History And Overview Of The Imperial Ming Tombs And Rulers Of The Dynasty

History and overview of the Imperial Ming Tombs and Rulers of the Dynasty

By Tom Launer

Introduction

The Imperial Tombs of the Ming dynasty are a wonder of the world. These aesthetic mausoleums are a shrine to one of the greatest dynasties in Chinese history and are truly built like palaces for kings. In my paper I will give a brief overview of the history of the dynasty, the main features of the royal cemetery and a brief history of each Emperor that is buried within. Some will be far more elaborate than others merely for lack of information on some Emperors either based on a short ruling period or that they did little during their time as Emperor that was worthy of writing about. The tomb site and most of the main architecture was built by the emperor Yung-lo after gaining power of the dynasty. Chu Yuan-chang first founded the Ming dynasty in 1368. Chu Yuan-chang was a strong military leader who took power like most kings of this time, by the power of an army. He overthrew the present reigning Mongol dynasty and declared himself emperor of what we know as the Ming dynasty. Yet strangely enough the first emperor of this great dynasty is not buried among the tombs. Chu Yuan-chang had established his empire in the south of China after overtaking the throne. Yet after he died a small civil war enveloped the country and the second emperor of the dynasty, Chu Yun-wen, was overthrown and imprisoned by Chu Ti, better known as the third emperor of the dynasty Yung-lo. It was under Yung-lo that the building of the Imperial tombs had begun.

The Ming Dynasty was a very powerful and influential dynasty for the Chinese people. This dynasty oversaw the reconstruction and additions to the Great Wall and instituted a large navy that made extensive trips west to explore the rest of the world for goods and trade. This dynasty finally united China under a Chinese ruler for the first time in nearly a hundred years after breaking the foreign rule of the Mongols. At the time of the Ming Dynasty China was the largest single political unit in the world and under the Ming they grew with peace and prosperity.

The site of the tombs was very important in Chinese traditional thought. The area had to be decided using a geomancy called Feng-shui, which is a balance of earth’s properties. Certain things had to be attained in the site such as the land must be covered to the north so that north winds may not carry down into the landscape, water must be present and lastly the area must have a peaceful view of landscape. In 1409 after much searching an area about 50 kilometers north of Peking was finally settled upon as a proper area.

The first thing that someone entering the tombs would see is a very large and beautiful marble archway built in honor of the Dynasty. It is a very intricately carved archway and is surely something most people would love to see. The archway has 6 columns and on each column there is an animal carved into it. These animals are supposed protectors of the tombs. These animals are Dragons, Makara and Lions. Each animal is represented on two pillars in a symmetrical fashion. Coming down the entrance road further toward the first tomb a visitor would next see the Great Red Gate. This is what was intended to be the official entrance into the royal cemetery.

The Great Red Gate had three gateways leading into it. The largest and central gate was used only when bringing a dead emperor into the grounds of the tombs. On the left was a passage for living emperors and the right gate was for anyone else coming in. Also it was here that all men must leave their horses or carriages and go by foot. It was completely forbidden to enter these sacred grounds on horseback. The road into the cemetery from the Great Red Gate is almost a direct line into the Ch’ang-ling tomb. Along this road one would next come to what is called the Stele Pavilion. This pavilion was a memorial to the emperors of the Ming Dynasty and the official start of the “spirit road”, the road leading to the first tomb. Inside the pavilion was a “stele” which is a large tablet that honors each emperor of the dynasty that is buried within the cemetery.

The Spirit Road was meant to be a road that would carry the spirit to its final resting place. This road is over a thousand meters long and lined with large stone carvings of twenty-four stone animals and twelve stone men. These statues were built to watch over and protect the emperors. All statues are placed in perfect symmetry and facing each other. Each animal was first depicted resting then the same animal was again depicted standing. “According to legend, this was to allow for the changing of the guard. At midnight, the animal that had been standing on watch all day and is therefore nearest to the tomb, changed places with the pair that had been resting. However, the figures of the men are all standing because it was forbidden for a man to sit in the presence of the emperor” Paludan 24-25.

The last obstacle before reaching the first tomb is the “Ling-hsing men” which is more commonly called the Dragon and Phoenix Gate. This gate was built for and intended to be the last obstacle to stop and evil spirit from entering the final resting place of the emperors. Beyond this gate is the 13 Imperial Tombs of the Ming Dynasty. (chinadaily.com 2) (Paludan 11, 13, 23, 35, 46)

Tomb 1- Ch’ang-ling

When walking into the tombs one easily sets itself apart as the biggest and most glorious of them all. That belongs to the Emperor Yung-lo. He is buried in this tomb with his Empress, Hsu. It is by far the largest and best preserved of all the 13 Imperial Tombs. Also I have stated earlier Emperor Yung-lo is not the first Emperor of this dynasty. After the 1st emperor, Chu Yuan-chang, died and his grandson was named heir to the throne Yung-lo was not pleased. Yung-lo was a strong military commander who had led an army that protected the north of China. Yung-lo very quickly challenged the new emperor and after years of civil war he overthrew and took command of the dynasty, proclaiming himself emperor. It was under Yung-lo that the capital of the empire was moved from Nanking to Peking in the north. It is also because of Yung-lo that the position of the royal cemetery was decided upon and under his supervision the construction was begun. The final spot was decided upon in 1409 and the building of the cemetery began soon after. (Huo 30)

Tomb 2- Hsien-ling

After the death of his father in 1424 Emperor Hung-hsi was left as heir