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    Tangut (Xi Xia) Royal Tomb

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    61 views13 pages

    Western Xia Royal Tombs Near Yinchuan

    Uploaded by

    shu_s
    Tangut (Xi Xia) Royal Tomb

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 13
    cee [NANCY SHAT2MAN STEINHARDT THE TANGUT ROYAL TOMBS NEAR YINCHUAN eas Oleg Grabar who frst introduced me to the poo ple known as Tangut to thei city KhareKlhoto, to Rus San exploseraschacologiat F Ke Koren ad to Soviet scholar E 1 Lubo-Lesnichenko, From the world of Ch ‘ese textsand archaeology, however, | learned of Da Xia {Great Xia, the Chinese mame by which the Fang {erred to thie empire; of Xi Nia (Western Xia), a alter nate Chinese name fr the Tango empire that recog tized i geographic "postion in relation to omtemporaty Song. (060-1279) China; of the ety ei(shalcheng literally “black [water] city." whieh rsnates int. Mongolian as Khara Khoto; and of dhe Tangut capital an etes beyond the sphere of Soviet archaeology including those that char around the ‘modem Chinese city of Yinchuan ‘As Inner Asan sites go, the documentation for Kha hoto is relatively abundant and accessible. Chinese" dynastic histories o he Hastera Han (8-220 4), (West «em fn (265-814, and Tang (618-900) provide a chro ‘nology ofthe citys occupation and confirm its primary fnetions aa military outpost and oasis’ The period of ‘hareKhoto's history which has attracted the most attention sthe period of interest here: the two centres Ioefove its griesome destruction in 1227 by Genghis ‘han, trou which the ety would never recover Tewas in the aftermath of Genghis devastation earlier that cen tury dhat Marco Polo sa the “black ety” which he ddewerbed under the alternate name, Eins (Stias ina) Rashi aLDin made reference tothe Tags his Jams at rmaridhin the fourteenth century Piotr Koalow saw the iy six centuries later, and aware that ne ‘ther the ey nor the region hae reconered from its Mon soli period, he gave it the labet “dead city" Sergei ‘Oldenburg and M. Avcel Stein visited KhareKhoto within a decade of Kolo, and a group ofthe most emi nent scholars of As inchiding anon; Bushell, Mar pero, and Pelli, studied the documents and Buddhist Treasures gleaned from their colleagues’ expeditions? Yetin spite ofthe boundless energy wil and daving of the tralickers of Central Asia, the ner eapital ofthe Tangus, Xingjng fu oF Xinging (today Verna, cape ital ofthe Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region), seems have chided Polo, Korlox, DOldenburg, and Stein. So did the spectacular architectaral complex about 40k {linen (Bg. )- What ar in gure 1 scr a 10 Ihave been recorded in an airsurveyby Wal Diether Grat ‘i Castell which he published in Ching in 1888. The bret plate caption in Castell’sbook ay merely that isis 2 photograph af “strange earthen mounds” that lie at the foot ofthe Aashan mouatain range, some 3,600, forth of nga. He estimates their height a 25-30m., tnd roan the athe could seethey were faced with brick fr te. "It is” Castell wrote, "2 gigante monument trove myserien would not belied away for along tne {o come.” The photographer identified the acene asthe ia (Xia) royal tombs, but Ye does not ell the reader the source ofthis accurate information = Indeed, until the 1970's it remained unknown 10 scholars of Kharakhoto that more than 5M kan. north vest teross desert and monn ws the Tang expt fn some tens of hilometers eyondl, the foyal tomb Complex where nine of the eleven Western Xia roylky ‘ncre Ind to rest Tt was anor frtyfve years before Photographs of what Castel saw were published and property Kentiedayain® “The royal Tanguts who bull dhe tombs shown in fg. tre Lare generally traced to aa Ordos tribe at leas 18 as the Tang dmasty (618-006) known in Chinese as Dangatang. One of several contending tribes in the Ordos at this time, the fall of the Tibetan and Uygur empires inthe #40 and sural thcough fifty yeas of pomer struggles after the demise of the Tang left the fembindependent state poised 10 assert iself as an fempite on China's northern toner at could ot be ‘ignored, Da Xia ofcally preclaimed is independence {in 1088 ender the ler Li Vn (1082-48). fo that year Yuanhao changed the inperal mame from Li, ‘he family name ofthe Tang royal household which had ‘been bestowed upon his ancestor bythe Tang, to Weim- ing. and commenced the construction of royal tomb for Ins grander and father, vhose satus he thereupon clevated with the names employed by the Tang and ‘other Chinese dynasties for thee Tounder and his son, ‘Tin and Tairong, respectively. At its zenith the Da Xia 370 empire suetched precariously benseen the empires of Song China to its South and ast, Liao to ite northeast, Tibet its soudawes, ane sem-nomactc tribes a com federation wo is north and west. These lands are ow within the borders of the Chinese proninces of Gans and Shansi the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, Ninguia Hui Autonomous Region, and Qinghai DESCRIPTION OF THE ROYAL TONS ‘The imperial tombs of Da Xia se ested in the eastern ope of the Hetan Mountains. As Castell noted the met, sinking feature, even more aotceable than the walls which set one tomb apart from the next, are the man ‘many mounds Ben this year ajouralis writing for Ro. min ribao (People's Daily) described the royal tm as the “Chinese Pram, IW one can believe local history ofthe sixteenth cen tury then a onetime there should have ben some 360 mounds. Accowding to fing Ningxia xin hi (New record of Ningsa from the Jang reign (1922-1507), after as. cending the tone, Ywanhao ordered myriad of abo fe wo construct tombs for hi fhe, grandather, and himsell. Fearing et these tems woul he planvdeved, he daly had thers erect a mein (so that in the course ‘oa year dhere were some Bi) with the purpose of cor fusing would-be grave robbas. Ax further insursace, Yuanlhao had all the workers comait side. Whe i ‘ame ime to inter Yuanao, de ext ay simply that he ‘eas buried under one f the mounds.” The tomb area stretches oer 10k. south to north and km, east © west. No photograph can cape the expanse ofthe ste The impernt tombs seem to dvi themselesinto two groups, one of six and the second of three, When exeiation began in the IN70', the tombs vere arbitrarily numbered moh to south, beginning h no. II snow believed hat constuction began at the south, and he two southernmost tomb, shawn in figure 1 and now refered to a8 nos. 1 and 8, belong co Yuanhao’s grander Ls igan (963-1004) sd is om Li (or Zhao) Deming (4(7]-1032), The only oer ‘denied tomb, known (before the renumbering) 38 no. 8, has been awocisted with Weiming Zunaty Emperor Shengong, who reigned from 121 until 1228." ‘The nine imperial tombs ave enough in common that ‘one can dtnguish theirs from the scores of mounds hac ‘spa the 50 aqare kn oy tomb ste. One can speak of leven architectural features that define the topology ofa ‘Tangat roral tomb. They are indicated in igure 3,9 plan ofthe tomb belived to contain the emaine of Wemnng Zunxu, The tomb is oriented just 5° eet of due north Beginningat the soudh, theft architect features are 2 pair of symmetrically placed. que (reestanding gat tower) facing each other (6g, 1). An alternate name for these is qu, terally “magpie wwers” (a diferent (quetrom the one that refers tothe two freestanding tow- 5 labeled 1. Standing 6m. apart, the two were red ‘on platforms made of posnded earthen bricks and the quethenselves were faced with ime and decorated with {hoses of architects det. About 50m. ordh were 2 pale of roughly squaretased stele pains, aie on platforms and approach! rom at least one ie by ais (Gg. 2. 2). There contain the wien history of @ given tomb or euler, and sel could be aided after the iii Imerment. Some of the Western Xia tom had three pis vilions, in which case wo stood east ofthe central poe sageway tothe mound defined bythe gueand stele pi. Thiry-tve meters north ofthe stele pavilions the axial approach othe funerary mound was more pronounced There it was ine by pais of ifesize stone human and animal sculpuare (Gg. 2,3). The space between the rows ses labeled with dhe term forts counterpart inthe Chi nese imperial ety, yuda (imperial way)..A more elabo- rate gate vas found ¢ the termi ofthe impesal way (tg. 2,4). Teves one of four such gateways located at che side center ofthe na sheng (inner spi wal) (ig. 2, 9) that encloed the inner precinct ofthe tomb, Towers were built along either wal ide ast joined a the for commer, Inside the inner wall we features dominated First fom the south was busing, an offering hal (Hg 2, 5) of whieh only foundation remains surve today. Behind ito the west was a layered mound octagonal in plan, and, as Castell observed, originally faced with brick. Chinese archaeological ent wih alternate characters for lng, one meaning “spirit and the second, “royal tomb.” Ts the tof gusto (ig 2," Excara vom suggests thatthe mound had timber frame. The sn oa Or Or 2. Pano Great Xiao (Aer Hans a8 (1978) 6) hehe last above-ground feature of te royal necropolis