Xu Guangyuan, a scholar of Qing Dynasty tombs, passed away at the age of 80

On September 5, Xu Guangyuan, a scholar of Qing Dynasty mausoleums and concubines, announced the news of Xu Guangyuan's death on his personal Weibo: Dear friends: My father Xu Guangyuan passed away on September 4, 2026, and the funeral arrangements have been completed. Xu Guangyuan’s family sincerely thanks everyone for your attention and thoughts.

According to Jimu News, Xu Guangyuan’s daughter-in-law revealed that Xu Guangyuan suffered from thyroid cancer and had a bad heart. He had been hospitalized several times due to heart failure. Currently, his body has been cremated and buried. It is understood that Xu Guangyuan was born in March 1946. The study of Qing Dynasty tombs began in the late 1960s. Xu Guangyuan once participated in the opening and cleaning of underground palaces such as Qianlong's Yuling Mausoleum, Cixi's Putuoyu Dingdong Tomb, Qianlong's Concubine Rong, and Concubine Chunhui. I personally sorted out the remains of Empress Dowager Cixi and found Concubine Rong's skull. His works include "History of the Eastern Tombs of the Qing Dynasty", "History of the Western Mausoleums of the Qing Dynasty", "Personal Visits to the Underground Palace of the Qing Emperor's Mausoleum", "Private Photo Album of the Qing Dynasty Concubines", "Qing Dynasty Mausoleum System", "Old Shadows of the Qing Emperor's Mausoleums", etc. At 1:36 pm on September 1, Xu Guangyuan updated his last Weibo post.

He said, "In the Jingfei Garden Bedroom, Concubine Hui, who was the first to be buried, and Concubine Wen Xi, who was the second to be buried, were not buried in the most noble center position. It was obvious that the center position was reserved for the imperial concubine. After the construction of the Shuangfei Garden Bedroom in the eighth year of Qianlong's reign, The problem of the burial place of the imperial concubine was solved, but it happened that Concubine Shunyi passed away soon, so Emperor Qianlong buried Concubine Shunyi in the middle burial position that had been reserved for many years. The above is my analysis, for reference only. "