Li Jingxun

Li Jingxun (Chinese: 李靜訓, Lĭ Jìngxùn, also 李小孩, Lĭ Xiǎohái, 600-608 CE) was a 9-year-old princess of the Sui dynasty when she died in 608 CE. Her stone sarcophagus was found undisturbed in 1957 near the Old City in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China, at that time named Daxing (大興, "Great Prosperity") as the capital of the Sui dynasty.[1]

Li Jingxun
Stone sarcophagus of Li Jingxun, 608 CE. Beilin Museum, Xi'an
Created608 CE
DiscoveredBurial ground (Xi'an):
34.270047°N 108.909087°E / 34.270047; 108.909087
Present locationBeilin Museum, Xi'an
Xi'an is located in China
Xi'an
Xi'an

Life
A modern reenactment of Li Jingxun on Chinese television. She wears some of the jewelry found in the tomb (crown, necklace).

Li Jingxun was a granddaughter of Emperor Xuan of the Northern Zhou on her maternal side, and was raised by her maternal grandmother, Empress Xuan, herself daughter of Yang Jian who later usurped the Northern Zhou throne to become the Emperor Wen of Sui.[1]

On her paternal side, she descended from a line of Northern Zhou generals.[1] The tomb of her paternal great-grandfather, the Northern Zhou general Li Xian (北周李賢墓), has also been discovered, and the epitaph suggest that he was a Tuoba-Xianbei.[1] His tomb contained several Central Asian objects too, such as an ewer with Greco-Roman scenes.[1]

Li Jingxun was therefore of fairly mixed ethnic lineage, since the Northern Zhou were of Xianbei origin, as was her grandmother on her maternal side, and she can be considered as an "outsider princess" in the context of the Sui dynasty.[1]

Tomb

The stone sarcophagus is in the shape of a Sui dynasty house. It is rare design, but a carved stone coffin is also known from the tomb of another princess, Princess Yongtai (684-701).[1] Stone outer coffins were also known among non-dynastic people, such as the Sogdian officials Wirkak and Yu Hong.[1] The sarcophagus of Li Jingxun was decorated with two engraved male and female attendants, and with painting on the inside walls of the sarcophagus, which have disappeared due to moisture.[1]

An inscription on a tile of the sculpted gabled roof of the sarcophagus reads: "Open this sarcophagus, and you will die immediately" (Chinese: 開棺即死).[2]

Epitaph

The epitaph reads:

Epitaph of Li Jingxun (608 CE)
Epitaph of Li Jingxun (608 CE)

Epitaph of the 4th daughter of sir Li, Glorious Grand Master of the Left, and Prefect of Qizhou, with a prologue.
Her first name was Lingxun, also called "Little Girl" (小孩), she was from Zhenji in Longxi. She was the granddaughter of Li Zhuang, Pillar of the State and Governor of Youzhou, and the fourth daughter of Li Min, the Glorious Grand Master of the Left. Her clan, registered in Lixiang, is remarkable and immortal. Her family shines over the region, covered in the light of the sun and the moon. In addition, she was virtuous, wise and naturally intelligent, straight as an orchid, had had a great reputation since childhood, and her fragrance brought joy. She was raised by her maternal grandmother, the Empress of the Zhou, followed the rules of Everlasting Happiness, and enjoyed her warm compassion. She was educated in the depth of the Palace, and learned the virtues of pliability and obedience. Then, she focused on the Eight Liberations [of Buddhism], and converted to the Six Perfections [of Buddhism]. Her rings and earrings shined in unisson, she had the scent of flowers. But then a great frost fell on the day, the beautiful flower fell in springtime. Without ever conceiving a child, the orchid tragically died early. She became ill on the 1st of June of the 4th year of Daye (608 CE), and died in the Palace of Fenyuan. She was nine years old....
(the epitaph finishes with the account of the mourning of her death, and a formal eulogy in four-character poetic form)

— Epitaph of Li Jingxun, 608 CE[3]

Tomb objects

Her lavish tomb contained around 350 objects, including many artifacts from the Silk Road, and foreign-style objects.[1][4] The tomb included gold cups, jades, porcelains and toys, as well as a coin of the Sasanian Emperor Peroz I (459-483 CE).[4] Still, the tomb is considered as relatively modest by imperial standards.[5]

It is thought that the tomb artifacts reflect her northern ethnic background.[1] Such stone sarcophagy are related to the tradition of Sogdian tombs in China, such as the tomb of Shi Jun.[1][6] In comparison, other known Sui dynasty tombs have relatively few exotic items in them.[1]

  • Li Jinxun tomb: engravings of female attendants left and right of the entrance
    Li Jinxun tomb: engravings of female attendants left and right of the entrance
  • Object from the tomb of Li Jingxun, Tianjin Museum.
    Object from the tomb of Li Jingxun, Tianjin Museum.[7]
  • Gold bracelet from the tomb, probably imported from India. National Museum of China
    Gold bracelet from the tomb, probably imported from India.[8] National Museum of China
  • Gold stemmed cup from the tomb, National Museum of China.
    Gold stemmed cup from the tomb, National Museum of China.[9]
  • Necklace from the tomb, imported from South Asia. National Museum of China.
    Necklace from the tomb, imported from South Asia.[10] National Museum of China.[11][12]
  • Cup with gold rim, from the tomb, National Museum of China
    Cup with gold rim, from the tomb, National Museum of China
  • Location of the tomb of Li Jingxun, just out of the ancient city of Xi'an
    Location of the tomb of Li Jingxun, just out of the ancient city of Xi'an
  • Lid of the epitaph: "隋左光禄大夫女墓志" "Epitaph by the Sui Dynasty Glorious Grand Master of the Left, for his daughter"
    Lid of the epitaph: "隋左光禄大夫女墓志" "Epitaph by the Sui Dynasty Glorious Grand Master of the Left, for his daughter"

