|
Tomb of Princess YongTai
The Tomb of Princess
YongTai actually could be treated as a part that belongs to Qianling Mausoleum.
It is the first tomb that has been excavated ordered by government as
well as the most impressive of all the satellite tombs in Qianling Mausoleum.
Princess YongTai
Princess YongTai, named Li Xianhui, was the seventh daughter of Emperor
Zhong Zong and granddaughter of Gao Zong and Empress Wu Zetian. She was
widely being recognized in perfect beauty, as others said that even the
plum blossom lost its brilliance in her presence. Due to her natural beauty
and great wisdom, she was able to marry Wu Yanji, the son of Wu Chengsi,
what's more, who was Wu Zetian's nephew. But without fortune, she was
died in Luoyang shortly after her marriage at her early age of 17. Her
death still a mystery until now. And in 705 A.D., Emperor Zhongzong ordered
to bury his daughter and her husband together in the Qianling Tomb.
Architecture
The Tomb of Princess Yongtai stands 2.5 kilometers southeast of the Qian
Mausoleum and its construction is exactly following the same style as
those empresses' tombs. The road led to the Princess YongTai is lined
with a couple of stone lines, two pairs of stone figures, and another
pair of obelisks.
The tomb is pyramid-shaped, 87.5 meters long and 3.9 meters wide with
a chamber 16.7 meters deep. A tunnel leads to the tomb with charming murals
of on the walls. They represent court attendants, almost all of them women,
wearing the elegant central Asian fashions of the day. On the walls are
six small niches in which a multitude of tri-color glazed pottery figure,
poetry and porcelain wares were placed.
In the last chamber are stone coffins of Princess Yongtai and her husband.
The coffins comprise of two parts - the inner and the outer. The outer
palace-like coffin was delicately engraved with exquisite figures, birds
and flowers with a lady on each side. The inner wooden coffin had completely
rotted away due to its long-time saturation in silt. While some archaeologists
suspect that the princess's actual remains were buried secretly nearby.
Treasures
The tomb is all alone celebrated for its majestic qualified items found
and the above-mentioned fine wall murals. Besides, some wall paintings
of famous buildings and towers are appealing as well. And about 1,000
valuable cultural artifacts found in the tomb include murals, pottery
and wooden figurines, tri-color glazed pottery figurines, gold vessels,
jade articles, and copper wares. The glazed tri-color pottery figurines
demonstrate the high artistic achievements in the Tang dynasty. Such kind
of art, culture and a degree of elegance that made it a source of wonder. |
You are here: