Qianling, the tomb of the third Tang emperor, Li Zhi, and
Empress Wu Zetian, is located on Liangshan Mountain, 6 kilometers
north of Qianxian County seat and 80 kilometers from Xi'an. Here
also stands the Qianling Mausoleum and Museum.
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Located on the peak of lofty Liangshan Mountain, Qianling is the
most typical and best preserved of all the eighteen Tang
mausoleums.
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Tang Emperor Li Zhi (628-683) was the ninth son of Emperor Tai
Zong and Empress Zhangsun. With the help of his maternal uncle
Zhangsun Wuji, he was made crown prince and ascended the throne
upon Tai Zong's death. Though he was muddle-headed and weak-minded
and accomplished little, the flourishing and stable state of early
Tang was maintained during the first years of his reign, thanks to
such veteran officials as Zhangsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang who
actually usurped state power. However, once Wu Zetain moved into
the palace, things began to change in the Tang regime power
structure.
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Wu Zetian (624-705), also named Wu Zhao, was from Wenshui,
Shanxi Province and born in Guangyuan (then Lizhou), Sichuan. Her
father, Wu Shiyue, was a successful wood merchant who was later
appointed supervisor-in-chief of Lizhou Prefecture. As a concubine
of Tai Zong, Wu Zetian cut her hair and became a Buddhist nun in
Ganye Monastery upon his death in 649. In 654, she was taken out of
the monastery and brought into the palace by Emperor Gao Zong, who
bestowed on her great favor by making her his chief concubine. The
next year the Emperor deposed Empress Wang and named Wu Zetian his
empress, allowing her to participate in state affairs. He dismissed
and ostracized Chu Shuiliang and in 659 forced Zhangsun Wuji to
commit suicide. From then on, Li Zhi remained in poor health,
"faint, heavy-headed and sightless" as the chronicles described
him, and Wu Zetain attended to most court affairs.
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Once when Gao Zong intended to give up the throne to crown
prince Li Hong (eldest son of Wu), the son was poisoned by his
mother. In reality Wu Zetain had taken power upon Zhangsun Wuji's
death. After the emperor's death, she defied imperial prohibitions
on queen mother holding court and, after disposing of emperors
Zhong Zong and Rui Zong in short order, took the throne herself and
titled her reign "Zhou," becoming the first empress in Chinese
history to rule the country.
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Well-versed in culture and history and excelling in trickery,
she was ruthless in her tactics. Upon ascension, she recruited
treacherous courtiers to kill many Tang imperial clansmen and high
officials. She then put the blame on these "wicked" officials when
public sentiment grew restive, as a way of relaxing the populace.
But she also had talented people enlisted, placing them in
important posts, and was receptive to criticism and advice from her
courtiers, somewhat like Tai Zong.
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Her political competence first showed itself when Tai Zong was
still alive. Tai Zong had a strong horse called Lion which was so
fiery-tempered nobody could tame it. One day Wu told Tai Zong she
could make it docile with three implements: a whip, a hammer and a
dagger. First, she would flog it tame with the whip; if that didn't
work, she would hit it with a hammer; finally, if necessary, the
dagger would cut the horse's throat. Tai Zong appreciated that
spirit.
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It was in this way she controlled her courtiers, maintained her
autocratic rule for over half a century and strengthened
centralized state power. Though she changed the Li house's Tang
Dynasty into the Wu's Zhou Dynasty, she had trouble choosing a
successor and finally ordered in her will a return of the throne to
the Li house's offspring.
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Emperor Gao Zong had ascended it to the throne in 649 and after
a reign of 34 years died ill December 683, at age of 56 in Zhenguan
Hall, Luoyang. He was buried in Qianling in August 684. Wu Zetain
was crowned in 684 and after a reign of 21 years died at 82 in the
Hall of Fairy Dwelling, Palace of Rising Sun, Luoyang, in 705. In
May 706, she was buried with Gao Zong in Qianling. Thus, it can be
inferred that construction of Qianling took between 40 and 50
years.
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Located on Liangshan Mountain, 1,049 meters above sea
level, Qianling Mausoleum was flanked by Leopard Valley to the east
and Sand Canyon on the west. This limestone mountain was
cone-shaped and its top consisted of three peaks, the highest of
which is the northern peak containing the Qianling underground
palace. The southern peaks, lower than the northern one and facing
each other, each has earth mounds on its surface resembling
nipples, thus they got the name Naitoushan (Nipple Hills).
