΅΅
Travel in China > Protected Sites > Class Άσ > Tombs
Advanced Search
E-Mail This Article Print Friendly Format
Two Mausoleums of Southern Tang

The Two Mausoleums of the Southern Tang Dynasty (907-960) -- including the Qinling Mausoleum of Li Bian, Emperor of the early Southern Tang Dynasty and his queen, and the Shunling Mausoleum of Li Jing, Emperor of the mid Southern Tang Dynasty and his wife -- are located in Wangjiafen Village south of Gaoshan Mountain of Dongshanqiao Village, Jiangning County (southwest of Zutang Mountain outside Zhonghua Gate of Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province). The two mausoleums -- Qinling Mausoleum in the east and Shunling Mausoleum in the west -- are located 100 meters away from each other, and were excavated in 1950-1951.

With a round mound on top, the Qinling Mausoleum is 21.48 meters long, 10.45 meters wide and 5.3 meters high. Its passageway is 19 meters long and four meters wide. The coffin chamber has three main rooms and 10 side rooms, including brick front and the middle chamber rooms and a stone back room. The chamber gate and the room walls are engraved with pillars adorned with lotus, peony and cloud patterns. The roof of the back chamber was painted with astronomical phenomena; the floor was paved with black stone plates representing the sky and earth. All four sides of the coffin display paintings of dragons with three claws and rows of flowers. The gate lintel was painted with two dragons playing with pearls.


The Shunling Mausoleum of Li Jing is 21.9 meters long, 10.12 meters wide and 5.42 meters high. There are also three main rooms and eight side rooms, all made of brick. The mausoleum's construction is similar to that of the Qingling Mausoleum, only smaller. The colored paintings on the pillars and walls were eroded by rainwater and silt.


Over 600 antiques were unearthed at the two mausoleums, including a jade memorial record with gold inlays. As the most valuable relic, it records memorial speeches given by emperors. It is an important factor in determining the social status of the mausoleum owners.

All rights reserved. Reproduction of text for non-commercial purposes is permitted provided that both the source and author are acknowledged and a notifying email is sent to us.