Where is Fan Zhongyan from and where is his tomb after his death?
Fan Zhongyan’s tomb is located half a kilometer north of Xuying Village, Pengpo Township, Yichuan County, 17 kilometers away from the county seat and 25 kilometers away from Luoyang. It is surrounded by Wan’an Mountain in the north, Meandering River in the south, Jiulong Mountain in the east, and Jiulong Mountain in the west. Longmen Mountain. There are more than 520 ancient cypresses planted throughout the cemetery.
Fan Zhongyan (988-1052), courtesy name Xiwen, was posthumously named Wenzheng. A native of Wu County (now Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province). Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty became a Jinshi in the eighth year of Dazhong Xiangfu (1015). During the Song Dynasty, Renzong guarded the northwest border and contained the intrusion of the Xixia army. He actively advocated political reform and strived for renewal, and was a famous politician at that time. From official to deputy envoy to the privy council, he is involved in political affairs. His articles and poems are also famous in the world, including "Fan Wenzhenggong Collection".
According to the "Fan Family Genealogy", the Fan family has lived in Wuxian County, Suzhou for generations. "Lastly, because his mother, Mrs. Xie, died in office, she was buried in Wan'an Mountain. Later, Wen Zhenggong and other scholars attached Yan. "The tomb land is divided into two areas, the front and rear, with a total area of about 35 acres. A plaque with red letters on a blue background hanging in the Qianyu Restaurant reads "Tao Dao Self-Responsibility", which was inscribed by Emperor Guangxu when he returned to Beijing from Xi'an and passed by Luoyang in 1901. Fan Jinglin, the 13th generation grandson of Duke Fan, and his wife live in the ancestral hall to take care of the tomb area. In front of the ancestral hall, there are several tall stone steles, protected by a green brick stele tower. On both sides of the ancestral hall are the Fan Wenzhenggong Shinto stele, which is 4.17 meters high and 1.4 meters wide. On the forehead of the stele are the four characters "Praise for the Worthy" in seal script of Shou Renzong; the inscription is the name of the Song Dynasty. It was written by Ouyang Xiu, a minister and famous writer; the inscription is in official script and was written by Wang Zhudan, a good friend of Fan. Behind the ancestral hall are the tombs of Fan Zhongyan, the tomb of Zhongyan’s mother Qin Guotai, and the tomb of Zhongyan’s eldest son Chunyou. In the front part of the Houyu area is the tomb of Zhongyan's second son Chunren, followed by the tombs of his third son Chunli, his fourth son Chunren and the tombs of his grandchildren. More than ten meters further away, there is the tomb of Pei Zunqing, the minister of the Tang Dynasty.
Generally, the order of tombs is usually father, son, son, and grandson. Fan's tomb is at the front of Zhongyan's tomb, with the eldest son following closely, and the second son and grandchildren far behind. Therefore, it is commonly known as "pull children and carry grandchildren", which is quite unique.
Why was Fan’s tomb located here? It is said that this cemetery, with mountains on its back and water on its side, is a geomantic treasure. It was originally a royal cemetery selected by the emperor. One day, the princess who was married to Fan Zhongyan's fourth son returned to the palace to find her father. She cried and acted coquettishly and said: "The in-laws you found for me are too poor! They don't even have an ancestral grave. What will happen to this person when he gets old! Wow!" ...! "The emperor is so smart, how could he not know that this is the treasure of Feng Shui that his precious daughter came to acquire by chance? So he laughed and gave this cemetery to the Fan family. The Fan family, whose hometown is in Jiangsu Province, has the Feng Shui treasure land of Yichuan County.