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- Source: Ancient Literary History
- Author/History of Ancient Style Literature
Liu Wencai, a native of Xinfan Town, Chengdu, Sichuan, is the older brother of Liu Wenhui, a large landowner, and has a high reputation in the local area. In 1929, he served as the director of the western Sichuan administrative office, and also served as the director of the western Sichuan farmland water conservancy department.
He once monopolized salt in the five counties of Xinfan, Pengxian, Guanghan, Shifang and Mianzhu, and controlled the bamboo and wood in the Jintang and Zhongjiang areas.
Liu Wencai died in 1936, and his grave was built on a mountain bag in Longwang Town. Liu Wencai knows very well that his actions have caused dissatisfaction among local residents. Although when he was still alive, people may not dare to act indiscriminately because they were afraid of his subordinates, but once he dies, it is inevitable that some people will want to take revenge and even destroy his grave.
With this in mind, he decided to use the more expensive reinforced concrete material when choosing the cemetery, in addition, he assigned several gravekeepers to be responsible for regularly clearing the weeds around the cemetery after his death to ensure that no one would cause any damage to the grave.
In order to show his strength, Liu Wenhui specially built his brother's tomb very luxuriously. This tomb covers an area of more than ten acres, with tall tombstones, artificial lakes and pavilions in the cemetery. It is said that the tomb was repaired for two years and cost 80,000 silver dollars.
To make the tomb look even more spectacular, Liu Wenhui also erected 50 life-size statues in front of the tomb. These statues represent Liu Wenhui's five industries during his lifetime: salt, bamboo, coal, iron ore, and weaving.
On July 12, 1958, several workers from Xinfeng Town came to Longwang Town to blow up this luxurious tomb. At that time, workers used crowbars to pry open the door of the tomb and saw several skeletons inside. The workers thought they were Liu Wenhui's bones and threw them into the wilderness.
Four days later, a gravekeeper surnamed Huang arrived and prepared to rebury the bones. But when he arrived, he found that the bones had been thrown into the wilderness. The Yellow Gravekeeper was very sad and felt that the bones should be buried, so he reburied them on a small hill.
Liu Qingshan, a man with little education, is honest and simple, loyal, and has deep feelings and affection. Moreover, in Liu Qingshan's family, his relatives have not been persecuted by Liu Wencai, so he is most suitable for this position.
After Liu Wencai inquired about Liu Qingshan's life, he laughed loudly and generously gave him two houses and two acres of paddy fields. In the old society, it was difficult for a family to own such property after a lifetime of hard work.
Liu Qingshan was over sixty years old at the time, and compared with the young and strong people in the village, he could not work in the fields. Their family was extremely poor, but Liu Wencai's generosity deeply touched him, making him feel emotion and tears. He vowed never to forget Liu Wencai's great kindness and would help guard his grave after his death.
However, this luxurious tomb was later blown up, leaving only a huge crater. This crater came to be known as the "mass grave" and became a warning place for future generations.
This luxurious tomb was built for ten years, and it is said that Liu Wenhui was still an official when this tomb was built, which also left a lot of impressions on him in history, but the construction of such a tomb is actually just to show his status.
As Liu Wenhui approached the center of power of the Chiang dynasty, his influence throughout the country gradually declined, and his popularity plummeted after the People's Liberation Army entered Sichuan.
With the bombing of this "mass grave" in 1958 during the construction of water conservancy in Longwangmiao Commune, it was equivalent to ripping off one of his "golden signboards", and it also accelerated his influence in the Sichuan Basin to become less and less.
At this time, a local farmer came to tell them that Liu Wencai's grave was here. The workers immediately notified the local government and archaeologists. After identification, this body is indeed Liu Wencai himself.
He was a well-known local landowner who once owned a large amount of land and wealth and died in the early 20th century, but his tomb was well preserved until it was discovered.
After the discovery of Liu Wencai's tomb, the local government and archaeological experts decided to renovate it and list it as a cultural relic protection unit. However, during the repair process, a gravekeeper died of overwork, and his body was also buried next to the tomb.
A few days later, another gravekeeper also died from overwork. The deaths of the two gravekeepers attracted the attention of the local government, who began to investigate the cause of the grave keeper's death. Eventually, they discovered that the deaths of the two gravekeepers were related to overwork and that their working conditions were very poor.
Since then, the local government has begun to improve the working environment of the gravekeepers and strengthen the protection and management of cultural relics protection units to prevent similar situations from occurring.
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