In the southeast of Ganling, there are 17 tombs of royal princes, princesses and princes. Five tombs have been excavated one after another, among which Princess Yongtai's Tomb, Prince Yide's Tomb and Prince Zhang Huai's Tomb have been opened to the public. In these three tombs, a large number of vivid murals are praised by people.
Yongtai princess tomb
Princess Yongtai, named Li Xianhui, is the seventh daughter of Li Xian, the granddaughter of Wu Zetian. She married Wu Yanji, the son of Wu Chengsi, the nephew of Wu Zetian. He died in the first year of Dazu (70 1) at the age of 17. As for the cause of her death, the epitaph says that she died in dystocia, which is not credible according to the verification after excavation. Otherwise, because she said that Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong (Wu Zetian's lover) "how can they enter the palace", she was hanged by Wu Zetian as a "stick kill" or as a gift of white silk. After Li Xian ascended the throne, in the second year of Shenlong (706), Li Xianhui and Wu Yanji were buried together in Ganling.
The excavation of Princess Yongtai's Tomb 1960 began in August, and it was the largest tomb of the Tang Dynasty excavated at that time. Although the tomb has been stolen, 1353 exquisite three-color figurines, porcelain and gold, jade and gold-plated ornaments have been unearthed. Among them, the murals in the tomb are eye-catching.
On the left of the tomb door is a dragon more than twenty feet long, and on the right is a white tiger of the same size. Painting dragons and white tigers at the door is used to guard the tomb door and ward off evil spirits. After the dragon, tiger and white tiger, there were many honor guards in a group of five warriors, running from the tomb to the patio. The murals in the tomb are mainly maids who accompany the lonely princess elves in the underworld. The two portraits of ladies-in-waiting on the east and west walls in front of the tomb are considered as masterpieces in the tomb murals of the Tang Dynasty. Each painting has nine vivid ladies-in-waiting, which vividly depicts the unique dignity and formality of ladies-in-waiting.
Zhang Huai Prince's Tomb
Li Xian, prince of Zhang Huai, was born to Wu Zetian, the second son of Tang Gaozong. He once called scholars to annotate the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, and was successively named King Lu and King Yong, and was once named Prince. Diao Lu was killed in Bazhou (now Bazhong County, Sichuan Province) in the second year (680) at the age of 3 1 year. After the restoration of Emperor Li Xian, he was buried in Ganling. In the second year of Jing Yun (7 1 1), Emperor Li Dan of Zong Rui named him "Prince Zhang Huai".
There are more than 50 groups of murals painted in tombs and tombs, covering an area of 400 square meters. The huge "Hunting Travel Map" on the east wall of the tomb has more than 40 characters, several horses and camels, depicting the mighty hunting team of the tomb owner before his death. On both sides of the tomb are Ma Qiutu, which depicts a fierce polo match. Polo was introduced into China from Persia (now Iranian), which was advocated by Emperor Taizong and was widely popular among the court and nobles in the Tang Dynasty. Both Emperor Taizong and later emperors liked polo. Later, a women's polo team appeared in the palace. According to Feng's Experience in Playing Ball, during Tang Jingyun's reign (710-711), Tibetan messengers came to Chang 'an to marry Princess Jincheng and watched the polo match with them in Liyuan Pavilion. Among the Tibetan emissaries, there is a good polo player who proposed to play against the palace polo team. After the game started, the Tubo team won again and again. Li Longji, the king of Linzi, personally led the four men to battle and finally defeated Tubo. "Ma Qiutu" depicts the scene of backhand hitting: riding a horse to the front of the ball, and then turning back. This is simply a superb artistic performance. Ma Qiutu not only provides vivid materials for polo research, but also shows the friendly exchanges between ancient China and the people of Central Asia. Polo was lost after the Ming Dynasty.
In addition, the bird-watching and cicada-catching pictures, welcoming pictures and celestial pictures in Prince Zhang Huai's tomb are also rare masterpieces.
Prince Yide's tomb
Li Zhongrun, the eldest son of Li Xian, Tang Zhongzong, was executed at the age of 19 because he was dissatisfied with Wu Zetian in the first year of Dazu. After the restoration of Li Xian, he was posthumously named "Prince Yide". In the second year of Shenlong, he moved to Luoyang and was buried in Ganling. It's a grave ",so he got a grand burial. This tomb was excavated in1971-1972, and more than 0,000 pieces of cultural relics were unearthed. There are dozens of murals in the tomb.
There are many ceremonies and scenes of ceremonies and the contents of court life in the murals, so as to emphasize the prominent position of the tomb owner in politics and the luxury of life. The huge "etiquette map" on the two walls of the tomb fully shows the special identity of the tomb owner. The picture shows a guard of honor composed of 196 people, which consists of three parts: marching team, riding team and motorcade. The number of halberds held by the samurai in the picture is 48 halberds. The door halberd system that appeared in the Northern Zhou Dynasty is an important aspect of the feudal hierarchy, and the number of halberds is the symbol of title. The Tang Dynasty had strict regulations on the door halberd system. The master of ancestral temple, state and palace can be equipped with 24 halberds, the East Palace is 18 halberds, and the first-class official is 16 halberds, which decreases downward with the decrease of grade. Princess Yongtai's tomb painted twelve halberds, Prince Zhang Huai's tomb painted fourteen halberds, and Prince Yide's tomb painted forty-eight halberds, which belonged to the emperor's first-class treatment. Jong Li was compensated after his death for the treatment he didn't enjoy before his life.