Monday, January 20, 2014

Three Kingdoms (220-280 AD) Mausoleum & Zhuge Liang Memorial Temple

I was excited to find out that the famous Three Kingdom's Warlord Liu Bei was buried at the Huiling Mausoleum in Chengdu. My wife told me many tales of their battles in ancient China that made me ponder about human's greed for power until today. Our human hearts could be so terrible until they waged senseless wars without caring about the lost lives of million innocent families! I pray that it would never happen to this country.



1. The prominent stone sculpture at the entrance of the Zhuge Liang's Memorial Temple and the Mausoleum of Warlord Liu Bei who founded the Shu Kingdom in ancient China. It took me a long time to wait for the crowd to disperse so that I could have the whole rock to myself!




2. This place is very huge with lots of pavilions, shrines, courtyards and beautiful landscapes at every corner.




3. They have 2 rows of showcased shrines of all the famous Three Kingdom's warriors and scholars where their detailed statues were placed as respects by different Emperors from the Tang Dynasty until the Qing Dynasty.



4. I am only posting the few famous ones that many of us know about. The top left one is Guan Yu (Birth Unknown- Died 219 AD), a Major General to Warlord Liu Bei who is today a widely worshiped deity in Taoist Temples worldwide. The bottom left one is Zhang Fei (Birth Unknown - Died 221 AD), another Major General to Warlord Liu Bei. The right one is Liu Bei who founded the Shu Kingdom.


5. Prime Minister Zhuge Liang ("Kongming", 181-234 AD). Wise and loyal strategist and Prime Minister to Warlord Liu Bei. He was so smart and popular with the Chinese folks who still respect him until today. Finally, I got to see the real face of Zhuge Liang.




6. Most of us can remember that Takeshi Kaneshiro acted as the wise man Zhuge Liang in the movie "Red Cliff".



7. The whole area has many ancient tablets written beautifully since the Tang Dynasty under the Imperial Orders of the Emperors. I wish that I could read them all.




8. A selfie portrait shot of our memorable and happy trip!





9. I was attracted by their old Chinese designs of joss stick urns which had different figurines. 






10. It was a long walk across the various paths that led us to different pavilions and beautiful courtyards.




11. This walled path is very lovely with tall bamboo groves flanking on both sides.




12. There is a small museum behind this Lion Statue which housed the various ancient figurines unearthed during the Three Kingdoms with much explanations of the history. I do no wish to post the photos which might bore you.




13. Here is another couple shot over the bridge.




14. This is the entrance leading to the tomb of Warlord Liu Bei. It was common to have various statues of animals and scholars lining outside the Emperor's tombs in China.





15. I have no idea whose statue was the famous scholar but I do know that green pants lady is my wife who is now a scholar pursuing her Masters at University Malaya. Good luck to her studies.




16. That's ME!! Cute?





17. The ancient tombs of the China's Emperors were often buried deep inside small hills in round shapes. It was so huge that nobody could take a single shot of the whole view of Liu Bei's tomb.





18. We joined all the visitors to walk in one big circle around the tomb. Here Liu Bei was buried alongside his 2 wives and there was no record on the date of this ancient mausoleum being exactly built.





19. One circle completed. 
If you are a fan of the Three Kingdom's history, you must visit this place in Chengdu - Sichuan Province!





20. I was trying to call SK in Malaysia from Chengdu.



115 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Oh My Goodness! You always scared me again when I have not finished editing but your comments appeared like ghosts! Me cute? Awwww..... Thank you!

      It is also hot here!

      Delete
    2. Good morning TM, i am back here... hehe...

      Delete
    3. Think this is the 2nd time that i have scare you, kakaka....

      Delete
    4. My wife says Thank You! She will never stop studying like the saying that "We Learn From The Cradle To The Grave"...


      I should call you a Paranormal Blogger! You can appear from the PC screens. Muahahaha

      Delete
    5. Hi TM, good morning, i'm back again, if not, will have miss the last picture, hehe...

      Delete
  2. I think I saw a movie long long long time ago - The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Dunno related or not.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you should watch the RED CLIFF which was a big budget movie with handsome & pretty stars!

      Delete
  3. You give us eye candy to ogle at.

    Takeshi Kaneshiro tau. Not Anay! Bwahaha

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Betul betul buat suspense anay aje lol

      Delete
    2. I never fancied him until I watched his movies recently. Perhaps his acting skills have improved as he aged like old Ginseng! LOL

      Delete
  4. #6 He's the most handsome zhu ge liang!!!

    #16 You're super cute lo!!!

    I'm kinda fan of three kingdom story…wonder why the tour guide never show us this place!!! @.@!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree that he is the most handsome PM because he uses Biotherm products!


