The Tang Dynasty mausoleums inherited the style of previous mausoleums, but at the same time they used natural mountains as the mausoleum area, which was something that previous dynasties had not achieved.
Qianling Mausoleum of the Tang Dynasty: The joint burial site of Emperor Gaozong of Tang and Empress Wu Zetian. Mount Liangshan served as its mausoleum, with the underground palace located above and below the northern peak. The two southern peaks served as its first quemen, and another quemen was established 3,000 meters in front of the southern peak.
3.2.3 Ming Dynasty Tombs
The Ming Tombs in Beijing were listed as a World Cultural Heritage
After Zhu Yuanzhang's death, the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum was built in Nanjing.
After Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty ascended the throne, he moved his capital from Nanjing to Beijing and began to build a new palace on the ruins of the Yuan Dynasty palace. Tianshou Mountain was discovered in Changping County.
A Ming Dynasty innovation: the establishment of the Imperial Mausoleum District. The main entrance, from south to north, begins with a massive stone archway with six pillars and five bays. After entering the archway and passing through the Dahong Gate, one arrives at the stele pavilion, surrounded by huabiao (Chinese stele pillars). After entering the pavilion, one enters the 1,200-meter-long Sacred Way, lined with 18 pairs of stone men and monkeys. Then, one reaches the Lingxing Gate, where separate paths lead to the Ming Dynasty's Thirteen Tombs.
The largest and most well-organized is the Changling Mausoleum of Emperor Yongle. Inheriting the form of previous mausoleums, the Changling Mausoleum has a gate in front, Ling'en Gate and Ling'en Hall in the back, followed by a square city wall and an underground palace, forming a complete mausoleum complex.
The Ling'en Hall, with its nine bays wide, is crowned by a double-eaved, four-sided hipped roof, the highest tier among traditional Chinese architectural roofs. Below it is a three-tiered platform (a three-tiered platform is found only in four locations in Beijing: the Hall of Supreme Harmony (the emperor's palace during his lifetime); the Ling'en Hall in Changling (the emperor's palace after his death); the Taimiao (the ancestral temple), where ancestral worship was held; and the Temple of Heaven (the altar of heaven).
Inside the Changling Mausoleum: all 32 pillars are made of nanmu wood, which is extremely rare among existing ancient buildings. The longest and tallest one is 12 meters, more than three stories high, and its diameter is 1.7 meters.
Dingling is the tomb of Emperor Wanli.
3.2.4 Qing Dynasty Tombs
Before the Qing Dynasty entered the Western Han Dynasty, three mausoleums existed in Liaoning: Yongling in Xinbin, Fuling in Shenyang, and Zhaoling. Yongling in Xinbin is the burial site for the ancestors of the Qing dynasty. Nurhaci founded the Manchu Qing Empire and moved the capital to Shenyang. Fuling was built after his death. His son, Huang Taiji, ascended the throne and built Zhaoling after his death.
Before the Qing Dynasty entered the Central Plains, it had already learned the traditional mausoleum form of the Han nationality.
Emperor Shunzhi built the Xiaoling Mausoleum of the Qing Dynasty, forming the imperial mausoleum area, and subsequent emperors were buried in the Eastern Mausoleum.
The entrance to the Western Qing Tombs is composed of three stone archways.
Yuling (Emperor Qianlong), Emperor Qianlong was a devout Buddhist, so there are many Buddha statues and Buddhist scriptures in the underground palace.
Dingdong Tomb of the Eastern Tombs (Empress Dowager Cixi): On the barrier in front of the Ling'en Hall, there is a phoenix in front and a dragon behind, reflecting the phenomenon of Empress Dowager Cixi ruling the country from behind the curtain.
3.3 The value of the mausoleum
3.3.1 The value of mausoleum architecture
Wood used in mausoleum construction
The underground palace is made of bricks and stones, while the royal family mostly uses stone, which is covered with carvings and decorations.
3.3.2 The artistic value of the mausoleum
The underground palace is made of stone or brick with pictures on it, called picture bricks or picture stones. The pictures show people, animals, plants, social life (hunting scenes, salt pan scenes, agricultural labor scenes, plowing, life scenes, entertainment scenes).
Rich merchants appeared in the Song Dynasty. There are not many ground buildings from the Song Dynasty that have been handed down. Therefore, the underground tombs of wealthy merchants provide a great reference and are of great value.
The wooden tombs on the ground are basically not preserved, but there are some stone carvings on the sacred road, such as Gao Yi Que, which provide images of some Han Dynasty buildings.
There is a stone sculpture in front of Huo Qubing's tomb, a reclining horse and an elephant. The carving technique is generalized, without detailed description, and it has great artistic value.
The image of the evil spirit in front of the tomb of the king of the Northern and Southern Dynasties is very exaggerated, and the carving technique is inherited from the tomb of Huo Qubing in the Han Dynasty.
The Six Horses of Zhaoling, a Tang Dynasty sculpture
Stone carvings appeared in the Ming and Qing dynasties, such as stone statues of people.
3.3.3 The value of burial objects in mausoleums
The emperor must take away the things he loved during his lifetime after his death.
According to statistics, gold, copper, jade, porcelain, lacquerware, textiles,
Jade, bronze, and phoenix crown unearthed from Dingling Mausoleum in the Ming Dynasty
There are funerary objects unearthed from the Eastern Han Dynasty. Funerary objects are models made of clay, including architectural models and models of dyeing stoves.
The dragon and the phoenix enjoyed a very honorable status in the Han Dynasty.
Bronze mirrors were unearthed during the Warring States Period.
Homework
The Terracotta Warriors and Horses of the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum were buried in the underground palace.
The Tang Dynasty imperial mausoleum pioneered a method different from the previous dynasties, which was to use natural mountains as underground palaces.
The building at the front of the main entrance of the Ming Tombs is a six-column, five-bay stone archway.
Among the Ming Tombs, which imperial tomb is the largest and most elaborate?
What kind of wood are the pillars and beams of the Hall of En'en in the Changling Mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty made of?
In the excavated underground palace, the walls are covered with Buddhist carvings. Which emperor's tomb is it from the Qing Dynasty? Qianlong
The images on the bricks and stones of the Han Dynasty tombs depict animals, human figures, labor scenes, production scenes, amusement park scenes, and daily life scenes.
Chapter 4: Ritual Altars and Temples: Ritual Architecture in Ancient China
4.1 The Origin of Altar and Temple Architecture
People’s beliefs: belief in the natural world, mountains and rivers, belief in ancestors, and belief in gods.
Altar and temple buildings can also be called ritual buildings.
4.2.1 Suburban Sacrifice
The altars of heaven, earth, sun and moon, the temples of mountains, rivers and seas
Take Ming Dynasty Beijing as an example: Four altars dedicated to Heaven, Earth, Sun, and Moon were built around the nearly square city. The Temple of Heaven was in the south, the Temple of Earth was in the north, the Altar of the Sun was in the east, and the Altar of the Moon was in the west. These four altars were primarily used for offering sacrifices to Heaven.
During the period of national mourning, all sacrifices are stopped except for the suburban sacrifices.
4.2.2 Temple of Heaven
The Temple of Heaven in Beijing is the most complete altar for worshiping heaven that has been preserved to this day. It is square in the south and round in the north.
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