How did the geomantic omen of ancient tombs in China come into being?

The Book of Changes said: "Ancient burials were paid for their thick clothes. They were buried in the middle of fields without seals or trees." Funerals were very simple in ancient times. With the development of human society, burying the dead has gradually developed into a major event. Many important cultural relics preserved today are the remains of tombs, such as the famous Egyptian pyramids, which were the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs four or five thousand years ago. From China to the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucius strongly advocated "filial piety", and the trend of reburial became more and more popular, which lasted for several generations, and gradually formed a set of grand and complicated ritual and funeral systems, as well as various exquisite ones. Therefore, the tomb is considered as the first place to bury ancestors and parents, which can be used as a filial piety in the past and a reference for the future. Therefore, from the emperor to the people, they paid special attention to the placement of graves. As a Feng Shui master who chooses the burial place for people, the Yin House is the first.

Geomantic omen theory holds that the geomantic omen of ancestral graves will affect the fate of future generations; The geomantic omen of a country's king's mausoleum will affect the fate of the whole country. The imperial tombs of past dynasties attached great importance to the choice of mausoleum sites in order to make the imperial power permanent. Imperial tombs are generally located near the capital, such as the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Qin Dynasty, the Han Dynasty and the Sui and Tang Dynasties, all with Chang 'an as the capital, so most of the imperial tombs of these five dynasties are concentrated near Chang 'an. Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties all took Beijing as their capital, so the tombs of these three generations are all located near Beijing.

The Imperial Mausoleum in the Tang Dynasty is located in the northern part of Guanzhong Basin, in the mountainous areas of Ganxian, Liquan, Jingyang, Sanyuan, Fuping and Pucheng on the north bank of Weishan River, Shaanxi Province, stretching for more than 300 miles from east to west. The characteristic of the Tang Mausoleum is that "the mountain is the mausoleum". Different from the tombs of Qin and Han Dynasties, they were artificially rammed and the tombs were very high. The Tang Mausoleum was the first such tomb. Of the eighteen tombs of the Tang Dynasty, only the Xianling Mausoleum, the Zhuangling Mausoleum and the Duanling Mausoleum are located in the plain, and the rest are built under the peaks, commanding, forming a situation of "standing in the south and standing in the north".

Zhaoling is the mausoleum of Emperor Taizong Li Shimin. It is located at the main peak of Jiujun Mountain, 22 kilometers east of Liquan County, Shaanxi Province. Jiujun Mountain is steep, with an altitude of1.888m.. It is separated from Guanzhong Plain in the south and faces Taibai and Zhongnan peaks. The mountains on the east and west sides are undulating and ravines are criss-crossing, which sets off the precipitous majesty of the main peak of Lingshan. In addition to the guards of the surrounding mountains, the back is surrounded by water mirrors, and the front is Wei River, which is beautiful and magnificent.

From the main peak of Zhaoling to the south, there are 167 tombs of heroes and nobles, covering an area of about 300,000 mu. Li Shimin's Gong Xuan is condescending, with tombs lined on both sides, which set off the supreme spirit of Zhaoling.

Ganling is the burial tomb of Tang Gaozong Li Zhi and Wu Zetian, located in Liangshan and northwest of Ganxian. According to New Tang Book? According to the Chronicle of Emperor Gaozong, Li Zhi was buried in Ganling in the first year of Yu Guangzhai (684), Ganling Road was restarted in the second year of Shenlong (706), and Wu Zetian was buried in the tomb. The elevation of Liangshan is 1049 meters, which is conical. There are three peaks at the top of the mountain, with the highest peak in the middle, that is, the Ganling underground palace, which is the main body of the mausoleum, is steeper than Jiujun Mountain. The two peaks in the south are relatively low, facing east and west and similar in shape, just like natural gates and pavilions. There is a mound on it, which looks like a nipple, commonly known as "nipple mountain". There is Leopard Valley in the east and Desert Valley in the west. The whole terrain is like a human body lying on its back with its head facing north and its feet facing south. Ganling is a mausoleum because of mountains, and a tomb because of mountains. Magnificent momentum and scale, the cemetery can be divided into inner city and outer city. The foundation sites of the inner city wall are 1450m, 1450m, 1582m, 1482m respectively, and the city walls are all rammed. There are doors on all sides of the inner city. There are stone carvings in the cemetery. Except for a pair of stone lions at the four gates of the inner city and six stone horses at the north gate (one existing pair), the rest of the stone statues are arranged between the second and third gates in the south ... from south to north, there are a pair of Chinese watches, winged beasts and ostriches, five pairs of stone horses and drivers. There are ten pairs of stone figures, as well as wordless tablets, sacred tablets and sixty-one statues of "Chief Fan", which do not reduce the style of the palace.

The Imperial Mausoleum of the Northern Song Dynasty, starting from Yong 'an Mausoleum, its father, and ending at Yongtai Mausoleum, its father Xu, has eight mausoleums, which are concentrated on the platform on the south bank of Luohe River in Gongxian County, Henan Province. With Zhitian Town as the center, a considerable mausoleum is formed within a distance of only ten kilometers.

Kaifeng, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, is located in Gongxian County, far from the capital Bianjing. The main reason is that the landscape here is beautiful, the soil quality is excellent, and the water level is low, which is suitable for digging graves and burying rich people. There are few rooms in Song Yue in the south and natural hazards in the Yellow River in the north, which can be described as "resting on the Yellow River and stepping on Song Yue" and is regarded by Mr. Feng Shui as an auspicious place where "mountains and high waters grow".