      Me cute??... I also use Biotherm products!.... *wink* *wink* ... (shy shy)


      Following tour guides could be a nightmare at times. I only followed tours to Beijing and Korea, cukup lah - sufferings! They would squeeze your purse with the visits to product factories.

      Delete
    2. But we never buy those products, hehe!!! =]

      Delete
  5. Wow .... This is good! Didn't know got such place for these historical figures. I will like it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. China is full of surprises and shocks too. I did not expect Chengdu to have so much history and lovely environment.... The Pandas are not wrong!

      Delete
  6. oh i love the chinese history, and i would be very delighted to see places where history happened.. errr, phiak my head, what am i talking about.. everything that happened is history right?? what i meant was, places where well-known history took place, make more sense?? :p

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You love chinese history ahh? I don't like history.. Lastime I studied in sekolah kebangsaan ger ma, sejarah I never like la.. Have to memorize so many things.. Haha..

      Delete
    2. i didn't like Chinese history until recently only.. last time forced to memorize during school so didn't like it, but later started to read them as leisure and like it, especially the Qing Dynasty.. :)

      Delete
    3. I like to read about ancient china but my knowledge tak boleh pakai coz campur aduk fiction n facts.

      I only recall the 3kingdom war very bad. Good becime bad and bad become worst. Kena sabotage here n there. Pity the rakyat.

      Delete
    4. I also hated to read the Chinese History from school's text books and now I blame the authors for writing lame and poor stories. I started to appreciate them after watching so many series of them at the CCTV4 channel via Astro. Memories came flooding back to my head when they related many incidents inside the 2 Summer Palaces and Forbidden City.

      I need to watch the Tales Of The 3 Kingdom. once and for all.

      Delete
  7. #1.. must take a photo of this rock, it's so commemorative, but anay was waiting till there's nobody around?? aiyoh, then you must walked into the camera and pose with the rock dei..

    #2.. indeed a huge place!! this is the entrance and i can already see a long walkway, haha!!

    #3.. hmmm, interesting displays of the statues of the famous Three Kingdom's warriors and scholars.. did you actually see all of them in details?? how many in totals?? and if Anay was going to see all in details one by one, probably need two days?? :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oi, you purposely komen at nite izzit, so that I can't spoil your thread? Hehe..

      #1 - give them killer stares, so that they get the hint and faster leave..
      #3 - I don't think he's gonna stand there and read the details one by one.. Go back to hotel room can use free wifi to google about the history and take his own sweet time to digest, hehe..

      Delete
    2. I not that free to stalk him la.. But so happen, got 1 or 2 times, I interrupted his komen ma, he "lau chan" liao, say I interrupted him, thats why he purposely komen eother after 5.30pm or at nite lor.. So that I can't kacau lor..

      Delete
    3. Good afternoon princess ribbon. Sik pau mei?

      Aiya rude la interupt ppl talking. Moreover sk ady hv perfect thread punya. Lol.. patut la change timing.. lol

      Delete
    4. Sik pau jor lor.. U leh?
      My lunch time 12.30-1.30 ma.. hehehehe..

      Delete
    5. This Thambee and Ribbon Princess are like small gals and boys! Well, it was coincidence that she butted in between SK's thread unintentionally. Of course our perfectionist SK was furious and his perfect karipap hair must have fumed too. Kakakakaka
      I wish i could do that too but one need's luck to butt in like attacking an enemy.

      Delete
    6. I didn't pose with the rocks like typical tourists as I find that a bit old fashioned now.
      The walk was very long and far deep into the woods. Unbelievable!
      There was easily over 100 statues! i forgot to count and make note like bloggers do.

      Delete
  8. #4.. smart anay!! you posted the three brothers Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei!!

    #5 & #6.. ah, and the next iconic person during the Three Kingdoms era - Zhuge Liang!! i have read a lot of stories about this wise man back in school.. and i also watch the movie where the handsome Takeshi Kaneshiro played Zhuge Liang.. so who you find more handsome between the two?? :p

    #7.. the one you are showing here is the famous 後出師表 written by Zhuge Liang himself as a report to Liu Bei after his expeditions into the north in 228 A.D.. there are two parts of this 出師表 one on 227 A.D. and this one on 228 A.D.. i remember i studied this in high school..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don't mean to sound silly, but I really have no idea on your #4-7..
      SK very good memory also, can remember so much from high school..
      For me ahh, I scroll until Takeshi there ahh, I see his lengchai face only, haha..

      Delete
    2. My Thambee SK is smart and very intelligent as one could judge the size of his head!!!

