Imperial Mausoleum of the Later Zhou Dynasty

Imperial Mausoleum of the Later Zhou Dynasty

The mausoleum of the late Zhou Dynasty, located near lingshang village, Guodian Town, Xinzheng City, Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, is a group of mausoleums in the Five Dynasties period. The existing mausoleums include song mausoleum, Qing mausoleum, Shun mausoleum and Yi mausoleum.

Qingling tomb is the tomb of Chai Rong of the Later Zhou Dynasty, located in lingshang village, Guodian Town, Xinzheng. Shun mausoleum is the tomb of Chai zongxun, Emperor Gong, located in the northeast of lingshang village, Guodian town. Yiling is the mausoleum of Fu family, Queen of the late Zhou Dynasty, in lingshang village of Guodian town. Songling is the tomb of Guowei, the Taizu of the Later Zhou Dynasty. It is located in Zhouzhuang village, about 1km southwest of Guodian village. Qingling, the tomb of Chai Rong of the Later Zhou Dynasty, is located in lingshang village, 500 meters northwest of Guodian village. Shun mausoleum, the tomb of Chai zongxun, is located 500 meters northeast of Qing mausoleum. Yiling is the tomb of Fu, Empress of Houji Shizong.

The mausoleum of the Later Zhou Dynasty was small in scale, and there were no stone pillars, stone men, Stone Beasts, or lower palaces. It reflects the valuable policy of political openness and rest with the people of the Later Zhou Dynasty. Moreover, the mausoleum and memorial tablet have high historical and scientific value, which is an indispensable physical example of the mausoleum of each dynasty in Chinese history.

On June 20, 1963, the imperial mausoleum of Hou Zhou in Xinzheng was designated as a cultural relic protection unit of Henan Province by the former Henan Provincial People's Committee. In 2001, it was listed in the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units by the State Council.

Historical evolution

The imperial mausoleum is located near Guodian Town, about 18 kilometers north of Xinzheng City, Zhengzhou. It is composed of four mausoleums, namely song mausoleum, Qing mausoleum, Shun mausoleum and Yi mausoleum. Songling is the tomb of Guowei, the Taizu of the Later Zhou Dynasty. Guo Wei, the founder of the late Zhou Dynasty in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, was buried here in the first year of Xiande (954).

Qingling tomb is the tomb of Chai Rong of the Later Zhou Dynasty, located in lingshang village, Guodian Town, Xinzheng. Shun mausoleum is the tomb of Chai zongxun, Emperor Gong, located in the northeast of lingshang village, Guodian town. Yiling is the mausoleum of Fu family, Queen of the late Zhou Dynasty, in lingshang village of Guodian town. Compared with the mausoleums of the feudal emperors of Qin, Han, Tang and Song dynasties in Chinese history, the mausoleums of the Later Zhou Dynasty are obviously smaller, which is mainly related to Guo Wei's idea of thin burial.

According to records, Guo Wei told his adopted son Chai Rong before he died that the funeral should be simple, and the people should not be hurt by money. The mausoleum should be thrifty, and there should be no stone pillars, stone men, Stone Beasts, no palace building, and no palace guards. Only the tile coffin and paper clothes should be used for burial. It is not known whether Guo Wei, the Taizu of Zhou Dynasty, was buried in a paper coffin, but there was no stone man or beast in front of song mausoleum. In front of the other Qingling, Shunling and Yiling tombs, there were no stone man and stone beast.

Chai Rong's achievements were highly praised by the Ming and Qing emperors. In the early Ming Dynasty, a cemetery was built in Qingling. The cemetery is square with a side length of about 200 meters. The mausoleum is surrounded by towering cypresses and numerous stone tablets near the altar. During the period of the Republic of China, the Qing mausoleum was destroyed by warlords. There are only 44 steles in front of the mausoleum. In the cultural revolution, some stone tablets were smashed, and only 33 stone tablets remain. The earliest existing one was established in the first year of Xuande of Xuanzong of Ming Dynasty (1426), and the latest one was established in the first year of Xuantong of Qing Dynasty (1909). The contents of the inscriptions are in praise of Shizong's achievements.

According to the forty years of Henan Archaeology (1952-1992), in 1991, Chai zongxun Shun Mausoleum of Gong emperor was stolen. During the investigation, the cultural relics workers found two murals, namely, the painting of military officials carrying axes and the painting of Wen Li greeting and serving. In addition, the vault of the tomb has pictures of celestial phenomena. Since no excavation has been carried out, it is not clear whether there are other relics.

Features of Mausoleum

The existing mausoleums include song mausoleum, Qing mausoleum, Shun mausoleum and Yi mausoleum.

Songling is the tomb of Guowei, the Taizu of the Later Zhou Dynasty. It is located in Linghou village, about 1km southwest of Guodian village. The existing tomb is about 12 meters high and 110 meters in circumference.

