Taipei, June 15 (CNA) A tomb inscription found in the tomb of Zhu Yihai (1618-1662), Prince of Lu during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), is currently on display at the Historical Folk Museum in Kinmen County.
The inscription, which was carved into a tombstone and buried in Zhu's grave shortly after his death in Kinmen County in 1662, was discovered during construction work in 1959 and transferred to Taipei where it has since remained at the National Museum of History (NMH).
The inscription, which comprises 726 Chinese characters, records Zhu's visits with civilian officials and militia generals in Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong provinces in Southeast China after the fall of the Ming Dynasty in 1644. Zhu and three other princes led resistance movements against the military of the Manchu Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and the loyalists who supported them were called the Southern Ming.
At the official opening of the exhibition on June 9, Chang Yui-tan, former head of the NMH, said he is glad to see the tomb inscription returned to Kinmen for the exhibition and hopes the island county will become a center for Southern Ming studies.
Chen Teng-chin, acting head of the history museum, said since the inscription will return to Taipei after the exhibition, a replica was made using a 3D printer and presented to Kinmen County government.
Lin Te-kung, secretary-general of the county, which is located about six-kilometer from China's Xiamen City, said the exhibition is significant as both Minnan (Southern Fujian Province) culture and Southern Ming culture enable Kinmen to play a key role as a bridge between Taiwan and mainland China.
The inscription also records that Zhu died of asthma on Kinmen and not at sea on the orders of Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong, 1624-1662) as said in the dynastic history of the Ming. It indicates that Zhu died about six months after the death of Koxinga in Taiwan.
The exhibition of tomb inscriptions and Kinmen's history, is part of activities to mark the 400th anniversary of Zhu's birth and runs until Aug. 30.
