Shanxi orders restoration of ancient official’s tomb to promote anti-corruption drive

The top official in graft-ravaged Shanxi province has ordered the restoration of an honourable ancient bureaucrat’s grave – as a constant reminder for cadres to remain beyond reproach.

Recently appointed Shanxi party chief secretary Wang Rulin gave the order just two weeks after he started his new job last month in the wake of a sweeping anti-corruption purge that saw nearly half of the province’s leadership detained.

The tomb at Luliang belongs to Yu Chenglong, a senior official from Shanxi during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) who was known for his integrity, resistance to corruption and destitute lifestyle. He was named “the number one honest official under heaven” by the Kangxi Emperor, who ruled from 1661 to 1722.

Wang ordered local officials to restore Yu’s grave and former residence as early as possible when he paid a visit to the site.

“If [the] Luliang [government] had focused on this work a few years earlier, there might not have been so many officials and cadres detained and locked in prisons,” Wang was quoted as saying by Guangzhou-based The Times Weekly.

Wang reportedly mobilised local villagers to dig around the long-neglected tomb, which was hidden beneath a crop field.