A spirit way () is the ornate road leading to a Chinese tomb of a major dignitary.
The term is also sometimes translated as spirit road, spirit path or sacred way.
The spirit way is lined on both sides by a succession of statues,
pillar
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
s, and
stela
A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), wh ...
e. The statues along the spirit way depict real and mythical animals, as well as civilian and military officials.
History
Eastern Han Dynasty
Spirit ways were a well-developed feature of tombs by the time of the
Eastern Han Dynasty.
[Albert E. Dien, Six dynasties civilization, Yale University Press, 2007]
/ref> A traditional burial site of an emperor or a high official of that era would be typically arranged along the north–south axis; the spirit road would lead from the south to the southern gate of the enclosure within which the tomb itself and the associated buildings were located. This layout, with few exceptions, has persisted since then through the entire history of the spirit road.[
A characteristic feature of an East Han spirit road were monumental towers ('' que''), which were much larger and more expensive than the statues and stelae.] The ''que'' were followed by statues of animals, among whom feline-like creatures were prominent: both fairly realistic-looking tigers (long known to Chinese artists) and lions (a Han Dynasty innovation), as well as more fantastic varieties, provided with wings, beards, and/or horns. The feline-based fantastic creatures were known under a variety of names, among which the most common were '' tianlu'', '' bixie'' and ''qilin
The qilin (; ) is a legendary hooved chimerical creature that appears in Chinese mythology, and is said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a sage or illustrious ruler. Qilin are a specific type of the mythological family of ...
''. As in later dynasties, the creatures were facing the road, and were designed to be primarily viewed from the sides. There is no definitive information about any elephants appearing on Han Dynasty spirit roads; however, it is speculated that an ancient stone elephant (which may have originally been part of a pair) 2 km south of the Eastern Han imperial mausolea near Mangshan (in Luoyang
Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang ...
area) may have been associated with those mausolea: the two elephants may have marked the entrance to the mausoleum area.
As on the later spirit ways, the stone animals on the Eastern Han spirit roads must have been followed by human statues, but very few of those have survived. A pair of well-preserved stone officials from that period are now kept at the Temple of Confucius, Qufu
The Temple of Confucius () in Qufu, Shandong Province, is the largest and most renowned temple of Confucius in East Asia.
Since 1994, the Temple of Confucius has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and ...
.
The last component of the Eastern Han spirit roads, the stelae are believed to be a stone reproduction of wooden slabs, which in the ancient times were placed on both sides of the open grave during the burial. The coffin was lowered into the grave on ropes passed through holes made in each slab. After the burial, those wooden slabs would be placed upright on top of the tomb, with appropriate text written on them. In reminder of that old custom, early spirit way stelae have a round hole in the middle of their upper parts.
Southern Dynasties
The fall of the Han Empire was followed by a period of upheaval, when China was divided between a number of short-lived Southern and Northern Dynasties
The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as ...
. The Wei and Western Jin
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
* Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that i ...
rulers (3rd century AD) seemed to have frowned upon funeral art extravagance of the fallen Han Dynasty, generally shunning above-ground statuary at their tomb sites. Literary sources attest to the resumption of the spirit way construction already by the time of the Eastern Jin
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
*Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air Li ...
(4th century AD), but the surviving spirit way statuary from the "period of disunion" pertains almost exclusively to the last four of the six Southern Dynasties: Liu Song
Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern Dynasty (南朝宋) in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. ...
, Southern Qi, Liang and Chen, which were usually centered around Jiankang (today's Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
). Around thirty of their tomb statuary groups, in various degrees of preservation, are known to modern researchers. They are located primarily in the eastern and southeastern suburbs of Nanjing ( Qixia and Jiangning Districts) and in Danyang, farther east.
The Southern Dynasties regimes, with their smaller economic base than the mighty Han, did not create as numerous and as grandiose funeral ensembles as the Qin and Han. The use of spirit ways under these dynasties was limited to emperors and their close relatives. The new Buddhist and Daoist currents in the spiritual life of south China greatly influenced the art of sculpture as well. In the words of the art historian Ann Paludan
Ann Elizabeth Paludan (née Murray) (1928–2014) was a British author of several books on Chinese history, sculpture and architecture.
Biography
Ann Paludan was the daughter of Basil Murray. Her father was the second son of the eminent classic ...
, in Daoism-influenced art, "Han emphasis on spatial relationships, forms, and limits was rejected in favour of flowing lines suggesting flexibility, a lack of clear-cut boundaries, and endless motion". The newly reinterpreted '' feng shui'' principles called more attention to orienting the tomb with respect to the terrain than to the strict north–south axis.
A typical Southern Dynasties spirit way was quite short and included a pair of giant (3–4 m tall) winged felines, a pair of columns, and a pair or two of memorial stelae. These felines, whom connoisseurs called "the most noble creatures to guard any tomb in Asia"
came in two varieties. The ''qilin
The qilin (; ) is a legendary hooved chimerical creature that appears in Chinese mythology, and is said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a sage or illustrious ruler. Qilin are a specific type of the mythological family of ...
