Tang Xianling

Tang Xianling

Xianling is the mausoleum of Li Yuan (566-635). In May of the ninth year of Zhenguan (635 AD), Li Yuan died and was buried in October. Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, built the sacrificial mausoleum according to the original Mausoleum of Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The mausoleum, facing south in the north, is sealed with earth and is in the shape of a covering bucket. The plane of the mausoleum is rectangular. The mausoleum is built by ramming. There is a gate on each side and a pair of stone tigers outside. The burial area of the mausoleum is located in the northeast of the mausoleum. There are 67 Fengtu tombs. Except for Li Shenfu in Xiangyi in Sanyuan County, the rest are in Fuping County, Weinan City.

General situation

Located in the west of Yonghe village, Xumu Township, Sanyuan County, Shaanxi Province, Tang Xianling is the mausoleum of Li Yuan (566-635), the founder of the Tang Dynasty. It is the first batch of key cultural relics protection units in Shaanxi Province. In 635 ad, Li Yuan died and was buried in Xianling. Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, built Xianling according to the specifications of the original Mausoleum of Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty. At the beginning of the construction of Xianling, there was no mausoleum, which was divided into two cities, the inside and the outside. There are a pair of stone tigers in each of the four gates of the inner city, and a pair of tall Huabiao and stone rhinoceros stand outside the south gate. The Xianling mausoleum faces south and faces north. It is 21 meters high, 150 meters from east to west, and 120 meters from north to south. There are 67 tombs with imperial relatives and important officials around the mausoleum, just like the moon and stars, which sets off the Xianling mausoleum in a spectacular way. The mausoleum, which faces south in the north and is sealed with earth, is in the shape of a compound bucket. It is about 100 meters in length and width, 13 meters in height, and its plane is rectangular. The mausoleum is rammed with a gate on each side, and a pair of stone tigers are placed outside the gate. In front of it are decorated with large-scale Chinese watches and stone rhinoceros, especially stone tiger and stone rhinoceros. They are majestic, resolute and high spirited. Except for one stone rhinoceros and stone tiger, which have been moved to the stone carving room of Shaanxi Provincial Museum, others are preserved Stay at the grave.

Mausoleum construction

The other three of the four Mound Tombs in the Tang Dynasty are located in the late Tang Dynasty. The reason why Li Yuan's mausoleum was built in this way is that the current economic situation does not allow large-scale construction. Most of the stone carvings in Xianling maintain the characteristics of the previous dynasty. The craft is rough and simple, the face is fierce, and the volume is large. Although the stone carving is relatively precise, the artistic value is general. The stone beast imitates the Tianlu Qilin of the northern and Southern Dynasties The master's craftsmanship is general, and it seems obvious that he imitates others. However, the stone carvings of Xianling have something new, such as the image of ostrich. Ostrich was introduced into China by cannibals from the east coast of Africa in the late Sui and early Tang Dynasties. It can be seen that the development of art in the early Tang Dynasty shows that there are two ostrich reliefs in Xianling, one of which is broken The other is plump, with short legs, not very thick neck and strong wings, which is different from the modern ostrich. This is in line with the laws of genetics and the judgment on the origin and evolution of ostriches. There is an existing stone tablet in Xianling, but there is no tortoise. Because the cemetery of the dead, which was awarded by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, was buried in Xianling, it can be taken as an example There are about 40 tombs, which are distributed around the mausoleum. The damage of the mausoleum is relatively serious, and most of the stone carvings only have remnants, so it is difficult to imagine the original appearance.

