Overview of Qianling Mausoleum
Qianling Mausoleum
Qianling Mausoleum is the joint burial mausoleum of Gaozong Li Zhi, the third emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history. It runs from Xianyang City to the northwest. There is a rocky mountain fifty kilometers away.
This mountain is called Liangshan in history books both at home and abroad.
More than a thousand years ago, Wu Zetian, China's only female emperor, finally closed her romantic and invincible eyes in the winter of her eighty-second year.
Half a year later, more than 100,000 people spent great efforts to carry her from Shangyang Palace in Luoyang into this mountain.
The Qianling Mausoleum was built in 684 AD. It took 23 years for the project to be basically completed.
It is majestic and magnificent.
Liangshan has three peaks, the North Peak being the highest, at an altitude of 1047.9 meters.
The two peaks in the south are lower, facing each other from east to west, with Sima Road in the middle, so these two peaks are named "Rufeng".
According to historical records, the mausoleum originally had two inner and outer walls, four city gates, as well as many magnificent buildings such as the palace and tower.
Exploration shows that the total area of the inner city is 240 square meters.
The city wall is surrounded by the Suzaku Gate in the south, the Xuanwu Gate in the north, the Qinglong Gate in the east, and the White Tiger Gate in the west.
There are 537 steps on the stone steps from Qianlingtou Gate, with a height difference of 81.68 meters.
After walking up the steps, there is a flat and wide road leading to the "Tang Gaozong Mausoleum" monument. This road is the "Sima Road".
On both sides, there are 1 pair of Chinese watches, 1 pair of winged horses and ostriches, 5 pairs of stone horses, 10 pairs of Wengzhongs, and 2 stone tablets.
To the east is the monument without words, and to the west is the monument with the record of the saints.
There are 61 statues of Wang Bin, a pair of stone lions, and 17 accompanying tombs around it.
The tombstone "Tang Gaozong's Mausoleum" is 2 meters high. It was erected for Gaozong in Biyuan, Xunfu, Shaanxi Province. The original monument has been destroyed. The current monument was rebuilt during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty.
Another tombstone on the front right side of this monument is inscribed by Guo Moruo with 12 large characters: "The Tomb of Tang Gaozong Li Zhi and Emperor Zetian".
In addition, outside the south gate, there are the stele of Shusheng in praise of Emperor Gaozong and Wu Zetian, and the stele without words gt;gt; Ertong and those who participated in Gaozong. There are 61 stone carvings of leaders of Chinese ethnic minorities and envoys of friendly countries who were buried in the funeral rites.
In Chinese history, the number, type and placement of stone carvings in front of the mausoleum began to have a fixed system from the Qianling Mausoleum, and it continued until the Qing Dynasty, with little difference in each dynasty.
When entering Qianxian County, looking to the northwest, you will see three tall and steep peaks set off by the vast smoke clouds. They are high in the north and low in the south, towering under the vast sky. From a distance, they look like A newly bathed woman with long hair, head north and feet south, lies on her back under the blue sky and white clouds. This is Liangshan, a place in China known as "the crown of all emperors' tombs in the past" and "Sleeping Beauty" The only female emperor in history, Wu Zetian, and her husband, Tang Gaozong Li Zhi, are buried together in the Qianling Mausoleum.
At 4:30 in the morning on July 26, 1971, the American Apollo spacecraft finally broke away from the earth's gravity and entered space orbit under the huge thrust of the three-stage rocket.
Astronaut Ednin carefully observed everything in front of him: the pyramids of Egypt, the Great Wall of China,... Suddenly, he discovered several structures arranged in a slightly straight line beside the winding Yellow River. He identified the small black spot as a secret weapons base of Red China and immediately took photos and reported it to the president.
This top-secret report from space was processed by the CIA's special technology and sent directly to President Nixon who was on vacation at Camp David...
As time passed, ten years later, Ednin followed the first batch of American tourists to the mysterious land of Red China. After experiencing the feeling of not being a hero without the Great Wall, he proposed to go to 107 degrees 38 minutes east longitude and 34 degrees north latitude to take a look.
Ednin believed that the Chinese government would never allow someone of his status to go to that place.
When he stood in the mountains and looked at the Weibei Plateau where the peaks competed with each other, he suddenly woke up from a dream. The few small black dots photographed from space were not launchers and secret weapons, but... The world-famous tombs of Chinese Han and Tang emperors are the tall and majestic Chinese pyramids that have shocked and imagined countless Chinese and foreign celebrities, experts, scholars and tourists.
