Tuerji Mountain Tomb

Tuerji Mountain Tomb

Tuerji Mountain Tomb is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Tuerji Mountain Tomb, an ancient tomb from the Liao Dynasty, is located in Chulu Village, Chuluut Sumu, Horqin Left Rear Banner, Tongliao City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The tomb consists of a passageway, tomb door, corridor, main chamber, and left and right side chambers. The passageway is a long sloping ramp, 48 meters in length, with stone walls on both sides reaching a remaining height of about 10 meters; the tomb entrance is sealed with blocking stones, and in the middle of the corridor there is a wooden door, double-leafed, with each leaf featuring three rows of gilded bronze door nails—six per row. The main chamber is roughly square-shaped with a corbelled dome ceiling. Most of the murals on the four walls of the chamber have peeled off, but the caisson ceiling is painted with images of the moon and sun. The side chambers are located at the front part of the main chamber, rectangular in shape, and each has a wooden door. The burial equipment includes a painted wooden outer coffin, an inner coffin, and a coffin platform. The painted wooden outer coffin is primarily red and black in color, carved with motifs such as cranes, phoenixes, peony vines, and auspicious clouds, among which the cranes, phoenixes, and peony leaves are gilded. Bells hang around the coffin, and there are three gourd-shaped gilded bronze ornaments on the coffin lid. The inner coffin’s lid features three gilded dragon motifs, with a pair of gilded phoenixes spreading their wings on each side, rendered vividly. Silk fabrics are layered between the inner and outer coffins. The painted wooden coffin rests on a Sumeru pedestal-style painted coffin platform, consisting of eight layers. The deceased was dressed in 11 layers of clothing, and on one well-preserved silk skirt, a pair of phoenixes in the style of the late Tang Dynasty were discovered.

A large number of copperware, silverware, goldware, lacquerware, woodenware, horse tack, glassware, and silk fabrics were unearthed from the tomb. The copper items include bells, copper chimes, plaques, and copper studs, most of which are gilded. Among them, the gilded copper plaques are intricately engraved with scenes of music and dance; the gold and silver items feature vivid carvings of golden dragons, double lions, mythical birds, as well as figures and animals in various forms. These exquisite burial objects provide extremely valuable physical materials for understanding the cultural exchanges and artistry of the Liao Dynasty. Judging from the tomb structure and the unearthed artifacts, the tomb's style is close to that of the late Tang and early Liao periods, and it is believed to be the tomb of an early Liao Dynasty Khitan noble. The painted wooden coffin and coffin platform are the first complete discoveries of their kind in Inner Mongolia.

The discovery of Tuerji Mountain Tomb is one of the important archaeological finds related to the Liao Dynasty in recent years. It holds significant importance for the study of the social customs, traditions, clothing, art, and funeral practices of the Liao Dynasty. In May 2006, Tuerji Mountain Tomb, as an ancient tomb of the Liao Dynasty, was approved by the State Council to be included in the sixth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units