as a “outer sprit wall” (wai song) that encased 3 lear thre ides ofthe area, the ene north side nd the eat. and west sides as far south asthe begining ofthe pairs fof stone seupture (ig. 2, 10) some 15m, beyond the “inner spiic all” “The remaining royabiomb :onstrction occurred un derground (ig 8) 1a dhe ear eleventh centry, excave tion began several meters won ofthe offering hall and ‘continued as2 40m. long snderground path et 30° into the ground. The subterranean passageway to the tom ‘chamber (mda) begun with # width of fin ad wid ‘ened 10 83m. a¢the entrance slong. line abut 20° west ‘of due north The wallson elther site ofthe path appear ig 3. Underground plan section of Cras ism (Ar Wy no 3 em 1 to have been prepared for painting, butifdhere had ever been decoration, most of twas peeled aay by the ne ofexcavation, The underground portion of dhe tomb, ferred to by archaeologists as digong (palace below ground level, Consisted of a vestibule from the end of the diagonal ah w a main chamber and side niches attached one ac east and west of that chamber. The floor was made Of briks, but the walle were earthen. Above the main ‘hamber and the side niches were sulted clings The remaine of aboregronind arhiteciral groups were uncovered north within the 50 square km. Great Xi oya cemetery in 1986 and 1987." Boh groups con- sisted of interconnected courgardsile buildings ‘enclosed by walls, one possibly with batlements known in Chinese as engchng Each was oriented 10" oro west. ‘ofeiye north al each was datninted by main bling th two auxiliary halls to its east and west fomning aT oF inverted shape. Based on Chinese precedents, theories about the function of the architecture have been pt forth, including hals occupied by he military or bya: sans or dat it was dhe Tangut ancestral temple com: ples" Ie has not been aispated thatthe courtyard ar Fangements were inspired by Chinese models Aster tm nthe Tang iperil empl Whether oF ‘ot they were part ofthe legendary mound cansruction commissioned by Weiming Yuanhao in the 1030, more tha 70 susie tombe fil inthe space not enclosed by royal tomb inner and outer sated walls or demarcated 2 by thei approach towers and pavilions. In genesal, the smaller tombsare custeted around the major ones, with "anywhere from two to ten astocisted with one af the eex- en imperial burial complexes. One ofthese, the tom labeled 108, was found during the excatation of Wei sing Zuneu’s tomb.” ‘What remained above geound is shown in figures 4 and 5. The frst sign ofa Dual was a 10sm.aquare stele pavilion whose engraved stone remains identified ts fccupant asa Tangut prince” About 40m- northwest ‘rasa pounded earthen wall of 58m. north to south by 5.6m. eastwes with a 825m opening at the south cem- ‘er Between the wal and stl paviion shoul have been 2 prominent approach ined by pairs of sone sculpture bf the kind one asumes to hive stood atthe emperors tombs, Although none of the stone figures that lined Weiming Zunsas piri paths known (fig 2,3), se fal none animals that shoold have occupied cone sponding places were find during the excavation of tomb 108, The las visible signa this tomb wat a stepped tarthen mound about 10m. south af the north enelonire and west ofits center (tig. 5). Below ground a stepped approach oriented 20° west ede north led to sngle tardhen chamber under dhe mound. Thee corps, of them complete, emained m the chamber which had been robbed, the remains of the X Ni. The remains of Tangut archi lecture or related material cate from the eleventh and twelth centuries are so mite that inspite of the ul? 20%, Fig Plan of om 108, Gent Xin Rol Cemetery. (Aer We, meraiimse7 spread of territory through which they have been uncor creda briel survey of other Western Xia remains for pos SSble comparatve purpose is warranted. Outside ofthe Helan Mountains site, the 00 mont important Tangut tombs are in Wawel county, Gansu prosince” Their plane are not published, at they have been deselbed {The two tomb stond north and south of each other Each had one small underground chamber, no more ‘han Lm. on any side. No corpees were found within for these were erenation tou, dg forthe asics ofthe {deceased and for objects to honor itn, Inseriptions re ‘cord the tombe kobe a aly ural of Li Deren, Bi tile Lia Qingsou, and their son Lit Zhongea, all of Irhowm had dled between 1194 and 1201, The names and ‘official tes suggest the group to have been Chinese, bot other excaated material confirms they were Bud

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