Ancestry

Li Jingxun had an illustrious imperial and military lineage:[1]

Yuwen Tai (Xianbei General, 505–556)
Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou (543–578)
Chinu (Xianbei Princess)
Emperor Xuan of Northern Zhou (559-580)
Li Ezi (Empress Dowager Li, 535–588)
Yuwen Eying (宇文娥英, mother, 578-615)
Yang Zhong
Yang Jian (Emperor Wen of Sui, 541–604)
Lü Kutao
Yang Lihua (杨丽华, Empress Xuan of Northern Zhou, 561–609)
Lady Cui (崔氏, Han Chinese)
Dugu Qieluo (Empress Wen of Sui, 544-602)
Dugu Xin (Xianbei General, 503-557)
Li Jingxun (李静训, 600-608)
Li Min (李敏, father, Sui Minister, 576-614)
Li Chen (李隆, also called 李崇, posthumously 壮, Northern Zhou general, 536-583)
Li Xian (李贤, Northern Zhou general, 502-569)
  • Excavated objects from the tomb of Li Jingxun
  • Wu, Hung. "A Case of Cultural Interaction: House-shaped Sarcophagi of the Northern Dynasties" (PDF). {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

References
  1. Wu, Mandy Jui-man (2004). "Exotic Goods as Mortuary Display in Sui Dynasty Tombs--A Case Study of Li Jingxun's Tomb". Sino-Platonic Papers. 142.
  2. Tucker, Jonathan (12 March 2015). The Silk Road - China and the Karakorum Highway: A Travel Companion. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-85773-933-9.
  3. Original text of the epitaph:
    隋左光祿大夫岐州刺史李公第四女石志銘，並序。
    女郎諱靜訓，字小孩，隴西成紀人。上柱國、幽州總管壯公之孫，左光祿大夫敏之第四女也。族纂厲鄉，得神仙之妙；家榮戚里，被日月之暉。況復淑慧生知，芝蘭天挺，譽華髫發，芳流肇悅。幼為外祖母周皇太后所養，訓承長樂，獨見慈撫之恩；教習深宮，彌遵柔順之德。於是攝心八解，歸依六度，戒珠共明璫並曜，意花與香佩俱芬。既而繁霜晝下，英苕春落，未登弄玉之台，便悲澤蘭之夭。大業四年六月一日遇疾，終於汾源之宮，時年九歲。
    皇情軫悼，撤縣輟膳，頻蒙詔旨，禮送還京，賵賻有加。以其年龍集戊辰十二月己亥朔廿二日庚申，瘞於京兆長安縣休祥裏面萬善道場之內。即於墳上構造重閣。遙追寶塔，欲髣髴於花童；永藏金地，庶留連於法子。乃銘曰：
    光分婺女，慶合天孫，榮苕比秀，采璧同溫。先標令淑，早習工言，生長宮闈，恩勤撫育。法水成性，戒香增馥，金牒旦窺，銀函霄讀。往從輿蹕，言屆河汾，珠涓潤岸，鏡掩輕雲。魂歸秪閣，跡異吳墳，月殿迴風，霜鍾候曉。砌凝陰雪，檐悲春鳥，共知泡幻，和嗟壽夭。
  4. Xiong, Victor Cunrui; Laing, Ellen Johnston (1991). "Foreign Jewelry in Ancient China". Bulletin of the Asia Institute. 5: 163–173. ISSN 0890-4464. JSTOR 24048294.
  5. Cheng, Bonnie (2007). "Fashioning a Political Body: The Tomb of a Rouran Princess". Archives of Asian Art. 57: 41. doi:10.1484/aaa.2007.0001. ISSN 0066-6637. JSTOR 20111346.
  6. Steinhardt, Nancy Shatzman (14 May 2019). Chinese Architecture: A History. Princeton University Press. p. 282. ISBN 978-0-691-19197-3.
  7. "中国收藏网---新闻中心--隋代陶瓷工艺的特色（上）". news.socang.com.
  8. Xiong, Victor Cunrui; Laing, Ellen Johnston (1991). "Foreign Jewelry in Ancient China". Bulletin of the Asia Institute. 5: 164. ISSN 0890-4464. JSTOR 24048294.
  9. Watt, James C. Y. (2004). China: Dawn of a Golden Age, 200-750 AD. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 294. ISBN 978-1-58839-126-1.
  10. Xiong, Victor Cunrui; Laing, Ellen Johnston (1991). "Foreign Jewelry in Ancient China". Bulletin of the Asia Institute. 5: 171. ISSN 0890-4464. JSTOR 24048294.
  11. Tucker, Jonathan (12 March 2015). The Silk Road - China and the Karakorum Highway: A Travel Companion. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-85773-933-9.
  12. Watt, James C. Y. (2004). China: Dawn of a Golden Age, 200-750 AD. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 294. ISBN 978-1-58839-126-1.
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