Mausoleum in Song Dynasty is different from other generations in terrain selection. Mausoleums of all previous dynasties were condescending, or surrounded by mountains and waters, while Song Ling was facing Songshan and backed by Luoshui. The terrain of each mausoleum is high in the south and low in the north, and the mausoleum platform is located at the lowest place. It turns out that the geomantic technique of "five-tone surname Li" prevailed in Song Dynasty, which was related to house painting in Han Dynasty. This feng shui technique divides surnames into five tones according to the five elements, and then chooses auspicious positions according to the sounds. The surname of the Emperor in Song Dynasty is Zhao, which belongs to the "horn" sound, which is beneficial to the positioning of benevolence and soldiers. It must be "southeast dome, northwest depression" Therefore, the terrain of tombs in the Song Dynasty is high in the southeast and low in the northwest.

After the Ming Dynasty, geomantic omen paid special attention to the shape of mountains and rivers, so it paid special attention to the geomantic omen of tombs in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. With the cooperation of buildings, the site selection and planning of tombs reached a high artistic level.

The Ming Tombs, located in Beishili, Changping County, the western suburb of Beijing, began to build the Changling Mausoleum in 1409, and the Ming Dynasty perished in 1644. The construction of the Ming Tombs lasted for more than 200 years without interruption. Judy, the prince of Yan, plans to move to Beijing after she became king in Nanjing. In the fifth year of Yongle (1407), after the death of the queen Xu, Judy did not build a mausoleum in Nanjing, but sent Zhao Jiang, a minister of rites, and Liao, a famous geomantic gentleman in Jiangxi, to Beijing to look for auspicious land.

Judy's men ran for two years before they found several places to choose from. It is said that Tujia camp was originally chosen outside the mouth, but because the emperor surnamed Zhu, "Zhu" and "pig" are homophonic, pigs must be slaughtered if they want to enter Tujia camp, and they cannot be used. Another location is at the foot of Yangshan Mountain in the southwest of Changping, because there is a village called "Wolf Mouth Valley" behind it, and the wolf next to the pig is dangerous and can't be used. I have also chosen "Yanjiatai" in Jingxi, but "Yan Jia" and "Yan Jia" are homophonic and unlucky. Although the scenery of Tanzhe Temple in the west of Beijing is good, the mountains are deep and narrow, leaving no room for future generations to develop, and it has never been elected. In the seventh year of Yongle, the Jinling District selected by Jiangxi Feng Shui master Liao and others was finally selected.

Qing Dongling Mausoleum is located near Malan Pass in Zunhua, at the southern foot of Yanshan Mountain in JD.COM, with Changrui Mountain in the north, Jinxing Mountain in the south, Yu Nian Pass in the east and Huanghua Mountain in the west. * * * There are 14 tombs, and 150 people are buried.

Regarding the site selection of Dongling, there is a story that the emperor shunzhi personally planned the site selection. Since the emperor shunzhi entered the capital, his mother sourdrang dowager and his uncle Dourgen have sent people to choose the mausoleum. Two groups of Tian Jian ministers and Feng Shui masters of Qin Dynasty have been there, and they all took a fancy to this treasure. After returning to Beijing to report to the Emperor, the emperor shunzhi was very happy and said that he would go to see it himself. Soon after, the emperor shunzhi was surrounded by many Eight Banners guards and athletes. They rode all the way to the Yanshan Mountains in JD.COM and climbed to the top of Fengtai Mountain. The emperor shunzhi climbed to the top of the mountain and looked south, like a blanket, with a panoramic view. Looking to the north, the mountains are tidal and green. The sun is wide and the purple fog is misty. The mountains and rivers are magnificent and the scenery is natural. The emperor shunzhi looked forward and backward, glance left and right, and gave a heartfelt admiration. With his back to the horse, he chose a sunny place in Fengtai Ridge, prayed to the sky very devoutly, then measured a terrain suitable for geomantic omen and said to the courtiers around him, "This mountain is lush with vegetation and kings, which can make me live forever." As he spoke, he took off his white jade finger and lifted it down the hillside, saying, "The landing site is designated as a cave." So the ministers piled a pile where their fingers stopped to take notes. Later, the first mausoleum of the Qing Dongling was really built here, which is the Xiaoling Mausoleum in the emperor shunzhi.

Xiaoling is backed by the main peak of Changrui Mountain, and the left and right wings are natural sand hills. The whole mountain is high in the north and low in the south, with clear rhythm and magnificent momentum. In order to prevent the tombs from being destroyed by flash floods in flood season, not only piles were piled under the buildings for reinforcement, but also a complete drainage system was built. On the ground, using the naturally inclined terrain, an open drainage ditch is set up, so that rainwater can be discharged smoothly. The water in the mausoleum passes through the open ditch culvert, all of which are collected under the Shenliao Bridge outside Long 'enmen, and then discharged from the waterways on both sides. It can be seen that the geomantic omen of Xiaoling reflects the scientific site selection and architectural skills of ancient people in China to some extent.

In addition to its ecological and practical functions, ancient geomantic site selection is an art, which attaches great importance to the organization of environmental landscape. In ancient times, the concept of animism led to the worship of mountains and rivers, and gradually developed into a national ceremony to worship mountains and rivers, the sun, the moon and mountains. People admire and love nature. The philosophy of "harmony between man and nature" guides people to imitate nature with human spirit, ethics and social order, and places their life ideals on it. Therefore, in the concept of Feng Shui, there is often an idea of pursuing beautiful and pleasing nature and thinking about the environment.