Spirit way
Encyclopedia
The term is also sometimes translated as spirit road, spirit path or sacred way.
The spirit way is lined on both sides by a succession of statues, pillar
Huabiao
Huabiao is a type of ceremonial columns used in traditional Chinese architecture. Huabiaos are traditionally erected in front of palaces and tombs. The prominence of their placement have made them one of the emblems of traditional Chinese culture. When placed outside palaces, they can also be...
s, and stelae. The statues along the spirit way depict real and mythical animals, as well as civilian and military officials.
Eastern Han Dynasty
Spirit ways were a well-developed feature of tombs by the time of the Eastern Han Dynasty. A traditional burial site of an emperor or a high official of that era would be typically arranged along the north-south axis; the spirit road would lead from the south to the southern gate of the enclosure within which the tomb itself and the associated buildings were located. This layout, with few exceptions, has persisted since then through the entire history of the spirit road.A characteristic feature of an East Han spirit road were monumental towers (que
Que (tower)
Que is a freestanding, ceremonial gate tower in traditional Chinese architecture. First developed in the Zhou Dynasty, que towers were used to form ceremonial gateways to tombs, palaces and temples throughout pre-modern China down to the Qing Dynasty...
), which were much larger and more expensive than the statues and stelae. The que were followed by statues of animals, among whom feline
Feline
Feline can refer to:*Felidae, the cat family, which includes lions, tigers and panthers* Felinae, the subfamily of Felidae that includes domestic cats and smaller wild cats*A term for cats* Feline , the late-90's London rock group...
-like creatures were prominent: both fairly realistically-looking tigers (long known to Chinese artists) and lions (a Han Dynasty innovation), as well as more fantastic varieties, provided with wings, beards, and/or horns. The feline-based fantastic creatures were known under a variety of names, among which the most common were tianlu, bixie
Bixie
A Bixie , is a type of lion-like mythological Chinese creature, or chimera. It is considered as an exorcising animal and is usually hornless....
and qilin
Qilin
The Qilin is a mythical hooved Chinese chimerical creature known throughout various East Asian cultures, and is said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a wise sage or an illustrious ruler. It is a good omen that brings rui . It is often depicted with what looks like fire all over...
. As in later dynasties, the creatures were facing the road, and were designed to be primarily viewed from the sides. There is no definitive information about any elephants appearing on Han Dynasty spirit roads; however, it is speculated that an ancient stone elephant (which may have originally been part of a pair) 2 km south of the Eastern Han imperial mausolea near Mangshan (in Luoyang
Luoyang
Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...
area) may have been associated with those mausolea: the two elephants may have marked the entrance to the mausoleum area.
As on the later spirit ways, the stone animals on the Eastern Han spirit roads must have been followed by human statues, but very few of those have survived. A pair of well-preserved stone officials from that period are now kept at the Temple of Confucius, Qufu
Temple of Confucius, Qufu
The Temple of Confucius in Qufu, Shandong Province of China, is the "original", largest and most famous of the temples of Confucius in China and East Asia....
.
The last component of the Eastern Han spirit roads, the stelae are believed to be a stone reproduction of wooden slabs, which in the ancient times were placed on both sides of the open grave during the burial. The coffin was lowered into the grave on ropes passed through holes made in each slab. After the burial, those wooden slabs would be placed upright on top of the tomb, with appropriate text written on them. In reminder of that old custom, early spirit way stelae have a round hole in the middle of their upper parts.
Southern Dynasties
The fall of the Han Empire was followed by a period of disunion, when China was divided between a number of short-lived Southern and Northern DynastiesSouthern and Northern Dynasties
The Southern and Northern Dynasties was a period in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589 AD. Though an age of civil war and political chaos, it was also a time of flourishing arts and culture, advancement in technology, and the spreading of Mahayana Buddhism and Daoism...
