1, the origin of Shinto stone carvings:
From the perspective of modeling and institutional origin, the Shinto stone carvings in the tombs of the Southern Dynasties should come from the tradition of the Eastern Han Dynasty and also show some characteristics of their own times. During the Three Kingdoms and the Jin Dynasty, influenced by the thin burial thought, Shinto stone carvings were officially banned. By the late Six Dynasties (Song, Qi, Liang and Chen), it had become a common phenomenon to erect Shinto stone carvings in front of the imperial tomb.
2, Shinto stone carving function:
(1) Shinto was built in front of the tomb, on the one hand, to facilitate the immortal to enter the tomb, and on the other hand, to facilitate the tomb owner to ascend to heaven through the tomb under the guidance of the immortal.
(2) The stone carvings on both sides of Shinto are the close ministers, slaves and auspicious birds and beasts of the tomb owner, guarding the roadside where the tomb owner walks to show auspiciousness and respect.
(3) The stone tablet records the merits and demerits of the tomb owner, so that the immortals can know and pay tribute to it.
3. The present situation and protection of Shinto stone carvings;
After 1500 years of wind and rain, Shinto stone carvings in the tombs of the Southern Dynasties have been violated by natural and man-made disasters to varying degrees. Natural damage is closely related to climate and environment, mainly from acid rain, wind erosion, water invasion, sun exposure, fungal erosion and so on. Man-made damage mainly includes intentional damage and destructive damage to the surrounding environment.
Types of Shinto stone carvings:
1, stone beast.
From the point of view of shape and grade, it can be divided into two kinds: the hornstone beast in front of the mausoleum and the hornstone beast in front of the mausoleum. Horned beasts take tigers as the basic form, one with one horn and the other with two horns; Hornless stone beasts take lions as their basic shapes.
2. stone pillars.
Also known as Hua Biao, Biao, Biao Zi, Biao, etc. , play the role of marking and indicating. It is mentioned in The Five Elements of Wu Zhi in Song Dynasty that a strong wind in the seventh year of Ming Dynasty "blew down the scars left at the entrance of Ningling Tunnel", and the "scars" here refer to Shinto stone pillars at the entrance of Ningling Tunnel. A complete Shinto stone pillar consists of stigma, column and column base.
3. Stone tablet.
A complete stone tablet consists of a tablet head, a tablet body and a tablet seat (turtle). The head of the monument is round, the relief on the side is interwoven with double dragons, and there is a round hole in the forehead; The front of the monument is engraved with inscriptions, which are decorated with grass patterns and other patterns; The seat of the tablet computer is a turtle, which makes it crawl like a neck.
4, stone seat.
The stone pedestal only exists in the mausoleum of filial piety of Emperor Wendi Liang. It is located between the stone beast and the stone pillar, symmetrically distributed on both sides of Shinto. The stone base is composed of four square stones, which are divided into four corners and form a square from a distance. Cut two T-shaped grooves on the surface of each stone, and the vertical grooves in the T-shaped grooves of two adjacent stones are opposite.