Mausoleum architecture in Ming tombs

The Ming tombs have a beautiful environment. The surrounding mountains are undulating, surrounded by mountains and rivers, and the human and natural landscape is natural. The cemetery is large in scale and rigorous in pattern. Xiaoling Building is 2.62 kilometers deep from Xiamafang to Baocheng. The main building of the mausoleum is surrounded by the red wall of that year, with a circumference of 2.25 kilometers.

After more than 600 years of vicissitudes, the wooden structure of many buildings no longer exists, but the layout of the tombs still retains the original grand style, and the underground tombs are as good as ever. The main buildings and stone carvings in the mausoleum area include Fangcheng, Minglou, Baocheng and Baoding, including Xiamafang, Dajinmen, Shengde Monument, Shinto Road and Stone Statue Road, all of which are the architectural remains of the Ming Dynasty, maintaining the authenticity of the original buildings and the integrity of the spatial layout of the mausoleum.

The buildings in the tomb area are roughly divided into two parts: the first group of Shinto parts, from Xiamafang to the main entrance of Xiaoling; The second group is the main part, from the main entrance to Baocheng, Minglou and Chongqiu.

Along the Shinto Road, there are: Xiamafang, Forbidden Covenant Monument, Dajinmen, Shengde Monument Pavilion, Yuqiao, Shi Xiang Road, Lion King Column, Military Commander, Chen Wen and Star Gate. After crossing Lingxingmen, turn northeast and enter the main part of the cemetery. On the north-south axis of Dulong House, there are: Jinshui Bridge, Wu Wen Square Gate, Xiaoling Gate, Xiaoling Hall, Neihongmen, Fangcheng Minglou, Baoding and other buildings in turn. Mausoleum buildings are arranged according to the central axis, which embodies the traditional architectural style of China. The first part is the winding mausoleum Shinto. From Xiamafang to the main entrance of Xiaoling (Wu Wen Fangmen), including Xiamafang, Shenlie Mountain Monument, Dajinmen, Shen Gong Shengde Monument and Monument Pavilion (commonly known as Sifang City), Shinto Stone Carvings and Yu He Bridge. The Mafang Xiamafang in the picture below is a two-column stone archway with a width of 4.94 meters and a height of 7.85 meters. On the forehead of the memorial archway, the words "Officials from all departments dismount" are engraved, and it is announced that officials entering the Ming Tombs must dismount and walk to show their respect for the founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. Located 36 meters east of Xiamafang, Shenlie Mountain Monument was built in the 10th year of Jiajing in Ming Dynasty (153 1). The front is engraved with the word "Shenlieshan" with double hooks. The original stele pavilion no longer exists, only the four-corner stone pillar foundation is left. The monument to Shenlie Mountain was erected when Zhongshan changed to Shenlie Mountain in Jiajing decade of Ming Dynasty. There is a lying monument at the east 17 meter, which is a "forbidden monument". Founded in the 14th year of Chongzhen in Ming Dynasty (164 1), the inscription forbids the harm to Xiaoling and Ye Ling. Located more than 750 meters northwest of Xiamafang, Dajinmen is the first south gate of Xiaoling. Jinmen was originally a yellow glazed tile double-eaved building, with existing masonry walls, and the lower part was Sumitomo, with a width of 26.66 meters and a depth of 8.09 meters. There are three door openings in the wall, the middle door is 5.05 meters high and the left and right doors are 4.25 meters high. Shengde stele pavilion, located 70 meters north of Dajinmen, was written for Zhu Yuanzhang by Judy Yu Yongle, the first emperor of Ming Dynasty (14 13). The pavilion was built in the 11th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (14 13). Because its building plane is square, it is called "Sifang City", which was built by Judy, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, for his father Zhu Yuanzhang, and its roof has been destroyed. The original stele pavilion is a masonry structure with a square plane. The top of the pavilion has disappeared, and now there are only four walls, each with an arched doorway with a width of 5 meters, which looks like a castle, so it is commonly known as "Sifang City". Shinto Stone Carving Square is about 0/00 meter northwest of the city, crossing the Yu He River and entering Shinto. The greatest feature of Shinto in Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum lies in the perfect combination of architecture and terrain. It is different from the straight Shinto of the tombs of past dynasties, but it is built in a winding layout completely according to the topography and mountains. Moreover, stone statues are placed at the nodes of each section to control the space and form a solemn atmosphere. The stone statue is made of a whole brick of the Six Dynasties, which won't sink for 600 years. Shinto extends from east to northwest, and there are six kinds of stone beasts, including lions, thorns, camels, elephants, unicorns and horses, each with two pairs, and 24 *** 12 pairs, each kneeling and waiting for the passage.

