Tomb of Chen Jian

 Address:Geographical location : Dong Heng outside the village in the southern suburbs, Jinsha Township, Kinmen County Longitude : 118.433043996918, Latitude : 24.484838426339
 Subject:AssetClassification : Historic Monument, AssetsLevel : National Historic Monument, Asset Type : Tomb

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【Introduction】

The tomb of Chen Jian is located outside Dongheng Village in Jinsha Township, Kinmen County. The tomb, a cenotaph, contains personal effects of the deceased not his remains. The tomb lies southeast on a tract of land that offers a high vantage point and bird’s-eye view. From the perspective of Fenshui, this takes advantage of the energy center known as “sleeping bull”. Chen Jian, born in the Ming Dynasty, was also known by his courtesy name, Shiquan, and pseudonym, Gangjiang. He was a native of Yangdi in Wuzhou (present day Yangzhai in Jinsha Township). He passed the imperial examinations and achieved the rank of “Jinshi”, in 1526 (the 5th year of Emperor Jiajing). Later, he worked as a division chief in the judicial department. He was a mid-ranking official in the Sichuan provincial administration, and also served as a Prefectural Magistrate in Nan-an, Lian-zhou, and Nan-ning. Chen was praised as a diligent administrator dedicated to the civilians under his jurisdiction. Chen’s tomb is built with granite in a U-shaped layout. It features a parapet across the tomb and three layers of double-decked sidewalls that gradually stretch outward to the front of the parapet. At the facade of the side walls is a stone fence with two doorposts at its center as an entrance. There are exterior courtyards but no stone animal statues or blaster columns that are typical in the tombs of fourth-grade feudal officials. A four-column stone pavilion stands in front of the parapet. The pavilion has a double eave Chinese hipped roof with raised ridge. The tile roofing, including eaves roof tiles and drip tiles, have distinct carvings. Under the eaves are wooden-laminated architraves with stacked brackets. The eight Daoist trigrams are engraved upon the ceiling. A tombstone stands at the center of the pavilion, but no inscription can be distinguished. A table with auspicious engravings is set up in front of the tablet. In general, the tomb of Chen Jian combines austere strength given by stone architecture with the soft grance of wooden structures.

 

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