Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum

Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum

Xiaoling Mausoleum of Ming Dynasty is located at the south foot of Zijin Mountain, Xuanwu District, Nanjing City, under Mt. Everest of Dulong Fuwan, adjacent to Zhongshan Mausoleum in the East and Meihua Mountain in the south. It is located in Zhongshan scenic spot. It is the joint burial Mausoleum of Zhu Yuanzhang and his Empress. Empress Ma was named Xiaoling because of her posthumous title of "empress Xiaoci Gao" and her pursuit of governing the world with filial piety. Covering an area of more than 1.7 million square meters, it is one of the largest Imperial Mausoleums in China.

The Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum was built in Ming Hongwu fourteen years (1381), and it was built in Ming Yongle three years (1405). It has called 100 thousand military industry for 25 years. It inherits the old system of "depending on the mountain as the mausoleum" in Tang and Song Dynasties, and creates a new system of fangfen as Yuanqiu. It is an excellent example of the combination of Chinese traditional architectural art culture and environmental aesthetics.

As the first imperial mausoleum of Ming and Qing Dynasties in China, the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum represents the highest achievement of architecture and stone carving art in the early Ming Dynasty. It directly affects the shape of more than 20 Imperial Mausoleums in Ming and Qing Dynasties for more than 500 years. According to the historical process, the Ming and Qing Royal mausoleums distributed in Beijing, Hubei, Liaoning, Hebei and other places are built according to the regulations and models of Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum in Nanjing, which has a special position in the history of Chinese Imperial Mausoleums Therefore, it has the reputation of "the first royal mausoleum of Ming and Qing Dynasties".

In March 1961, Ming Xiaoling was announced as one of the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units by the State Council; in 1982, it was listed as a national key scenic spot; in July 2003, Ming Xiaoling and Ming Gongchen tombs were listed as world cultural heritage; in December 2006, it was listed as one of the first batch of national 5A tourist attractions.

Historical evolution

Ming Dynasty

In 1381, Zhu Yuanzhang took charge of the construction of the mausoleum.

In 1382, empress Ma died and was buried in Xiaoling in September. The name of Xiaoling is derived from the word "filial piety" in the posthumous title, which means "governing the world with filial piety". It is said that it is empress Ma's posthumous title of "filial piety and kindness", so it is named.

In 1398, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty collapsed in yingtianfu, and was buried with empress MA in the underground palace. By the 11th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1413), the "monument of the great Ming Xiaoling's divine power and virtue" was built, and the whole Xiaoling was completed, which lasted for more than 30 years. It has a large scale and magnificent architecture, and its shape is based on the mausoleum of the Tang and Song dynasties. When it was completed, the hall of enjoyment within the wall was towering and the pavilions were magnificent. Half of the 70 temples in the Southern Dynasties were enclosed in the Forbidden Garden.

At that time, the imperial wall from Chaoyang Gate (now Zhongshan Gate) to Xiaolingwei to the northwest of the mausoleum was 45 Li long, and there were more than 5000 troops stationed to protect the mausoleum. At that time, the pavilions and pavilions in the mausoleum were connected, and the hall was filled with smoke. The pines and the forest raised thousands of deer. During the deer's singing, the momentum is extraordinary.

In the Ming Dynasty, sixteen years (1383), the main works of Xiaoling hall were basically completed, and the military industry was called 100 thousand to three years (1405) of Yongle, which lasted for 25 years. The overall layout is divided into two parts: one is the Shinto of the guide building, the other is the main building of the mausoleum.

In 1398, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang died and was buried in Xiaoling. The underground palace where Zhu Yuanzhang and his Empress were buried together, commonly known as "Baocheng", is a large round mound about 400 meters in diameter, surrounded by stone walls.

In June of the fourth year of Jianwen (1402) of Ming Dynasty, Zhu Di, the king of Yan, captured Nanjing, and the fire broke out in the palace. After two symbolic refusals, Zhu Di paid a "visit to Xiaoling" on his own day, although he "felt sad and admired".

In the Ming Dynasty, the Xiaoling Mausoleum of Ming Dynasty in Nanjing has always been the fundamental place of ancestors and is highly respected. Each year there are three fixed sacrifice, five small sacrifice. All the important affairs of the country need to be reported by the Minister of honor and Qi.

After Qing Dynasty

During the revolution of Ming and Qing Dynasties, Xiaoling still enjoyed a high status. In the early Qing Dynasty, under the conflict between Manchu and Han, the rulers of Qing Dynasty were in the need of policy, and they also had to win over the Han nationality to strengthen their rule. Under the influence of Han culture, they implemented the protection policy for Ming mausoleum.

In May of the first year of Shunzhi (1644) of the Qing Dynasty, when the situation of the whole country was not stable, the Regent Prince Rui duoergun "sent his bachelor Feng Quan to sacrifice to the emperor Taizu and other emperors of the Ming Dynasty".

At the beginning of may in the second year of Shunzhi (1645) of the Qing Dynasty, Prince Duoduo of Yu pacified Jiangnan and settled in Nanjing in the middle of this month. On the 27th, he paid a visit to the Ming mausoleum and ordered the monks of Linggu Temple to repair it. In July, he sent two officials to guard the Ming mausoleum.

