Significance

In Chinese history, the Tang Dynasty is often referred to as a period when the ancient Chinese civilization was at its peak. However, researchers had no idea how a Tang royal mausoleum was actually laid out. Did the designers of the Ming  (1368-1644) and Qing  (1644-1911) tombs in Beijing and Hebei  follow in the footsteps of their Tang predecessors?

The site of the North Sima Gate of the Zhaoling is by far the first well-preserved and distinctly planned tomb complex ever discovered among imperial mausoleums of the Tang Dynasty. Excavations at the site help provide significant clues in the study of imperial burials and mausoleum architecture of ancient China, especially in the Tang Dynasty. The identification of the remains of the "Six Horses of the Zhaoling Mausoleum" and the stone engraving "Fourteen Chieftains" are of great significance to China's painting history.

 Related: Six Horses of Zhaoling

The "Six Horses of the Zhaoling Mausoleum" were destroyed in 1914. Two of them were shipped secretly to the museum of the University of Pennsylvania in the United States, while the other four underwent repairs and were displayed in Shaanxi Province.

Historical records indicate that the six horses were carved on 2.5-meter-high by 3-meter-wide stone slabs and were arranged in rows on the eastern and western verandas of the northern gateway.

First in the eastern row was the yellow Le Biao (the "fatty" prince), with an off-white mouth, who carried Li Shimin to suppress Song Jingang. The second, Qing Zhui (black and gray) was hit by five arrows while carrying Li in battle with Dou Jiande. The third, Shi Fa Chi (red), was hit by four arrows in the front and one in the back while carrying Li to suppress Wang Shichong and defeat Dou Jiande.

First on the west was Sa Lu Zi, a valiant, purple horse. He was hit by an arrow in the front while taking Li to calm the Eastern Capital (today's Luoyang, Henan Province ) and wipe out Wang Chongchong. Sa Lu Zi was the only horse of the six that included a carved human figure.