On the undulating Weibei Plateau beside the Yellow River, sleeps the only mausoleum in the world where two emperors are buried. This secluded palace that has been silent underground for 1,300 years is the mausoleum of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty in China. It is the joint burial place with Wu Zetian, the empress in Chinese history. It is the most complete and majestic imperial mausoleum in China and has high historical value.
The mausoleum is located on Liangshan Mountain, 6 kilometers north of Qianxian County. Because the mountain is a mausoleum, it is majestic and beautiful, and you can have a panoramic view of the beautiful scenery in Guanzhong. Liangshan connects Jiujun Mountain to the east and Cuiping Mountain to the west, with an altitude of 1047.5 meters. It is made of limestone and is conical in shape. There are three peaks on the top of the mountain, with the north peak being the highest. The two southern peaks face each other from east to west and are called "Rufeng". There is a tower built on the top of the peak, which is the natural gateway of Qianling Mausoleum.
In 683, after the death of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, Wu Zetian appointed Wei Daiji, the Minister of Civil Affairs, as the envoy of Shanling, responsible for the Qianling project. According to the burial system of "building a mausoleum based on a mountain", the Qianling Mausoleum relied on the natural terrain of Liangshan Mountain, using the top of the mountain as a mausoleum, and digging holes on the mountainside to build the Xuan Palace. The project was arduous and massive. In August 684 AD, Li Zhi was buried. At this time, only the main project was completed. After Emperor Gaozong was buried, the Qianling Mausoleum project continued. After Emperor Zhongzong Li Xian succeeded to the throne, he reopened the Xuan Palace Tunnel of Qianling Mausoleum in May 706 AD and buried his mother and empress Wu Zetian together in the mausoleum. They also buried Princess Yongtai Li Xianhui, Prince Yide Li Chongrun, Prince Zhanghuai Li Xian, Prince Xu Li Sujie, Prince Ze Li Shangjin, and Princess Yiyang around the Qianling Mausoleum. After the two dynasties of Wu Zetian and Tang Zhongzong, the Qianling Mausoleum was fully completed, which took 28 years.
When Qianling Mausoleum was built, it was during the prosperous Tang Dynasty and the country was full of power, so the scale of the mausoleum was grand and the architecture was majestic and magnificent. It can be called the crown of imperial mausoleums in all dynasties. Qianling Mausoleum is the only one among the Tang mausoleums that was designed and built after the pattern of Chang'an, the capital city. The three southern city gates are the same as those of Chang'an City, and the inner city is also the same as Chang'an Palace City, located in the middle of the northern part of the cemetery. The imperial road symbolizes Chang'an Zhuque Street. Judging from the ruins on the ground, the ground-level buildings at that time were grand and magnificent. The cemetery consisted of an inner city and an outer city. The inner city, also known as the Imperial City, was located around Liangshan Mountain. There is a door on each side, and the Xuanwu Gate is in the north. Outside the door is a pair of stone lions, a pair of earthen palaces, and a pair of stone horses (originally 3 pairs). To the west is the White Tiger Gate, with a pair of stone lions and a pair of earthen towers outside the gate. To the east is the Qinglong Gate, with a pair of stone lions and a pair of earthen towers outside the gate. In the south is the Zhuque Gate, with a pair of stone lions and a pair of stone figures in front of the gate. In the middle of the south is the Zhuque Gate, and inside the gate are the ruins of the Xiandian Hall. From the south gate of the inner city to the south is the royal road, with large stone carvings scattered on both sides. Starting from Zhangjiabao, about 1.5 kilometers outside the north gate of Qianxian County, there is a pair of earthen palaces with a height of 8 meters. This is the first gate site of Qianling Mausoleum and the starting point of the royal road. Three kilometers to the north are the second southern peaks. On the top of the two peaks, there is a 15-meter-high earthen tower, which is the site of the second gate. To the north is the group of stone carvings. From south to north, there is first a pair of tall octagonal stone columns, which are the beginning of Shinto (Sima Dao). The next 28 meters are two beautiful, powerful winged horses, followed by a pair of high-relief ostriches. The ostrich was introduced from the Western Regions during the Han Dynasty and was regarded as a mascot. It was called the red bird or the luan bird. The Qianling Mausoleum set the precedent of engraving the mausoleum with an ostrich stone. Further north, there are 5 pairs of stone horses and 3 pairs of horse-leaders lined up on both sides of the Shinto. At the far north are 10 pairs of stone statues of generals symbolizing the official ceremony of the funeral. The stone statues are huge round sculptures with a height of 4.2 meters and a chest width of 1 Mi, wearing a hair crown and a wide robe and coat, standing with his hands on his chest, leaning on a sword, guarding the tomb with a majestic expression.
