The Ming Tombs are located 50
kilmometers to the northwest of downtown
Beijing. The burial ground of 13
emperors of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)
is embraced by mountains on three sides
and opening to a flat basin on the
south. Mangshan and Hushan mountains
rise on either side. The Wenyu River
flows to the northwest. The whole area
of 40 square kilometers is covered with
ancient pine and cypress trees.
Changling, the oldest mausoleum in the
center of the burial complex on Tianshou
Mountain, was built in 1409 and Siling,
the last mausoleum of the Ming Tombs,
was built in 1644, 200 years after the
first one. It was the most costly
construction project with the longest
time in the construction of imperial
burial grounds in China. In those days
the area with a circumference of several
dozen kilometers was tightly guarded,
giving it a myterious atmosphere.
In 1956 Chinese archaeologists excavated
Ding ling, the tomb of Emperor Wen Li
(Zhu Yijun) and unearthed 3,000 pieces
of gold, silver, jade and precious stone
except the confins of the emperor and
his empresses. A museum was established
at the site in October 1959. Since then
the Ming Tombs have been a favorite
tourist spot.
Stele Tower
The tower of multiple eaves with yellow
glazed tiles keeps a 10-meter-high stone
tablet sitting on a stone turtle with a
dragon’s head. The inscription on the
tablet reads:" Divine merrits and holy
virtues of Dingling". Four stone pillars
carved with dragons and clouds stand on
the four corners of the tower.
Divine Path
Flanking the 10-kilometerlong path are
18 pairs of stone sculptures of human
figures and animals. The 12 standing
human figures represent cicil and
military court officials and the 24
animals are xie (a mysterious animal in
Chinese mythology), camels, elephants,
qilin (another animal in Chinese
mythology) and horses.
Changling
The oldest tomb of the 13 Ming Tombs was
built in five years for Zhu Li, the
third emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
Originally there was a wall around the
mount with a gate. The Ling’en Hall,
Ming Tower, Precious City and auxiliary
establishments for sacrificial rituals
and storage have remained.
A whole view of Dingling
Dingling at the foot of Dayu Mountain
southwest of Changling is the 10th tomb
of the Ming Tombs for Zhu Yijun, the
13th emperor of the Ming Dynasty and two
empresses.
Entrance to the Underground Palace
There are seven entrances to the burial
chamber underground. Each was blocked by
a large piece of white marble. Those
blocks of the front, middle and back
entrances are the largest: 3.3 meters
wide and weighing four tons. On the
front side of each stone slab there are
81 knobs in nine rows. The stone door
pannels are meticulously carved and
closely fitted to the entrance. |