China Travel Guide

The Southern Tang Dynasty two mausoleums are located at southeast of Zhonghua Gate Ancestor Hall, Shanxi, Jiangsu Province, Wang Jiafen Village at the foothill of Friendly Bridge Township Mountain, Jiangning County. It includes the five generation of Southern Tang Dynasty of advocate Li and his wife, Song Qin Ling and center host Li and his wife, Zhong’s mausoleum where the two mausoleums’ distance is approximately 100 meters. Advocate Li’s mausoleum occupied the east, and host Li’s occupied along the west mausoleum. It underwent excavation from 1,950 ~ in 1951. The upper part of the mausoleum is a round earth pillar, the total length is 21.48 meters, the width is 10.45 meters and the height is 5.3 meters. The length of the Taoist Tomb is 19 meters, the width is 4 meters, the tomb chambers is divided into three main chambers; front, center and back and ten other maid chambers (for servants). The first and center chambers were built with brick, the back chamber built with stone and all assumes the wood structure construction.

The grave gate and three other rooms’ wall surface were built by knocking out the column, similar to dougong, the design above filled with colored drawing, pottery, peony, Baoxiang, lotus flower, sea pomegranate and the cloud design. The back chamber’s crown has drawings of the celestial phenomenon, spreading green flagstone, the vulture to chisel the mountain, rivers and streams on the place and is a symbolizing “geographic map”. The sarcophagus seat in the tomb was engraved with vulture with three claws dragon and various flower designs. The upper horizontal of the entrance upon entering the gate is engraved with “double dragons playing with pearl” characters. Both sides of the gate wall have stone carving warriors stepping on auspicious clouds, wrapped in armature holding sword, where there original was golden colored drawing respectively.
Advocate Li’s mausoleum spans 21.9 meters long, width of 10.12 meters and height of 5.42 meters. The main chamber imitates the column set up , the east volume and chapter were originally with colored painting but majority have already flaked because of the corrosion of silt and rain water. Only east grave gate in the volume had a fragment of peony pattern. The Southern Tang Dynasty Two Mausoleums left behind approximately 600 cultural relics, filled with gold carving characters and jade which is especially precious. It recorded the feudal emperor’s memorial ceremony oration, which also determines the grave owner’s status and some main basics.

Name: Nanjing Southern Tang Dynasty two mausoleums(Nantang Erling)
City: Nanjing
Address: Southwest of Zutang Mountain, Nanjing
Admission: Free