Tomb shape

Xianling is located in the north and south of the cemetery. There are 378 buildings on the ground. The mausoleum is 31 meters high, 100 meters long and 100 meters wide. The mausoleum platform is in the shape of a bucket. It is located in the east of the central part of the cemetery, 139 meters long from East to west at the bottom, 110 meters long from north to south, 30 meters long from east to west at the top, 10 meters long from north to South and 19 meters high. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty issued an imperial edict to discuss the construction plan of Xianling, and decided to build it according to the scale of the original Mausoleum of Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The extant height is consistent with the record. There are four gates in the inner city. There are a pair of stone tigers inside each gate. They guard the four gates with smart eyes and strong limbs. 300 meters outside the south gate, there is a pair of stone rhinoceros, and about 100 meters away, there is a pair of stone Huabiao. The whole stone carving category is very simple, but the carving art value is very high, thick and simple, the shape is resolute, strong and rough, open-minded and high spirited. For example, the dragon on the pedestal of Huabiao and the lion dragon on the top are very simple and vivid. The tiger and rhinoceros in the round carvings are tall and big. They use realistic techniques to carve the image of beasts, strong body and concise lines. They pursue realism without paying attention to the appearance of decoration. They not only depict the animal nature, but also do not cause people to be afraid of it. They can also make people love them. This is the representative and fine art of Tang mausoleum stone carvings.

Funerary grave

There are also a lot of tombs near Xianling, including 67 tombs. According to historical records, there are princess Wan of Chu, Princess Guantao, Wang Xiaogong of Hejian, Wang Shenfu of Xiangyi, Wang Shenghe, Wang Yuanjia of Han, Wang yuanze of Peng, Wang Yuanqing of Dao, Wang Yuanyi of Zheng, Wang Yuanfeng of Guo, Wang Yuanheng of bang, Wang Yuanli of Xu, Wang Yuanying of Teng, Wang Yuanyu of Deng, Wang yuankui of Lu, Wang Yuangui of Huo, Wang yuanmi of Jiang, Wang Yuanxiang of Jiang, Wang Yuanxiao of MI, Zhang lunxiao of Bingzhou, fan Xing and Ping of Rong Zhang Kai, the former Duke of the county, Qiu He, the Duke of the state of Tan, Qian Jiulong, the Duke of Chaoguo, Liu demiao, the Minister of the Ministry of punishment, and Shen Shuan, the Minister of the Ministry of punishment. More than 30 tombstones have been excavated, including Li Feng, Li Shentong, Li Xiaotong, Zang huaike and fan Xing. These funerary mausoleums set off Xianling in a spectacular way. Xianling was declared the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units by the state in 2000.

Main attractions

The mausoleum was built according to the specifications of the Eastern Han imperial mausoleum. It is surrounded by cypress trees and sealed with earth. The mausoleum platform is in the shape of a bucket. It is 21 meters high. The top of the mausoleum is 30 meters from east to west and 10 meters from north to south. One stone pillar and one stone tiger at the south end of Shinto are well preserved. The stone tablet in front of the tomb was erected later. According to the cultural guards who looked at the tomb, the original stone tablet was damaged in a hailstorm caused by black clouds in the 1980s. In addition, damaged and abandoned stele bases and stone carvings were also found around the mausoleum.

Xianling stone carvings

The stone carvings of Xianling are thick and simple, strong and unconstrained, firm and steady in shape, and dignified. The stone tiger of the four gates is big and powerful, nearly 2 meters high, with smart eyes, strong limbs and vivid images. There are a pair of tall stone rhinoceros at both ends of the royal road. Outside the south gate stands an 8-meter-high Huabiao, with an animal crouching on the top and a Dragon carving on the bottom. The octagonal column is carved with patterns, which makes it solemn and solemn. Xianling stone carvings have a strong artistic style of the early Tang Dynasty, and are valuable material for studying the history of the Tang Dynasty.

Traffic information

Take the coach to Sanyuan, Fuping and Yanliang at the East passenger station of Xi'an or Xianyang coach, and transfer to the minibus or taxi to Xumu township at Sanyuan, Fuping and Yanliang.

Address: West of Yonghe village, Xumu Township, Sanyuan County, Xianyang City

Longitude: 109.127238

Latitude: 34.700010346129

Ticket information: free.

Chinese PinYin : Tang Xian Ling