Su Xiaoxiao was a talented and beautiful songstress from the Qiantang region during the Southern Qi Dynasty of the Southern Dynasties. She was renowned for her poetry and has been the subject of numerous poems, novels, and operas throughout history. Legend has it that after her death, Su Xiaoxiao was buried beside the Xiling Bridge, and admirers of her literary talent built a tomb in her honor, which still existed during the Southern Song Dynasty. A stone tablet stands at the tomb’s entrance, inscribed with the words: ‘The Tomb of Su Xiaoxiao in Qiantang.’ The tomb is small yet exquisite, topped with a hexagonal pavilion known as the ‘Pavilion of Admiring Talent,’ which is said to have been built by Bao Ren, a scholar whom Su Xiaoxiao once supported. The tomb and pavilion have been destroyed and rebuilt several times, and were leveled in December 1964. In 2004, the tomb was restored to its original appearance by the renowned Chinese garden expert, Mr. Meng Zhaozhen, who meticulously reconstructed the tomb and pavilion based on old photographs, focusing on the specific location, scale, proportion, and color to authentically restore its original form. A notable feature of the restored tomb is the number of couplets, which is unparalleled in the entire West Lake scenic area. The new tomb displays 12 couplets, collected through various channels and written by 12 famous Chinese calligraphers. Some of the couplets include ‘Peach blossoms flow away with the water, never to meet the fragrant carriage again,’ ‘Where is the golden powder and fragrant carriage of the Six Dynasties? The talent of a generation still remains in the green mound,’ ‘Through the sparse lights and curtains, there are fair ladies living in the north; alone on the painted boat, the fragrant tomb occupies the west,’ ‘Several generations of heroes have fallen at the feet of the pomegranate skirt, and the golden powder of the Six Dynasties still remains in the soil,’ and ‘A thousand years of fame remains in ancient sites, and the rhymes of the Six Dynasties are inscribed in Xiling.’ Su Xiaoxiao’s last wish was ‘to live in Xiling, die in Xiling, and be buried in Xiling, not to waste a lifetime of love for mountains and waters.’ The burial place by Xiling Bridge fulfills the beauty’s last wish and adds charm to the mountains and waters of West Lake. The tomb is open all year round, accessible 24 hours a day.
The Tomb of Su Xiaoxiao in Qiantang
Su Xiaoxiao was a talented and beautiful songstress from the Qiantang region during the Southern Qi [...]
