Velvet Jadeite Tombstone of Tang Anren

Unearthed in Baishuzhuang, Gongdao village, Gongdao town, Hanjiang county of Yangzhou city in 1968, this kidney-shaped tombstone is made of a piece of Burma-produced jadeite which belonged to a shanzi jade ornament. While looking white with a tinge of purple on its upper face, this stone slab is in the color of orange rind on its sides. Both its front and back are inscribed with deep-sunken Chinese characters in regular script, with a two-line inscription meaning “the tomb of Tang Anren, concubine of Governor Ding” on the face, and a three-line one reading “Born in Wu County, Anren died in Yunnan on February 4th, the 12th year of Emperor Daoguang’s reign, at the age of 45. By grandson, Enguang”. Indicated by these inscriptions, this is the tombstone of Tang Anren, concubine of the well-known literati scholar Ruan Yuan (1764-1849 AD), serving as complementary reference material for the local chronicles on the Ruan family by filling the blanks in Ruan Yuan’s own tombstone inscriptions and epitaphs.