central Committee allocated 80,000 yuan to expand it. The stele on the first platform was replaced with Sun Yat-sen's eulogy written on June 21, 1916, and written by Liu San (Jiping). On both sides of the stone archway in front of the tomb path, the characters "Eternal Spirit" by Lin Sen and "Spirit Never Dies" by Jiang Jieshi were carved, with Sun Yat-sen's "To Die for Justice" still in the middle. The four characters "Magnificent as Mountains and Rivers" on the front of the tomb were written by Wang Chuantao, who was only 15 years old at the time. The second major renovation was fully restored to its original state in April 1985, with a pair of stone lions placed on both sides of the platform in front of the platforms. The completion ceremony was held on April 17. In the spring of 1985, the local government also built a Biliang Stele Corridor beside Chen Yingshi's tomb, which has now been completed and opened to the public.
Today, Xianshan Mountain boasts not only the magnificent Chen Yingshi Tomb but also the Biliang Stele Corridor, as well as the ancient site of the Xiangkua Pavilion, dating back to the Tang Dynasty. Truly, the famous mountain and beautiful waters complement each other perfectly.