Chapter 36 Section 16 Accompanying Tombs of Emperor Mausoleums of the Tang Dynasty

Among the 18 mausoleums in Tang Dynasty in Guanzhong, Zhaoling Mausoleum is the mausoleum of Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of Tang Dynasty.In the south of Zhaoling Mausoleum, there are 167 tombs of the royal family and ministers of civil and military affairs.Several tombs of Zheng Rentai, Yuchi Jingde and Zhang Shigui have been unearthed in recent years.Qianling is the joint burial tomb of Tang Gaozong Li Zhi and Wu Zetian, located on Beiliang Mountain in Qianxian County, Shaanxi.There are 17 accompanying tombs in the southeast of Qianling Mausoleum.In recent years, the tombs of Prince Zhanghuai, Prince Yide, and Princess Yongtai have been excavated.Here is a brief introduction to the tombs of Zhanghuai and Yongtai.

Prince Zhanghuai Li Xian is the second son of Tang Gaozong Li Zhi and Wu Zetian.In the second year of Shangyuan (AD 675), he was established as the prince, and scholars were called to comment on the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty".In the second year of Tiaolu (680 A.D.), Wu Zetian exiled him to Bazhou (now Bazhong County, Sichuan) for the crime of plotting a coup d'etat.In the first year of Wenming (684 AD), he was forced to commit suicide at the age of 31.In the second year of Shenlong (706 AD), he was buried in Qianling.In the second year of Jingyun (711 AD), he was posthumously named Prince Zhanghuai.His wife Fangshi was buried together with him.

The cemetery of the tomb is 180 meters long and 143 meters wide, and the total length of the tomb is 71 meters.It is composed of tomb passage, corridor, front room and back room.The murals are the most important cultural relics in the tomb, with a total of more than 50 pieces.Colorful and rich in content.Among them, the pictures of "hunting travel", "guest envoys", "polo", "guard of honor", and "bird watching and catching cicadas" are the most exciting.It is also the first time I have seen themes such as guest ambassadors and polo.The "travel map" painted depicts the travel scene of dignitaries and dignitaries at that time.The galloping horse is the forerunner, and the master rides a tall white horse, majestic and calm.The retinue knights wear Hu suits, leather belts, boots, sabers, arrows, straddle steeds, and gallop across the field with great momentum. "Polo Map" depicts more than 20 riders fighting for polo.The batters are dressed in long gowns with narrow sleeves, Fufu (Fufu) caps on their heads, black boots on their feet, and hold a crescent-shaped ball stick. "Bird watching and catching cicadas" depicts a woman looking up at flying birds, another woman seems to want to catch cicadas in a tree with her right hand, and a woman in the north of the tree crosses her hands in front of her chest, holding a shawl, thoughtfully.There is poetry in the painting, which is thought-provoking.

The coffin is placed in the back tomb, which symbolizes the sleeping palace.Among the murals in this tomb, the paintings of maids are particularly wonderful.Most of the maids have slender eyebrows and small mouths, plump muscles and jade faces, high buns, shawls wrapped around shoulders, short-sleeved or long-sleeved undershirts, long skirts that drag the floor, and silk shoes slightly exposed.It is a treasure of the paintings of maids in the Tang Dynasty. These more than 50 murals, with various themes, reveal fragments of the life of the royal family in the Tang Dynasty, and are a precious heritage of Chinese history, culture and art.

Princess Yongtai is the granddaughter of Tang Gaozong and Wu Zetian.The seventh daughter of Tang Zhongzong Li Xian, named Xianhui, styled Zihui.Married to Wu Yanji, son of Wu Zetian's nephew Wu Chengsi.In the first year of Dazu (701 A.D.), he was 17 years old when he was killed by Wu Zetian with his husband Wu Yanji and his eldest brother, Prince Yide.In the second year of Zhongzong Shenlong (706 A.D.), he was buried with his husband in Beiyuan, Qianxian County, and was buried with Qianling. The tomb cemetery is 363 meters long and 220 meters wide.The tomb is 87.5 meters long, 3.9 meters wide, and 16.7 meters deep from the surface. It consists of a tomb passage, a corridor, a front room and a back room.The cultural relics unearthed from the tomb include more than 1,300 pieces of pottery figurines, tricolor figurines, wooden figurines, gold, copper, iron, jade, tin wares and stone carvings.Among them, the murals are complete and the stone carvings are exquisite, which are the major gains of this archaeological excavation.

There are murals painted on the inside of the tomb passage and on the four walls and top of the tomb.The murals in the tomb retain images of green dragons, white tigers, towers, halberds, cranes, celestial bodies, guards, servants, and maids.Among them, the picture of the court maid is the most prominent.The patterns of holding flowers, holding inkstone boxes, playing birds, and appreciating flowers are the reproduction of court life and the living environment of the owner of the tomb.The content of the line carvings on the stone coffin, stone gate and epitaph in the tomb is quite intriguing.In particular, a maid is carved on the south wall of the stone coffin, with a flower hairpin on her forehead and five pendants hanging down her hair.This seems to be the "golden step" in Tang poetry.She holds flower branches in both hands to smell the fragrance, which has rich meanings.

Figurines are the largest category of funerary objects, with a total of 878 pieces.It can be roughly divided into three categories: pottery figurines, tricolor figurines, and wooden figurines.The beasts guarding the tomb are ferocious and terrifying; the figurines of the tomb are wearing armor;The female figurines have different hair buns; the male figurines have different postures.There are 43 Hu figurines, with deep eyes, high nose and short beard.It is an important material for studying the history of transportation between China and the West and the history of ethnic relations in the Tang Dynasty.

In the suburbs of Chang'an and Luoyang, the two capitals of the Tang Dynasty, the tombs of high-ranking officials were often found, and many precious cultural relics such as Tang Sancai, gold and silver wares, and porcelain were unearthed.