Qianling Mausoleum is the joint tomb of Gao Zong (Li Zhi, 628-683 A.D.), the third emperor of the Tang Dynasty and his Empress, Wu Zetian (624-705 A.D.). Wu Zetian was the only female ruler in Chinese history. The mausoleum lies on Liangshan Hill, 6 kilometers north of Qianxian County, and about 80 kilometers northwest of Xi'an.Qianling
Qianling Mausoleum was built in 684 A.D., and brought into completion 23years later. It is located on Liangshan Hill, 1,047.5 meters above sea level. Of the there peaks of Liangshan Hill, the north peak, where Qingling is located, is the highest. The two peak, in the south face each other, east to west. On each of the two peaks stands the remains of a watch tower. The folk call the two peaks "Nipple Hills." According to historical records, there used to be two city walls that formed an inner city and an outer city there. There were four gates and many splendid buildings, such as the dedicatory hall, and gate towers. It has been proven through exploration that the total area of the inner city was about 240 square meters. There was a gate on each side of the inner city : namely the north; the Blue Dynagon Gate in the east and the
White Tiger Gate in the west. On both sides of the sacred way in front of the tomb, 124 exquisite and lively stone statues are lined up from north to south. They include a pair of scarlet birds, five pairs of stone horses, and ten pairs of guarding generals with helmets on their heads and swords in front of the north gate. In addition, outside the south gate there are two tall tablets : the "Tablet to the Holy Deeds of Emperor Gao Zong" and the "Wordless Tablet to Wu Zetian." There are also 61 stone statues, representing the heads of the ethnic minority groups and the envoys from friendly countries. They came to attend Emperor Gao Zong 's funeral. With reference to the number, variety and arrangement of stone carvings, Qianling Mausoleum set a good example for other similar constructions till the early Qing Dynasty. The arrangement of stone carvings was largely identical in successive dynasties.The Wordless Tablet
The "Wordless Tablet" east of the Scarlet Bird Gate is 6.3 meters high, and weighs 98.9 tons. The sides of the tablet were carved with figures of dragon. The top part of the tablet were carved with feight oysters intersecting each other. Why was the "Wordless Tablet" set up for Empress Wu Zetian? Some
say that she wanted people of later generations to give her merits and fair appraisal. Others think that it was probably set up by Emperor Zhong Zong, who was dissatisfied with her arbitrary decisions andperemptory actions on the one hand and unwilling to flatter her against his conscience on the other. But as her son, it was inappropriate for him to reproach her. So he set up the "Wordless Tablet" to let people of later generations appraise her. Anyway, such a tablet has not been found before any other imperial mausoleums in our country. Ever since the Song and the Jin dynasties, 13paragraphs have been inscribed. Now, the "Wordless Tablet" has become a tablet with words. Owing to the passage of time and the ravages of wind and rian, most of the inscription on the tablet is not clear. Only "Lang Jun's Travelogue", which was carved in Nuzhen Script in the Jin Dynasty (1135 A.D.), remains intact with its Chinese translation. Nuzhen script, the language of a ethnic minority group, has disappeared. Therefore, this tablet is of great value for the study of the language, the history, and culture of Nuzhen nationality. 
