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The "dragon-topped, tortoise-supported stele" (pinyin: chishou guifu bei) has been one of the most remarkable and enduring genres of China's sculpture art. Originating almost two thousand years ago during the Han Dynasty, the stele-supporting stone tortoise became a key component of the monumental ensembles created during the Southern Dynasties ca. 6th century AD. The stone turtles flourished during the Ming Dynasty (14-17th c.); gradually acquirying dragon-like features, they became known as bixi, popularly viewed as one of the 9 children of the Chinese dragon. The bixi turtles took more grotesque features during the Qing Dynasty, and, while viewed as part of the reactionary past during the Cultural Revolution, they enjoy at least a modest resurgence today.
A stone turtle usually carries with it the spirit of antiquity and authenticity. There are many an "ancient temple" that, although been originally founded a thousand years ago, have been destroyed and rebuilt so many times that pretty much any buildings or art you see today was really created in the 21st or the late 20th century. But the tortoise is a survivor - it is usually is as old as you'd expect from the text of the stele it carries (or used to carry). This is not to say, of course, that some of the old bixi statues have been extensively repaired, and others even have been reproduced (see Tianfei Gong below).
Viewed as a worthy carrier for the imperial message, the bixi can be primarily found in and around China's imperial capitals, as well as at places otherwise enjoying emperors' attention, such as the sacred mountain Taishan or Confucius' hometown Qufu. Nanjing, which has been a capital city during a number of periods when the art of monumental sculpture flourished, is one of the best places in China (and the world) to see this genre of sculpture. And, of course, any site that has a bixi would usually have an assortment of other interesting sculpture - qilin, bixie, xiezhi etc. galore.
In this article, compiled based on 3 brief visits to Nanjing in 2008-2011, I have tried to put together a (very partial) list of Nanjing's historical sites that have the distinction of possessing a stone tortoise (or several). Included are also a few that have no tortoise, but somehow otherwise fit into a possible itinerary of a visitor interested in the relics of the eras long gone by. All sites listed are fairly easily accessible by subway and bus, usually with no more than 10-20 minutes walk. Admission fees, if any, are indicated.
Pretty much all sites are indicated on good city maps that are sold around Nanjing for Y3-5. Text on such maps is, typically, only in Chinese, so I have included Chinese name for most sites. There are probably also maps with English legends, but they may show show fewer sites (i.e., only the most famous ones, such as Ming Xiaoling).
Southern Dynasties sites in Gan Jia Xiang[edit]
- Turtles: 6
- Period: Liang Dynasty (Southern Dynasties), AD 502-557
- Access convenience: moderate
- Cost: free
The period of the Six Dynasties, and in particular the Southern dynasties (AD 420-589), was a time of flourishing monumental art. As the Southern Dynasties' capital was near modern Nanjing, most of their surviving statuary is to be found in the greater Nanjing area, or farther east near Danyang.
Many of the Southern Dynasties ruling families chose to bury their members in a fairly small area which is today called Gan Jia Xiang (甘家巷, "Gan Family's Lane"), located some 15 km northeast from the downtown of modern Nanjing, in Qixia District. Gan Jia Xiang (also spelled Ganjiaxiang) has been chosen by modern planners as a site of an oil refinery and chemical plants, but quite a bit of ancient statuary is still there, and is displayed in situ.
The typical style of a Southern Dynasties tombside ensemble is .....
The easiest way to get to Gan Jia Xiang is to take a bus serving the Nanjing-Qixia route. They starting point is Nanjing Railway Station (across the street from the western local bus plaza), and they run all the way to Qixia Mountain (a park especially popular with hikers during the fall foliage season; Qixia Temple is located there as well), so a visit to Gan Jia Xiang can be combined with a Qixia Mountain hike. The buses are labeled 南栖线 (Nan-Qi xian, i.e. Nanjing-Qixia line") and/or simply 栖霞 (Qixia); the fare is Y2. On its way the bus also stops outside of the Eastern Long-Distance Bus Station, which is useful if this is where you are starting from.