The unique husband-wife emperor in world history
The Weibei Mountains of Shaanxi, located in the hinterland of Qinchuan, 800 miles away, contains the beautiful mountains and rivers created by the uncanny workmanship of nature.
Among this group of beautiful, majestic cone-shaped peaks, there are dozens of tombs of Chinese emperors of the Han and Tang Dynasties, forming a spectacular landscape for the 300-mile Weibei Mountain Plain. .
Among them, Liangshan, located in the north of Qianxian County, Shaanxi Province, is famous both at home and abroad for the burial of a powerful woman in Chinese history.
Driving from the ancient capital of Xi'an, along National Highway 312 westbound for about 70 kilometers and entering Qianxian County, if you look to the northwest, you will see the vast smoke clouds setting off three tall and steep peaks, which are higher in the north and lower in the south. , towering under the vast sky, looking from a distance like a newly bathed woman with long hair, head north and feet south, lying on her back under the blue sky and white clouds, this is Liangshan, where there are "the tombs of all the emperors of the past dynasties" The Qianling Mausoleum is the joint burial place of Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history, and her husband Li Zhi, Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty.
Qianling Mausoleum is a unique mausoleum in China and even the world where emperors of two dynasties and a couple of emperors are buried together. It is a model of the "mountain as mausoleum" burial system for emperors of the Tang Dynasty and a famous tourist attraction at home and abroad.
It lives in Liangshan and has been a scenic spot since Zhou and Qin Dynasties.
According to historical records, King Tai of the Zhou Dynasty (gu Gongdanfu) crossed Liangshan Mountain to carry the throne, Qin Shihuang built a palace on Liangshan Mountain to ward off the barbarians, Zhang Qian of the Han Dynasty crossed Liangshan Mountain to connect to the Western Regions, and even the "Silk Road" of the Tang Dynasty All pass through this mountain.
The main peak of Liangshan Mountain is 1,047.9 meters above sea level. The mountains and rocks are steep and the terrain is steep. It is the throat of east-west transportation and a battleground for ancient military strategists.
Climb to the top of Liangshan Mountain and look east at Jiuwei (the location of the Zhaoling Mausoleum of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty). The mountain is abrupt and solitary; in the south, you look at Taibai (Mountain) and Zhongnan (Mountain), which is covered with snow; and in the north, you can see the snow-capped Taibai (Mountain). The five peaks (mountains) reflect each other in the distance; it is connected to Cuiping (mountain) in the west, and there are many mountains.
At the foot of Liangshan Mountain, three peaks stand out, the main peak is green and tall, with the Sui River surrounding it to the east and the Desert River surrounding it to the west. The entire foothills are covered with verdant trees and ancient cypresses, creating an elegant and solemn environment.
According to Kan Yujia (Feng Shui Master), Liangshan is very beneficial to the heroine.
Therefore, Empress Wu Zetian, who replaced Tang Dynasty and became Zhou Dynasty, chose Liangshan as the "ten thousand year life domain" for her husband Tang Gaozong and herself a hundred years later.
According to literature, Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi (628-683) was the ninth son of Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty and was born to the eldest grandson of Queen Wende.
At the age of 16, he was established as the crown prince with the help of his uncle Changsun Wuji.
He became emperor in June of the 23rd year of Zhenguan (649).
Li Zhi was not a "faint, incompetent, cowardly and mediocre" person as old historians called him.
In the early years of his accession to the throne, he "carried the memory of the ages and learned from hundreds of kings" and determined to be the master of the Chinese Renaissance in order to build the unparalleled foundation of the Tang Dynasty.
With the assistance of Changsun Wuji, Chu Suiliang and other senior ministers, he was conscientious in state affairs, courteous to virtuous officials, conscientiously implemented Emperor Taizong's Zhenguan regulations, reclaimed wasteland, implemented the land equalization system, developed the imperial examination system, and had a rapid population Increase, social and political clarity, economic prosperity, people live and work in peace and contentment, and foreign forces enter Central Asia.
Therefore, history books evaluate the politics of Gaozong in the early years after he ascended the throne as "the government of Yonghui, the people of Fu'an, and the legacy of Zhenguan." After Li Zhi became middle-aged, he was "dazzled by the wind, his head was heavy, and he could not see." Then Empress Wu was appointed to handle the affairs of the state.
Empress Wu took the opportunity to monopolize power and specialized in government affairs. "Power is at odds with the ruler."
In the first month of 666 AD, Li Zhi and Empress Wu climbed Mount Tai to worship Confucius. This created a situation in which the "two saints" were respected simultaneously in the Tang Dynasty.