      I just knew about the 3 brothers from my wife, another reincarnation of a smart scholar like SK. Worst of all, I only heard of Zhuge Liang when I was in chengdu in december 2013. Shame la.
      Is there any free movies to download 後出師表 and 出師表 ????

      Delete
    3. there is probably no movies about the 出師表 dei.. it's just a report for the Northern Expedition submitted to Liu Bei by Zhuge Liang.. most people will only make movies about their war with Cao Cao..

      Delete
    4. TM: so silly to make a movie just for the report :S

      Delete
  9. #8.. oh sweet sweet self portrait of Anay and Letchumi!! but why not around the trees?? :D

    #9.. you are right, this joss stick urn is kind of special huh?? usually they would have carved omens like dragons, but this one came with two men.. :)

    #10 & #11.. indeed very beautiful inside.. and i am fascinated by that path covered by bamboo trees at both sides.. which also reminds me of a place i have missed in Kyoto!! aiks..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I also surprised see the urn y is figure of human instead of dragons

      Delete
    2. It was so cold and how to dance dei?? So when are you going back to Kyoto again?
      Time for you to visit China - cheap and fun!

      Delete
  10. #12.. would be nice if you could make a collage of some photos you have taken inside the museum behind this lion statue..

    #13.. very beautiful landscaping inside there, but of course Anay and Letchumi are more stunning than the scenery i would say.. muahaha!! i know you are going to say my CB mulut manis~~ :D

    #14 & 15.. hahaha!! that lime green pants of the UM scholar was indeed very striking.. i like the photo she was hugging the statue, so cute and so young!! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha, you are saying your own mouth is CB ahh? Aiyoyo, siew sei ngo..
      Not mulut manis la, but really, I think I am more interested to see TM and wifey posing and they really bring colours to the place.. Coz wifey is wearing a striking lime green pants :)

      Delete
    2. CB = Cantik Betul, Cakap Benar.. you know or not CB LouizYee?? :D

      Delete
    3. I think letchumi pic hugging the scholar cuter than anay's photo la. Here letchumi really CB. Cantik betul.

      Best of luck to letchumi in her studies

      Delete
    4. SK, I wana laugh until all my fart+kencing+tears all terkeluar..

      CB = cantik betul or cakap benar?
      Then sorry lor, I thought CB is..........

      All the while I was thinking why SK and TM so rude one, and so kelakar, say ownself CB mouth..
      So now I know the meaning of CB...

      Delete
    5. Sk n anay mana ada chou lou one. You xan bet even their KNS MCCB DNS have innocent meaning one ...muhahaha

      Delete
    6. I don't belif.. Proof to me..
      SK, tell me what is KNS, MCCB, DNS means..

      Delete
    7. Muahahahaha..!! I thought this Ribbon Princess had been stalking and could guess the initials like so many bloggers do. How about DKNY?? That one is vulgar lah if you wish to think that way.

      Hey meow!!! What is KNS, MCCB and DNS? I have forgotten la!!!!

      I am lazy to make the collage cos the museum is small. I will do that for the other Sichuan Museum which is really big!

      I have learnt to add some funny poses to liven up my traveling blog posts which were often mundane and sleepy. Letchumy's green pants was from UniQlo and received many stares around Chengdu. LOL

      Delete
  11. #16.. Oh My Liu Bei!! who's there in the photo?? he is so cute dei~~ looks like only half of his actual age dei!!

    #17.. oh, informative!! i didn't know the way that ancient chinese emperors were buried.. but i thought they were always buried deep under with basements as huge as our modern carpark..

    #18 & #19.. interesting to walk a round circling this important man of the chinese history huh?? but seemed like there wasn't anything much to see and to explore huh?? ah, well, better let him RIP than being disturbed by moron tourists huh?? :p

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wah, if TM is only 38 yrs old, then he looks like 19 only lor in this picture? Wah, sure TM keeps grinning in front of his pc right now..

      Moron tourists? You are talking about who sin?

      Delete
    2. I thought ancient emperors buried in big mountains.the ones with dragon feng shui?

      Delete
    3. No I heard that good Feng Shui was not always on mountains like the several Emperor's Tombs i have seen. They usually have very deep chambers as their tombs below and laden with Mercury to ward off intruders. They will cover it with a huge hill of earth above like a UFO.

      The most remarkable tomb belonged to the First Emperor Qin Shi Huang in Xian where all the Terracotta Warriors were unearthed too.