It takes the bus about half an hour to get to the Gan Jia Xiang (甘家巷) stop. Once off the bus, you'll see a row of tiny red mini-taxis that take the arriving bus passengers to various destinations around the neighborhood. However, you won't need them to get to the three closest sites, the tombs of Xiao Hui (萧恢), Xiao Dan (萧憺), and Xiao Xiu (蕭秀).
If you simply walk back, to the direction from which the bus has come (i.e., to the southwest), after about 100 meters you will see two majestic bixie (lion-like animals with big tongues hanging out of their mouths) standing in a roadside park on the opposite (northwestern) side of the street, facing each other. These two well-preserved bixie is all that's left of Xiao Hui's tomb's shendao.
Walk for a few more steps along the same park, and you'll see another bixie, whose head has been destroyed. This is Xiao Dan's tomb (萧憺墓, Xiao Dan mu; the site may also be known as 萧憺墓石刻, Xiao Dan mu shike, i.e. "Sculptures at the tomb of Xiao Dan"). Two small bixie, has probably originally were elsewhere at this site, have been placed by modern "conservationists" (or landscapers) under their big brother. A piece of another, destroyed, bixie sits on the grass where that bixie must half originally stood in the shendao arrangement.
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Xiao Dan's better-preserved turtle is locked up in a new tower, looking at its less fortunate fellow turtle sitting outside. The headless bixie is to the right. -
Xiao Dan's better-preserved turtle in its tower -
The upper part of the turtle-borne stele. -
The other, damaged turtle. You can see here how steles were inserted into the backs of tortoise pedestals.
Behind the headless bixie you'll see a concrete tower constructed in modern times to protect a well-preserved stone turtle carrying a similarly well-preserved dragon-topped stele for Xiao Dan. This is as fine specimen of the Southern Dynasties stone turtle as one can find. It seems quite similar to the ones at Xiao Xiu's tomb that so impressed Segalen. However, as it is locked in its stone tower, you can only see its front. Note a round hole in the upper part of the stele: such holes are a common element in Southern Dynasties steles; according to Ann Paludan, such holes were made as a reminder of more ancient days, when the ropes on which the coffin was lowered to the grave would be tied to the graveside stelae.
The other (or perhaps another) Xiao Dan's turtle has been less fortunate. Having lost its stele, and with its head broken off, it sits in the open air in a shallow pit, facing its luckier, better-housed sister.
The fullest array of tomb statuary in Gan Jia Xiang is, however, at the tomb of Xiao Xiu (萧秀墓[石刻], Xiao Xiu mu [shike]). It includes 4 stone turtles (of which 2 still carry their steles), two columns on their characteristic round bases decorated with fantastic animals, and two bixie. To get there, one starts at the same Gan Jia Xiang bus stop, but walks northeast, i.e. along the direction of the buses that run from Nanjing to Qixia. After a 5 minutes' walk (about 400 meters) you'll see an elementary school on the left (Gan Jia Xiang elementary school) - but an elementary school with a difference: after children enter the gates of the schoolyard and walk to the schoolhouse, they follow Xiao Xiu's shendao, with the 1,500-year-old turtles and bixie loooking at them from both sides. Now, why wasn't my elementary school like that?
I happened to be at the site during the Chinese New Year vacation period, so the gate was closed (the usual accordion gate, ubiquitous in Chinese schools and other institutions), but one could still get a decent view of the turtles and the columns from the street; they sit in what amounts to a covered front yard of the school. However, the two bixie, who stand farther back, are not visible from the street. I reckon that if you're there on a normal school day, it should b e possible to get a permission to walk into the schoolyard and meet all the stone creatures up close.
Besides the 3 tomb sites mentioned before, my map shows 5 more Southern Dynasties sites in Gan Jia Xiang and its vicinity. I did not try to look for them, as the weather was lousy and I had my fill of ancient statuary sightseeing for the day.
I saw a few hotels around the central Liu Jia Xiang (some of which of the proper binguan variety, i.e., presumably, authorized to receive foreigners), but there seems to be little reason for any tourist to stay there overnight, unless maybe planning a trip to Qixia Mountain early the next morning.
