Beijing, Part 4: The Ming Tombs

 

Overview

The Ming Tombs, located in Changping District, about 50 kilometers from the northwest of Beijing, are surrounded by mountains on three sides. The imperial cemetery covers an area of 120 square kilometers and there are 13 Ming Dynasty emperors buried there (along with 23 empresses and a number of concubines, princes and princesses), thus it is also called The 13 Mausoleums. These tombs are the best preserved Chinese imperial tombs and have been nominated by UNESCO as world cultural heritage.

 

The site of the Ming Dynasty Imperial Tombs was carefully chosen according to Feng-shui (geomancy) belief. The first tomb, Chang Ling (Ling means tomb) began to be built by the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty in 1409 AD (the seventh year of his reign) under the main peak of Tianshou Shan (Heavenly Longevity Mountain). (The first emperor of the Ming Dynasty was buried in Nanjing). In chronological order over the following 200 years Xiang Ling, Jing Ling, Yu Ling, Mao Ling, Zong Ling, Kang Ling, Yong Ling, Zhao Ling, Ding Ling, Qing Ling and De Ling were built, spreading out on both sides of Chang Ling. All these tombs share the same Sacred Way, an avenue in the middle of the tomb area. The last tomb, for the Emperor of the self-proclaimed Chongzhen era, Zhu Youjian, lying in the southwest of the area, was actually built out of a tomb originally intended for a concubine. more

 

Chang Ling

The huge Chang Tomb (Ling means tomb) is the final resting place of the third Ming Emperor, Zhu Di. He named his ruling era Yongle (eternal joy) and was hence known as Emperor Yongle. He ruled China from 1402 to 1422. The construction of the tomb started in the seventh year of his reign and took five years to be completed. The layout of Chang Ling follows the pattern of Xiao Ling in Nanjing, tomb of the first Ming Emperor. Structures proceeding along the central axis are: the Front Gate to the tomb, the Gate of Eminent Favor, the Hall of Eminent Favor, the Dragon and the Phoenix Gate, Soul Tower and the Wall-Encircled Earth Mound, of which the Hall of Eminent Favor is the most impressive and important. The hall covers 1,956 square meters, nearly the same as of the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City, but it exceeds the latter architecturally as all the columns, beams, etc. are made of nanmu, a durable high quality softwood. more

 

Ding Ling and Zhao Ling

The splendid Ding Ling (Ling means tomb) is the mausoleum of the 13th emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yijun. He was known as Emperor Wanli (much experience) after the self-proclaimed name of his ruling period. He ruled his great empire for 48 years, the longest reign in his dynasty. Historical documents reveal that the total cost for the tomb amazingly reached over 8 million taels of silver, which was approximately equivalent to the entire tax income for two years of then government. Ding Ling is only the third largest tomb after Chang Ling and Yong Ling. Its exquisite decorations, however, enormously surpass the other two. Most of the structure above the ground has disappeared except the Soul Tower. It is a magnificent building wholly made of stone and bricks, which may explains why it survived the centuries.

 

So far, Ding Ling is the only one that has been opened for archeological exploration. The underground palace is 27 meters deep with a total floor space of 1,195 square meters. It consists of five chambers: the antechamber, the central chamber, the rear chamber and two annex chambers on both sides of the central chamber. All of these chambers were built of stone without using a single beam or column. The rear chamber is the largest and most important one in the underground palace. It is 30 meters long, 9.5 meters high and 9 meters wide, and contains three coffins (the largest one in the middle was for the emperor and the smaller ones for the empresses). Besides the coffins, there are also 26 red-lacquered wooden boxes containing 3, 000 or so precious funeral objects. Of the unearthed items, a gold crown and a phoenix crown are the most amazing. The gold crown was woven with very fine gold filaments and has two dragons playing with a pearl on the top. The beautiful phoenix crown was worn by the empress only at grand ceremonies or special occasions. more

 

What makes the Ming Tombs special

When compared to the imperial tombs of other dynasties, the 13 Ming tombs stand out because of the following eye-catching features.

Firstly, the vast tomb area constitutes a harmonious whole, which is unique in the history of imperial tombs. The Warring State Period (500BC c.-221BC) saw the beginning of Chinese imperial tombs. Layouts were derived from the patriarchal clan system and subject to the ranks of the buried. Each imperial tomb varied in layout and size depending on the social environment and the age they belong to.

In the Tang and North Song Dynasties, for instance, each tomb had its own gate, sacred way and stone sculptures. Even though they are built within the same area, each tomb is independent from others architecturally speaking. The Ming Tomb is a different case. Although each has its own hall, Soul Tower, City of Treasures, and forms an individual unit, the sacred Way, marble archway, and stone statues of Chang Ling, the first tomb among the 13, are shared by all the tombs. The other tombs are spread on both sides of the Sacred Way, thus being linked together as an organic whole. 

 

Secondly, the tombs' architecture above the ground is unique. In ancient China, from the dynasties of Qin and Han to Tang, the above ground architecture of the imperial tombs all took the tomb mound as their center. In front of the tomb mound there stood the sacrificial hall, and the whole tomb area was enclosed by a wall with a gate at each of the four points of the compass. The whole tomb area thus resembled a huge rectangular siheyuan (a traditional four-sided family dwelling with a courtyard in the middle). Since the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the first Ming emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, changed the old layout and introduced some changes for his own tomb. The front wall of the tomb area remained unchanged, but the rear portion of the wall became a semi-circle. The soul tower and the sacrificial hall were built on the central axis of the tomb zone. And the old straight sacred way became crooked. more