The Ming Tombs are the tombs of thirteen emperors in the Ming Dynasty. Tianshou Mountain is located at the foot of Yanshan Mountain in Changping District, northwest suburb of Beijing. Total area 120 square kilometers. From May of the seventh year of Yongle (1409), Changling was established here, and the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen, was buried in Siling. In the past 230 years, 13 magnificent tombs of emperors, 7 tombs of concubines and 1 tombs of eunuchs have been built successively. Thirteen emperors, 23 queens, two princes, more than 30 concubines and a eunuch were buried.
The Ming Tombs are located at the foot of Tianshou Mountain in the north of Changping District, Beijing. It is about 50 kilometers away from Beijing, and it takes about 40 minutes to drive northbound along Badaling Expressway. In the Ming Dynasty, on the road to the north of Shahe, there was a seven-hole stone "Chaozong Bridge". In the town east, there is a magnificent "Gonghua City". This city used to be the palace where Emperor Jiajing rested during the sacrifice in the mausoleum, and now only the ruins are left. The Ming Tombs are located in a small basin surrounded by mountains on the east, west and north. The mountains are beautiful and the scenery is pleasant. Warlocks in the Ming Dynasty thought it was a "Feng Shui" resort and an excellent "auspicious land". Therefore, it was chosen as the "eternal life domain" for the construction of imperial tombs by the Ming Dynasty. The cemetery was built in 1409 ~ 1644, with a history of more than 300 ~ 500 years. Covering an area of 40 square kilometers, the mausoleum is the largest existing royal mausoleum group in China and even in the world. As a part of the ancient culture of China, the natural landscapes of the Ming Tombs and Mausoleums complement each other, forming a tourist attraction with beautiful scenery and profound cultural connotations.
The Ming Tombs are the general name of the royal tombs of 13 emperors after the Ming Dynasty moved its capital to Beijing. There are Changling (Chengzu), Xianling (Renzong), Jingling (Xuanzong), Yuling (Yingzong), Maoling (Xianzong), Tailing (Xiaozong), Kangling (Wuzong) and Yongling (Sejong) in turn. The scenic spots that have been opened are Changling, Dingling, Zhaoling and Lu Shen.
The Ming Tombs are one of the best preserved imperial tombs in China. Moreover, the building is magnificent, the system is complete, and it has high historical relics value. After the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), in order to protect this cultural relic, the government began to carry out maintenance from the early days of liberation, and protected the Ming Tombs as a national key cultural relic. 1957, the Beijing municipal government announced the Ming Tombs as the first batch of key ancient cultural relics protection units in Beijing. 196 1 year, the Ming Tombs were announced as national key cultural relics protection units. 1982, the State Council announced Badaling-Ming Tombs Scenic Area as one of the 44 key scenic spots in China. 199 1 year, the Ming Tombs were identified by the National Tourism Administration as one of the "Forty Best Tourist Attractions in China". 1992, the Ming Tombs were rated as "the world's most well-preserved tombs with the largest number of buried emperors" by the Beijing Tourism World's Most Selected Committee.
Why did the 16th emperor of Ming Dynasty only have the Ming Tombs?
The Ming Dynasty experienced sixteen emperors. Why is it called the Ming Tombs? This is to trace the history of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, made Nanjing his capital and was buried in Zhongshan, Nanjing after his death, known as the "Ming Mausoleum" in history. The second emperor Zhu Yunwen (his uncle Judy) sent troops to Nanjing in the name of "Jingnan" (to relieve the danger for the emperor), and his whereabouts are unknown. Some people say it is a monk, but his whereabouts are unknown (this is an unsolved case in the history of the Ming Dynasty), so there is no mausoleum. Zhu Qiyu, the seventh emperor, was captured by Walla because of his younger brother Yingzong, and was granted the throne at the will of the Queen Mother and ministers. Later, Yingzong was put back, and under the planning of his cronies, he carried out a "change to seize the door." The restoration of the British Sect once again proclaimed himself emperor. After Zhu Qiyu was killed, Yingzong refused to recognize him as the emperor and destroyed the mausoleum built in Tianshou Mountain area. He was buried as a "king" in Yuquan Mountain in the western suburbs of Beijing. In this way, two of the sixteen emperors of the Ming Dynasty were buried elsewhere, one was unaccounted for, and the other thirteen were buried in Tianshou Mountain, so they were called the "Ming Tombs".
