Yongxi Mausoleum

Yongxi Mausoleum

Yongxi mausoleum is located in Hutuo village, Xicun Township, Gongyi City, Henan Province. It is about two li away from Yongchang mausoleum in the southeast. Wuluo River, a small tributary of the Yiluo River, bypasses it, where Zhao Gong (Song Taizong), the owner of the tomb, lies. The stone statues of Yongxi mausoleum are magnificent and artistic. It is the most outstanding mausoleum in Song Dynasty in terms of plastic arts and carving techniques.

summary

Yongxi mausoleum is located in Hutuo village about two kilometers northwest of Yongchang mausoleum. Looking northwest from empress Zhang huaipan mausoleum, you can see the tall platform of Yongxi mausoleum. Zhao Guangyi, the leader of Yongxi mausoleum, was born in Luoyang in the fourth year of Tianfu (939) in the later Jin Dynasty. In the seventh year of Zhou Xiande (960), he helped his brother Zhao Kuangyin to seize the throne and establish the Song Dynasty. In the second year of Jianlong (961), he became Yin of Kaifeng and Zhang Shi of Tongping. He became one of the powerful figures in the Northern Song Dynasty. In the first year of Taiping rejuvenating the country (976), song Taizu died and seized the throne. In that year, he changed to Taiping rejuvenating the country. In the fourth year of Taiping's rejuvenation of the state (979), the northern Han Dynasty was destroyed and the internal unification of the regime was completed. Then, it was defeated by Liao Dynasty twice in the battle of gaolianghe and the northern expedition of Yongxi. In the third year of Zhidao (997), he died of an attack caused by an arrow wound in Kaifeng palace. In October of the same year, he was buried in Yongxi Mausoleum of Henan Province.

brief introduction

The mausoleum of Emperor Taizong of Song Dynasty is 41 Li southwest of Gongyi City, Henan Province. The Imperial Hall is 100 feet deep, 80 feet wide, and the tomb is 250 feet wide. Quetai, Rutai, menque and other buildings surpass the previous generation. The largest mausoleum in the Song Dynasty is 586 meters long, from the magpie terrace at the beginning of the Shinto to the bottom of the altar. The Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum in Nanjing, if calculated from Xiamafang to Fangcheng, has a total length of 2620 meters, and there are 16 pairs of Shinto stone carvings. If we take the Baoding into account, its scale of construction should be in the forefront of the Imperial Mausoleums in China. On the ground, there are Shanggong, Xiagong, Gongcheng and Lingtai (cemetery) buildings. All around the mausoleum are planted with pines, cypresses, Poncirus, tangerines and flowers of the four seasons. The mausoleum is 250 feet high (about 85 meters today), and the "Imperial Hall" (underground palace) under the mausoleum is 100 feet deep (about 32 meters).

Introduction to the tomb owner

Zhao Ji, Zhao Kuangyin's younger brother, was named Kuangyi at the beginning. Zhao Kuangyin was named Guangyi after he became emperor. In 976, Zhao Kuangyin died suddenly. Guangyi ascended the throne of God on the pretext that his mother, Empress Dowager Du, taught him to pass on his younger brother but not his son. He was 38 years old and changed his name to Ji. At the age of 59, he died of an attack of an arrow wound. He was in office for 21 years (976-997). Year: Taiping Xingguo, Yongxi, Duangong, Chunhua, Zhidao.

He was the second emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty. During his reign, he continued his brother's unfinished war of reunification, taking Minguang and Wuyue from the South and occupying the northern Han Dynasty in Taiyuan from the north. At the same time, he constantly weakened the military forces, thus changing the consolidation of the military's control of the song imperial power since the end of the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties and laying another cornerstone. However, he is not always a winner in military operations. Liao, a powerful northern city, was his strong enemy. The Liao regime established by the Khitan nobles controlled the northeast, Inner Mongolia, the Republic of Mongolia, and the "Youyun sixteen prefectures" in the north and central parts of Jin and Hebei provinces, and coveted the Northern Song Dynasty. In 979, Zhao Jiong's Pro commander-in-chief army attacked Liao and attempted to recapture Youyun sixteen prefectures at one stroke. However, in the next battle of Youzhou (today's Beijing), the song army was defeated, and hundreds of thousands of song army abandoned their armor and scattered southward. Zhao Gong's guards of honor, treasures and royal objects all became the spoils of the Liao army. His accompanying concubines and maids were also captured by the Liao people. He was so flustered that he couldn't find any horses. He only found a few donkeys and ran away in a donkey drawn cart, but he was shot in many places by the Liao people's random arrows. The two arrows on his left thigh went deep into the bone, festering year by year, and could not be cured. In March of 1997, the arrow wound broke out again and died. In October, his coffin was transported to Gongxian County (then called Yong'an Army) for burial.

