Qianling Mausoleum

Overview

About

The Qianling Mausoleum is the joint tomb of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi (628–683), and Wu Zetian (624–705), on Mount Liang north of Qian County, Xianyang, Shaanxi, about 85 km north-west of Xi'an. Gaozong was buried here the year after his death; when Wu Zetian died, Emperor Zhongzong laid her in the same tomb. It is the only tomb in Chinese history shared by two emperors. Qianling is a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level (first batch) and a National 5A tourist attraction.

Tang emperors were usually buried “using the mountain as the mound”: instead of raising an earthen mound, the tomb chambers were cut into a mountain, a practice begun with Emperor Taizong’s Zhaoling. Mount Liang has three peaks. The northern one is the highest, and the burial chamber lies beneath it; the two smaller peaks to the south face each other east and west and, from their shape, are called the Breast Hills. On top of each are the remains of a gate tower, marking the way into the tomb precinct. The precinct was laid out like the capital, Chang’an, with an inner and an outer wall; the inner wall had a gate on each side, the southern one called the Zhuque Gate.

The spirit way runs north from between the Breast Hills to the Zhuque Gate, lined from south to north with Tang stone sculpture: a pair each of ornamental columns, winged horses and ostriches, five pairs of horses with grooms, and ten pairs of standing officials. The winged horses raise their heads and spread their wings; the ostriches are carved in relief on screen-like slabs—ostriches had been sent as tribute from the Western Regions early in the Tang and were then rare and prized.

North of the officials two great steles face each other across the spirit way. On the west is the Shusheng Stele, its text composed by Wu Zetian in praise of Gaozong and written out by Zhongzong; built of seven stacked blocks, it is also called the Seven-Section Stele. On the east is the Wordless Stele raised for Wu Zetian, left uninscribed for reasons still debated. Later visitors carved many inscriptions on its face, among them one from the Jin dynasty in Khitan small script.

Further north, past the third pair of gate towers, the 61 statues of foreign envoys stand on either side outside the Zhuque Gate: leaders of neighbouring peoples and envoys of foreign states who attended Gaozong’s funeral, with their countries and names once carved on their backs. Most of the heads are now missing. A pair of stone lions stands before the gate.

Around the precinct lie seventeen satellite tombs of princes, princesses and officials. After Wu Zetian’s death Zhongzong restored the honor of the descendants who had died unnatural deaths during her rule and reburied them at Qianling. Of the five tombs excavated, the most important are three of the imperial family:

• Tomb of Crown Prince Zhanghuai: Li Xian (655–684), sixth son of Gaozong and second son of Wu Zetian, once crown prince, later deposed, died in exile at Bazhou
• Tomb of Crown Prince Yide: Li Chongrun (682–701), eldest son of Zhongzong
• Tomb of Princess Yongtai: Li Xianhui (684–701), daughter of Zhongzong, buried with her husband Wu Yanji

As crown prince, Li Xian grew estranged from his mother and wrote the “Song of the Melons below the Yellow Terrace” for court musicians to sing, comparing her repeated blows against her own sons to picking melons from a vine until none are left, in the hope that she would relent.

The passages and chambers of the three tombs are covered with murals, an important record of Tang painting. From the tomb of Crown Prince Zhanghuai come the “Polo Match”, showing riders striking the ball, and the “Reception of Foreign Envoys”, showing court officials receiving visitors from abroad; from the tomb of Crown Prince Yide, the “Gate Towers”, a key source for Tang architecture; and from the tomb of Princess Yongtai, the “Palace Ladies”, a procession of women carrying vessels. Most of the original murals have been removed and are kept in the Shaanxi History Museum in Xi’an. Beside Princess Yongtai’s tomb is the Qianling Museum, which shows sancai-glazed wares, pottery figures and other finds from the satellite tombs.

The burial chamber of Qianling has never been excavated. The entrance passage was found in the 1950s, sealed with stone blocks with molten iron poured into the joints; most scholars believe the tomb has never been robbed.

Map

Places on the map: Mount Liang 1,049 m 梁山 1,049m B2, Spirit way 神道 C4, Zhuque Gate 朱雀门 B3/C3, Wordless Stele 无字碑 B3/B4/C3/C4, Tomb of Crown Prince Zhanghuai 章怀太子墓 G5, Tomb of Crown Prince Yide 懿德太子墓 E7, Tomb of Princess Yongtai 永泰公主墓 F6.

© OpenStreetMap contributors · terrain © Copernicus · Map credits

Travel tips

Visiting: from the car park at the southern end, walk north along the spirit way past the sculpture, the two steles and the envoy statues to the Zhuque Gate, and then on up the main peak of Mount Liang. The three satellite tombs lie two or three kilometres south-east of the main tomb, and visitors can go down into their passages and chambers. The main tomb and the satellite tombs together take most of a day.

Getting there: Qianling is about 6 km north of Qian County town; from Xi'an most visitors hire a car or join a day tour.

Related sites

Imperial tombs: Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor and the Terracotta Army, Northern Song Imperial Tombs, Western Xia Imperial Tombs, Zhongshan (Purple Mountain), Nanjing, Ming Tombs, Eastern Qing Tombs

Classical Chinese texts

The texts are in Chinese, in our Library of Chinese Literature.

• 李贤 Li Xian: 《黄台瓜辞》

Nearby

Straight-line distances. Search nearby