Subscribe to free Email Newsletter

the fresco in Tomb of Prince Zhanghuai

Prince Zhanghuai, named Li Xian, was banished to Bazhou (today's Bazhong County) by Empress Wu Zetian in the 1^styear (684) of the Wenming reign in the Tang Dynasty. Afterwards he committed suicide. After the restoration of Emperor Zhongzong, he was buried in the Qianling Mausoleum in the name of King Yong in the 2^ndyear (706) of the Shenlong reign. The coffin chamber was opened again in the 2^ndyear (711) of the Jingyun reign and he was buried with his wife in the name of Prince Zhanghuai.

Originally, there were bounding walls around the mausoleum. In the center was the tomb consisting of the tomb path, four passage holes, three dooryards, six small niches, the front and the rear paths, and the front and the rear coffin chambers. The tomb is altogether 71 meters in length, 3.3 meters in width, and 7 meters in depth. The tomb path and the coffin chamber were built of bricks. A stone coffin stands in the rear house, with carvings of waiters and waitresses. The frescos are painted in the tomb, with the topics like excursions on vehicles and horses, polo playing, music performances, maids-in-waiting, watching bird catching cicada and greeting guests, totaling 54 pieces and covering 400 square meters. These frescos feature strong court life environment, and portrait the royal life. Thus they are invaluable materials for research into the social system of the Tang Dynasty and the life of the noble. Although the coffin chamber had been robbed in early years, there are still more than 600 pieces of unearthed cultural relics, such as pottery tomb figures and tri-colored tomb figures.