The Qianling, joint burial place of Tang Emperor
Gao Zong and Empress Wu Zetian
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According to Maps to the History of Chang'an City, the
Memorial Temple was originally beside the Nipple Hills. In it were
displayed portraits of Di Renjie and 59 other noted courtiers.
Being the most southern mounds, the Nipple Hills formed a natural
doorway to Qianling Mausoleum, adding to its magnificence and
making it unique among the eighteen Tang mausoleums in the area
north of the Weishui River.
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Qianling was a grand and imposing structure. The Maps
records: Qianling was originally enclosed by two walls.
Investigation and prospecting uncovered remains of the inner wall,
four gates, a sacrificial hall and some corner parts of the outer
wall. The inner wall, 2.4 meters thick, enclosed 240,000 square
meters with four sides in a trapezoidal shape. The north and south
segments were each 1,450 meters long, the east wall was 1,582 and
the west wall 2,438. Four gates were each 2.7 meters wide. The
southern gate was called Zhu Que Men (Rosefinch Gate), the northern
Xuan Wu Men (Mystical Power Gate), the eastern Qing Long Men (Black
Dragon Gate) and the western Bai Hu Men (White Tiger Gate).
Describing buildings on the grounds, the History of
Administrative Statues of the Tang Dynasty says, "in 798, 378
houses were completed around each of Xianling, Zhaoling, Qianling,
Dingling and Tailing." Now only their sites remain.
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What is inside Qianling still awaits excavation. The above
mentioned history book recorded "the tomb chamber of Qianling was
closed up with a stone gate sealed with iron to make it
secure."
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An inscription on the Seven Tiered Tablet reads: Emperor Gao
Zong willed in his last words that his favourite books and works of
calligraphers be brought into the tomb.
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What remains today on the surface of Qianling is mainly carved
stone works. Exquisite and elegant, they have stood upright on top
of Liangshan Mountain for over 1,200 years, and are demonstrations
of the skills of Tang carvers, gems of the ancient Chinese art of
stone carving. Most of these stone pieces line the sides of the
spirit path, from outside Rosefinch Gate to the north:
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The first carved stones are a pair of ornamental pillars. Symbol
of the tombs, they are octaprismatic and their shafts, plinths and
crown were all decorated with line carvings. These tall and upright
columns are impressive introductions to the magnificent
cemetery.
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Next, because supreme rulers considered themselves so
upright their reign would be prosperous, they also wanted pairs of
winged horses and rosefinches, representatives of propitious birds
and beasts, to guard a prosperous underground life. The winged
horses, wings decorated with slender, delicate lines, are in a
flying gallop. The rosefinches, in high relief, were beautifully
shaped and sturdily carved. It is said that because rosefinches
were a gift from Afghanistan for the funeral and could serve as
guards, a pair of them were erected in front of the tomb.
Winged horse
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Further along were five pairs of stone horses with stone saddles
and stirrups only three pairs of the original stone human figures
leading the horses survived.
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Beyond the stone horses were ten pairs of stone figures, named
Shi Ong Zhong, modeled after the emperors' bodyguards. With
helmeted heads and heavy long robes, the figures stood with sword
in hands, eyes straight ahead, playing a major role in creating a
majestic atmosphere in front of the tomb.
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Further on were two stone tablets. The east one, called
Uncharactered Tablet, was erected blank as a term of Wu
Zetian's will. Her will read: "My achievements and errors must be
evaluated by later generations, therefore carve no characters on my
stele." This blank tablet was 6.3 meters high, 2.1 meters wide and
1.5 meters thick. During the Song and Jin dynasties, however, quite
a few travelers did inscribe it, changing the uncharactered tablet
into a charactered tablet. Altogether thirteen sets of inscriptions
were counted, though most of them have been blurred by time. Only
the 'Travel of the Military Commissioner of the Campaign Commander
of the Jin Dynasty" in Nüzhen script, with a Chinese translation
beside it, was well preserved. Now, the Nüzhen script
has disappeared. This rare script was a precious aid for the study
of Nüzhen scripts and the history and culture of China's
minority nationalities.