Lingqu features
The Ming Tombs is a natural mountainous area with specifications. Its mountain range belongs to Taihang Remnant Vein, which connects Juyongguan in the west, huanghua town in the north and Changping in the south. It is not only the barrier of the mausoleum, but also the north screen of the capital. Taihang Mountain starts from Zezhou and winds thousands of miles north to Juyongguan. Feng Wan leans back to Panqu and rises to the east as Tianshou Mountain (formerly known as Huang Tu Mountain). The mountain is towering and straight, majestic and broad, and the main force is strong. Gu, a famous scholar in the late Ming Dynasty, once wrote a poem describing the superior situation here: "The mountains are coming from the south, and the momentum is like a dragon, and the dragon leaps and leaps;" East toe in Lulong, west ridge in Taihang; Sitting on the yellow flower in the back (referring to huanghua town), facing the Shenjing; There is an old house called Kangjiazhuang. It can accommodate millions of people and suddenly open. This beautiful natural landscape was regarded as a treasure trove of geomantic omen by feudal rulers.
The Ming Tombs are both a unified whole and an independent unit with similar specifications. Each mausoleum is built in front of a mountain. The distance between the two tombs is at least half a kilometer and at most eight kilometers. Except for Siling, which is located in the southwest corner, the others are fan-shaped and located around Changling (see figure). Under the guidance of China's traditional geomantic theory, from site selection to planning and design, the Ming Tombs attached great importance to the harmonious unity of mausoleum architecture and natural landscape vegetation, and pursued the perfect realm of "heaven and earth" to reflect the philosophical view of "harmony between man and nature". The Ming Tombs, as an outstanding representative of China's ancient tombs, showed the rich connotation of China's traditional culture.
The layout of this mausoleum built on the mountain has also been appreciated by foreign experts. For example, Joseph Needham, a famous British historian, said: The Mausoleum is a great achievement in China's architectural form, and its overall pattern may be the greatest example of the combination of the whole building and landscape art. He rated the Ming Tombs as "the greatest masterpiece". His experience is that "you can enjoy the scenery of the whole valley from the gatehouse and meditate on its solemn scene on an organic plane, in which all the buildings are integrated with the scenery, and a person's wisdom is well expressed through the skills of architects and builders." British urban planner Edmund Bacon also spoke highly of the artistic achievements of the Ming Tombs. He believes that "the most magnificent' moving' example in architecture is Ming Taizu Mausoleum." He pointed out that the layout of the mausoleum building built on the mountain was "so magnificent that the whole valley volume was used to commemorate the dead king." They vividly describe the organic combination of the architecture of the Ming Tombs and the natural landscape.
In 2003, the Ming Tombs were listed on the World Heritage List. Evaluation of World Heritage Committee: According to the theory of geomantic omen, imperial tombs of the ming and qing dynasties has carefully selected sites and skillfully placed a large number of buildings underground. It is the product of human's transformation of nature, which embodies the traditional architectural and decorative ideas, and interprets the world outlook and power view of feudal China that lasted for more than 500 years.
Lu Shen
Lu Shen is the first scenic spot of the Ming Tombs, which consists of stone archway, Dahongmen, stele building, stone statue, dragon and phoenix gate, etc.
Stone archway is the first building in front of the mausoleum area, which was built at 1540 (the 19th year of Jiajing). The archway structure is five elements, six columns and eleven floors, all carved from white marble. The forehead and pillars are carved with dragon, moire and unicorn, lion and other reliefs. These patterns used to be decorated with various colors of paint, but they have been completely eroded because of their age. The whole archway is magnificent in structure and exquisitely carved, which embodies the excellent level of stone building technology in Ming Dynasty.
