The tomb owner Yang Can's ancestral home was
Taiyuan City in Shanxi Province, who served as the propitiation official of
Bozhou in the early years (1201-1204) of the Jiatai reign of the Song Dynasty
(960-1279). In more than 40 years in his reign, in foreign affairs, he opposed
the invasion of the Jin people, and adhered to supporting the Southern Song
Dynasty. In domestic affairs, he adopted some policies and measures suitable for
the development of the society. Through the hard work of the people of
all ethnic groups in Bozhou, the economy and culture witnessed
outstanding development.
Yang Can's tomb was first built in the
Chunyou reign (1241-1251) under Emperor Lizong in the Song Dynasty, and covers
an area of 50.1 square meters with a flat-roof and two-room structure. The tomb
was built with white grit stone and rags. It was fastened with loop locks. The
plane layout of the tomb is the juxtaposition of the south and the north rooms,
each room including three parts: the grave door, the front room, and the back
room, with aisles in it. The tomb is 8.42 meters in length. The front room is
8.04 meters wide, and the back room is 7.53 meters wide. The stone inscriptions
and decorations on the southern and the northern walls in the two rooms are
symmetric to that on the back wall of the back room. The content is largely
identical, but with minor differences. The coffin bed is placed in the middle of
the back room, which is 3.42 meters in length, 1.84 meters in width, and 0.43
meter in height. The four corners stand circular columns carved with dragon
patterns. Each of the tombs in the back room has a quadrate sunk panel. The
height, situation, ornament of the tomb door in the two rooms are basically the
same.
The tomb was robbed in early years, and many
goods buried with Yang Can have stolen. In 1957, when the tomb was cleaned up
and dug, there were only a few cultural relics found in the silt soil around the
coffin bed, such as pottery bottle, shadow black porcelain bowl, and incomplete
ion tripod, copper mirror with handle and two copper drums, etc. One of the
copper drums is 12.25 kg in weight, and 28cm in total height. The diameter of
the drum surface is 44.5 cm. The drum wall is filled up with the fragment of the
copper cash. It is estimated that the drum should have been casted in the reign
of Emperor Zhezong of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1279). The other copper
drum is 17.75kg in weight, and 30cm in total height. The diameter of the drum
surface is 49.5 cm. It has been reputed as one of the standard wares in the
eight styles in the phylogeny of south China by many scholars who have studied
the copper drums.
The outer and inner sides of the tomb of
Yang Can are carved with many stone inscriptions and decorations rich in
contents and exquisite in techniques. They can be divided into 5 categories:
human figures, animals, flowers and plants, household utensils and design. The
carving skill is mainly high basso-relievo and low basso-relievo, at long
intervals is carved in hidden lines, and the round carving is applied to the
base of the column and the circumvolution dragon on the column. Among the 28
statues, statues of the four warriors are the highest, with an average height of
1.54 meters. Four Hercules are the shortest, and they are only 40 to 50 cm.
Because they are in different positions, the dresses and the looks of all the
characters are different. The sitting statue of the tomb owner is neatly
dressed. Statue of civilian officials and woman officials with wide gowns and
big sleeves stand on its both sides. The tribute ministers are with curly hairs
and without shoes. It seemed they had endured the hardship of a long journey.
The warriors wear helmets and armors, and are extremely powerful and arrogant.
The Hercules bear heavy loads, and the two eyes open wide. All characters take
the tomb owner as the center. The patterns of flowers, plants and animal on the
walls of the tomb are conceived ingeniously, and the engraving is refined. Among
them, the Two Lions Play with Ball, Phoenix Flying Through Grapes, Wild Deer
Holds Glossy Gendarmes in its Mouth and The Waitress Opens the Door are
outstanding works with the artistic characteristics of the Song Dynasty. There
were six habitacles in the two rooms of the grave. They are all wood imitated
buildings, and the window wall, girder pole and dougong (a system of brackets in
Chinese building) and warped corners and banisters are all materials for
research into ancient architecture.