In 1684, Emperor Kangxi made his first Southern tour to Jinling to pay homage to Xiaoling. "When you go up the corridor, all the officials are ordered to dismount outside the door. Up three kneeling nine kowtow ceremony, Yibao City forward three gifts; out, again by the corridor. There are some differences between the eunuchs and the family members of the mausoleum. He ordered the governor and local officials to strictly patrol. " The respectful attitude and the respect of courtesy of his visit to the mausoleum are beyond most people's expectation. "Tens of thousands of people from the old and father's followers all feel weeping.".

In 1699, Xuanye went down to the south of the Yangtze River to pay a visit to the Xiaoling Mausoleum, and inscribed the stele "Zhilong Tang and Song Dynasties" in the pavilion.

During the reign of Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, Kangxi sent officials to pay homage to the emperor six times and paid homage to the mausoleum five times; Qianlong paid six visits to the Emperor Qianlong's mausoleum, and then came to Xiaoling of the Ming Dynasty. And when they worshiped, they both performed the great ceremony of three kneeling and nine kowtowing, which can be said to be excellent. It was praised by people at that time as "the etiquette and culture are long and wonderful, which surpasses the common sacrifice. It is a measure of great virtue through the ages.".

During the Xianfeng Period of the Qing Dynasty, the buildings on the surface of the Xiaoling Mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty were almost destroyed by the war of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

In September of 1864, Zeng Guofan, then governor of Liangjiang, offered sacrifices to the mausoleum and began to repair the mausoleum. At that time, Zeng Guofan sent people to survey and estimate that the maintenance of Xiaoling Mausoleum in the Ming Dynasty actually required 200000 liang of silver, but the Qing Dynasty was in financial difficulties. As a result, only 740 liang of silver was used to do some minor maintenance, and the "Zhilong Tang Song" imperial stele was lifted. Originally, people could bypass the left and right sides of the stone tablet, but after the 1980s, the whole stone tablet was fixed by cement to the roof, so it was necessary to come out of the imperial tablet hall before you could see the back of the turtle.

In the first year of Xuantong (1909) of the Qing Dynasty, Daotai of Liangjiang General Administration of foreign affairs and the magistrate of Jiangning government set up a special notice tablet in front of the gate of Wenwu to warn tourists from all over the world not to scribble here.

On February 15, 1912, the first year of the Republic of China (1912), Sun Yat Sen and Nanjing provisional government officials paid homage to the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum, and proposed a memorial ceremony. < I (right: in the front row, the third on the left is Xu Shaozhen, the governor of the Nanjing garrison of the Nanjing Provisional Government, the fourth on the left is Huang Xing, the chief of the army, the fifth on the left is Sun Yat Sen, the provisional president, the sixth on the left is Huang Zhongying, the chief of the Navy, and the seventh on the left is Cai Yuanpei, the chief of education.)

In 1961, the Xiaoling Mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty was announced as one of the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units.

Since 1997, cultural relic workers have carried out six years of archaeological exploration and Research on Xiaoling by using high-tech means such as precision magnetic survey. It has been proved that none of the excavation has been successful in history. The reason why it is well preserved is decided by the special anti-theft measures, historical opportunity and geographical location of the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum.

In July 2003, at the 27th World Heritage conference, Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum was included in the world heritage list as an extension project of "Royal Mausoleum of Ming and Qing Dynasties". The tombs of Ming meritorious officials around it, including Chang Yuchun tomb, Qiu Cheng tomb, Wu Liang tomb, Wu Zhen tomb and Li Wenzhong tomb, were also included in the world heritage protection.

According to the evaluation of the World Heritage Committee, the Royal mausoleums of the Ming and Qing Dynasties were carefully selected according to the geomantic theory, and a large number of buildings were cleverly placed underground. It is the product of human changing nature, reflecting the traditional architectural and decorative ideas, and explaining the world outlook and power outlook of feudal China lasting for more than 500 years. The Royal mausoleums of Ming and Qing Dynasties are distributed in Beijing, Hubei, Liaoning, Anhui, Jiangsu and other places. They are the mausoleum buildings of Ming and Qing Dynasties in China. They are built according to strict hierarchical regulations. They have a complete system of aboveground and underground buildings, with rigorous layout, large scale, beautiful architecture and fine workmanship, reflecting the highest funeral system in feudal China.

After more than 600 years of wind and rain, the wall of Baocheng city collapsed partially, the wall spalled, and some places formed huge cracks due to the reverse tearing of foundation settlement. Nanjing cultural relics department has invested more than 3 million yuan to repair the wall, such as "sewing" the cracks, leveling the "wall", repairing the deformed wall and "waterproof and anti leakage" techniques. In order to make it convenient for tourists to see the true appearance of "dragon vein", a green stone slab tour trail was built, so that tourists can climb the top of the pagoda and see the full view of the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum.

In June 2008, the roof protection project of Fangcheng minglou in Nanjing Ming Xiaoling was started.

In February 2009, the Museum of Ming Xiaoling was officially opened to the public free of charge. It is a special exhibition hall about Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of Ming Dynasty, Ming Xiaoling, the world cultural heritage, and Ming Culture in Nanjing. The appearance of the new museum adopts the architectural style of Jiangnan region in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The use of typical elements such as white walls, gray tiles, carved wooden doors, pitched roofs, horse head walls, and latticed windows makes the whole building consistent with the surrounding Ming Xiaoling

Chinese PinYin : Ming Xiao Ling