Huang Wei's Tomb Introduction
Huang Wei, styled Mengwei, with the nickname Yisou and alias Yisuo, was from Wenshui Tou (now known as Houshui Tou). He was born in the first year of the Hongzhi era of the Ming Dynasty (1488) and served as an official in Quanzhou. He became a successful candidate in the ninth year of the Zhengde era (1514) and was initially appointed as a case officer in the Nanjing Ministry of Justice, known for his integrity, caution, clarity, and compassion in handling prisons. He later rose to be the governor of Nanhsiung, where he reduced forced labor, promoted rites and education, banned courtesans, and eliminated lewd temples. Due to his straightforward petitions and refusal to flatter the authorities, he returned home to care for his parents and teach. Under Huang Wei's influence, local customs and morals significantly changed, leading to the saying in Kinmen, "Literature is Xu Zhongdou, while virtue is Huang Yisou," and he was referred to as "a person of complete virtue," also being listed as one of the Ten Talents of Wenling. In the sixteenth year of the Jiajing era (1537), during a great famine in Quanzhou, Inspector Li Yuanyang requested Huang Wei, Xu Fu, and Yu Dayou to assist in disaster relief. Huang Wei, exerting himself to the utmost, fell ill and passed away on March 17 of the following year. His tomb was built in the seventeenth year of the Jiajing era (1538) and is located on the northern foothills of Taiwu Mountain in the Doumen Replanning Area, positioned between the villages of Houshui Tou and Doumen. The tomb's shape resembles a bird's wings, referred to as "Feiya Luotian," with a grand aura. In front, there are flat fields, with Doumen Creek and Jingsha Creek flowing gently on both sides, converging not far from the front of the tomb, behind which stands Taiwu Mountain, with various peaks along the Fujian coast forming a scenic backdrop, making it one of the four major feng shui auspicious sites in Kinmen at that time. Most tomb mounds are at the back of the tomb, while Huang Wei's tomb features a protective wall as its rear. The mound is divided into two layers, with the lower layer carved from a single piece of stone, the middle section bulging in a mouth-like shape, and the upper layer covered with convex stones resembling an overturned bowl, commonly referred to in Kinmen as the official seal type "tomb turtle." On either side of the front of the mound, there are relief-carved stone fences, and at the back is the tallest protective wall of the entire cemetery. Descending two steps from the heart of the tomb leads to a memorial table, the front of which is divided into three walls with bamboo joints in relief, with a figure holding a fan in the center, accompanied by a deer and a crane, symbolizing fortune, rank, and longevity. On either side, the designs depict carp leaping over the dragon gate and a phoenix. Extending from both sides of the memorial table are two layers of tomb hands, with the ceremonial space between the second tomb hands; the inner sides of the third tomb hands have stone benches for descendents to rest during worship; this feature of stone benches is uncommon at his tomb. In front of the tomb are pairs of stone horses, stone tigers, and stone columns, but the columns have since been lost to deterioration. Not far northeast of the cemetery, by the banks of Jingsha Creek, there is a fallen stone tablet, with the upper half of the inscription worn away, while the lower half is still clear, intricately carved, detailing Huang Wei's life and deeds, with the inscription signed by Jin Gui Xiang, a student promoted by Huang Wei when he served as governor of Songjiang, and who visited Kinmen multiple times. This tablet was originally protected by a pavilion, but sadly the pavilion has been destroyed. The tomb path tablet was originally placed beside the old path at Doumen Village, but after land reallocation in 1987, it is no longer roadside and has gradually been obscured by bushes. The title carved horizontally on the tablet reads "Ming Dynasty," and the inscription states, "The tomb path of Mr. Huang, the deceased governor of Songjiang, and his wife, the Chen family," following the structure of a fourth-grade official's tomb from the Ming Dynasty, making it distinctive among the Ming tombs on the island.