After passing the stone archway, you can see two hills on the left and right of Shinto. To the east is Longshan (also called Mangshan), which looks like a galloping black dragon. To the west is Tiger Mountain (commonly known as Tiger Valley), which looks like an alert tiger. In ancient Taoism in China, it was said that "the left green dragon and the right white tiger" were auspicious signs, and the "dragon" and "tiger" were left and right respectively, guarding the gates of the Ming Tombs with dignity.
Dahongmen is located in the south of Yuling District. Divided into three holes, also known as the Grand Palace Gate, it is the main entrance of the cemetery. On both sides of the gate stands a stone tablet engraved with the words "Officials are waiting to dismount here". Anyone who comes to pay homage to the mausoleum must enter the cemetery from now on to show the supreme dignity of the imperial tomb. There used to be two corner gates on both sides of the gate, which were connected by a red 80 Li Long fence. In the winding city wall, there is another xiaohongmen and ten entrances and exits, all of which are heavily guarded and forbidden to the people. Now that these walls have collapsed, some remnants are still discernible.
The avenue behind Dahongmen is called Shinto, also called Lingdao. It starts from the stone archway, passes through Dahongmen and leads to Changling. Originally built for Changling, it later became the main mausoleum road in the whole mausoleum area. The road runs through the north and south of the cemetery with a total length of 7 kilometers. There are a series of buildings along the road, which are scattered and spectacular.
Located in the center of Shinto, the Monument Pavilion is a tall square pavilion with double eaves and four corners, which was built by Changling. There is a 6-meter-high stone tablet carved with a dragon-headed turtle in the pavilion. The title is "Daming Mausoleum Monument", with more than 3,500 words of inscription. This was written by Zhu Gaochi, a Ming Emperor, and Cheng Nanyun, a famous calligrapher in the early Ming Dynasty. The inscription was written in 1425 (the first year of Hongxi), but it was carved in 1435 (the tenth year of Xuande). On the dark side of the monument, there are also thirteen rhymes of Mourning the Ming Tombs written by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. The inscription records in detail the damage of the tombs of Chang, Yong, Ding and Si. On the east side of the monument is a record of the cost of repairing the Ming Tombs by the Qing court. In the west, Emperor Jiaqing discussed the reasons for the demise of the Ming Dynasty. Four white stone China watches stand on the four corners of the pavilion, and a strange animal named Kong is squatting on the top of the pavilion. The huabiao and the stele pavilion set each other off, which is very solemn and vigorous. On the east side of the pavilion, there used to be a palace, which was the dressing place for the queen when she came to worship the mausoleum. Now it is gone.
Stone figurines and animals placed in front of stone graveyards were called stone statues in ancient times (stone figures were also called Weng Zhong). Twenty-four stone beasts and 12 stone men are neatly arranged on both sides of the thousand-meter Shinto from the two hexagonal stone pillars in the north of Beiting to Longfengmen, which are vivid in shape and finely carved, and are deeply loved by tourists. Its large number, large shape, exquisite carving and well-preserved are rare in ancient cemeteries in China. There are 6 kinds of stone beasts, each with 4 animals, all in the form of two standing and two kneeling. It is meaningful to show them here. For example, lions are mighty and good at fighting; Avengers, as legendary beasts, are good at distinguishing loyalty from treachery, and always touch evil people with one-horned heads. Lions and horses are both guardians who symbolize guarding the mausoleum. Kirin, the legendary "benevolent beast", means good luck. Camels and elephants are loyal and kind, and can travel long distances with heavy loads. A good horse is good at running and can be used as a mount. Stone men were divided into four ministers, four civil servants and four military attaché s, all of whom were closely related courtiers before the emperor died. They are all handed over statues, strong and pious. This kind of stone statue was set up in the imperial tomb as early as two thousand years ago in the Qin and Han Dynasties. It mainly plays a decorative role, symbolizing the majesty of the emperor before his death, indicating that after the emperor's death, there are still civil and military officials and various livestock to drive away, and they can still dominate everything.
Lingxingmen is also called Longfengmen. The three doorways are composed of four stone pillars. The doorpost is similar to China's watch, with clouds and animals on it. In the center of the three doorways, there is also a stone fireball, so the door is also called "flame archway". On the northwest side of Longfengmen, there used to be a palace, which was a resting place for the queen to sacrifice to the mausoleum.