Stone carvings at the Jianling Mausoleum of Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Shunzhi

Stone carvings at the Jianling Mausoleum of Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Shunzhi

The stone carvings at the Jianling Mausoleum of Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Shunzhi, are a Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Jianling Mausoleum of Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Shunzhi, is located northeast of Sanchengxiang in Jinglin Township, Danyang City. It lies between the Xing’an Mausoleum of Emperor Ming of Qi, Xiao Luan, and the Xiuling Mausoleum of Emperor Wu of Liang.

Xiao Shunzhi was a cousin of Emperor Gao of Qi, Xiao Daocheng, but never became emperor. In the leap fourth month of the first year of the Tianjian era (520), he was posthumously honored as Emperor Wen, with the temple name Taizu, and his mausoleum was named Jianling. The mausoleum faces east and has been leveled. In front of the mausoleum, there are preserved stone carvings including a pair of stone beasts, a pair of square stone bases, a pair of spirit way pillars, and a pair of stone turtle pedestals.

The stone beasts consist of a qilin (Chinese unicorn) to the south and a tianlu (another mythical beast) to the north. The qilin’s single horn is broken, and all four legs are missing. It measures 3.05 meters in body length, 2 meters in remaining height, 1.25 meters in neck height, and 2.7 meters in girth. The tianlu has lost both horns and all four legs, measuring 3.1 meters in body length, 2.3 meters in remaining height, 1.5 meters in neck height, and 2.76 meters in girth. Both beasts hold their heads high and chests out. The qilin’s upper jaw is broken, and its long, curling beard hangs down to the chest. Its wings are slightly raised, with wing patterns similar to those of other tombs, except that the fine scales on the wings are decorated with five-petal flowers. The spine of the beast features a continuous string of beads from head to tail. There are two square stone bases located between the stone beasts and the spirit way pillars. Their edges have mortise holes, but the superstructures above the bases are missing. One spirit way pillar remains, with a tile-patterned surface. The southern pillar is still standing but has split vertically from top to bottom. The northern pillar has collapsed. The stone inscriptions originally on the pillars were housed in the city’s cultural center—one inscribed in regular script read left to right, the other in mirror-image script read right to left. Both read “Spirit Way of Emperor Wen, the Taizu,” and are in clerical script. The bases are round on top and square at the bottom, featuring a pair of ring-shaped chi dragons with their mouths holding pearls, double horns on their heads, four legs, and long tails. There are two stone turtle pedestals, one of which has lost its head, and the stele it once supported is no longer extant.

Between the summer of 1989 and 1990, with funding from the National Cultural Heritage Administration and under the guidance of experts and scholars, the western spirit way pillar and the turtle pedestal head were restored, the foundation was raised, and waterproofing facilities were installed.

Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit, First and Second Batches, Announced in March 1982. Stone carvings at the Jianling Mausoleum of Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Shunzhi, Southern Dynasties (502 AD), Sanchengxiang, Jinglin, Danyang County. In 1988, as part of the “Danyang Southern Dynasties Tomb Stone Carvings,” it was announced as part of the Third Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Stone carvings at the Jianling Mausoleum of Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Shunzhi

Emperor Wen, Xiao Shunzhi, was the father of Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, and a cousin of Emperor Gao of Qi, Xiao Daocheng. During the Qi Dynasty, he held various official positions including Attendant, Commandant of the Guards, Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, Commander-in-Chief, and Magistrate of Danyang, and was enfeoffed as Marquis of Linxiang. He was posthumously awarded the title General Who Guards the North. Though he never became emperor during his lifetime, Emperor Wu of Liang posthumously honored him as Emperor Wen in the first year of the Tianjian era (502 AD), with the temple name Taizu. The Jianling Mausoleum of Emperor Wu of Liang is located in Sanchengxiang, Jinglin Township, Danyang City, Jiangsu Province. It neighbors the Xing’an Mausoleum of Emperor Ming of Qi. The mausoleum faces west and east, its tomb mound has been leveled, and what remains are a pair of stone beasts, square stone bases, spirit way pillars, and stone turtle pedestals in front of the mausoleum. The stone beasts stand on both sides of the spirit way. The one to the south is a qilin (now missing parts), measuring 3.05 meters in body length, 2 meters in remaining height, 1.25 meters in neck height, and 2.7 meters in girth. The one to the north is a tianlu, missing both horns, measuring 3.1 meters in body length, 2.3 meters in remaining height, 1.5 meters in neck height, and 2.76 meters in girth. This pair of stone beasts is stalwart and majestic, with expressive postures. The beasts’ spines feature continuous bead patterns from head to tail, their wings slightly raised, adorned with coiling cloud motifs, fine scales, and long plumes. These elements reflect the transitional characteristics of tomb stone carvings from the Qi to the Liang Dynasties—emphasizing a grand and heroic aura, with a shift from decorative to more realistic representation. The edges of the pair of stone bases have mortise holes, but their upper structures have long collapsed. The spirit way pillars are divided into three parts: base, shaft, and capital. The base is round on top and square at the bottom, with relief carvings of a pair of ring-shaped chi dragons holding pearls in their mouths, with double horns, four legs, and long tails. The pillar shaft features fluted lines (commonly known as “Greek-style”). The capital has a round cover with relief carvings of lotus flowers, and small stone xiè (a mythical beast) carvings. Below the cover was a rectangular stone plaque. The plaque is symmetrical on both sides—the northern one is inscribed in regular script read left to right, the southern one in mirror-image script read right to left. The text, in clerical script, reads “Spirit Way of Emperor Wen, the Taizu,” without recording the name or surname, differing from the usual inscription style of the Liang Dynasty. In the first year of the Xuantong era of the Qing Dynasty (1909 AD), the Danyang County government, in an effort to “preserve” the relics, removed the stone plaques and relocated them to Danyang Park. They are now housed in the Danyang County Cultural Center. Behind the spirit way pillars are a pair of stone turtle pedestals, though the steles that once stood atop them are long gone. Existing Liang Dynasty steles typically have bowl-shaped tops, with high-relief carvings of two dragons intertwined along the spine, framing a central square panel for inscriptions, with a hole below. It is assumed that the Jianling steles followed a similar design.

Jianling Qilin

Jianling Northern Turtle Pedestal

Jianling Tianlu

Jianling Southern Pillar

Jianling Northern and Southern Pillars

“Reverse Left Writing” on Jianling Pillars

Further Reading:

· First and Second Batches of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units