China

Leitai Tomb of Han Dynasty, situated within the Leitai Park, Wuwei City, Gansu Province, northwest China, is the largest group of East Han mausoleum unearthed in the Hexi area.

Leitai (雷台) literally translates as “Platform of Thunder”, which is the venue for presenting oblations and performing sacrificial ceremonies honoring Lei Gong (雷公), the deity figure believed to control thunders in Taoism. The platform is believed to have been erected under the request of the King of Qianliang regime in the year of 321 AD and measuring 106m (348ft) long, 60m (196ft) wide and 8.5m (28ft) tall. Over ten structures stand on top of the platform, pinpointed to from Ming and Qing Dynasty, enshrining various deity figures in Taoism.

In the autumn of 1969, a tomb chamber was discovered accidentally at the southeast corner of the platform, when peasants were digging air-raid shelters. The mausoleum was built with bricks and consisted of three major chambers lining from east to west. Although the tomb had suffered multiple lootings, the remainders are still a rather remarkable treasure. So far more than 230 pieces of historical relics have been retrieved from the tomb, including statues and objects made of gold, silver, bronze, jade, bone and pottery. Most of the objects were identified to bear the dominant characteristics of late East Han Dynasty by archaeologists and historians, but a few pieces were clearly from the sequential Wei Jin era. There are no detailed documents or inscriptions inside the tomb indicating exactly whom the tomb belongs to, only that he surnamed Zhang and could be a general or local governor.

The tomb won significant fame most possibly for one piece of artifact excavated. The piece is a bronze sculpture of a horse with the tail floating high up mid-air and three legs kicking up and only the right hind leg stepping casually on what appears to be a bird. The whole piece is approximately 34.5cm (13.6inch) in height and 45cm (17.7inch) in length, and weights 7.15kg. The sculpture was applauded as a treasure of outstandingly high artistic value even on international stage and named Tongbenma (bronze galloping horse) by the eminent archeologist/historian Guo Moruo in 1971 and has caused quite a stir when exhibited abroad between 1973 and 1975. As for the story behind the sculpture, prevailing opinions include the horse is galloping so fast that it even outruns a flying bird which is the incarnation of Long Que (龙雀), the “God of Wind” in ancient mythologies, or the horse is in fact a divine being, therefore it rises even above birds. In mid 1980s, this imagery of a horse racing above a bird was adopted as the logo for National Tourism Administration of P. R. C. The original sculpture is stored in Gansu Museum presently.

Directory

• Location:
  Leitai Park, No. 257, Beiguanzhong Road, Liangzhou District, Wuwei City, Gansu Province, China
• Admission Fee:
  50RMB
• Opening Hour:
  8:00–17:30
• How to get there:
  Take bus 1, 6, 9, 101 and get off at Leitaishizi Station