Prime Minister Shangguan Yi once reported the power of the harem and was imprisoned and executed.
Li Zhi also deeply felt that his power was falling apart, and was afraid that the Li family would be lost in his own hands. He wanted to enthrone the crown prince Li Hong (the eldest son of Li Zhi and Wu Zetian), but Li Hong fell ill and died violently.
So he made his second son Li Xian the prince and made him supervise the country.
Empress Wu deposed Li Xian for the crime of "disobedience".
Li Zhi had no choice but to make King Li Xian of England the crown prince.
In 682 AD, Li Xian gave birth to his son Li Chongrun (who was posthumously named Prince Yide). Li Zhi made him the grandson of the emperor, and made an exception to open a palace for the grandson to build an official office for the future of the Tang Dynasty.
In December of the first year of Hongdao, Li Zhi died of illness in the Zhenguan Hall in Luoyang, the eastern capital. He was 56 years old and had reigned for 34 years.
Before he died, he said: "If the gods of heaven and earth extend my life for a month or two, I can return to Chang'an and die without regret." He expressed his willingness to bury his bones in his hometown Guanzhong.
The posthumous edict "The cemetery system must be frugal.
Those who are undecided on military and state affairs will be punished by the Queen of Heaven (Wu Zetian)." In May of the first year of civilization (684), Wu Zetian followed Gao's instructions In accordance with Zong's last wish, Ruizong was ordered to escort Gao Zongling back to Chang'an westward.
He was buried in Liangshan in August, and his mausoleum was named Qianling.
Wu Zetian (624 AD - 705 AD), a native of Wenshui, Bingzhou (now east of Wenshui, Shanxi), was the only female emperor in Chinese history.
In 655 AD, she was made queen by Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty.
In 690 AD, when Wu Zetian was sixty-seven years old, she deposed Li Dan and proclaimed herself emperor, changed the name of her country to Zhou, named herself Emperor "Holy God", and changed her name to " ", this is one of the nineteen strange characters she created, which means the sun and the moon are in the sky.
Wu Zetian worked hard to recruit talents, regardless of seniority or family status, as long as they passed the examination, they could be hired.
Eighty-two-year-old Wu Zetian was revered as the Great Sage Queen Zetian, and soon died of illness in Shangyang Palace.
Posthumously Queen Zetian.
Tang Gaozong Li Zhi (628 AD - 683 AD), the ninth son of Tang Taizong Li Shimin, was named Weishan.
In the fifth year of Zhenguan (631 AD), he was granted the title of King of Jin. In the 17th year, he was established as the prince. In the 23rd year, he ascended the throne.
The territory of the Tang Dynasty was the largest during the reign of Emperor Gaozong.
After Emperor Gaozong ascended the throne, he accepted Wu Zetian into the palace as Zhaoyi. Soon after, he wanted to depose the queen and change the queen to Wu.
In response, senior officials such as Changsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang expressed opposition.
With the support of Li Yifu and others, Emperor Gaozong finally established Wu as his queen in the sixth year of Yonghui.
Changsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang were both denounced.
In the last years of Xianqing, Emperor Gaozong suffered from wind-induced dizziness and severe headache, which made it difficult for him to see and handle government affairs. Empress Wu Zetian was able to gradually take control of the government.
From then on, Wu Zetian became the ruler with real power, while Gaozong was in a position of power.
After Gaozong died, he was buried in Qianling.
Wu Zetian (624-705), named herself Zhao, because she was once called Queen Zetian, and later generations called her Wu Zetian.
His ancestral home is Wenshui, Bingzhou (now Wenshui, Shanxi), and he was born in Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty (some say Guangyuan, Sichuan).
His father, the warrior Xun, was originally a timber merchant. Later, he followed Li Yuan, who stayed in Taiyuan in the Sui Dynasty, to raise an army. In the early Tang Dynasty, he became the minister of the Ministry of Industry and the governor of Lizhou.
His mother, Yang, was the daughter of Sui Prime Minister Yang Da.
It is said that Wu Zetian had strange appearances when she was a child.
At that time, the world-famous astrologer Yuan Tiangang once went to the Wu family for a banquet.
During the dinner, the warrior Yu asked Yuan to meet his family.
After seeing his wife Yang, Yuan Tiangang said: "My wife has very good bone skills, she will have a noble son!" After seeing Wu's second son Yuan Qing and Yuan Shuang, he said: "These two sons can reach the third rank. But it doesn’t mean you will be rich forever!” At this time, the wet nurse came out holding Wu Zetian, who was wearing boy’s clothes.
