The ancient tombs on Liuding Mountain are located at the south slope of Liuding Mountain, and stands on the right bank of the Mudan River, 5 km to the south of Dunhua County in Jilin Province.
The ancient tombs on Liuding Mountain were the graveyard of royal families of Bohai Kingdom in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Da Zuorong of the Mohe people (today's Manchu ethnic group) established the Bohai Kingdom in 698 around the Mudan River valley. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty conferred the title of Prefecture King of Baohai to Da Zuorong, and set up Huhan (Bohai) State in their governed area as well as the Dudu (military governor) Government Office in it. The Bohai Kingdom had frequent intercourses with the inland; most of the Bohai institutions and systems followed those of the Tang Dynasty. The social economy and culture both reached a high level. The kingdom was destroyed by Khitan in 926. The Yanbian University, the Jilin Provincial Museum, and the Archaeology Research Institute under Chinese Academy of Sciences made archeological excavations of the tombs in 1949, 1959 and 1964, respectively.
Liuding Mountain lies from east to west. It consists of six undulant adjacent hilltops. The highest peak is 603 meters above sea level, from which a mountain branch extends to the southeast and on both sides of which are graveyards. There are totally more than 90 ancient tombs falling into two kinds: stone house tomb and stone coffin tomb. The tomb of Princess Zhenhui, who was the daughter of Da Qinmao, the 3rdking of Bohai, was cleaned up here in 1949. There are many hangovers such as potteries, jade walls, fine gold-plated copper ornaments and a gravestone. The gravestone is 90cm high, 49cm wide and 29cm thick. The epigraph has more than 700 characters arranged in 21 lines with the Chinese characters in intaglio regular script. From the epigraph, we can see that people in the Bohai Kingdom used Chinese characters. They liked articles in rhythmical prose style and had skillful handwritings. Thus the epigraph is historically significant. The coffin chamber is rectangular with the four walls made of fulgurites and basalts. On the roof there is a sunk panel. The top is covered by big slates, and the corridors are in the middle of the south wall. There is a path in front of it leading to the tomb. The ground of the coffin chamber and the path are all paved with ground bricks.
The ancient tombs on Liuding Mountain and the unearthed hangovers reflect the material civilization, cultural and social development of the Bohai Kingdom in its early years. So it is important material for research into the history of the Bohai Kingdom.
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