Carving utensils excavated from the Yonggu Mausoleum in The Northern Wei Mountains of Datong
Wenbo 2012.04 Wang Yanqing
Abstract: The Yonggu Mausoleum of The Northern Wei Dynasty was excavated in the 1970s and was an important imperial mausoleum during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The mausoleum unearthed 12 pieces of iron strips with pointed or bladed heads, which are believed to be iron arrows. After re-identification, it should be the carving utensils of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Stone carving flourished during the Northern Wei Dynasty, and the Yungang Grottoes are representatives of stone carving art.
25 kilometers north of Datong City, Xisi'er Liangshan Mountain, northern Wei called Fangshan. The secondary terrace above and below the top of Fang Mountain is built with the Yonggu Cemetery, which is the mausoleum of the Empress Feng of the Northern Wei Civilization. Construction began in the fifth year (481) of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and Taihe was formed in the eighth year. In 1976, the Datong Museum and the Shanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Working Committee jointly excavated the graves in the cemetery. The tomb is a brick multi-chamber tomb, which is composed of four parts: the tomb passage, the front room, the Yongdao and the back room, sitting north and facing south. The total length of the tomb is 17.60 meters from north to south. The front chamber plane is trapezoidal, vaulted, 4.2 meters long from north to south, 3.85 wide from east to west, and 3.8 meters high; the back chamber plane is curved square, with a four-corner pointed roof, 6.4 long from north to south, 6.83 wide from east to west, and 7.3 meters high. There is a large stone arch in front of and behind the corridor connecting the front and rear chambers. The entire burial chamber is large in scale and is one of the largest tombs of the Southern and Northern Dynasties period that has been excavated. According to the excavation briefing "Datong Fangshan Northern Wei Yonggu Mausoleum", the tomb was stolen three times, the second time for the Jin Dynasty, and once in the Qing Dynasty. In the south end of the west wall of the tomb chamber and the tomb passage, the Jin Dynasty robbery cave was found, and the white ash writing characters were found on the east and west walls of the back room, respectively, "Dajin Zhenglong (1156-1161)" and "Dading (1161-1189)" indicating the Jin Dynasty era number, and in the tomb passage robbery cave found the Jin Dynasty white porcelain plates, bowls and some animal bones, and coins were found in the front and back rooms and Yongdao, mainly in the Northern Song Dynasty, which were intentionally abandoned by the tomb robbers. The qing dynasty's excavations were at the tomb road. For this reason, there are not many burial items unearthed from the tomb, only stone carvings, copper hairpins, iron tools, bone ware, residual pottery pieces, residual porcelain pieces, etc.
According to the excavation briefing and the cultural relics stored in the cultural relics warehouse of the Datong Museum, 26 pieces of iron artifacts were excavated from the mausoleum. Two of them were iron knives and iron hammers found at tomb robbers in the Qing Dynasty. In the burial chamber, 10 iron coffin nails, 1 iron ring, and 1 iron coffin ring were found. There are also 10 pieces of iron arrows, including 3 pieces of triangular prism and 7 pieces of flat head shape. In addition to 1 excavated in the back room, 9 were found in the tombs excavated in the Jin Dynasty, and in the same place were also found the Northern Wei remnants of stone figurines, stone carving beasts and Jin Dynasty white porcelain plates. Another iron spearhead was found at the northern end of the cemetery, and an iron cone of unknown origin. The ironware published in the article is photographic, and the printing is not very clear or comprehensive. In 1999, Mr. Liu Xu of Peking University, the excavator of Peking University, published an article entitled "The Excavation of the Second Tomb of Fangshan mountain and the evaluation of the Empress of Civilization", which supplemented the excavations at that time. The Chinese depicts three pieces of iron, namely iron spears, (square heads) iron hammers, and (four edges, that is, three prismatic iron arrows in the bulletin) iron hammers, and explains that they are from the same way as black glazed jars and white porcelain bowls, but it is not pointed out which place was excavated in the Jin Dynasty or Qing Dynasty[1]. However, the author carefully observed the actual object and found that the iron relics produced in the tomb were not the artifacts such as arrows and hammers described in the above two articles, but had other uses. The Northern Wei Pingcheng tombs have also unearthed flat-headed iron arrows, which are flattened and have a wide head, and frescoes have also been found (Fig. 1), but they are very different from the narrow and thick iron arrows from this tomb.
Of the 26 pieces of iron artifacts excavated from the tomb, in addition to the iron nails and coffin rings of the Qing Dynasty iron tools and burial utensils in the burial chamber, the remaining 12 pieces are described as follows.
