Zhaoling tomb

The tomb of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, China. It is located in Jiushan Mountain, 25 km northeast of the county seat of Liquan County, Shaanxi Province. Construction began in February 637 (the 11th year of the Zhenguan era) while Emperor Taizong was still alive, and was completed in 639. After Emperor Taizong's death and burial 10 years later, the plank road built on the cliff near the summit for construction work was removed for fear of grave robbery, but there is a record of grave robbery in the Records of the Five Dynasties. At the foot of the towering Jiushan Mountain, there are many auxiliary tombs of Emperor Taizong's daughters and noble vassals, which have been excavated in recent years. The tomb of the famous general Li Ji, which is said to be modeled after Yinshan and has a three-mountain structure, has been set up as the Zhaoling Museum, where many stone monuments, tombstones, and Ming vassals are collected. At the north gate of the Zhaoling Mausoleum, there were stone statues of Taizong's beloved horses, the Six Junshun (Tele, Qing, Shiba, Saruzi, Quan Mao, and Baiku). The two stone statues, Saruzi and Quan Mao, were taken to the United States at the end of the Qing Dynasty, but the other four are currently in the Shaanxi Provincial Museum in Xi'an.

[Rei Yoshimura]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、唐の太宗の陵。陝西(せんせい／シャンシー)省醴泉(れいせん)県県城の北東25キロメートルの九山(きゅうそうざん)にある。太宗存命中の637年（貞観11）2月起工、639年完成。10年後崩御して埋葬ののち、工事のため山頂近くの断崖(だんがい)につくった桟道は、盗掘を恐れて取り去られたというが、『五代史記』に盗掘の記録がある。高くそびえる九山の山麓(さんろく)には、太宗の娘や功臣たちの陪冢(ばいちょう)が多数並び、近年これが発掘されている。陰山をかたどったという三山形式の名将李勣(りせき)の墓地には、昭陵博物館が設けられ、ここに多くの石碑や墓誌石や明器(めいき)などが集められている。また昭陵の北門には、太宗の愛馬、六駿(ろくしゅん)（特勒驃(とくろくひょう)、青騅(せいすい)、什伐赤(じゅうばつせき)、颯露紫(さつろし)、拳毛(けんもうか)、白蹄烏(はくていう)）の石像が置かれていた。颯露紫と拳毛の2石像は清(しん)末にアメリカに持ち去られたが、他の4石像は現在、西安(せいあん／シーアン)の陝西省博物館にある。

［吉村　怜］

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