Ming Tombs
The
Thirteen Tombs, ShisanLing
Many foreigners visiting the Great Wall of China at
Badaling or Juyongguan will stop en route at
The Ming Tombs, covering a hilly area of 40 acres, was
selected in 1409. In 1424 the Yongle Emperor, Zhu Di, was the first Ming Emperor to be buried here in his
mausoleum called the Changling. He was the third Ming Emperor. His father and
founder of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, was buried in Nanjing, and his
nephew, the second Ming Emperor, from whom he usurped the throne, escaped and
disappeared from official history.
All in, thirteen of sixteen Ming Emperors were buried in
this royal necropolis, including Empresses and many concubines, some buried
alive to accompany the Emperor to his next world. It was in the reign of the
Zhengtong Emperor (1436-1449) that the practice of entombing live imperial
concubines was abolished. The last Emperor to be entombed here was the Chongzhen
Emperor, Zhu Youjian, in his mausoleum called Siling. This last Ming Emperor
hanged himself in 1644 at Coal Hill just outside the Forbidden City when
Of the remaining three missing Emperors, the founder
of the Ming Dynasty was buried in
The Ming Tombs follow the past traditional Chinese
Imperial layout of eight components:
1. Stone Memorial Arch, the central way only for the
deceased Emperor
2. The Great Red Gate, where all, including the Emperor,
must dismount
3. The Stele Pavilion with 7 meter high engraved stone
column (huabiao)
4. The Spirit way, lined on either side by statues of
animals and officers
5. The Gate of Dragon and
6. The Soul Pavilion with a marble tortoise carrying a
stele on its back
7. The Tumulus or underground chamber holding the Emperor’s
remains
8. Sacrificial halls for sacrifices.
Dingling
Dingling, Tomb of Certainty, is the only Ming Tomb
that has been excavated. This is the resting place of the thirteenth Ming
ruler, the useless Wanli Emperor, Zhu Yijun, whose claim to fame
was his long life. He left matters of state to corrupt officials and allowed
the country to sink into malaise and general suffering. He ascended the throne at the age of ten years
and ruled for forty eight years. When the Dingling was completed in 1581 after
six years of construction and thirty-eight years before his death, he held a
grand feast to celebrate his future interment.
A visitor will be surprised to see the Wanli Emperor
resting with the coffins of two Empresses, one on each side. The Emperor was
actually buried in 1619 with Empress Xiaoduan who
preceded his death by a few months. However, his only son was by a concubine, Xiaojing,
who died eight years earlier and was buried in a concubine grave. The concubine
was elevated to Empress status by her grandson and
thus re-buried with the Emperor Wanli.
The discovery of the entrance to the 27 meter deep
underground chamber is interesting. A small tablet was unearthed in the
vicinity and the Chinese characters indicated a site and a depth.
Archaeologists on following the instructions discovered a doorway to Dingling
and started evacuation in 1956. Within
two years the excavation was completed and the tomb was found to have jewellery
and artifacts including jade belts, golden chopsticks and a crown worn by the
Wanli Emperor himself. The underground chamber is made up of five marbled
halls, a central hall surrounded by four other halls, the atmosphere being
somewhat cold and damp.
Changling
Changling, the biggest mausoleum,
was built for the Yongle Emperor, Zhu Di, and took 18 years to complete. Zhu Di
was the Emperor who built the
Changling is surrounded by
sixteen satellite tombs for Zhu Di’s concubines, and the tumulus has not yet been
excavated. The ground structure opened to the public is a miniature
Zhao ling
The
Zhaoling Tomb was for the 12th Ming Longqing Emperor, Zhu Daicheng, and his
three Empresses. His reign lasted only six years (1566
to 1572). It is not of much significance except that it is
the first Ming mausoleum to be fully restored to its original plan.
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