Geographical Location: In Jiangning County, Jiangsu Province

Period: 943-962

Excavated from 1950 to 1951

Significance: They are the largest mausoleums(陵墓língmù)of kings during the period of Five Dynasties and Ten States Period (907-960).

Introduction

There are Li Sheng and Li Jing’s tombs of the State of Southern Tang(南唐Nántáng) located at the foot of Zutang Mountain. The two mausoleums are the largest imperial tombs during the Five Dynasties and Ten States Period.

Qin Tomb, where the first king of Southern Tang Li Sheng and his wife were buried, is more splendid than the Shun Tomb, where the mid-king Li Jin and his wife were buried. There are about 600 pieces of cultural relics unearthed in the two imperial tombs, among which the jade document recording the funeral oration is the most precious and the main basis to judge the tomb owner’s identity.

Li Sheng’s tomb is larger with a length of 21.5 meters, a width of 10.5 meters and a height of 5.3 meters, and on the door of the tomb there are colored patterns. In the middle chamber there are relief sculptures. On the roof of the back chamber there is a colored drawing of the sun, moon and stars, and on the floor there are stone carvings of mountains, rivers and lakes, and cultural relics.

Shun Tomb is 21.9 meters long, 10.1 meters wide and 5.4 meters high, divided into three main chambers and eight wing rooms. The brick tomb is similar in structure and shape to the Qin Tomb of Southern Tang.