Yuan Tiangang stepped forward to examine her for a while and said, "This young man has a cool look on his face. It's hard to know. Let him go and have a look." So the wet nurse put her on the ground.
After the child walked a few steps, Yuan Tiangang asked her to look up again, and was shocked: "This child has dragon eyes and a phoenix neck, and the appearance of Fu Xi, he must be extremely noble!" Yuan Tiangang looked at the child from the side again. After a while, he was surprised and regretful and said: "It's a pity that he is a husband. If he were a woman, she would be the master of the world!"
In the eleventh year of Zhenguan (637), when Wu Zetian was 14 years old, Taizong Li Shimin heard that " "Beauty only", she was called into the harem, named a talented person (concubine), and given the title "Wu Mei".
Wu Cairen, who had just entered the palace, won the favor of Emperor Taizong with her unique charm. However, she thought that in the harem filled with beauties, it would be difficult for her to be favored by Emperor Taizong for a long time. This scheming woman , and seduced the crown prince with his beauty.
At the end of Zhenguan, Taizong was critically ill, Li Zhi was serving at his side, and he had an affair with Wu.
In the twenty-third year of Zhenguan (649), Taizong died.
According to the palace system at that time, the 26-year-old martial artist and the concubines who had no children in the harem were sent to Ganye Temple to have their hair shaved and become nuns to pray for the late emperor.
On the anniversary of Taizong's death in the third year of Yonghui (652), Li Zhi went to the temple to burn incense, met Wu Meiniang, and rekindled their old relationship. He was recalled to the harem and given the title of Zhaoyi.
There has always been a lot of resentment in the palace, especially Emei.
Wu Zhaoyi, who returned to the court, used her intelligence and wisdom, and even strangled her own daughter to blame Queen Wang, and finally ascended the coveted throne of queen and began to participate in government affairs.
Empress Wu, who was "very resourceful and involved in literature and history", soon showed her superhuman talent and shrewd and powerful ability to govern the country, and gained the great trust and dependence of Emperor Gaozong.
After October of the fifth year of Xianqing (660), Li Zhi, who was suffering from many diseases, entrusted "all the hundred memorials to the Queen of Heaven for detailed decision-making." Wu Zetian took this opportunity to win over the courtiers and use With the support of Li Yifu, Xu Jingzong and others, they eliminated the senior officials headed by Changsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang, and they became dictatorial in the government.
After Gaozong died in the first year of Hongdao, Zhongzong Li Xian came to the throne, and Wu Zetian came to the court as the Queen Mother.
The following year, Zhongzong was deposed and Li Dan (Ruizhong) was made emperor, ordering him not to interfere in political affairs.
In the third year of Zaichu (690), Wu Zetian ordered the monk Faming to compile the "Dayun Sutra", saying that it was the birth of Maitreya Buddha, who should be the Lord of Jambudvipa (human world) in Tang Dynasty.
Then he ordered his close ministers to recruit hundreds of people to "persuade". As a result, tens of thousands of people from all over the imperial court, inside and outside the capital, chiefs of various barbarians, monks and Taoists followed suit.
Seeing that the time was ripe, Wu Zetian changed the name of Tang Dynasty to Zhou Dynasty. In September of the first year of Tianshou, Wu Zetian officially ascended the throne and called herself Emperor of Zhou Dynasty, becoming the only female emperor in Chinese history.
Wu Zetian was well versed in literature and history, good at maneuvering, and cruel in means.
After she became emperor, she expanded her official career, created the "palace examination", "bootstrap" and "military examination" systems, and widely recruited talents; rewarded informants, appointed cruel officials, repeatedly launched large prisons, and attacked nobles and nobles. , to maintain their absolute dominance.
During the nearly 50 years of her rule, social politics, economy and culture have flourished.
At the same time, the relationship between the Tang Dynasty and various ethnic minorities in the border areas was strengthened and improved.
In his later years, he was extravagant and arbitrary, and the palace was filthy and chaotic. His nephew Wu Sansi controlled the government, and the political constitution was in chaos.
In the first month of the first year of Shenlong (AD 705), Wu Zetian was seriously ill, and Prime Minister Zhang Jianzhi and others launched a coup to support the restoration of Zhongzong Li Xian.
In November, Wu Zetian passed away in Shangyang Palace, Luoyang. Her last will and testament was: "The temple, Guiling, and order will remove the imperial title and call her the Great Sage Queen Zetian." She was 82 years old.
In May of the following year, Zhongzong's guardian spirit returned to Xijing, and in August he was buried with his husband in the Xuan Palace of Qianling.