Funerary situation

Zhao Gong's funeral was extremely grand. Besides the civil and military ministers, there were more than 11000 people escorting the hearse, including guards of honor, spirit guards, servicemen and eunuchs. The regulation of the mausoleum area was also very grand. There were more than 4000 acres of fertile land, and there were buildings such as upper palace, lower palace, palace city and Mausoleum (cemetery) on the ground. All around the mausoleum are planted with pines, cypresses, Poncirus, tangerines and flowers of the four seasons. The mausoleum is 250 feet high (about 85 meters today), and the "Imperial Hall" (underground palace) under the mausoleum is 100 feet deep (about 32 meters). The burial objects include Zhuru, jade casket, bow and sword, pen and inkstone, Qin and chess, as well as a large number of jewelry and Zhao Gong's favorite costumes and wearing things. In addition to the concubines, maids, eunuchs, and servants, there are also 500 tomb guards stationed throughout the year. The expenses of these people, as well as the sacrifice of the four seasons, are more than a few hundred every year, all of which are the blood and sweat of the common people.

Zhao Gong had three queens. In his early years, empress Yin and empress Fu were buried next to their parents' graves in Yong'an mausoleum. His third empress, Li, was buried about two Li northwest of Yongxi mausoleum. This mausoleum still exists today. You can see it clearly from the platform of Yongxi mausoleum.

Fu buried here, and Zhao Gong's concubine - Li Xian concubine. Li Xianfei is a native of Zhending (now Zhengding, Hebei Province). She gave birth to YuanZuo, Zhao Ji's eldest son, who later suffered from insanity and gave birth to Zhao Heng, the second son of emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty.

Zhao Yuan Zuo, the eldest son of Zhao Gong, was also buried here. Zhao YuanZuo died in December of the fifth year of Tiansheng (1027) at the age of 62. The imperial court granted Zhao YuanZuo the title of "hezhongmu" and "fengxiangmu", and granted him the title of "Gongxian". The clan's children were given seven days' leave to be buried in Yongan and Yongxi mausoleum. In 1033, he was renamed King Lu. Later he was renamed king of Wei.

Current situation

At present, the buildings on the ground of Yongxi mausoleum have disappeared. Only the wall of the palace, the sacred wall, and the turret ruins at the corner of the sacred wall can be found. Fortunately, 58 stone statues, including birds, animals and figures, are still well preserved on both sides of the front of the mausoleum. All of them can be regarded as ancient fine arts. Among them, Shiyang and shiluduan are vigorous in shape, refined in Sabre technique, and vivid in charm and expression. Those who have visited the mausoleum praise the ingenuity of ancient artists.

Characteristics of stone carving

The stone carvings of Yongxi mausoleum are more tall, with plump faces and dignified expressions, which give the people who are on the scene a sense of grandeur. Its body size is big and its body is thick, and the proportion is not suitable. However, looking up at it near the front strengthens the sense of body greatness, and the proportion of head and body is just right. This way of expression, which is distorted according to the needs of perspective, inherits the tradition of Buddhist sculpture in Tang Dynasty. On the carving technique, the knife technique is meticulous, the realistic tendency is strengthened, and the personality is also more prominent. Shiyang has a clear outline and beautiful image, which is the best sculpture of song mausoleum in terms of modeling and carving techniques. Local people have a doggerel: "Dongling (Yongyu) lion, Xiling (Yongtai) elephant, Hutuo (Yongxi) good stone sheep.". The guest envoys on the east side, with cloth Baotou, big earrings, high nose and deep eyes, holding coral and Aquarius, are like the image of the Arab nation in Western Asia. The guest envoy on the west side, wearing a flat crown and holding a seal, looks like the image of East Asia, Korea, Japan and other countries. The expression of the portrait emphasizes the sadness of the death of the tomb owner. The patterns on Zhenling general's armor are becoming more and more detailed, and the dragon and tiger head monsters are removed from the two crotch relief Generally speaking, yongxiling stone carvings began to pay more attention to details, and they did not seek accuracy but momentum in modeling.

Address: Northeast Hutuo village, Xicun Town, Gongyi City, Zhengzhou City

Longitude: 112.950957

Latitude: 34.67381310293

Ticket information: no ticket required.

Chinese PinYin : Yong Xi Ling