. The Wei
Cao Wei
Cao Wei was one of the states that competed for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period. With the capital at Luoyang, the state was established by Cao Pi in 220, based upon the foundations that his father Cao Cao laid...
and Western Jin rulers (3rd century AD) seemed to have frowned upon funeral art extravagance of the fallen Han Dynasty, generally shunning above-ground statuary at their tomb sites. Literary sources attest to the resumption of the spirit way construction already by the time of the Eastern Jin (4th century AD), but the surviving spirit way statuary from the "period of disunion" pertains almost exclusively to the last four of the six Southern Dynasties: Liu Song
Liu Song Dynasty
The Liu Song Dynasty , also known as Song Dynasty , Former Song , or Southern Song , was first of the four Southern Dynasties in China, succeeding the Eastern Jin Dynasty and followed by the Southern Qi Dynasty....
, Southern Qi
Southern Qi
The Southern Qi Dynasty was the second of the Southern dynasties in China, followed by the Liang Dynasty. During its 23-year history, the dynasty was largely filled with instability, as after the death of the capable Emperor Gao and Emperor Wu, Emperor Wu's grandson Xiao Zhaoye was assassinated...
, Liang
Liang Dynasty
The Liang Dynasty , also known as the Southern Liang Dynasty , was the third of the Southern dynasties in China and was followed by the Chen Dynasty...
and Chen
Chen Dynasty
The Chen Dynasty , also known as the Southern Chen Dynasty, was the fourth and last of the Southern dynasties in China, eventually destroyed by the Sui Dynasty....
, which were usually centered around Jiankang
Jiankang
Jiankang was the capital city of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and Southern Dynasties. Its walls are extant ruins in the modern municipal region of Nanjing.-History:...
(today's Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
). Around thirty of their tomb statuary groups, in various degrees of preservation, are known to modern researchers. They are located primarily in the eastern and southeastern suburbs of Nanjing (Qixia
Qixia District
Qixia District , Jiangsu, China a city district of the City of Nanjing directly northeast across the Yangtze River from Nanjing.It has an area of 80 km2 and the population of 400,000.-Natural and historical sights:...
and Jiangning
Jiangning District
Jiangning District is an administrative district in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. The District has a population of 760,000 and an area of 1600 square kilometers. It includes southern and south-eastern suburbs of Nanjing....
Districts) and in Danyang
Danyang
Danyang is a county-level city administered by Zhenjiang in Jiangsu Province. It is famous for its spectacles industry and it has the Spectscles City.-Economy:...
, farther east.
The Southern Dynasties regimes, with their smaller economic base than the mighty Han, did not create as numerous and as grandiose funeral ensembles as the Qin and Han. The use of spirit ways under these dynasties was limited to emperors and their close relatives. The new Buddhist and Daoist currents in the spiritual life of south China greatly influenced the art of sculpture as well. In the words of the art historian Ann Paludan
Ann Paludan
Ann Paludan is a British author of several books on Chinese history, sculpture, and architecture.-Biography:Ann Paludan is the daughter of Basil Murray...
, in Daoism-influenced art, "Han emphasis on spatial relationships, forms, and limits was rejected in favour of flowing lines suggesting flexibility, a lack of clear-cut boundaries, and endless motion". The newly reinterpreted feng shui
Feng shui
Feng shui ' is a Chinese system of geomancy believed to use the laws of both Heaven and Earth to help one improve life by receiving positive qi. The original designation for the discipline is Kan Yu ....
principles called more attention to orienting the tomb with respect to the terrain than to the strict north-south axis.
A typical Southern Dynasties spirit way was quite short and included a pair of giant (3-4 m tall) winged felines, a pair of columns, and a pair or two of memorial stelae. These felines, whom connoisseurs called "the most noble creatures to guard any tomb in Asia"
came in two varieties. The qilin
Qilin
The Qilin is a mythical hooved Chinese chimerical creature known throughout various East Asian cultures, and is said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a wise sage or an illustrious ruler. It is a good omen that brings rui . It is often depicted with what looks like fire all over...
, distinguished by their with horns and beards, appeared at emperor's tombs, while the princes of blood (wang) had the bixie
Bixie
A Bixie , is a type of lion-like mythological Chinese creature, or chimera. It is considered as an exorcising animal and is usually hornless....