"Uncharactered Tablet" at Qianling
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The west tablet, Tablet Telling the Emperor's Deeds, was
composed of seven tiers and thus also named Seven-Tiered Tablet. It
was 6.3 meters high and 1.9 meters wide. Written by Wu Zetian and
carved in the handwriting of Emperor Zhong Zong, the inscription,
totaling more than 8,000 characters, sang the praises of Emperor
Gao Zong for his military and administrative achievements. All the
characters and symbols were filled with gold powder, brightening
the cemetery.
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Seven-section Stele at Qianling
Beyond the stone tablets and on the right side of the
spirit path were 61 stone figures attesting to the Tang Dynasty's
power and prosperity as well as its friendly relations with
minority peoples in frontier areas and with other central Asian
countries. These 6I figures of chief-rains and foreign guests were
ordered here by Wu Zetian to commemorate the minority chieftains
and foreign special envoys who attended the funeral. Wearing
tight-sleeved clothes, broad belts and leather shoes, these figures
cup their hands in front in an attitude of prayer. More than half
of them had their heads defaced, but the only two, in the western
row, whose heads are complete, have prominent noses and deep eyes,
and were clearly from the Western Regions or Central Asia. Some of
the figures had their nationalities, official titles and names on
their backs.
Stone statues of foreign envoys at Qianling
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In front of each of the inner wall's four gates were a
pair of stone lions; the best are the pair by Rosefinch Gate. Of
heroic proportions, this pair had curved hair, bulging eyes, big
mouths and sharp teeth, presenting perfect images of stem and
fierce-looking lions. They are symbols of dignified, autocratic
Tang rulers.
Stone lion
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According to the chronicles, Qianling mausoleum covered an area
of about 40 square kilometers, within which are scattered many
attendants' tombs, 17 of them located in the southeast section.
Since 1949, tombs of Princess Yong Tai, Xue Yuanchao, Li Jingxing,
Prince Zhang Huai and Prince Yi De have been unearthed. They are
substantially the same, both in surface appearance and in
underground structure: each tomb was surrounded by a wall, to the
south of which were ornamental pillars, stone figures and stone
sheep in precise order. The tombs themselves were composed of a
passage way, an archway, a shaft, a corridor and ante-and
rear-chambers. On two sides of the shaft were a series of niches
containing a variety of three-color figurines, pottery and
porcelain articles.
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Frescoes adorned the walls and tops of the passage, the
archway, the corridor and chambers. Some were "Painting of
Maidservants," reflecting the parasitic imperial life; some were
architectural designs, reflecting Tang Dynasty architecture; others
are "Painting of Polo Game" and ''Paintings of Envoy and Guests,"
depicting cultural exchanges and the friendly relationships between
China and the world. Rich and extensive in themes, well composed
and skillfully executed, these frescoes illustrate the high level
of Tang paintings and add a new chapter to China's ancient painting
history.
A painting of maids
A painting of maids
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In addition, the stone gate, the memorial tablet and outer
coffin within the tomb were decorated with line sculptures of
figures, animals and plants.
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Though all the attendant tombs had suffered from looting,
there were still numbers of cultural relics to be found. As many as
4,300-odd articles were unearthed from the three tombs of Princess
Yong Tai, Prince Yi De and Prince Zhang Huai. All these relics are
exquisitely made and vivid representations, each peculiar in its
own way.
Mural of procession at attendant tombs of Princess Yong Tai, Prince
Yi De and Prince Zhang Huai at Qianling
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The three-color figurines from Princess Yong Tai's tomb were
delicate and colorful and decorated with exotic line carvings. The
300 objects of gold, jade, bronze and tin, all ingeniously cast and
delicately carved, look pleasing and tasteful.
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Out of Prince Yi De's tomb have come fragments of funeral
eulogium carved concavely on jade, with the background inlaid in
gold, and painted pottery figurines of riders, with horses gilt
faced and figures fully armed (and each dressed differently), all
cultural treasures. Horsemen differed in expressions and postures:
Some are playing the flute, some blowing the trumpet and still
others waving a whip to spur the horse. Unearthed from the tomb of
Prince Zhang Huai, the figurines of civil officials, warriors and
painted tomb guarding beasts, all over one meter high, are lively
shaped. All these are materials contributing to the study of Tang
Dynasty’s politics, economy and culture.