'', distinguished by their horns and beards, appeared at emperor's tombs, while the princes of blood (''wang'') had the '' bixie'', who sported lions' manes and long outstretched tongues in their wide-opened mouths. While both fantastic species must have derived from the Han era animal statuary, experts distinguish the two's pedigrees. The stocky ''bixie'' is thought to have evolved from the tiger statues of Han-era tombs in Sichuan and Shandong; however, there is now more emphasis on the power of the creature than on its speed. It is not clear any more what the symbolism of the outstretched tongue was: it has been variously interpreted as a prayer for rain, or as a way of communicating with the world of spirits. The more elegant and sinuous ''qilin'', their bodies almost completely covered with complicated patterns of carved curves, have a touch of Chinese dragon
The Chinese dragon, also known as ''loong'', ''long'' or ''lung'', is a legendary creature in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and Chinese culture at large. Chinese dragons have many animal-like forms such as turtles and fish, but are most ...
in them, and may have been related to the Han tomb statues from central China (e.g. the pair from Cuanlinmiao in Luoyang
Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang ...
).
File:Tomb of Xiao Jing - Bixie.JPG, A bixie from the tomb of Xiao Jing
The ''Classic of Filial Piety'', also known by its Chinese name as the ''Xiaojing'', is a Confucian classic treatise giving advice on filial piety: that is, how to behave towards a senior such as a father, an elder brother, or a ruler.
The t ...
(Liang Dynasty
The Liang dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Liang () in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the third of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. It was preceded by the South ...
)
File:Tomb Yongning of the Ts'en Dynasty.JPG, A qilin from the Yongning Tomb of the Emperor Wen of Chen
Emperor Wen of Chen (陳文帝) (522–566), personal name Chen Qian (陳蒨), also called Chen Tanqian(陳曇蒨),《 新唐書·宰相世系表》 courtesy name Zihua (子華), was the second emperor of the Chinese Chen dynasty. He was a nephew ...
Ming Dynasty
Later on, the layout of many mausolea involves a large stone tortoise (''bixi
Bixi, or Bi Xi (), is a figure from Chinese mythology. One of the 9 sons of the dragon, 9 sons of the Dragon King, he is depicted as a Chinese dragon, dragon with the shell of a turtle. Stone Chinese sculpture, sculptures of Bixi have been used ...
'') along with the spirit way. At Ming Dynasty mausolea in Nanjing, e.g. Ming Xiaoling
The Ming Xiaoling () is the mausoleum of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dynasty. It lies at the southern foot of Purple Mountain, located east of the historical centre of Nanjing. Legend says that in order to prevent robbery of the t ...
or the tomb
A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immureme ...
of the Sultan of Brunei Abdul Majid Hassan
Abdul Majid Hassan (1380–1408 CE), also known as Maharaja Karna, allegedly was the second Sultan of Brunei. He may have ascended the Brunei throne in 1402.
He was never mentioned in ''Salasilah Raja-Raja Brunei''. A ruler from Boni named M ...
, visitors are first met by a ''bixi'' holding a stone tablets extolling the virtues of the deceased, and then walk along the spirit way to the tumulus where the emperor or dignitary is actually buried.
Notable examples
Spirit ways are found in a number of imperial mausolea:
* Qianling Mausoleum
The Qianling Mausoleum () is a Tang dynasty (618–907) tomb site located in Qian County, Shaanxi province, China, and is northwest from Xi'an.Valder (2002), 80. Built in 684 (with additional construction until 706), the tombs of the mausoleum ...
near Xi'an
Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqi ...
* Ming Xiaoling
The Ming Xiaoling () is the mausoleum of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dynasty. It lies at the southern foot of Purple Mountain, located east of the historical centre of Nanjing. Legend says that in order to prevent robbery of the t ...
in Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
* Thirteen Ming Imperial Tombs near Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, with a common spirit road for all tombs
* Zhao Mausoleum of the early Qing emperors near Shenyang
* Eastern Qing Tombs near Beijing.
At the graves of other dignitaries:
* Tomb
A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immureme ...
of the Sultan of Brunei Abdul Majid Hassan
Abdul Majid Hassan (1380–1408 CE), also known as Maharaja Karna, allegedly was the second Sultan of Brunei. He may have ascended the Brunei throne in 1402.
He was never mentioned in ''Salasilah Raja-Raja Brunei''. A ruler from Boni named M ...
in Nanjing
* Multiple examples (primarily, tombs of the Dukes of Yansheng) in the Cemetery of Confucius
The Cemetery of Confucius () is a cemetery of the Kong clan (the descendants of Confucius) in Confucius' hometown Qufu in Shandong province. Confucius himself and some of his disciples are buried there, as well as many thousands of his desc ...
, Qufu
Qufu ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Shandong province, East China. It is located about south of the provincial capital Jinan and northeast of the prefectural seat at Jining. Qufu has an area of 815 square kilometers, and a total population of ...
See also
*Corpse road
Corpse roads provided a practical means for transporting corpses, often from remote communities, to cemeteries that had burial rights, such as parish churches and chapels of ease. In Britain, such routes can also be known by a number of other nam ...
in European cultures
References
External links
* {{Commons category-inline, Shendao
Mausoleums in China
zh:陵墓#神道