Tomb of the Five Concubines in Tainan City, Tainan City

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Get directions Tainan City, Tainan City, Taiwan

Coordinates: 22.98185, 120.20477
Cemetery ID:

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No. 1 Wufei St., Tainan, Taiwan

After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, the last claimant to the Ming throne, Zhu Shugui, the Prince of Ningjing, fled the Chinese mainland in 1662 and found refuge in Taiwan under the auspices of the pro-Ming Kingdom of Tungning, which Koxinga had established in Taiwan. In 1683, the Qing forces invaded Taiwan to destroy the remaining Ming loyalist forces on the island. Prince Zhu committed suicide; but before doing so, he informed his five concubines and urged them to make their own lives. They refused to live without him, and hanged themselves from a roof beam on July 20, 1683, in order to accompany him in death. This was seen as a noble act of love for the Prince and self-sacrifice for their country, and the concubines are still honored to this day.

The concubines were buried together in a large tomb, and in 1746 a temple dedicated to them was built in front of the tomb. The temple is known as the Temple of the Five Concubines. Nowadays, people visit the temple to pay their respects, and often leave offerings of cosmetics and perfumes to the concubines.

And the Prince? He was buried with his principal wife in a separate tomb almost 12km SSE in Kaohsiung County.