Black Horse Mountain Tomb Cluster

Black Horse Mountain Tomb Cluster

The Black Horse Mountain Tomb Cluster is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Sichuan Province.

The Black Horse Mountain Tomb Cluster in Sichuan is located in Wuyi Village, Jiangkou Town, Bazhong. It faces east and is distributed across a slope measuring 100 meters in length, 30 meters in width, and covering an area of 3,000 square meters. There are three tombs in total, all of which are joint burials for couples.

M1, the Tomb of Li Zaiming, was built in the 50th year of the Qianlong reign (1785); M2, the Tomb of Li Yingyuan, was built in the 6th year of the Daoguang reign (1826); M3, the Tomb of Li Kunyuan, was built in the 10th year of the Xianfeng reign (1860). Among them, M2, the Tomb of Li Yingyuan, consists of an earthen mound, a tomb stele, memorial tablets, a memorial archway, a character repository, and a flagpole. The earthen mound is oval-shaped, measuring 4.2 meters in length, 3.9 meters in width, and 3.4 meters in height. In front of the mound stands a three-story stone memorial stele in the form of a paifang (decorative archway), measuring 4.99 meters in height and 4.5 meters in width, with four pillars and three bays. On either side of the stele are eight-sided ritual walls, 2.46 meters in height and 4.8 meters in width. Two matching steles stand facing each other in front of the walls, each 2.93 meters in height, 1.01 meters in width, and 0.87 meters in thickness. Outside the steles is a perimeter wall, 1.6 meters high. 3.88 meters along the central axis in front of the stele stands a five-story memorial archway, also in the form of a paifang, with four pillars and three bays, 6 meters in height and 4.4 meters in width. The sides of the archway connect with the perimeter wall. 2.6 meters in front of the center of the archway are two six-sided, three-tiered, closely-eaved character repositories, each 2.36 meters in total height. 2.6 meters directly in front of the center of the archway lies a mountain gate, with four pillars and three bays, 3.73 meters in height and 3.25 meters in width. The sides of the gate connect with the perimeter wall. 2.1 meters in front of the gate are a pair of single-tiered flagpoles, each 5.4 meters in height, with octagonal shafts. The stele, the archway, and the gate are all engraved with carvings of figures, animals, and floral patterns. This tomb cluster holds significant value for archaeological and cultural research.

This tomb cluster, upon examination, proves to be of considerable value and warrants serious attention. Its significance lies in its representation of exceptional stone carvings found in front of Qing Dynasty tombs.

Protected Area: The current land occupied by the tomb cluster.

Construction Control Zone: An area extending 30 meters beyond the protected zone.

Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of Sichuan Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units