Tomb of Emperor Taizu of Jin, Wanyan Aguda

Tomb of Emperor Taizu of Jin, Wanyan Aguda

The Tomb of Emperor Taizu of Jin, Wanyan Aguda, is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction, a cultural heritage protection unit of Heilongjiang Province, and a science education base.

Tomb of Emperor Taizu of Jin, Wanyan Aguda: The original burial site of Emperor Taizu of Jin, Wanyan Aguda, is located about 2 kilometers south of Acheng District in Heilongjiang Province, approximately 420 meters west of the western wall of the ruins of Shangjing Huining Prefecture, the capital of the Jin Dynasty. It is commonly known locally as "Zhanshangtai" (General Execution Platform). The tomb site is a large earthen mound shaped like a tortoise, about 10 meters high, with a base circumference of over a hundred meters and covering an area of nearly a thousand square meters. On January 27, 1981, it was designated as a provincial-level cultural relics protection unit by the People's Government of Heilongjiang Province.

This tomb site marks the original burial place of Wanyan Aguda and is known as the "First Tomb of the Jurchen Homeland." Because the Ning Shen Hall (Hall for Soothing Spirits) was built on this site during the early Jin Dynasty, it is also called the "Temple of Taizu" or "Temple of Aguda." The tomb mound is a large, tortoise-back-shaped earthen structure, about 13 meters higher than the surrounding ground, with a base circumference of over a hundred meters and covering nearly a thousand square meters. Through drilling surveys conducted in 1975 and 1993, it was determined that the mound was built from rammed earth, with layers 6 to 10 centimeters thick, alternating between black and yellow soil. The surface is scattered with patterned tiles, green-glazed roof tiles, gray carved bricks, and column bases, all matching construction materials found at palace sites within the royal city of Shangjing. These are believed to be remnants from renovations carried out during the Dading era of Emperor Shizong of Jin. In a nearby village, there remains a broken column base, measuring 1.13 meters per side, 0.28 meters thick, with an outer diameter of 0.90 meters and an inner (column-bearing) diameter of 0.72 meters. The protruding circular surface has been highly polished and is considered an artifact from the tomb site.

According to geophysical surveys conducted in 1993, there is a stone slab-paved “path” or ceremonial platform on the second terrace south of the tomb, buried under about 1 meter of soil due to the passage of time. The tomb chamber’s void has either been artificially filled or collapsed due to relocation or damage, and no coffin or burial artifacts have been found—only fragments of bricks and tiles remain.

In 1994, cultural heritage authorities conducted protective cleaning and exploratory work at the tomb site. In a pit on the eastern periphery of the mound, they uncovered a cultural layer containing numerous Jin Dynasty architectural components, such as patterned tiles, cylindrical tiles, roof tiles, glazed dragon and phoenix tile ends, and carved bricks featuring running deer and dragons. Additionally, 1.5 meters below the collapsed earth on the eastern periphery of the Taizu Tomb mound, two identical granite stone pillars were discovered standing 15 meters apart in a north-south alignment. Each pillar is a cube with sides of 0.47 meters and a height of 2.13 meters. Below each pillar lies a square base, 0.70 meters on each side and 0.235 meters high, with the two pillars connected by mortise-and-tenon joints. The presence of these architectural elements suggests the former grandeur and magnificence of the Ning Shen Hall.