Across the group of stone carvings, there is a stone monument on both sides of Sima Road, and on the west side is the "Shu Sheng Ji Stele". It is a monument erected by Wu Zetian to praise her virtues. The inscription was written by Wu Zetian herself and handwritten by Zhongzong Li Xian. It is a rare material for studying parallel script and calligraphy art in the Tang Dynasty. The stele is 7.5 meters high, 1.86 meters wide, and weighs 89.6 tons. The top of the stele is carved in the veranda style, with a base engraved with animal patterns on the bottom. There are 5 sections in the middle and 7 sections at the end. It is also called the "Seven Section Stele". The east side is 7.53 meters high, 2.1 meters wide, 1.49 meters thick, and weighs 98.9 tons. The forehead of the monument is made up of eight chi-like heads intersecting, and there is a giant dragon rising into the sky on each side. However, there was no inscription when the monument was erected, so it is called the "Wordless Monument".
Why erect a monument without words? There are several theories so far. One is that Wu Zetian wanted future generations to make a fair evaluation of her; the other is that Wu Zetian felt that her merits were immeasurable and could not be expressed in words. Of course, there is also another theory that this monument It may have been erected by Emperor Zhongzong of the Tang Dynasty. He was dissatisfied with Wu Zetian's arbitrary actions and was unwilling to compliment her against her will. However, as a son, it was inconvenient for him to criticize his mother, so he erected a wordless monument for future generations to comment on. In any case, erecting a wordless monument in front of the emperor's tomb is indeed unique in the history of our country.
40 meters north of the wordless monument, there are also 61 stone sculptures of 61 leaders of my country's border ethnic minorities and neighboring countries. They are 1.6 meters tall. They are all wearing long robes, narrow-sleeved coats, and 61 leaders of neighboring countries. Wear long boots with a wide waistband and a pouch. On the back of the portrait, the name of the country, palace position, and name are engraved. This is a portrayal of the political life of our country's unified multi-ethnic country. Although the heads of these stone statues have been destroyed many years ago, they can still be seen as the leaders of the countries on the northwest frontier. They were the leaders of various ethnic groups and guests from various countries who attended the funeral when Emperor Gaozong was buried - Wu Zetian marked this moment with a stone.
Qianling Mausoleum covers a wide area, with a surrounding area of ??45 kilometers. In addition to the mountain mausoleum area, there is also the Lower Palace with an area of ??290,000 square meters to the west of the imperial road at the foot of the mountain. It was the emperor's palace when he visited the mausoleum. To the east of the Qianling Mausoleum, there are 17 accompanying tombs. The burials include Prince Zhanghuai Li Xian, Prince Yide Li Chongrun, and the tombs of princesses such as Yiyang, Xindu, Anxing, and Yongtai. Many precious cultural relics were unearthed from All aspects reflect the social production, lifestyle and culture of the Tang Dynasty. Since the 1960s, five burial tombs including Yongtai, Zhanghuai and Yide have been excavated, and more than 4,300 precious cultural relics have been unearthed. With more than 10,000 colorful tomb murals, it can be called a magnificent underground art gallery of the Tang Dynasty.
Qianling Mausoleum is not only magnificent in appearance, but also rich in internal contents. According to the inscription on the Shushengji Monument, when Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty was dying, he left his last words to bury the calligraphy and paintings he loved during his lifetime in the tomb. In addition, Wu Zetian and Tang Gaozong were both in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, so there must be countless grave goods in the tomb.
Most of the imperial tombs of the Tang Dynasty were stolen by Wen Tao, the Yaozhou Jiedushi envoy of the Five Dynasties. Only the Qianling Mausoleum survived due to heavy wind and rain during the excavation. Archaeological surveys after the founding of the People's Republic of China also proved that the tomb passages of Qianling Mausoleum were all filled with stone strips, stacked from the entrance of the tomb passage to the tomb door, with a total of 39 layers. Each layer of stone strips is fixed with iron bolt plates, and the joints are filled with lead. Under the historical conditions at that time, it was indeed not easy to dig out. Archaeological surveys also proved that there were no robber holes around the tomb, and the stone strips and rammed earth in the tomb passage were still as they were when Wu Zetian was buried together. Therefore, Qianling Mausoleum is fortunate to be an imperial tomb that has not been stolen so far.