Yang Zaixing Mausoleum

Yang Zaixing Mausoleum lies to the east of Xiaoshangqiao Village, Huangdimiao Township, Linying County, locally known as "Lord Yang’s Tomb". Rectangular in layout and facing south with its back to the north, the mausoleum covers an area of 12,000 square meters, shaded by lush ancient cypresses all year round.

In front of the mausoleum stands a sacrificial shrine, with five ancient stone steles erected at the gate dating back to the Kangxi, Yongzheng, Daoguang and Tongzhi reigns of the Qing Dynasty. Two of them were carved in the Kangxi period, both inscribed "Tomb of General Yang, Army Commander of the Song Dynasty". Mixing running and cursive scripts, the inscriptions were composed by Shen Jinsi, a renowned senior official of the Qing Dynasty, and handwritten by Teng Zhihu. The texts convey profound admiration for the general. The remaining steles mostly record his military exploits and eulogies written by later generations.

Behind the shrine rises the tomb mound, around seven meters tall. A broken stele stands before the mound, on which four characters "Tomb of Zaixing" can barely be discerned. Folklore holds that these words were carved by Yue Fei with the tip of his spear. Behind the tomb is a half-moon-shaped earthen enclosure, and a newly built temple sits further to the rear, housing statues of Yue Fei and Yang Zaixing.

Yang Zaixing was born in Jishui, Jiangxi Province (some records state Cixian County, Hebei Province). Born into poverty, he made a living fishing with his father in his childhood. At the age of eighteen, he joined the peasant rebel army led by Cao Cheng. Later, deeply moved by the strict discipline and patriotic loyalty of Yue Fei’s troops, he resolutely surrendered to the Yue Family Army. He rendered outstanding service in numerous battles and was appointed Army Commander.

In the 10th year of the Shaoxing reign of the Southern Song Dynasty (1140 AD), the decisive Battle of Yancheng broke out between Song and Jin forces. Yang Zaixing led thirty light cavalrymen to launch a night raid on the eastern camp of the Jin army stationed at Xiaoshang Bridge. Though he failed to capture Wanyan Wuzhu, heavy snowfall later disoriented his troops. Straying into the Xiaoshang River, his horse got stuck in mud, and he was shot dead by a hail of Jin arrows at the age of thirty-six. Local villagers passed down a tale that the arrows retrieved from his body filled more than a dou measuring vessel. Grief-stricken, Yue Fei ordered the entire army to mourn, and buried the general’s ashes at this site.

In 1963, Yang Zaixing Mausoleum was designated a Provincial Protected Cultural Relic Site