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The Ming
Tombs
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Beijing has been home to more than five feudal dynasties. Its no great surprise
then, that 13 of the 16 Ming emperors have
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tombs situated just outside the city. And how thoughtful of them to make
their burial place a convenient stop off for |
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travelers en route to the Great Wall at
Badaling!! Covering a huge area,the Ming Tombs(shisanling or literally
the 13 Tombs)
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are located 50km North West of the city. Spring is the best time of year
to visit, when the area surrounding the vaults is alive
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trees and blooming flowers. It is a good place to visit if you are
interested in dynastic history. Aside from that, it's a little
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dry. However, the local government seemed to realize that there is a
potentially lucrative market (at least passing through)
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and as such, are attempting to spice the whole thing up a little. Planned
developments include a golf course, picnic area, |
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swimming pool,a hotel and various restaurants and cafes. |
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Although Beijing has been the capital of China for five dynasties, the only
imperial mausoleums in the immediate vicinity
of the city today are those of the Liao and Qing emperors are in
the northeast China and in Hebei Province respectively.
The tombs from the Jin Dynasty were destroyed at the end of the Ming Dynasty,
and since the Mongol rulers of the Yuan Dynasty
had no specific funeral rituals, there are no extant burial sites from
this period.
The Ming tombs lie in a
broad valley to the south of Tianshou (Longevity of Heaven) Mountain in
Changping County, about 50 kilometers northwest of Beijing proper. To the
southwest of this valley, a branch of the Yanshan Range suddenly to breaks off
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and forms a natural gateway to the 40-quare-kilometer basin in which the
tombs were built. This gateway is “defended” |
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on each side by the Dragon and Tiger hills, which are said to protect this
sacred area from winds carrying evil influences.
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Thirteen out of the 16 Ming emperors are buried in this peaceful valley.
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Visitors first pass by an elegant, five-arched white marble memorial archway.
Built in 1540, this 29-meter-wide and
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14-meter-high structure, with its delicate bas-relief carvings of lions,
dragons and lotuses, is still in near-perfect condition.
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one kilometer to the northeast of this archway stands the Great Red Gate
(Dahongmen), the outermost gate of the
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entire mortuary complex.
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The Great Red Gate marks the beginning of the 7-kilometer-long Sacred Way
(Shendao), which leads to the entrance
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of the Changling, the tomb of Emperor Yongle (reigned 1403-1424). Continuing
on, one comes to a tall square stela pavilion,
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with four tall white stone ornamental columns (huabiao) set at each of its four
corners, standing boldly in the center of the
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Sacred Way. The pavilion houses a huge stone tortoise by the famous Avenue of
the Animals, where pairs of lions,
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elephants, camels. Horses and a number of mythological beasts line the road.
There are 24 stone creatures in all.
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beasts are followed in turn by a group of 12 stone human figures, which
represent the funeral cortege of the
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deceased emperors. Carved in 1540, this group is made up of military, civil and
meritorious officials. Immediately beyond
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the Dragon and Phoenix Gate (Longfengmen), which are pierced with three
archways. |
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Continuing north to the Changling, the Sacred Way passes over a
river via two
bridges of five and seven arches respectively. From here, all 13 tombs can be
seen; the foothills and groves of trees dotted with golden yellow roofs stretch
for 19 kilometers
across this sacred valley.
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Compared to the other 12 tombs the Changling is the largest and best preserved.
Built on a south-facing slope, the
Changling's three courtyards are entirely
surrounded by walls. The first courtyard extends from the massive
three-arched
entrance gate to the Gate of Eminent Favor (Long
enmen); on the east of this courtyard stands a pavilion, which contains
a stone tablet, a stone camel and a stone
dragon. Inside the second courtyard stands the Hall of Eminent Favor. The
central portion of the stairway, which leads up
to this great hall is carved with designs of sea beats and dragons. To the
east and west of the hall stand two ritual
stoves where bolts of silk and inscribed scrolls were set aflame as offerings
to the
emperor's ancestors. The dimensions of the Hall
of Eminent Favor (67 x 29 meters) closely match the dimensions of the
Hall of Supreme Harmony (Taihedian) in the
Forbidden City, which makes it one of the largest wooden buildings in China.
Four giant wooden columns and 28 smaller pillars
support this structure, The four large columns are 14.3 meters high and
1.17 meters in diameter, and are extraordinary
for the fact that they are each a single trunk of Phoebe nanmu. |
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Inside the third and final courtyard is a square stone rampart topped with a
stela tower, in front of which stand incense
burners and other ritual objects known as
the "Nine Stone Feast Implements." A staircase leads up through the
15-meter-high rampart tot eh tower, which
contains a stela bearing the words "The Mausoleum of Emperor Chengzu"
( the temple name of Emperor Yongle).
A circular wall one kilometer in circumference commonly called
the "Precious city"
( Baocheng) surrounds the 31-meter-long,
28-meter-wide burial mound. To the east and west of the great mausoleum
are
the tombs of imperial concubines. Sixteen
concubines were "rewarded" with death and buried alive here to serve
their
emperor in the underworld. (Such sacrifices
were not abolished until the time of Emperor Zhengtong, who reigned
1436-1449
and 1457-1464). |
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The tomb of Emperor Wanli (reigned 1537-1619) and its underground place are
located at the foot of Dayu Mountain
southwest of the Changling tomb. Emperor Wanli
was buried here in 1620 with two of his wives, Xiao Duan and Xiao Jing.
The labor of more than 30,000 workers and 8
million taels of silver (equal to the national land tax revenues of the first
two
years of Wanli' s reign) were spent on the
project. It was completed in six years (1584-1590). |
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The tomb, known as the Dingling, occupies a total area of 1,195 square meters
and is located directly behind the stela
tower. A 40-meter-long tunnel leads to the
first massive door, which is 7.3 meters below the ground.The underground palace
consists of five rooms with giant marble
archways and a floor paved with huge polished stone known as "gold bricks."
Fifty
thousand bricks were produced in Suzhou
over the course of three years and transported some 1,400 kilometers to the
north. |
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Descending to the level of the burial chambers, one comes first tot eh
unfurnished front hall. This hall connects tot eh
central hall, where three marble imperial
thrones, one for the emperor and two for his consorts, are located. Here also
are
"eternal lamps"(oil lamps with a floating
wick) and a set of the "five offerings" -- an incense burner, two
candlesticks and two
vases, all of yellow glazed pottery. Adjacent to
the middle hall are two side chambers, each containing a marble
coffin
platform 17.4 meters long and 3.7 meters
wide. Known as "gold wells," each of these platforms is topped with "gold
bricks"
and has a small area in its center which is
filled with yellow soil. No coffins, however, were found in these chambers.
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The rear hall is the largest (9.5 meters high, 30.1 meters long and 9.1 meters
wide) and most important hall in the
underground palace. In the center of the hall
are the three platforms used to support the coffins of Emperor Wanli and
his
empresses. Twenty-six red lacquer chests,
containing crowns, pitchers and wine vessels of gold, pitchers, cups, bowls and
earring of jade, and porcelain vases and bowls were
placed around
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