She Youzhi, the 17th generation tomb keeper of the tomb of Yuan Chonghuan, the national hero of the late Ming Dynasty, died in Beijing on August 12 this year, at the age of 81.
She Youzhi and her ancestors silently guarded the tomb for the hero Yuan Chonghuan, they did not seek fame and fortune, only for a promise from their ancestors,
"Never become an official for life, never return to his hometown in Guangdong, and guard the tomb of General Yuan for generations."
From 1630 to 2020, for the sake of this promise of the ancestors, the She family has been guarding the tomb for 390 years, generation after generation, just like a relay, the wind and rain, guarding the tomb for General Yuan for 390 years.
Yuan Chonghuan was a famous hero who fought against the Later Jin and defended the Ming Dynasty during the reign of the Chongzhen Emperor during the reign of the Ming Dynasty.
Yuan Chonghuan (1584-1630), a native of Dongguan County, Guangzhou Province, Guangdong Province (a native of TengXian County, Guangxi), a famous general of the Late Ming Dynasty and a patriotic general.
Yuan Chonghuan was born as a jinshi, who served as Shaowu Zhi County, Bingbu Shangshu and Right Capital Yushi, and won many major victories in the war against Later Jin, such as the Ningyuan Victory and the Ningjin Victory.
Later, because of the rebellion of the chancellor Wei Zhongxian, Yuan Chonghuan did not want to join the same stream, but resigned his official and returned to his hometown, and later after the Chongzhen Emperor succeeded to the throne, Yuan Chonghuan returned to office.
In the second year of Chongzhen (1629), Yuan Chonghuan led a large army to achieve a preliminary victory in a duel with the troops led by Emperor Taiji, and the siege of Jingshi was lifted. However, Emperor Taiji used divisive tactics, and Wei Zhongxian's Yu Dang impeached Yuan Chonghuan on charges of "killing Dao Shuai (Mao Wenlong)", "negotiating peace with the Qing court", and "enemies of the city".
Yuan Chonghuan
Yuan Chonghuan was framed as a criminal, sentenced to capital punishment, executed by Ling Chi, confiscated family property, and his family was exiled for three thousand miles. Yuan Chonghuan's death has become an unjust case throughout the ages, which makes people sigh endlessly. The great meritorious servants who were loyal to the imperial court were actually framed as traitors who defected to the enemy and committed treason, and the hero died blindly.
Yuan Chonghuan's death was very miserable, not only did he suffer Ling Chi's capital punishment, but the people who did not know the truth spat at him and had to bite off a bite of his flesh to relieve the hatred in their hearts.
And Yuan Chonghuan's subordinates naturally had no doubts about their loyalty to Yuan Chonghuan, so they were very sad about the death of General Yuan. One of Yuan Chonghuan's advisers was named She Mingde, and he took advantage of the night and risked the family being wiped out to steal Yuan Chonghuan's head hanging from the city tower and bury it in his own courtyard.
She Youzhi
So there is the story at the beginning of the article, She Mingde instructed his descendants to guard the tomb for The Great General Yuan for generations, and he was known as She Yishi.
It is strange to say that the She family has guarded the tomb for Yuan Chonghuan for 390 years, from the 1st generation to the 17th generation, and the generations are passed on singlely, just like the providence in the underworld, blessing the She family that there are men in each generation.
The courtyard of the She family is near the campus of the No. 59 Middle School in Beijing's Chongwen District. Later, the descendants built an ancestral hall for Yuan Chonghuan, which contained two tombs, one large and one small, and the large tombstone was written "The Tomb of The Great General of Youming Yuan", next to the tomb of She Mingde, with a wordless stele.
Tomb of Yuan Chonghuan
In the 1950s, Beijing moved a large number of cemeteries in the city, and the She family traveled around, plus Li Jishen, Liu Yazi and others wrote letters to the chairman. In the end, Yuan Chonghuan's tomb was preserved.
During the Cultural Revolution, Yuan Chonghuan's tomb was not spared and was severely damaged. Yuan Chonghuan's tombstone and ancestral hall have been completely unrecognizable and unbearable to see.
Maybe some people say that the 17 generations who guarded the tomb for Yuan Chonghuan did not have men from generation to generation? How it passed into the hands of the woman She Youzhi. It turned out that it was because She Youzhi's brother was overwhelmed during the Cultural Revolution and left with his family, and at the same time, he also advised his sister to leave together.
However, She Youzhi and her lover chose to stay, and they did not want the ancestral ancestors to guard the tomb for Yuan Chonghuan for generations to be ruined in the hands of their own generation.
Tribute to General Yuan Chonghuan
After the end of the Cultural Revolution, Yu Youzhi's family went around calling for the restoration of Yuan's tomb and vowing:
"One day without repairing Yuan's tomb, one day without cutting hair."
Not only did She Youzhi and her lover have the heart to guard the tomb for Yuan Chonghuan, but his children Jiao Ping and Jiao Ying also stated that after a hundred years of their parents, they would also become the 18th generation of tomb keepers.
And She Youzhi's lover Teacher Jiao has higher requirements for the tomb keepers, he said,
"Guarding the tomb is not just a superficial thing, but to carry on a spirit, a tradition, and educate future generations."
Yuan Chonghuan Ancestral Hall
In 1992, Yuan Chonghuan's tomb was renovated and opened to the public, and on the day of the Qingming Festival, a large number of people went to pay tribute to Yuan Chonghuan. And She Youzhi also cut off her hair that she had stored for more than ten years, crying bitterly. She Youzhi's crying, one is gratitude, for the restoration of General Yuan Chonghuan's cemetery; the other is excitement, his and his ancestors' hard work has not been in vain, so many people remember General Yuan, to pay tribute to General Yuan.
In 2002, because the government built a road, She Youzhi's family had tears in their eyes and had to move away from the old house where their ancestors had guarded Yuan Chonghuan's tomb for generations.
In 2003, She Youzhi's son Jiao Ping was killed in a car accident on his way south to guard Yuan Chonghuan's tomb. Poor She Youzhi and his wife sent the black-haired man with white hair, and she buried her son next to Yuan Chonghuan's tomb, letting him and his ancestors guard General Yuan together.