Sunday, October 5, 2014

Shou Qiu and Shaohao Tomb

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.

For more information, please visit http://top-chinatour.com

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