Ming Tombs (Ming Tombs)
The world-famous Ming Tombs are the tombs of thirteen feudal emperors in the Ming Dynasty. Located at the foot of Yanshan Mountain in Changping County, northwest suburb of Beijing. According to the capital, it is about 50 kilometers, with a total area of 120 square kilometers. From the establishment of Changling Mausoleum in May of the seventh year of Yongle (1409) to the burial of the last emperor Chongzhen in Siling Mausoleum, 13 magnificent imperial tombs, 7 tombs of concubines and 1 tombs of eunuchs were built successively, which lasted for more than 230 years. * * * There are thirteen emperors, twenty-three queens, two princes, more than thirty concubines and one eunuch (lineage table). It is the largest tomb group in the world, with the largest number of well-preserved emperors' tombs.
Someone wants to ask, why are the sixteen emperors of the Ming Dynasty 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. The seventh emperor, Zhu Qiyu, was captured by his younger brother, Emperor Valla, and was awarded the throne at the request of the Queen Mother and ministers. Later, Yingzong was put back, and under the planning of his cronies, a "change of seizing the door" was staged, and Yingzong was restored and became emperor again. 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".
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 named Kangjiazhuang (1); 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). 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. Therefore, we highly appreciate the intelligence of the ancient working people in China.
It has been 400-500 years since the Ming Tombs were built, and it is one of the best preserved imperial tombs. Moreover, the building is magnificent, the system is complete, the history is long, and it has high historical relics value. After the founding of New China, in order to protect this cultural relic and historic site, the Party and the government began to carry out maintenance from the early days of liberation, and the Ming Tombs were protected as national key cultural relics. 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.
As a part of the ancient Chinese culture, the Ming Tombs and the natural landscape in the Mausoleum complement each other, forming a tourist attraction with beautiful scenery and profound cultural connotation.
The Ming Tombs, located in Changping, 50 kilometers away from Beijing. Go northbound along Badaling Expressway, which takes about 40 minutes by car. 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. The mausoleum covers an area of 40 square kilometers. There are 13 Ming emperors and 23 empresses, as well as many concubines, princes, princesses and ladies-in-waiting. This is the largest existing imperial mausoleum complex in China and even the world, and it is a famous tourist attraction in China.
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 superb level of stone building technology in Ming Dynasty.
Longhu Mountain passes the stone archway, and 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 road behind Shinto 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. 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 was written in 1425 (the first year of Hongxi), but it was carved in 1435 (the tenth year of Xuande). 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, 4 of each kind, all 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.
The Ming Tombs Reservoir is located at Dongshankou on the east side of Shinto. Built in 1958, it took only half a year to build, and it is one of the medium-sized reservoirs in Beijing. The reservoir covers an area of 6.5438+0.5 million square meters with a total storage capacity of 82 million cubic meters, which can be used for flood control, fish farming and irrigation. The flood dam is 627m long and 29m high, with a crest width of 7m and a bottom width of185m. On the outside of the dam, the five characters "Ming Tombs Reservoir" inscribed by Mao Zedong are engraved. At that time, Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De and other party and state leaders came to the construction site to work with the masses for the welfare of the people. In addition, many staff members of foreign embassies in Beijing also came here to participate in labor and wrote a chapter of friendship between Chinese and foreign people. A clear water, sparkling, adds beauty to the mausoleum.
