Shou Qiu is a historical site on the eastern outskirts of the city of Qufu in Shandong
Province . According to
the legend, Shou Qiu is the birthplace of the Yellow Emperor.
The site features two giant turtle-borne steles with a small lake between
them. The western stele is known as the "Qing Shou" Stele
("Celebrate Longevity Stele"); the eastern stele as the "Wan Ren
Chou" Stele ("Sorrow of Ten Thousand Stele"), supposedly because
it took so many people to move it. The site's memorial to the Yellow Emperor
was built in 1012 CE, during the Xuanhe era of the Huizong Emperor of the Song
Dynasty.The steles were also carved on site during the time, but were left
lying on the ground unfinished, because the Song Dynasty lost control of the
area to the invading Jurchens in the Jin–Song wars.
With more than 16 metres in height, the steles are among the tallest in China . The
"Wan Ren Chou" Stele, which (including the turtle base and the dragon
crown) is 16.95 m tall,
3.75 m wide, 1.14 m thick, and weighs 250 tons, is often
said to be the largest blank stele in China.
Another famous
site in Qufu is Shaohao Tomb. The Shaohao Tomb is a pyramid shaped monument
located in the north-east of Jiuxian Village , on the eastern outskirts of the city of Qufu in Shandong
Province . The monument
honors Shaohao, the son of the first mythical Chinese emperor (the Yellow
Emperor) and one of the mythical five emperors himself. The monument is unique
in China
because of its pyramid-shaped stone construction. It consists of a tomb mount
that has been covered with stone slabs during the reign of the Song Dynasty
emperor Huizong in 1111 CE. The entire pyramid is 28.5 meters wide and 8.73
meters high. On its flat top stands a small pavilion that houses a statue of Shao
Hao. The tomb stands inside a compound with many old trees, chiefly thujas
planted on the orders of the emperor Qianlong, who visited the site in 1748.
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