Mausoleum of Princess Zhenxiao
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| Mausoleum of Princess Zhenxiao | |
|---|---|
| Hangul: |
정효공주묘
|
| Hanja: |
貞孝公主墓
|
| Revised Romanization: | Cheong-Hyo Kongju-Myo |
| McCune-Reischauer: | Jeong-Hyo Gongju-Myo |
The Mausoleum of Princess Zhenxiao (or Princess Jeong-Hyo) was made in 793 by the people of early Balhae Kingdom, and is a part of the Ancient Tombs at Longtou Mountain in Jilin. The Mausoleum contains, among other things, the first complete discovered and detailed murals done by Balhae artists, and hence provides valuable insights to historians.
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[edit] Burial chamber
Excavated in October 1980, the burial chamber is underground. The 105-metre-high chamber is rectangular: 50 × 26-m, and is covered with blue-green bricks. It contains a 1.05-metre tall, 0.58 × 0.26-m mugui-shaped (土圭) granite epitaph, on which 728 Chinese characters, in the Regular Script style, are inscribed in 18 horizontal lines.
[edit] Mural
The chamber is surrounded by four murals on each wall, depicting thirteen person in action, such as warriors (3), chamber attendants, musicians, and maids, wearing red, blue, yellow, purple, and brown robes. The drawing and painting styles are slightly influenced by those of the Tang Empire.
[edit] The princess and companions
The epitaph explains that Princess Zhenxiao is the fourth daughter of King Mun. Princess Zhenxiao was also the younger sister of Princess Jeong-Hye (貞惠). The Princess died in 793, and was buried in the winter. She was given the posthumous name Jeong-Hye to qualify her as virtuous and filial. She was likely a horse-rider, as a horse remain was in the chamber.
The skeletal remains are scattered all over the chamber when discovered by archaeologists, due to previous lootings. However, the looters missed several golden copper jewelry, pottery, and figurines. Reconstruction showed that the bones belong to a woman, presumably the princess; but there is also a male, possibly an attendant or child. In addition, there is the horse skeleton.
[edit] Other structures
Above the chamber, there is a rectangular pagoda, of which only the base remains.
[edit] External links
- 貞孝公主墓碑 (Mausoleum of Princess Zhenxiao), People's Daily, 27-06-2002. Retrieved on 04-02-2007. (Traditional Chinese)
