In the Beishan system of Weibei, from Ganling of Gaozong in Ganxian County in the west to Tailing of Xuanzong in pucheng county in the east, eighteen of the twenty emperors of the Tang Dynasty were buried, which was called "Eighteen Tombs of the Tang Dynasty" in history. Emperor Taizong is located in Zhaoling, Li Shimin, on Jiuzhang Mountain, 22km northeast of Liquan County, Shaanxi Province. Locals call it "the Tomb of the Tang Dynasty", which is the largest of the "Eighteen Tombs of the Tang Dynasty" and four or five times larger than the Ming Tombs in Beijing. Jiuzhang Mountain is saddle-shaped, commonly known locally as Bijia Mountain. The mountains on the east and west sides are undulating and ravines are criss-crossing, which makes the main peak abrupt and isolated.
Zhaoling was built in the 10th year of Zhenguan (636), Li Shimin was buried here in the 23rd year of Zhenguan, and the mausoleum was built in the 13th year. Zhaoling was built on Jiuzhang Mountain, which was the first of the feudal emperors in the Tang Dynasty. "Literature General Examination" contains: "Because the nine-story peak cuts the mountain, seventy-five steps southwest, it is Yuan Gong. The beam beside the rock is a plank road, hanging on the Wan Ren, and it takes 230 steps around the mountain to reach the Yuangong Gate. At the top, there is also a tour hall. " Later, in order to protect the mausoleum, the plank road was demolished. Wen Tao, a warlord of the Five Dynasties, recorded that "the palace system is magnificent and beautiful when viewed from the bottom of the road", so you can imagine the richness of the inner sleeping hall.
Zhaoling was designed by Yan Lide and Yan Yan, famous painters and craftsmen in the Tang Dynasty, with many projects and brilliant architecture. Due to the large number of tombs, the total area of Zhaoling reached 300,000 mu, almost twice that of Chang 'an at that time. According to legend, the Zhaoling project is huge, and it is a big problem to transport a large number of bricks and stones to the top of the mountain. A shepherd came up with the idea of using sheep to ward off evil spirits. After the completion of Zhaoling in the 13th year, Jiuzhang Mountain was covered with a thick layer of sheep dung.
There are 167 buried tombs in Zhaoling. Buried tombs are mainly distributed in the east, west and south of Jiuyishan Mausoleum, which are arranged in a fan shape. Judging from the epitaph, the owners of the buried tombs are all kings, princesses and famous ministers in the early Tang Dynasty.
When Emperor Taizong first built Zhaoling, he declared that "heroes are near the grave" and that "people who help others for their careers" should be buried with him. Later, servants were allowed to apply for burial, and descendants were buried from their grandfather, thus forming a huge burial tomb group centered on the mausoleum of Emperor Taizong, which was rare for emperors' tombs in previous dynasties. When the burial system in ancient China began, there is no way to verify it. Its perfection and prevalence began in the Western Han Dynasty. The emperors of the Han Dynasty often gave up the space in the cemetery to their relatives and heroes. Later, they lived next to each other for generations, which became an important means for the king to win over officials. Emperor Taizong institutionalized this form, which made the funeral form reach an unprecedented scale in the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, the tombs in the Tang Dynasty often take the imperial tombs as the center, forming huge tombs.
Among the tombs buried with Zhao Ling, Wei Zhi's Tomb and Li Ji's Tomb are famous. Wei Zhi's tomb is on the Phoenix Mountain, not far from the southwest of Jiuzhang Mountain. The tombs of Zhaoling buried with the royal family are mostly in the mountains, and those buried with ministers are mostly in the plains below the mountain. Wei Zhi's tomb has a mountain peak, which is the closest to Li Shimin's tomb, showing Li Shimin's attention and trust in Wei Zhi. Wei Zhi is a famous minister who dares to speak out. After his death, Li Shimin personally wrote a book and an inscription. Later, when Li Shimin thought of Wei Zhi, he always sighed and said, "With copper as a mirror, you can be well dressed; Taking history as a mirror, we can know the rise and fall; Take people as a mirror, you can know the gains and losses. Now that Wei Zhi is gone, I'm missing a mirror! "
Huo Qubing's tomb (originally named Xu, the word Maogong) is a mountain-shaped tomb built by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, commonly known as "Mountain Tomb". According to legend, both Li Ji and Wei Zheng hoped that Phoenix Mountain would become a graveyard. Li Shimin suggested that archery should be decided by winning or losing. Li Ji's arrow flies very far. Wei Zhi asked Li Shimin to write the words "Tomb of Wei Zheng" on his arrow, and gently pulled the bowstring, and the arrow landed on the Phoenix Mountain in front of him. Wei Zhi won the title of Phoenix Mountain with his stratagem, but Li Ji refused to accept it, so Li Shimin praised him for repairing the tomb. The three mounds were built by Hetu mound, which, like mountains, symbolized Yinshan Mountain, Tieshan Mountain and Ude Mountain in recognition of Li Ji's contribution to defeating Turks and Xue Yantuo. In front of the Yamagata tomb stood a pair of tall stone men, three pairs of stone sheep and three pairs of Shi Hu, and there was a huge monument with a height of 7.5 meters, which was inscribed by Tang Gaozong as the crown of Zhaoling's buried tomb.