Tomb Inscriptions Of The Tang Dynasty

Four patterns exist in the layout of Stone Carving of Tang Mausoleum. The firston the list is Yongkang Mausoleum Pattern, including the Mausoleum of Yongkang,Xingning, Jianchu and Qiyun. Then comes Xian Mausoleum Pattern, with theMausoleum of Xian, Gong and Shun sharing the characteristics; Next is ZhaoMausoleum Pattern. The last one is Qian Mausoleum Pattern, all Mausoleums, fromQian to Jing, fall into this pattern. Qian Mausoleum Pattern is a combination of theformer three, and the stone carving of Tang Mausoleum was fully developed at thispoint. While the later Mausoleums were slightly different in certain field, theybasically took the pattern and developed from it. One thing worth mentioning is thatafter Tai Mausoleum, the stone carving of military and civilian were positionedrespectively on the west and east side of the road, mainly as a result of the failure ofburying the meritorious statesman with the dead emperor.The carving and constructing of Qian Mausoleum builds a world centered on thedead emperor, a world where there is everything that can facilitate his power. Amongthem, there are the military and civilian who stand by the emperor, these peopleinclude the sixty prestiged officers and foreign followers; There are also the guard ofhonor who stand in perfect line—Chang ren Chang shang, the horse of honor and;Meanwhile, there are those responsible for the safety of the emperor—the generalswho protect the Palace, soldiers who work under them, and four lions facing differentdirections. The Polar engraved with Mane-beads and stone lions make this worldheavenly and pure. The winged horse and ostrich stand for the coming of sagaciousemperor and phoenix, which together belongs to an ideal world of believers inConfucianism. Thus the stone carving builds up an ideal fantasy world, where theemperor possesses the dual identities of a Buddhist and a wise Confucian Emperor.The aesthetic theme of Tang Mausoleums can be summarized as “magnificent”.Qian Mausoleum built three arcades with two walls lying against the mountain. Thelions on the arcades take the circling of the mountains a step further, the carvingsalong both sides make viewers marvel at the highness of the mountain, and providesthem with a sense of spatial vastness. The carvings of Qian Mausoleum follow therule of bilateral symmetry closely, which indicates a beauty in order. The singlesculptures follow the law of frontality with its emphasis on stability rather thandynamic effect, representing the supremacy of imperial power and the pursuit for aneternal life. The most outstanding trait of the stone carving of Tang Mausoleums is aninclination for idealism. The winged animals that prevailed in East Han and SouthernDynasties are replaced by animals that indeed exist in reality. Meanwhile, it alsowitnessed an increase of the number and variety of human sculptures. The sculpturesof foreign followers exhibit a clear feature of portrait sculpture. The magnificence ofthese carvings come from its unique way in dealing with space—by filling the spacewith concrete objects, the carvings enable us to acquire a massive psychologicalspace. In terms of form and structure, with its inclusiveness of more than one element,the stone carving of Qian Mausoleum brings life to the carvings that stand still.