Flat-headed chisel (called flat-headed iron arrow in the briefing), 4 pieces. Double-sided blade, the blade is straight, the chiseled shoulders are wide and thick, the chiseled waist is slightly bundled, the chiseled body section is slightly rectangular, the root is widened and more rounded, and the chisel tail is mostly inserted into the wooden handle in the shape of a cone. The handle has decayed, leaving traces of wood chips. Three of them are of comparable size, with a chisel length of about 8.7, a chisel head width of about 0.9-10, a shoulder thickness of 7.5, a chisel waist of 0.7 × 0.7 cm, and a chisel tail (Fig. 2, 2, 3, 4; photo 1); 1 of them is complete, and the tail is quadrangular and cone-shaped. The total length is 16.5, the length of the chisel is about 10, the width of the chisel is about 1, the shoulder thickness is 0.7, and the chisel waist is 0.9×0.4 cm (fig. 2, 1; photo 2).
Round-headed chisel (called flat-headed iron arrow in the briefing), 3 pieces. The edge is round or semi-circular in shape, the chiseled section is slightly rectangular, the chiseled waist is slightly bundled, and the chisel tail is inserted into the wooden handle in a cone shape. 1 piece is badly corroded, and there are thin rope wounds near the root of the chiseled body. Chisel residue length 10.8, body length 9.2, blade width 1, waist 0.7×0.7 cm (Fig. 3, 3; photo 3); 1 piece of head is rounded, tail bent and broken, chisel residue length of about 13, body length of 9.1, blade width of 0.95, waist is a cylinder, the diameter of the finest point is about 0.6 cm (Fig. 3, 2; photo 4); 1 piece is the most complete, chisel slender. The chisel head is semi-circular in an arc, and the tail is inserted into the wooden handle in a curved arc of a pointed cone, and the handle is almost the same length as the chisel. Chisel length 19.2, body length 9.9, maximum blade width 1, waist 0.6× 0.5 cm (Fig. 3, 1; photo 5).
Four-sided cone pointed chisel (called triangular iron arrow in the briefing), 1 piece. The pointed head is a four-sided cone, the chiseled head is nearly a cone, and the root is quadrangular. The tail is inserted into the wooden handle in the shape of a four-sided diamond-shaped cone, leaving wood chips marks. The total length of the chisel is 9.7, the length of the chisel is 6.7, and the maximum cross-sectional diameter is 0.7 cm (Fig. 4, 1; Photo 6).
Four-sided diamond-shaped chisel (called triangular iron arrow in the briefing), 2 pieces. The body is chiseled like an arrow. Pointed tip, chiseled body section is diamond-shaped, the root is slightly retracted, and the tail is inserted into the wooden handle in a cone, leaving wood chip marks. 1 piece is complete, triangular, short chiseled, the root is waist-shaped, the total length of the iron chisel is 10.2, the length of the chisel is 4.6, the widest point is 1, and the thickness is 0.8 cm (Fig. 4, 2; photo 7); 1 piece is willow leaf-shaped, and the root is harvested into a quadrangular prism. It is 11.5 cm long, 7 chiseled long, 1.3 km wide and 0.9 cm thick (fig. 4, 3; photo 8).
Slotted pointed chisel (called iron conical in the briefing), 1 piece. The chisel is inverted triangular in shape, and the section is in the shape of a semicircular arc bar, that is, there is a vertical long triangular groove in the center of the back. The chiseled body is left with traces of fine hemp rope winding. The tail is inserted into a wooden handle in a four-sided pyramid, and from the excavation briefing photos, it is also excavated with a wooden handle 6 cm long. The total length of the iron chisel is 11.8, the length of the chisel is 7.8, the maximum width is 1.3, the thickness is 0.7, the thickness of the iron sheet is about 0.3, the four-sided pyramid is 0.6×0.7 cm, and only wood chips are seen (Fig. 4, 4; Photo 9).
With a brace-beaked pointed hammer (called an iron spearhead in the briefing), 1 piece. The cross-section of the body is rectangular, and the head is gradually thinned out. The brass is in the shape of a vertical ladder, and the brass is oval and not closed. It is 14.6 cm long, with a maximum cross-section of 1.8×1, a belch length of 7.1, an outer diameter of 3.5×2.5, and a thickness of approximately 0.4 cm (Fig. 5; photo 10).
Most of these 12 iron artifacts were excavated together at the tomb passage, in the same place as the Northern Wei stone figurines (originally reported as samurai figurines) stolen from the Jin Dynasty. From the analysis of common sense, these iron tools cannot be the things that the Jin Dynasty wants to steal. But it can't be what the tomb robbers of the Jin Dynasty carried. Iron hoes and iron knives (photos 11 and 12) were also found in tomb robberies in the Qing Dynasty, which were the tools used for tomb robbers. The author believes that these are carving tools abandoned by Northern Wei craftsmen [2].