These stone beasts reflect the etiquette requirements of the royal mausoleum, and each has its own profound meaning: the lion is the king of beasts, showing the majesty of the emperor, which is not only a symbol of imperial power, but also plays a role in suppressing evil spirits; Avenger is a kind of beast, with unicorn, lion's body and green hair. It is loyal and straightforward, and can distinguish right from wrong. It can use its horns to resist guilty people. Camel is a symbol of desert and tropics, which means that Daming has a vast territory and the emperor is surrounded by towns. Elephants are giants among animals. Its four legs are as strong as a rock, indicating the stability of the country. Kirin is the head of the legendary "four spirits", namely Lin, tortoise and dragon and phoenix. It is a benevolent beast with scales, no grass and no food. The man's name is Qi and the woman's name is Lin, symbolizing "the king of benevolence and righteousness", which is auspicious and bright. In ancient times, horses were important mounts for emperors to fight in the south and unify the whole country.

Among the six stone beasts in the Shinto of the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum, the elephant is the largest, weighing 80 tons. At that time, in order to transport these stone beasts to the Ming tombs, water was sprinkled on the road to freeze in winter, and thick bamboo and wood were used as rollers, and people pushed them along the way to complete the transportation task. This section of Shinto is now commonly known as Stone Statue Road, with a total length of 6 15 meters. At the end of the stone beast, Shinto turned due north and reached Lingxingmen, which is 250 meters long. There are stone pillars and statues in this part of Shinto. The two pillars are hexagonal and 6.6 meters high, with dragons carved on them. Usually, the watchtower is placed in front of Shinto, while the watchtower of Ming Tombs is placed in the middle of Shinto, which is also the uniqueness of Zhu Yuanzhang. Weng Zhong, two pairs of military commanders and two pairs of civil servants, stood opposite each other, with 8 statues of * * *, each with a height of 3.18m. The stone man and beast are huge in shape and are the treasures of stone carving art in Ming Dynasty. At the end of18m north of Lingxingmen Shendao, there are six stone pillars, which have been restored. Judging from the remains, Lingxingmen should be a three-bay building. After crossing Lingxing Gate, turn northeast for 275 meters, which is Yu He Bridge, also called Jinshui Bridge. Yu He Bridge Yu He Bridge is a stone bridge with five holes at first, but now it has three holes. The stone components of the bridge foundation and the revetment on both sides of the river are original objects of the Ming Dynasty. Crossing the Yu He Bridge to the north and along the gentle slope, it is the main building of the mausoleum. The second part is the main building of the Ming tombs. From the main entrance to Chongqiu, including Wenwufang Gate (the main entrance), Monument Hall, Enjoy Hall, Dashiqiao, Fangcheng, Minglou and Baoding, there are city walls. Wu Wen Square Gate Wu Wen Square Gate is the main entrance of Xiaoling Mausoleum. There used to be five openings, three big and two small, three arched openings in the middle and two rectangular openings on both sides. The top of the palace is covered with yellow glazed tiles. During the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, it was converted into a doorway, engraved with the stone gate forehead and the word "Ming Tomb" in regular script. 1999 restoration, restored the original appearance of the Ming dynasty gate. Now there are five doors, namely, yellow tile, red door and red wall. There is a rectangular door hanging above the main entrance, and the four gold-plated characters "Wufangfang Gate" are erected. On the east side of the main entrance stands a "Special Notice" tablet, which was built in the year of Xuantongyuan in Qing Dynasty (1909) and written in six languages to warn the precautions for protecting Xiaoling. There are two royal pavilions behind the stele pavilion, one in the west is called the sacrificial pavilion, and the other in the east is called the service hall. Memorial Hall The memorial hall was originally the middle gate in front of Xiaoling Hall, that is, Xiaoling Gate. It turned out to be five doorways, but it was later destroyed. This memorial hall was rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty. It is a three-bay building with red walls and small tiles. There is a door in the north and a door in the south. There are five inscriptions in the pavilion. According to "History of Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum" and other books, there was a middle gate in the Ming Mausoleum, but it was destroyed by war. In the Qing Dynasty, the stele hall was rebuilt on the basis of Zhongmen, and five tall steles were erected. There is a big stone tablet in the middle, and there is a turtle carrying the stone tablet under it. Its stone turtle is different, and its neck is surprisingly short. In the Tang and Song Dynasties, four gold-plated characters were written on the tablet, which was 3.85 meters high, 1.42 meters wide and 0.38 meters thick. "Governing the Tang and Song Dynasties" is to praise Ming Taizu's general plan of governing the country, surpassing Emperor Taizong, Li Shimin, Song Taizu and Zhao Kuangyin. This is the imperial title of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty when he visited Jiangnan Mausoleum for the third time in 1699. This is because the Qing Dynasty just ruled China, and in the early days of Kangxi's rule, the Han people refused to accept Manchu rule. In this historical background, Kangxi knew that it was not enough to rely solely on the high-handed policy, but also on the Han people. Therefore, Kangxi made six southern tours and paid a total of five visits to the Ming Tombs. This monument was carved by Cao Xueqin's grandfather and then doctor of Jiangning Weaving. Around the tablet of "Governing the Tang and Song Dynasties", there is also a poem tablet of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, including two lying tablets, one in the east engraved with the chronicle of Emperor Kangxi's first visit to the mausoleum, and the other in the west engraved with the chronicle of Emperor Kangxi's third visit to the mausoleum. The main building of Xiang Dian Xiao Ling is located behind the monument hall. The original Xiaoling Temple in the Ming Dynasty was destroyed by the war, and now it still retains a three-layer white marble pedestal with a height of 3.03 meters, and there are 64 large column bases on the pedestal. There are stone decapitated heads at the four corners of the abutment, three treads in front of and behind the main hall, and six large stone relief sculptures of Yunlong landscape. The base of the main hall is 57.30 meters long and 26.6 meters wide, which shows the grandeur of the building at that time. The original temples were dedicated to Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Huanghou.

