Sacred way

A sacred way, spirit way, spirit road, spirit path, etc. (神道, shéndào) is the ornate road leading to a Chinese tomb of a major dignitary. The sacred way is lined on both sides by a succession of statues, pillars, and stelae. The statues along the spirit way depict real and mythical animals, as well as civilian and military officials.

History

Eastern Han dynasty

Sacred ways were a well-developed feature of tombs by the time of the Eastern Han dynasty. A traditional burial site of an emperor or a high official of that era would be typically arranged along the north–south axis; the sacred way would lead from the south to the southern gate of the enclosure within which the tomb itself and the associated buildings were located. This layout, with few exceptions, has persisted since then through the entire history of the sacred way.

A characteristic feature of an East Han sacred way were monumental towers (que), which were much larger and more expensive than the statues and stelae. The que were followed by statues of animals, among whom feline-like creatures were prominent: both fairly realistic-looking tigers (long known to Chinese artists) and lions (a Han dynasty innovation), as well as more fantastic varieties, provided with wings, beards, and/or horns. The feline-based fantastic creatures were known under a variety of names, among which the most common were tianlu, bixie and qilin.