      Delete
  12. BTW did anyone noticed the new layout of this blog?? wow, finally after dunno-how-many-moons, there is finally a change!! yeah, nice blue color theme, simple minimalist design, i like..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I noticed. ..especially the comments section. ..thanks anay for changing the color...blur kucing

      Delete
    2. I really salute all you bloggers esp SK, Meow and Lina for having such lovely blog designs!! I need to learn since my wife also has IT knowledge.

      Delete
    3. yes, the blue is so soothing to the eyes..

      Delete
    4. I have been a lazy blogger for a long time and I ought to wake up! I need to update my posts often and create fresh designs & colors for my blog. Sorry for hurting all the readers' eyes with my gory colors. Muahahahaha

      Delete
  13. Nice pictures here esp the couple in front of the camera... Your wifey is really studious...taking masters in UM? Very geng! Good prospect for the future...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Claire. I wish I have half of her brains.

      Delete
  14. So, after more than a week of hibernation, finally I see your travelogue continuation..
    When I read your first sentence (and also the title, of course), already feeling macam ancient chinese storybooks or history books, which I never understood, especially the names, the places and the years..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, your wifey told you the tales? She's really knowledgeable wor.. She memang knew about these history or she already read the brochures (or information leaflets) beforehand? hehe.. You know, those leaflets before the entrance for tourists to pick, to let them understand roughly and briefly about the places they are going to visit..

      I thought you are going to hug the rock and take a picture, coz you said you purposely waited for the crowd to disperse in order to have the whole rock to yourself.. Then when I scroll up again to see another time, eh, bayang pun tak jumpa, hehe..





      Delete
    2. Errr, for #4, I paiseh lor.. You said "many of us know about"... But I have to be frank la, i know NOTHING at all, hehe.. Just tengok pictures nia.. and of course, reading your interesting story..
      I realize your post for this time, you are very "jing king", no write nonsense or hamsap stuff, hehe.. Other posts leh, you will add in some nonsense..

      Ok, laugh all you want, when I see your Takeshi picture, I only see his lengchai face.. I know nuts about the Red Cliff and what-not :)

      Delete
    3. Selfie portrait? Eh, to me hor (correct me if I am wrong), selfie means you use your handphone punyer front camera to take pictures of yourself (or together with your partner), then only I call selfie wor.. If take from far (and also taken by somebody else), it's not selfie la, hehe.. In my language la.. I might be wrong..

      Delete
    4. I like #13.. Looks like romantic couple on a lover's bridge.. But the bridge too "short" la.. hehehe..

      I also like #14.. Your introduction is very interesting because your wifey is standing at the "entrance leading to the tomb......" very very interesting.. Like standing at a very holy place..

      Delete
    5. No trademark pose-see for #16 ahh? Neh, your favourite one leg kick up the air, hands wide open? Hehehehe.. But this pose also yau-ying la.. So still the same question.. What do you put inside the pouch? Passport, wallet, handphone and cili sauce?

      Delete
    6. Ding dong ding dong...anay dunno Cantonese la...

      Eh now all hv trade mark pic ah??? I hv to di trademarks pic also la.

      Delete
    7. Ssshhh Meow! Now she knows many of us are handicapped in Cantonese!....

      Ribbon Princess - I am a well known lazy blogger and often got kicked by Lina and others before I would post something! At least I have proven that I read blogs regularly and clinched the King of Spams title few times! ....@ show off @

      My wife and SK have similar strengths in Chinese History, IT Programming and love to study until Masters & Phd. Funny people!

      Of course it was selfie shots with my phone. Not correct meh?

      I cannot be jumping and kicking up in all my photos la. I need to be creative and take new poses always. Any idea where I can learn to pose or copy? I might learn to do upside down poses and planking soon.


      Delete
  15. Three Kingdom, I have watched the tv series spoken in Cantonese and Mandarin. But I am quite interested to read the book actually.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think the book must be thick and heavy so i better watch the movies which could help me to visualise the real scenes better!

      Delete
  16. Yes I read about liu bei too. Very sad.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I must watch again as I have forgotten the story. I only remember the First Emperor of Qin Dynasty's story. So scary and cruel one Meow..... you need tissues!

      Delete
  17. Why selfie no peluk letchumi punya....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We got peluk like Siamese Twins in many shots but how to post them??

      Anay will be labelled as old hamsap!

      Delete
    2. TM is always cute..always manages to make me smile in front of my laptop. :)

      Delete
    3. Whoa! Wenn just praised me and I cannot sleep tonight Liao!

      Delete
  18. i don't mean to be rude but i'm glad you changed your template (: the old one was kinda hard on the eyes, no offense.

    goodness, these courtyards and gardens are really something else! VERY very beautiful.. thanks for sharing :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your compliments and honest opinion. I always complained to other bloggers that my blog was terrible and irritated my own eyesight!

