Tomb of General Zhang Zizhong

The Tomb of General Zhang Zizhong (Chinese: 张自忠将军墓) is located on the northern slope of Meihua Mountain (梅花山), beside the Beibei–Qingmuguan highway in Beibei District, Chongqing, China. It is the burial site of General Zhang Zizhong (1891–1940), who was killed in action during the Zaoyang–Yichang campaign of the Second Sino-Japanese War. In 2019, the tomb was designated a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level under its current name.^[1]

Zhang Zizhong (1891–1940), courtesy name Jinzhen (Chinese: 荩忱), was a native of Linqing County, Shandong. He joined the military in 1914. After the Mukden Incident in 1931, he served as front-line commander of the 29th Army and resisted Japanese forces at Xifengkou on the Great Wall in 1933. Following the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in 1937, he was appointed acting chairman of the Hebei–Chahar Political Council and concurrently served as mayor of Beiping (now Beijing). His attempt to resolve the incident through negotiation drew public criticism at the time.^[2]

Zhang later commanded the 59th Army in engagements against Japanese forces, including the Battle of Taierzhuang, and was promoted to commander-in-chief of the National Revolutionary Army's 33rd Group Army, concurrently serving as deputy commander of the Right Flank Corps in the Fifth War Zone.^[3]

In May 1940, during the Zaoyang–Yichang campaign, Zhang's forces were encircled by Japanese troops advancing from both north and south. On 16 May 1940, he was killed in action at Nan’guadian, south of Yicheng, at the age of 50. He is widely regarded as the only commander-in-chief of a group army to have been killed in action during the War of Resistance against Japan.^[4]

After his death, Zhang's body was buried by Japanese forces on a hillside behind the Chen Family Ancestral Hall in Chenjaji, Xiangyang County. It was later recovered by Huang Weigang, commander of the 38th Division of the 33rd Group Army.^[5] A stone marker reading “Initial Burial Site of General Zhang, 16 May 1940” was erected at the original burial location. During the transfer of his coffin, Li Zongren, then commander of the war zone, and local residents paid their respects. The coffin was transported via Chaotianmen Wharf to Chongqing, where Chiang Kai-shek, Feng Yuxiang, and other officials received it wearing black armbands.^[6]

The Nationalist Government posthumously promoted Zhang to the rank of full general (shangjiang) and held a memorial service in Chongqing. Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai composed elegiac couplets in his honor.^[7] On 16 November 1940, a state funeral ceremony was held in Beibei, Chongqing, and Zhang was interred on the northern slope of Meihua Mountain.^[8]

After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the tomb underwent several restorations under the direction of the local government and was gradually expanded into the Zhang Zizhong Martyrs’ Cemetery. Exhibition halls dedicated to Zhang's life and achievements were constructed within the cemetery.^[9]

In 1982, the Ministry of Civil Affairs officially recognized Zhang Zizhong as a Revolutionary Martyr.^[10] In 1983, the Chongqing Municipal People's Government designated the tomb as a municipal-level cultural relic protection unit. In 1986, the Zhang Zizhong Martyrs’ Cemetery was approved by the State Council as a key nationally protected martyrs’ memorial site. In 2000, after Chongqing became a municipality directly under the central government, the tomb was again listed as a Chongqing Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit (provincial level).^[11][12] In 2019, it was inscribed on the national register of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level under the name “Tomb of General Zhang Zizhong.”^[1]

The tomb is situated on the northern slope of Meihua Mountain in Beibei District, Chongqing, built against the hillside and facing north. The total site area covers approximately 3,500 square meters.^[13]

The circular burial mound has a circumference of 20 meters and a height of 3 meters. It is enclosed by a stone retaining wall 1.3 meters high. In front of the mound stands a tombstone measuring 2.37 meters high, 1.3 meters wide, and 0.13 meters thick. The inscription, written by Feng Yuxiang, reads “Tomb of General Zhang Zizhong.”^[14]

To the northwest of the tomb stands a stone stele 2.9 meters high, bearing the epitaph titled “Epitaph of My Elder Brother, General Jinzhen,” composed by Zhang Ziming, Zhang Zizhong's younger brother. The inscription, engraved in regular script, primarily recounts Zhang's life and military service following the Marco Polo Bridge Incident.^[15]

Two sections of stone steps were constructed to the north of the tomb. On the low central wall between the steps is an inscription of the three characters “Meihua Mountain,” also written by Feng Yuxiang.^[16][17]