Qingling, the tomb of Chai Rong of the Later Zhou Dynasty, is located in lingshang village, 500 meters northwest of Guodian village in Xinzheng. The existing tomb is 10 meters high and 105 meters in circumference. There are 28 royal memorial tablets in the cemetery. The mausoleum is high in the north and low in the south, with a small earth ridge in the East and West, and a thousand ditches on both sides of the mausoleum. The tomb is about 9 meters high and 103 meters long. In front of the mausoleum, there were 44 Royal steles for offering sacrifices to the emperor, of which 35 are extant. Most of them were buried in the soil in the lower half, of which 7 are only exposed at the head of the stele.

Shun mausoleum is the tomb of Chai zongxun, Emperor Gong, about 300 meters northeast of lingshang village. The tomb is 4 meters high and about 40 meters in circumference. Shun mausoleum, the tomb of Chai zongxun, is located 500 meters northeast of Qing mausoleum. The existing tomb is 4 meters high and 40 meters in circumference. Murals are also preserved in the chamber and passage.

Yiling is the tomb of Fu family, Empress of the Later Zhou Dynasty. It is located in lingshang village. The tomb is 2 meters high and 20 meters long. In the residential courtyard, the soil of the tomb is poorly preserved. The mausoleum of the Later Zhou Dynasty was small in scale. According to historical records, Guo Wei had to adopt his son Chai Rong when he died. So there is only one tombstone in front of Songling. The mausoleum of the Later Zhou Dynasty is thin and small in shape, but it reflects the policy of political openness and rest with the people of the rulers of the latter Zhou Dynasty. The mausoleum and memorial tablet have high historical and scientific value, which is an indispensable physical example for mausoleums of various dynasties in Chinese history.

There is no stone man and stone beast in front of Qingling, Shunling and Yiling, and there is no record of stone man and stone beast in the literature. It was not until the early years of the Ming Dynasty that a cemetery was built for Qingling.

Significance and value

The mausoleum of the Later Zhou Dynasty is thin and small in shape, but the mausoleum and memorial tablet have high historical and scientific value, which is an indispensable physical example of mausoleums of various dynasties in Chinese history.

Yiling is the mausoleum of empress Fu, Chai Rong's wife. It is the only empress mausoleum left in the mausoleum of the Later Zhou Dynasty. Its separate Mausoleum (such as Wu Zetian, who was also buried with Emperor Gaozong after his death) has enlightenment and guiding role for the empress of Song Dynasty to set up a separate mausoleum instead of being buried with the emperor. It is a very precious historical heritage to study the evolution of China's mausoleum system.

Identity of tomb owner

Guo Wei, whose name is Wenzhong, was born in Yaoshan, Xingzhou (now Longyao, Hebei). In the later Han Dynasty, yedU was left behind. Qianyou four years (951) to replace the Han Dynasty as emperor, capital Bianjing (now Kaifeng, Henan), the state name Zhou, known as the history of Hou Zhou. Guo Wei paid attention to frugality and left a will before he died. There was no underground palace in the tomb and no stone man and beast in front of the tomb. In addition to the tile coffin paper clothes, you can't bury precious objects, just "set up a stone record". Chai Rong ascended the throne and acted in accordance with his will. On the tombstone, he engraved: "the emperor of Zhou is very thrifty in his life. He left an order to use paper clothes and tile coffins, and he did not dare to disobey it." It is not known whether the paper clothes of tile coffins were really used in the Songling mausoleum. However, judging from the remains in front of the mausoleum, there are no stone man and stone beast.

Chai Rong (921-959) was born in Longgang, Xingzhou (now the southwest of Xingtai, Hebei Province). When he was young, his family was broken. He lived in his uncle Guo Wei's house and was the housekeeper of Guo's house. He was sincere and capable. Guo Wei had no son and adopted him. Guo Wei inherited the throne after his death (954-959). After taking office, he worked hard to reform the internal affairs, reorganize the military, reward production, and strive to unify China. After six years in office, he died at the age of 39 and was called the first monarch of the Five Dynasties.

protective measures

In song, Ming and Qing Dynasties, it was expanded, repaired and protected many times.

On June 20, 1963, the imperial mausoleum of Hou Zhou in Xinzheng, Zhengzhou was designated as the first batch of cultural relics protection units in Henan Province by the former Henan Provincial People's Committee.

Later, it was announced by Xinzheng municipal Party committee and municipal government as a base of honest and clean government education for Party members and cadres.

In 2001, it was announced as a national key cultural relics protection unit.

Traffic tips

Take a bus from Zhengzhou bus station to Guodian village.

Address: near Guodian Town, Xinzheng City, Zhengzhou City, mainly in lingshang village and Linghou village

Longitude: 113.703609682

Latitude: 34.561247083693

Ticket information: no ticket required.