Mausoleum of Emperor Kang of the Southern Han Dynasty

Mausoleum of Emperor Kang of the Southern Han Dynasty

The Mausoleum of Emperor Kang of the Southern Han Dynasty is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Kang Mausoleum is situated at the southern foot of Daxiang Mountain in Beiting Village, Xiaoguwei Subdistrict, Panyu District, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province. Constructed in the first year of the Guangtian era of the Southern Han Dynasty (942), the mausoleum complex faces south and follows the contours of the hill, extending from north to south. It consists of above-ground structures including the mausoleum gardens and ceremonial terraces, as well as an underground imperial burial chamber. The garden is rectangular in shape, enclosed by rammed earth walls, with corner pavilions positioned at each of the four corners. The walls are 70 meters wide from east to west and 130 meters long from north to south, covering a total area of 9,100 square meters. In the center of the southern wall, there are remnants of the foundation for a gate tower. The tomb itself is located slightly north of the center of the mausoleum complex. It is a vertical pit brick-chamber tomb with a corridor, and above the burial chamber lies a ceremonial terrace structure made of brick and earth. The terrace has a square base and a circular mound, composed of layered elements including a circular platform, a square platform, and a drainage apron. The circular platform is built with a brick shell over an earthen core, with a diameter of 10.50 meters and a current height of 2.10 meters. Beneath the circular platform lies a square brick base, measuring 11.50 meters on each side and 0.35 meters high, topped with white stone slabs. The square platform is surrounded by a stone-paved drainage apron, 3.20 meters wide and 17.90 meters on each side. On the southern side of the terrace, there are a ramp, a gate platform, and a passageway leading north to the terrace. The underground burial chamber (imperial tomb) lies beneath the terrace and includes a corridor, sealed gate, passage, front chamber, middle chamber, and main chamber. The corridor is sloped, currently 19 meters long, 3.80–4.40 meters wide, and up to 5 meters deep. The sealed gate was constructed using large stone slabs sandwiched between walls, built using the same technique as the De Mausoleum. The passage features a double vaulted ceiling and is sealed with closure bricks. The main burial chamber is 11 meters long, 3.15 meters wide, and 3.30 meters high. Its ceiling consists of four layers of arched vaults, while the floor is paved with square bricks. The front chamber is short and shallow, with lattice-patterned false windows and small niches along its arched walls. The middle chamber includes railings. The main chamber has 15 small niches on each of its side walls and one large niche on the rear wall. Inside, there is a brick coffin platform, 2.25 meters wide, 0.20 meters high, and of unknown length due to damage. Due to multiple instances of looting, very few intact burial objects remain—only fragments of ceramics, glassware, and stone figurines, as well as jade shards, silver rings, and Kaiyuan Tongbao coins. At the entrance of the front chamber stands a well-preserved stone stele inscribed with the "Eulogy Tablet of Emperor Gaozu, the Heavenly Emperor." It measures 115 cm in height, 154 cm in width, and 20 cm in thickness. The sides of the stele are carved with scrolling vine patterns. The eulogy text is inscribed in intaglio regular script, arranged vertically in 38 lines starting from the right, totaling 1,062 characters. According to the inscription: “Emperor Gaozu, the Heavenly Emperor” and “the spirit was relocated (i.e., the coffin) to the Kang Mausoleum.” This confirms that the tomb's occupant was Liu Yan, Emperor Gaozu of the Southern Han Dynasty during the Five Dynasties period. Liu Yan passed away in April of the 15th year of the Youde era (942) and his remains were transferred to the Kang Mausoleum in September of the same year (942, the first year of the Guangtian era). This tomb holds significant research value. In May 2006, it was jointly designated as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit by the State Council along with the De Mausoleum, under the official name “Mausoleum of Emperor Kang of the Southern Han Dynasty.”

Beiting Village: Located in Xiaoguwei Subdistrict, Beiting Village is 20 kilometers from downtown Panyu and 3 kilometers from the Xiaoguwei Subdistrict Office. It neighbors Guangzhou University and South China Normal University in Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center. Before the construction of the university town, villagers were primarily engaged in agriculture. After the establishment of the university town, some villagers continued to reside in the original location, while others affected by demolitions were relocated to Gucun New Village. The village now covers an area of approximately 3.98 square kilometers, with a registered resident population of over 4,300 and a floating population of nearly 3,000. The collective economic income mainly comes from leasing village-owned land, as well as rental income from idle land in the old village and shops in Beiting Plaza... More details about Beiting Village++