, who sported lions' manes and long outstretched tongues in their wide-opened mouths. While both fantastic species must have derived from the Han era animal statuary, experts distinguish the two's pedigrees. The stocky bixie is thought to have evolved from the tiger statues of Han-era tombs in Sichuan and Shandong; however, there is now more emphasis on the power of the creature than on its speed. It is not clear any more what the symbolism of the outstretched tongue was: it has been variously interpreted as a prayer for rain, or as a way of communicating with the world of spirits. The more elegant and sinuous qilin, their bodies almost completely covered with complicated patterns of carved curves, have a touch of gragon
Chinese dragon
Chinese dragons are legendary creatures in Chinese mythology and folklore, with mythic counterparts among Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Bhutanese, Western and Turkic dragons. In Chinese art, dragons are typically portrayed as long, scaled, serpentine creatures with four legs...
in them, and may have been related to the Han tomb statues from central China (e.g. the pair from Cuanlinmiao in Luoyang
Luoyang
Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...
).
Ming Dynasty
Later on, the layout of many mausolea involves a large stone tortoise (bixiBixi (tortoise)
Bixi , also called guifu or baxia , is a stone tortoise, used as a pedestal for a stele or tablet. Tortoise-mounted stelae have been traditionally used in the funerary complexes of Chinese emperors and other dignitaries. Later, they have also been used to commemorate an important event, such as...
) along with the spirit way. At Ming Dynasty mausolea in Nanjing, e.g. Ming Xiaoling or the tomb of the Sultan of Brunei Abdul Majid Hassan
Abdul Majid Hassan
Sultan Abdul Majid Hasan ascended the Brunei throne in 1402. He was never mentioned in Salasilah Raja-Raja Brunei but recorded in Ming historical record. He sent a mission to China in 1406 and his name is recorded as Ma-na-je-ka-na....
, visitors are first met by a bixi holding a stone tablets extolling the virtues of the deceased, and then walk along the spirit way to the actual tumulus where the emperor or dignitary is actually buried.
Notable examples
Spirit ways are found in a number of imperial mausolea:- Qianling MausoleumQianling MausoleumThe Qianling Mausoleum is a Tang Dynasty tomb site located in Qian County, Shaanxi province, China, and is northwest from Xi'an, formerly the Tang capital. Built by 684 , the tombs of the mausoleum complex house the remains of various members of the royal Li family. This includes Emperor...
near Xi'anXi'anXi'an is the capital of the Shaanxi province, and a sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China. One of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history, the city was known as Chang'an before the Ming Dynasty... - Ming Xiaoling in NanjingNanjing' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
- Thirteen Ming Imperial TombsMing Dynasty TombsThe Ming Dynasty Tombs are located some 51.35 kilometers due north of central Beijing, within the suburban Changping District of Beijing municipality...
near BeijingBeijingBeijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's... - Zhao Mausoleum of the early Qing emperors near ShenyangShenyangShenyang , or Mukden , is the capital and largest city of Liaoning Province in Northeast China. Currently holding sub-provincial administrative status, the city was once known as Shengjing or Fengtianfu...
- Eastern Qing TombsEastern Qing TombsThe Eastern Qing Tombs are an imperial mausoleum complex of the Qing Dynasty located in Zunhua, 125 kilometers northeast of Beijing. They are the largest, most complete, and best preserved extant mausoleum complex in China...
near Beijing.
At the graves of other dignitaries:
- Tomb of the Sultan of Brunei Abdul Majid HassanAbdul Majid HassanSultan Abdul Majid Hasan ascended the Brunei throne in 1402. He was never mentioned in Salasilah Raja-Raja Brunei but recorded in Ming historical record. He sent a mission to China in 1406 and his name is recorded as Ma-na-je-ka-na....
in Nanjing - Multiple examples in the Cemetery of ConfuciusCemetery of ConfuciusThe Cemetery of Confucius, also known under its Chinese name Kong Lin , is a cemetery of the Kong clan in Confucius' hometown Qufu...
, QufuQufuQufu is a city in southwestern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It is located at 35° 36′ northern latitude and 117° 02′ east, about south of the provincial capital Jinan and northeast of the prefecture seat at Jining...