When Changling entered the gate of Changling Mausoleum, we could see two striking schematic diagrams: one was the location map of the Ming Tombs, and the other was the plan of Changling Mausoleum. It can be clearly seen from the location map that Changling Building is located at the foot of Tianshou Mountain, which is the main mausoleum of the Ming Tombs and the most magnificent. On the left side of Changling are Jingling, Yongling and Deling. On the right are Xianling Mausoleum, Qingling Mausoleum, Yuling Mausoleum, Tailing Mausoleum, Kangling Mausoleum, Dingling Mausoleum, Zhaoling Mausoleum and Siling Mausoleum. The tombs are patchwork, with distinct master and slave, exquisite layout and grand spirit, thus forming a magnificent picture of the emperor's mausoleum. The last mausoleum built in the Ming Tombs-Siling, located in the former xiaohongmen, is the smallest and simplest. This is the tomb of Zhu Youjian, the last emperor of Ming Dynasty (Chongzhen period). /kloc-in the spring of 0/644, the peasant rebels led by Li Zicheng entered Beijing. In desperation, Emperor Chongzhen escaped from the Forbidden City, hanged himself in Jingshan Park and was buried in the tomb of Tian Guifei, hence the name Siling. There is a small grave beside his grave, where Wang Chengen, the eunuch who hanged himself with him, is buried. In front of the grave is a small stone tablet erected by Emperor Qianlong of Qing Dynasty in recognition of his loyalty to the monarch. Now, let's look at the plan of Changling again. Changling is mainly composed of Jiaoen Gate, Jiaoen Hall, Minglou and Baocheng. The architectural forms of other tombs are similar, but the scale of construction is far less than this, which shows the noble status of Changling. Changling is the tomb of Judy (Yongle), the third emperor of Ming Dynasty. It was built in 1409 ~ 14 13 years (from the 7th to 11th year of Yongle), where Empress Xu (daughter of General Xu Da) was first buried. Judy died in 1424 (the 22nd year of Yongle) on her way back to Li during the Northern Expedition and was buried with the mausoleum. Changling has a history of more than 570 years. Judy was a visionary emperor in the Ming Dynasty. In order to control the north, consolidate the national unity, and facilitate the construction of the Forbidden City in the fourth year of Yongle (1406), he planned to move the capital from Nanjing to Beijing, and at the same time began to build the imperial tomb here. These important measures have played a positive role in resisting the harassment of the remnants of the Yuan dynasty nobles who retreated to Mobei and maintaining the stability and unity of the country. ?
Dingling is the tomb of Zhu Yijun, the 13th emperor of Ming Dynasty. Buried here are his two queens. The mausoleum is located at the foot of Dayu Mountain, southwest of Changling, and was built in 1584 ~ 1590 (from the 12th year of Wanli to the 18th year of Wanli). The main buildings are Jiaoen Gate, Jiaoen Hall, Baocheng, Minglou and Underground Palace. Covering area182000m2. This is the only tomb excavated in the Ming Tombs. Zhu Yijun (1563 ~ 1620) ascended the throne at the age of 10. At the age of 22, he began to build a mausoleum. He completed the mausoleum at the age of 28 and died 30 years later. He lived for 58 years and ruled China for 48 years. He was the longest-serving emperor in the Ming Dynasty. The foundation of the mausoleum was chosen on a mountain bag, and construction could not begin until the boulder was removed. The project is arduous and huge, employing more than 30,000 military and civilian craftsmen every day. It took about six years to complete the continuous construction. The national average household needs to estimate the output for six and a half days, and * * * consumes more than 8 million silver, which is the sum of the land tax income of the whole country for two years at that time, and can provide one-year rations for 6,543,800 farmers. Emperor Wanli was a fatuous and cruel man. Addicted to debauchery, he fell ill at the age of 27 and began to be indifferent to state affairs. After Dingling was completed, he led his empresses and courtiers to the cemetery. On a whim, he held a banquet in Shengkou (underground palace).
Zhaoling is located at the foot of Dayu Mountain on the west side of Dingling, with a building area of 35,000 square meters. There are complete Jiaoen Gate, Jiaoen Hall and its affiliated halls, Fangcheng, Minglou and Baoding. Mu, the twelfth emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and his three empresses are buried here. Mu Zong, with the year number of Qin Long (1537 ~ 1572), was a mediocre emperor among 16 emperors in the Ming Dynasty. After six months on the throne, he refused to ask about government affairs and never publicly expressed his political views. Although Mu Zong doesn't care about government affairs, he doesn't object to the suggestions and practices of ministers. For example, the famous "Qin Long Peace Talks" in history was promoted with the support of ministers. The peace talks in Qin Long took place in the fifth year of Qin Long (157 1). At that time, Anda, a tribal leader of the Mongols, fell out with his favorite grandson because of marriage problems, so he took a dozen people to the Ming Dynasty and was warmly received and rewarded by the Ming Dynasty. I was very moved when I learned that I finally made peace with the Ming Dynasty in Qin Long for five years (157 1). The court also restored Anda as the king of Shunyi and gave him a red python suit. Since then, there has been no major war between Han and Mongolian for more than 20 years. There is no word tablet, and the stone turtle bears the tablet, which is erected in the pavilion in front of Ian's door. There is no word in it, probably because it is difficult to evaluate the merits and demerits of the emperor. Tourists like to touch the stone turtle at this point, and the folk proverb says: Touch the glans of the turtle, and you will never worry; Touch a turtle and you will never get sick.