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Liang Dynasty Prince of Anchengkang (梁安成康王萧秀墓, Liang Anchengkang Xiao Xiu Mu). (An article: 梁安成康王萧秀墓石刻 (Sculptures at the Tomb of Xiao Xiu) (in Chinese); Mapped photo on panoramio.com)
Xiao Hong Tomb[edit]
- Turtles: 2
- Period: Liang Dynasty (Southern Dynasties), AD 502-557
- Access convenience: easy, once the site opens to general public
- Cost: admission price not set yet
This is a wonderful ensemble of Southern Dynasties
Chuning Tomb[edit]
- Turtles: 0
- Period: Liang Dynasty (Southern Dynasties), AD 502-557
- Access convenience: moderate
- Cost: free
Two qilins by roadside...
Ming Xiaoling[edit]
- Turtles: 3
- Period: early Ming; Qing (Kangxi)
- Access convenience: easy
- Cost: Y70
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Could be combined with a visit to a number of other sites around the Purple Mountain and the east side, but realistically Ming Xiaoling it is pretty huge, and probably would give one enough walking and sightseeing for a whole day. You may want to pack a lunch or at least some snacks with you, as food options within the gates of the complex are few and far apart.
Linggu Temple area[edit]
- Turtles: 2
- Period: Ming; Republic of China
- Access convenience: easy
- Cost: Y35
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The Linggu Temple Scenic Area is adjacent to Sun Yat-sen Memorial and Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum; combination tickets may be available.
Tomb of the Sultan of Borneo[edit]
- Turtles: 1
- Period: early Ming (Yongle Emperor)
- Access convenience: easy
- Cost: Y15
A fairly typical early-Ming shendao, complete with a bixi tortoise. It is unique, however, in that it was constructed not for a Ming royal family member or a Ming official, but for a foreigner: the sultan of the country called in Chinese Boni (Borneo or Brunei, in modern term), who came for a state visit to the Yongle Emperor's capital Nanjing, fell sick and died. Apparently it was just considered a "nameless grave" for a long time, but identified with the sultan ca. 1958, after which the figures were re-erected in a proper shendao way. I was curious to see if there would be any particular "Southeast Asian flavor" around the monuments there, but could not detect any.
Presently, there is also some kind of Brunei cultural center at the site.
Access: Tianlongsi (天隆寺) Metro Station (on Line 1, Nanjing Metro). Walk south on Andemen Dajie (Peace-and-Virtue Gates Road) for a short distance until the first road crossing; then west on Ruanjiao Dadao (Software Road) for a few hundred meters until the posted site entry.
Drum Tower (Gulou)[edit]
- Turtles: 1
- Period: Qing
- Access convenience: easy
- Cost: Y5 (in 2008)
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Nanjing Museum[edit]
- Turtles: 1 outside, and probably more inside
- Period: various
- Access convenience: easy, once the museum re-opens. Museum grounds are open now.
- Cost: Grounds are free; for the museum itself, perhaps around Y20.
Presently (early 2011) Nanjing Museum is closed for a major reconstruction project, but the grounds are still open (and are free). A variety of interesting sculptures, of various provenance, is exhibited on the grounds of the museum; among them, one headless, tablet-less small bixi, which seems to be in the Ming style.
Once the museum re-opens, it definitely will be a "must" destination to visit...
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Tianfei Gong and Jinghai Temple[edit]
- Turtles: 2 (identical)
- Period: early Ming (Yongle Emperor), and its modern copy
- Access convenience: easy to moderate
- Cost: Y10 for Tianfei Gong, free for Jinghai Temple.
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Treasure Boat Shipyard[edit]
- Turtles: 1 (identical to the ones in Tianfei Gong and Jinghai Temple)
- Period: modern copy of early Ming (Yongle Emperor)
- Access convenience: easy to moderate
- Cost: Y30
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Zhongshan Gate / Yueya Lake[edit]
- Turtles: 1
- Period: modern
- Access convenience: easy
- Cost: free
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Yangshan Quarry[edit]
- Turtles: 0
- Period: early Ming
- Access convenience: moderate, but a pretty long trip
- Cost: Y48
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Other sites[edit]
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