西汉帝陵

   
　　Emperor Liu Che(Wudi,reigned 140-87 B.C.)of the Han Dynasty(206 B.C.-220 A.D.),a man of great talent and bold vision plus civil administration and military power,established the first unified thriving dynasty in China during his reign.He ascended the throne in 140 B.C.at the age of 16 and died in 87 B.C.when he lived 71 years.During the 54 years of his reign,the emperor set up the following records in seven aspects as the first man in China's history:
　　Unify China's ideology and culture under the Confucian Doctrine;
　　Establish the Central Imperial College to train up people of talents;
　　Dispatch envoys to open up silk roads to the Central Asia;
　　Expand territories to lay foundation of China's vast expense of land;
　　Exercise government administration over iron and salt,push reforms on financial system;
　　Adopt reign title of emperors in reign;
　　Adopt self-reflection on his mistakes against penitential decrees to conduct self-criticism.
　　Besides,however,one thing to be mentioned in particular was that the emperor had another one that ranked the first,that is,he started construction of his mausoleum in the 2nd year(139 B.C.)after he was enthroned.The site of the mausoleum was chosen at Maoxiang Township under the administration of Huaili County in the Han Dynasty,hence the name of Maoling.The construction lasted 53 years.
　　The Xianyang Tableland north of the Weihe River saw burial of 9 emperors of the Western Han Dynasty(206 B.C.-25 A.D.).The 9 mausoleums of huge size were arranged from east to west in order of the Yangling Mausoleum where Emperor Liu Qi(Jingdi,reigned 157-141 B.C.)was buried,the Changling Mausoleum where Emperor Liu Bang(Gaozu,reigned 206-195 B.C)was buried,the Anling Mausoleum where Emperor Liu Ying(Huidi,reigned 194-188 B.C.)was buried,the Yiling Mausoleum where Emperor Liu Xin(Aidi,reigned 6-1 B.C.)was buried,the Weiling Mausoleum where Emperor Liu Shi(Yuandi,reigned 48-33 B.C.)was buried,the Kangling Mausoleum where Emperor Liu Kan(Pingdi,reigned 1-5 A.D.)was buried,the Yanling Mausoleum where Emperor Liu Ao(Chengdi,reigned 32-8 B.C.)was buried,the Pingling Mausoleum where Emperor Liu Fuling(Zhaodi,reigned 87-74 B.C.)was buried and the Maoling Mausoleum where Emperor Liu Che(Wudi,reigned 140-87 B.C.)was buried.Around each of the mausoleums are dotted with satellite tombs,which constitute a spacious and magnificent sight on the Xianyang Tableland over hundreds of square kilometers.Among them,townships or counties were set up at the five mausoleum areas of the Changling,the Anling,the Yangling,the Maoling and the Pingling,where high-ranking officials and wealthy people lived.
　　The State Council of the People's Republic of China publicized the first batch list of key spots of interest for cultural relics to be protected on March 4,1961.The Maoling Mausoleum and the Tomb of Huo Qubing were solely included on the list among emperor mausoleums and their subordinate tombs of the Western Han Dynasty to follow the Yellow Emperor Mausoleum,the Confucius Temple and the Qinshihuang Mausoleum.
　　Why did the Maoling Mausoleum and the Tomb of Huo Qubing enjoy such special treatment? Look at the appraisal by experts from authorized organizations of the state:
　　Maoling Mausoleum: The mausoleum,lying on a tableland 40kilo's northwest to Xi'an City,ranks the largest in magnitude among the emperor mausoleums of the Western Han Dynasty.The emperor,son of Liu Qi,was on the throne for 54 years,during which he contributed much to China's history.He started construction of his mausoleum in the 2nd year after he was enthroned and construction of the mausoleum lasted 53 years.The mausoleum was shaped into a square cone and encircled by a wall,which extends length of 431m west-east and width of 415m north-south,with width of 5.8m at the foundation.In the centre on every of the four sides erects a watchtower.The grave mound was shaped like an overturned square vessel of 46.5m in height,the bottom measured by length of 243m east,length of 238m west,length of 239m south and length of 234m north.As is revealed in the historical records,the burial objects in the mausoleum were extremely rich and luxurious including gold and silver wares,stone birds and beasts,apart from the jade cases and the jade sticks given by the King of Kangju State plus 30 volumes of classics read by the emperor,which were all placed in gold case.When the emperor was buried,the mausoleum had “no more vacant space left to accept any”.Around the mausoleum spread satellite tombs where concubines,maids,courtiers,nobles and generals were buried.The grave mounds existent now exceed 20,among which are those of Wei Qing,Huo Qubing,Huo Guang,Jin Midi and Madame Li.In the recent years,quite a lot of cultural relics have been discovered,e.g.,exquisite Jade Knocker Base with Guardian Carved at Four Corners,Gold and Silver-inlaid Bronze Vessel of Rhino Shape,hollow bricks and character-inscribed eaves tiles carved in curves resembling green dragon,white tiger,rosefinch,tortoise-snake and geometrical pattern.Discovery was made in the burial pits east to the mausoleum where 236 pieces of cultural relics found included Gold-gilt Bronze Horse,Gold and Silver-gilt Fumigator on Bamboo-shaped Supporter and Bronze Chained Heater.They all are rarely seen treasures of art.And the Maoling Mausoleum deserves the crown among all mausoleums of the Han Dynasty.
