news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

Recently, Mr. Du (pseudonym) from Nanjing was visiting Xinshi Ancient Town in Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province. He accidentally saw a floor tile on the stone road made of an old tombstone. On the tombstone, he could recognize a few lines of words: "The whole family of six died here, and my cousin and sister-in-law are here." He posted the picture online, which sparked heated discussion.

On August 24, Mr. Du told the reporter of Upstream News (reporting mailbox: [email protected]) that: "This stone tablet was seen on the stone road about 50 meters away from the ancient town tourist center."

The reporter asked as a tourist, and a staff member of Xinshi Ancient Town Scenic Area explained: "Many of the stone slabs used for paving the road are tombstones from the Ming and Qing dynasties. They are not cultural relics. They were abandoned and no one worshipped them, so they were used to pave the road."

The reporter saw from the photos Mr. Du showed that if you don't pay close attention, it's hard to tell that the stone tablet on the ground is actually a stone tablet. The stone tablet is about one meter long and thirty to forty centimeters wide. After years of wind and rain, some of the words on the tablet have begun to blur. Only the four rows of vertical characters in the middle of the stone tablet, "The whole family of six died here... My sister-in-law and cousin stood here" and the "醫" (simplified Chinese: 醫) at the top, are clearly visible.

Mr. Du saw the old tombstones on the ground while visiting the ancient town. Photo provided by the interviewee

Mr. Du told the reporter: "When I was visiting Xinshi Ancient Town, I saw a floor tile with words on it. I thought it was just an ordinary tombstone, which was not unusual, because many ancient towns in Jiangnan have used unclaimed tombstones from the Ming and Qing dynasties as floor tiles. I just took a look. At first, I saw the two columns of words on the left side of the tombstone, which were erected by my cousin and brother-in-law. I thought it was strange at the time, because aren't they usually erected by children? As a result, I took a closer look at the words at the end of the stone tablet, 'The whole family of six died here', and the first few words in the second column were really impossible to interpret, so I posted it online for netizens to have a look. After identification by many netizens, the second column of words read: 'The Tomb of Medical Scholar Gu Zitai', erected by my brother-in-law and cousin Tong (i.e. 'Tong'). I really want to know why this family of six died?"

Mr. Du posted the picture online, and netizens adjusted it to make the inscription more conspicuous.

The reporter consulted the Xinshi Ancient Town Scenic Area as a tourist, and a staff member said: "The floor tiles Mr. Du refers to are located on the road to Shen Quan's former residence, which is also an old stone road in the ancient town. This section of the road was paved by the town government in the past."

Another staff member explained: "Many ancient towns in the Jiangnan region have stone slabs mixed with tombstones. They are not cultural relics, but are used to pave the road."

According to the Tourism Bureau of Deqing County, Huzhou City, Xinshi Ancient Town is located in the hinterland of the Hangjiahu Plain, at the junction of Deqing, Tongxiang, Yuhang and Huzhou City, and on the bank of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. It is a typical representative of the Jiangnan water town group with relatively intact style and unique customs and folkways. The ancient town is lined with Ming and Qing Dynasty buildings. It has been a commercial center and a place where many celebrities have emerged since ancient times.

Upstream News reporter Feng Shengyong