The 12 iron tools excavated from the tomb include flat head chisel, pointed head chisel, round head chisel, pointed head hammer, of which flat head chisel, pointed head chisel, round head chisel and so on are still common carving tools. Except for the wooden handle inserted in the iron hammer, the tail of each piece is inserted in the wooden handle. If used as a stone carving tool, pounding the elastic wooden handle is not conducive to stone carving. However, as a wood carving tool, each tool is about 5-10 cm long, plus the wooden handle catcher, about 15-20 cm long, too long is not suitable for wood carving tools. After many inquiries, the author thought that these 12 tools were stone carving tools. It is just that there are iron hoops at the upper and lower ends of the wooden handle, which not only strengthens the wooden handle, reduces the rebound force, and prevents the pounding from smashing the wooden handle open. At the same time, the wooden handle can reduce the tremor of the handshake. Today's carving tools still have such wooden handles with iron hoops on the upper and lower parts (photo 13).
These tools are used in the process of stone carving. Flat chisels are used to light the details, semicircular chisels thin blades to carve clothing patterns and details, pointed chisels are used to carve different fine lines, carving small corners, etc., finely carved, so that the stone objects are delicate and smooth, shaped like a god, full of vitality.
There are not many burial items excavated from the Yonggu Mausoleum, and the stone carving artifacts include two stone carved doors, stone carved figurines, model tools, scaly remnants, and grid remnants (Figure 6; Photo 14). The stone carved door is composed of five parts: pointed arch lintel, door cheek, threshold, animal head anvil, and stone door. The cheeks and lintels of the stone gate are carved with phoenix birds with mouth jewels, barefoot children with flower buds in hand, and double dragons looking back, respectively, all of which are fine stone carvings of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Among them, the anvils, cheeks and lintels on both sides of the stone gate are half embedded in the brick wall of the Yongdao, that is, the carved stone door is built with bricks in the tomb. These stone carving tools may be the trimming of the installed stone door carvings.
Of course, there are also stone sculptures in the Yonggu Cemetery complex, and the Thirteenth Volume of the Water Commentary" "Water" Cloud: "The Mausoleum of the Empress Dowager of Civilization, the Northeast of the Mausoleum has the Gaozu Mausoleum, the South of the Erling Tomb has the Yonggu Hall, the four corners of the Hall are pheasant columns, steps, columns, sills, and doors, households, beams, walls, rafters, tiles, and Siwen Shiye." The four pillars in front of the eaves, the black stone of the Eight Winds Valley of Luoyang, are carved and hidden, and the clouds between gold and silver are like brocade. On the four sides of the inside and outside of the hall, there are two stone pillars, and the Zhang Qingshi screen is bound by the wenshi, and the appearance of loyalty and filial piety is hidden, and the name of Zhenshun is inscribed. The engraving stones in front of the temple are stele and beast, and the stele is the best"[3]. The carvings such as pillars, screens and stele beasts are hidden, and the thick stone hall is solemn and gorgeous, and the prosperity of stone carving in the Northern Wei Dynasty can also be seen.
As we all know, the Yungang Grottoes is a peak in the history of Chinese sculpture. The carving and chiseling of the grottoes affects the secular life of The Northern Wei Pingcheng, such as the anvil of the beast head excavated from the site of the Mingtang of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the stone carved square stones excavated from the site of the bearing factory, the stone carved pillar foundations, etc., and a large number of stone carving artifacts excavated from the Northern Wei tombs, including stone rafters, stone carved beds, stone carved pillar seats, stone carving figurines, stone lamps, as well as burial stone wells, stone mills, stone stoves, etc., and stone carving products are all over the life of Northern Wei Pingcheng. More than ten pieces of iron tools excavated from YongguLing show people for the first time the actual carving tools of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and all kinds of carving chisels are not like the iron tools of the Han Dynasty with brass or solid shapes, but the tail is more inserted into the wooden handle, the chisel head is wide, the waist is tied up, and it has the characteristics of the times. Although these are only a small part of the carving tools, this paper is only a simple archaeological study of them, but it provides valuable physical materials for the study of the history of sculpture in the Northern Wei Dynasty.
In the process of writing this article, I have received the warm help of Zhang Juncai of Shanxi Archaeological Research Institute and Mr. Han Peng of Yungang Grotto Research Institute.
(Photo: Ma Yanfei)