Tombs of the Ming Dynasty Emperors in China
Rating: 8,6/10 (3094 votes)  On the territory of this memorial complex, there are the graves of 13 rulers of China from the Ming dynasty. In Chinese, the name of this place sounds like Shisanling -"Thirteen Tombs". The complex is located 50 kilometers north-west of Beijing. Its area is 40 square kilometers. Once the entire territory of the complex was surrounded by a brick wall. Now only ruins in some places remain of it. The first tomb here was built in 1413 by Emperor Yongle for his wife Xu, who died in 1407. And in 1424 Yongle himself was buried here. Later, in the period from 1424 to 1644, another 12 emperors from the Ming Dynasty, who ruled China during these years, were buried here. Here, along with them, the wives, children and mothers of the rulers were buried. Each tomb is surrounded by a fortress wall with a gate. Behind it there is a tower and a burial mound. And underground there is an"underground palace" with the sarcophagi of the emperor and people close to him. After the sarcophagi were placed in the"underground palace", the door was walled up, and the tunnel leading to the surface was filled up. As a result, there were no traces left outside, indicating the existence of an underground palace. Only in 1956 was the entrance to one of the"underground palaces" - Dinlin found. It was the tomb of Emperor Shenzong, who ruled from 1573 to 1629. There are five halls in the"underground palace". Their total area is 11195 square meters. The sarcophagi of the emperor himself and his two wives are in the main hall. Its length is 32 meters, width - 9 meters, and height - 9.2 meters. The sarcophagi were made of wood. Now you can see only their copies. And in one of the halls was found the throne of the emperor, made of marble.     We also recommend reading Lijiang Old Town (Dayan) in China Topic: Tombs of the Ming Dynasty Emperors in China. |
