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Located on the northern
peak of Liangshan
Mountain in Qianxian
County, Qianling was the
tomb of the Tang Emperor
Gao Zong (r. 650—683)
and his consort, Empress
Wu Zetian (624—705).
There are many
subsidiary tombs of
nobles and ranking
officials in the area
surrounding Qianling,
which has a
circumference of forty
kilometers. One of the
eighteen imperial tombs
of the Tang Dynasty in
the Guanzhong area,
Qianling was never
excavated or vandalized;
because it is intact, it
is of particularly great
historical value.
In front of Qianling
stands a large group of
stone statues that were
carved on the order of
Empress Wu Zetian to
commemorate the funeral
of Emperor Gao Zong.
Sixty-one of the figures
represent foreign envoys
attended the funeral.
Dressed in their
national costumes, these
life-size statues stand
on either side of the
passage to the tomb,
hands cupped to the
chest in a gesture of
prayer. This seems to
indicate that close
relations existed at
that time between China
and various other
regions.
Near Qianling are the
tombs of Princess
Yongtai and Prince
Zhanghuai. Murals of
great artistic value
have been found here in
excavated underground
chambers. |