      I will tidy all my travel posts and label them for easier reading. Japan was the best place visited.

      Delete
  19. Guan Yu is the most successful in this regard... on so many altars around the world!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree with that and I also have him on my altar...

      Delete
  20. When talking about battles in ancient kingdom, even in our region. Reading our history of Kerajaan Majapahit, Langkasuka etc may not be as epic as ancient Chinese Kingdom but I guess ancient times are really a volatile time.

    Actually even during modern days - wars and during fighting communists. Sad really.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You know what?? I actually enjoyed reading all our own history and those in SE Asia during school days!! I hated to read those from China and Europe as they were too long battles!!

      I am really against wars today and the humans there could never wake up! I could weep when i watched the war victims in Syria and Middle East on TV nowadays. I felt so sorry and sad for the children.

      Delete
  21. Very interesting tales about the Three Kingdoms. I don't know much about Chinese history but after reading your post, I will visit this place if I have the opportunity to go to Chengdu. You are so blessed with a beautiful and brilliant wife :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My wife would be delighted to hear your compliments - Thank you!

      I was educated in Christian Brothers School so I missed all those interesting Chinese history like what SK had to learn "by force".....!!! LOL Please visit China while it is still cheap as their currency has been rising up.

      Delete
    2. yes, the history is so interesting. I didn't study Chinese history in details.

      Delete
    3. I think it is never too late to learn the Chinese history now. I learnt them in a costly way by going to the actual sites.

      Delete
  22. You should ask those people around you to raise their hands so that 'many hands make light work' therefore no need to phone Thambee..lolz

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Whose hands dei? Almost closing time and no one there!

      Delete
  23. Wow lots of war stories in Candu oops Chengdu. Heard of the Three Kingdoms but not seen the movies. Oh Liu Bei's grave is huge.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Wait, did you just add that one more photo which is the last photo?
    Or I was blind not to see it yesterday?

    Everywhere you go, everything you do, you always think of SK yes?

    He must be so touched and cry often thinking of you, just like how the N'Sync song goes:
    I lie awake
    I drive myself crazy
    Drive myself crazy
    Thinking of you

    ReplyDelete
  25. Good afternoon TM! I am back! What a hot day today!! =_="

    This place sure look huge! But very beautiful too, can tell it's very 'peaceful', with all the trees.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL at the last picture! So you managed to call SK la? How was the phone charges? Kekekek :p

      Delete
  26. Cute? Or act cute? No lah you are really cute we love to see TM like that

    I know very little about chinese history

    TM calling SK from china? Wei wei Sk are you there???

    ReplyDelete
  27. LOL at TM comment that sharon somewhere in singapore scare him, so funny, how can we do without TM he is always so funny

    That time he also say i can read his mind scare him haha

    ReplyDelete
  28. You are a blessed man to have a beautiful and intelligent wife and you two are so loving

    ReplyDelete
  29. Why small kuching always have typo error shall call her typo error queen heehee

    ReplyDelete
  30. I like to visit temples and pray to the gods

    ReplyDelete
  31. I am very weak in history and politics stuff

    ReplyDelete
  32. Good to have a new look on your blog

    ReplyDelete
  33. hahahaha your pics are funny! great pose! :)

    ReplyDelete
  34. Happy Birthday to you~
    Happy birthday to you~
    Happy birthday to Anay~
    Happy birthday to YOU~~~~~~

    ReplyDelete
  35. Uiks! Added new photo wor...

    What lah you calling thambe to on the lughts...call the jaga there la.

    The jaga gone berak is it? Cannot be disturb else will kena KNS with rude language. .but then in blogging world also got rude people la..I no step on people's tail people step my tail pulak..

    ReplyDelete
  36. I've read about the 3 Kingdoms (and played a game in 1990's based on it) but never know the entire story!

    Nice photos from the trip! :)

    ReplyDelete
  37. Hahaha! You're so cute. I like how you inject humour into your posts :) Love the movie "Red Cliff"!

    ReplyDelete
  38. Small Kuching: I hope you don't mind I call you typo error queen, it is meant to be a joke... :P

    ReplyDelete
  39. they should display the names of the scholars portrayed as statues there

    ReplyDelete
  40. Hi! Nice captures. 三国志 is very famous in Japan too. Your post is very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Deiiiiii!! I was reading through everything seriously, admiring all the pics and till the last pic.. my laugh burst hahahahaha.. Funny!!

    ReplyDelete
  42. Why u put my bf's photo here ? :P

    ReplyDelete
  43. Yup, I read this post before and it's refreshing to re- read again , such a different feeling now ! Hahaha

    ReplyDelete

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