The existing surface building is a three-room enjoyment hall rebuilt twice in the 12th year of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty (1873), and now the hall is a "historical exhibition room of Ming tombs". After enjoying the temple, it is an open field with a depth of over 100 meters and a width of tens of meters. It used to be an open-air sacrificial place, with a tunnel in the middle and lush trees on both sides. There is a stone bridge at the end of the tunnel, called Dashiqiao, also called Sage Bridge, which means that crossing this bridge is the "fairy world". The north of the bridge is a castle-like building with a width of 75 meters, a height of 16 meters and a depth of 3 1 meter, which is called Fangcheng. Fangcheng Fangcheng is a huge building in front of Baoding, Xiaoling. Its appearance is made of giant slats, with a length of 75.26 meters from east to west, a width of 30.94 meters from north to south, a front height of 16.25 meters, a back height of 8. 13 meters, and a sumeru seat at the bottom. There is an arch in the middle of Fangcheng, which leads to a round arch tunnel. There are 54 steps out of the tunnel, and the south wall of Baoding is in front of you, which is made of 13 layers of stones. You can climb the Ming building along the trails on the left and right sides of Fangcheng. Ming Lou Ming Lou is above the Fangcheng, which rests on the top of the mountain, with double eaves and yellow glazed tiles. It is 39.45 meters long from east to west and 18.47 meters wide from north to south. There are three arches in the south and 65,438+0 arches on the other three sides. There are 9 rows of doornails on each door, 9 in each row, to show the honor of the Ninth Five-Year Plan. To the north of Fangcheng Minglou is Chongqiu, which is about 400 meters straight. It is also called Baoding, where Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Huanghou lived. Baoding Baoding is roughly circular, which is a large circular mound with a diameter of about 400 meters, that is, the underground palace where Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Huanghou were buried together, surrounded by brick walls. Baocheng is thick and ups and downs with the mountain. The bottom is paved with stones and the top with bricks, with a thickness of about 1 m. In the Republic of China, seven characters "This Mountain is the Tomb of Ming Taizu" were engraved on the stone wall in the south. During the period from 1998 to 1999, Nanjing Cultural Relics Bureau and other relevant departments adopted advanced precision magnetic survey to confirm that Zhu Yuanzhang's cemetery palace was deeply buried, well preserved and never stolen. Stone statue students from Ming tombs *** 18 pairs, including 3 pairs of Han officials, 3 pairs of military commanders, Ma Ma 1 pair, Li Qilin 1 pair, Li Xiang 1 pair, Li Camel 1 pair, Ma Ma Ma Ma 1 pair. There are also 1 pairs of observation columns. All the stone statues are carved from one stone. It pays attention to the spirit likeness rather than the shape likeness, and its style is rough, bold, simple, mighty and extraordinary. This group of stone carvings are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the Shinto, which is more than 800 meters long from north to south, forming a mighty dragon, making the imperial tomb more holy, solemn and solemn. The stone statue students in Xiaoling are the largest and most distinctive group in the Ming Tombs. There is abundant rainfall in the Nanjing area of Yulong Bridge on Yu He, and the rain from the main peak of Zhongshan is mainly discharged through Xiaoling Palace in Dulong House. The Ming tombs must build a perfect drainage system to ensure the safety of the tombs and palaces. Therefore, there are three drainage systems in Xiaoling: Outer Royal River, Inner Royal River and Baocheng Royal River.