　　Since 2007,large-scale archaeological surveys have been conducted to the Maoling Mausoleum by Shaanxi Archaeological Institute.So far,discovery of burial pits have exceeded 400 and satellite tombs no less than 50.Their magnitude was in no way inferior to that of the Qinshihuang Mausoleum.
　　Tomb of Huo Qubing: Huo Qubing(140-117 B.C.),a distinguished young general in the Western Han Dynasty(206 B.C.-25 A.D.)commanded 800 light cavalry men when he was 18 to launch attacks on the Hun invaders on the northern and western borders,along which they annihilated 2000 invaders.Later,he led his army six times to fight against the Hun invaders and won decisive victories.Thus,roads to Central Asia were opened up and he was conferred the titles of General-in-chief,Cavalry Commander and Champion Marquis.He died of illness at the age of 24 in 6th year(117 B.C.)under the reign title of Yuanshou(122-ll6B.C.).Emperor Wudi felt very grieved over his death and issued a decree that a tomb be built by the side of the Maoling Mausoleum.In order to commemorate the military exploits General Huo performed on the northern and western borders in Gansu against the Huns,his grave mound of natural stones was shaped into Mt.Qilian where he had swept the enemies.When he was buried,an extremely solemn ceremony was held,armies in mighty contingents lining up from Chang'an,the capital,to the Maoling Mausoleum.The graveyard was decorated with huge stone sculptures of national treasures.
　　Based on values historically,academically,artistically and visually,appraisal was conducted by experts from the State Cultural Relics Bureau in 1995.The twelve pieces were examined as national treasures of A-class relics,namely,Hun Invader Hoofed by Warhorse,Horse Squatting for Action,Horse Ready to Leap,Stone Man,Man against Bear,Monster Preying on Sheep,Boar,Tiger Squatting for Action,Ox Squatting at Leisure,Elephant Squatting at Leisure,Frog and Toad.Two sculptures of Stone Fish and three sculptures of Inscribed Characters of Memorial were examined as national relics of A-class.
　　The appraisal conclusion tells that the Maoling Mausoleum and the Tomb of Huo Qubing not only stand out the most conspicuously on the Han-mausoleum Tableland,but also represent luxurious burial in the Han Dynasty(206 B.C.-220 A.D.)the most typically.
　　The Maoling Cultural Relics Office was set up in 1956.Later in 1979,the office was upgraded to the Maoling Mausoleum Museum.The cultural relics personnel of the Maoling Mausoleum Museum have strengthened work on relics preservation by organizing the masses.In the meantime,they have actively collected relics and advised masses to hand over relics to the state.Up to the present,the relics unearthed from the Maoling Mausoleum and kept in the museum total up to 5021 pieces,of which 14 pieces belong to national treasures.As with the deepening step of the reform,the Maoling Mausoleum Museum has developed into an advanced unit in the realm of nation-wide museums and a 4A-class tourism spot on the first batch list in China.
　　Since the Han and the Tang(618-907)Dynasties,the Maoling Mausoleum as a scenic spot for tourism has been visited by celebrities and men of letters,who wrote lots of oft-quoted poems.In the 30's of the last century,Chiang Kai-shek,Soong Mei-ling,Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng went to the Maoling Mausoleum on tour and a group photo of them was taken to mark the occasion.In the same period,archaeologists and relics merchants from France,USA and Japan went to the Maoling Mausoleum on‘investigation tour’many times to take especially keen interest in huge stone sculptures at the graveyard of Huo Qubing.
　　Since the founding of the People's Republic of China,particularly the reform of opening-up to the world,leaders of the Party and the state have inspected the Maoling Mausoleum on investigation tours to express their concern for the relics of the mausoleum.Meanwhile,guests,scholars and tourists at home and abroad have given high appraisal and placed enthusiastic expectation on the mausoleum.Relics data are helpful for people to understand relics they see.For that,publications edited by the museum have received warm welcome from audiences and readers.They are Maoling Mausoleum of the Han,Emperor Wudi of the Han & Maoling Mausoleum,Maoling Mausoleum & Stone Sculptures at the Graveyard of Huo Qubing,Tidbits of Maoling Mausoleum,Scenic Spots of Maoling Mausoleum and Cultural Heritages in the Reign of Emperor Wudi of the Han.
　　The new publication of Cultural Relics of Maoling Mausoleum by Pictures and Stories differentiates from the above publications in that photos of selected relics are the most in quantity and the best in quality,accompanied by concise descriptions in words.We sincerely hope that the new publication will give rise to more interest from audiences and readers.
　　Wang Zhijie
　　Head of Maoling Mausoleum Museum
　　December,2011

茂陵文物鉴赏图志/王志杰著．—西安：三秦出版社，2012.