These three royal rivers are unique in planning and design. They divided the mausoleum area into guide area, Shinto area, front yard area and back bedroom area. At the same time, through three groups of royal river bridges, these four areas are connected into a harmonious whole, making the whole mausoleum area more perfect and full of vitality. The first group of Yu He Bridge is a brick single arch bridge, which is located between the stele pavilion and Shinto stone carvings. Thunderbolt water flows from the bottom of the bridge to the west, and the former site of Yu He Bridge still exists. The bridge is not what it used to be, but now it is called Hongqiao. The second group of bridges is located at the end of Shinto, which is a bridge directly leading to Gong Ling. Five bridges are arranged in a row, also known as Oolong Bridge. Located on the same north-south axis as Linggong, the bridge is a stone single arch bridge style. Five stone bridges correspond to the five-hole mausoleum gate 200 meters north. There are only three seats left in the middle, there are coupons on the bridge, and there are aprons and guardrail posts on both sides. The foundations and stone dikes on both sides of this group of Yu He Bridge are the original appearance of Ming Dynasty, and the guardrail was rebuilt by 1995.

The Yu He River under the bridge has been cleaned and rebuilt, and the river flowing through Yuqiao is crystal clear. The third group of imperial bridges is located in front of Fangcheng. It is a single stone arch bridge with a length of 57.5 meters and a width of 26.6 meters. Most of the stone fences and broken ends on both sides were damaged, but the bridge is large in scale, firm in structure and exquisite in workmanship. It is a masterpiece of bridge construction in the early Ming Dynasty. Crossing this imperial bridge is Zhu Yuanzhang's last resting place, so it is called Dengxian Bridge. In addition to the three royal rivers, there are huge culverts under the mausoleum palace to increase the flood discharge during the rainy season. Underground drainage pipes are built in the mausoleum palace, and aproll and open ditches are laid with bricks around the ground buildings. Enjoy the exquisite aproll with dozens of broken heads around the base of the temple. The aproll is paved with bricks outside the mausoleum wall and made of masonry as a retaining wall. The whole drainage system and detailed facilities of Ming tombs are not only practical, but also have high aesthetic value. It not only makes full use of the original river course, but also artistically integrates it into the layout of the mausoleum area, which highly embodies the scientific and artistic nature of the architectural planning of the southern water town. The tablet for governing the Tang and Song Dynasties governs the Tang and Song Dynasties. There are five tablets on display in the Imperial Monument Pavilion, with the word "governing the Tang and Song Dynasties" engraved in the middle, which was written by Emperor Kangxi. The monument is 3.85m high and1.42m wide. "Governing the Tang and Song Dynasties" is to praise Ming Taizu's general plan of governing the country, surpassing Emperor Taizong, Li Shimin, Song Taizu and Zhao Kuangyin. Kangxi, as the emperor of Qing Dynasty, showed respect and admiration for Zhu Yuanzhang on the one hand, and was well-intentioned on the other. Kangxi visited the south six times, visited graves five times and kowtowed nine times in his life. "Governing the Song Dynasty" was the theme of his third visit to Jiangnan Mausoleum on 1699 (thirty-eighth year of Kangxi), which was erected by Cao Xueqin's grandfather and then doctor of Jiangning Weaving. He wanted to win the hearts of the people, thus easing the contradiction between Manchu and Han and consolidating the rule. From this, we can also see the greatness of Kangxi. Ming Dongling site for the drainage ditch of Ming Dongling, experts from Nanjing Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology said this. Because there are no sacrificial facilities such as the sacred vault, the display hall and the sacred kitchen in Dongling Garden, it can be inferred that this brick drainage ditch building may be related to the sacrificial facilities in Dongling. The six-language plaque was set up by the Qing government to warn foreign tourists who like to "doodle" in the Ming tombs. It is written in six languages.

The inscription probably means: "In view of the serious damage to the monuments of emperors in Ming Tombs and nearby historical sites, Governor Duan ordered to build fences to protect them. Anyone who crosses the fence to visit or may cause damage to the above-mentioned imperial monuments and tombs will be prohibited. "

In the late Qing dynasty, after the opening of the country, more and more tourists, especially foreign tourists, came here. Some of these outsiders obviously like to scribble on the buildings and stone carvings of the Ming tombs, which caused trouble to the local government at that time.

The man who ordered the monument was the governor of Liangjiang at that time. According to the jurisdiction, the Governor of Liangjiang is in charge of Jiangsu, Anhui and Jiangxi provinces, which shows that the graffiti behavior of foreigners at that time has made the government at that time uncomfortable. In view of this situation, the Governor of Liangjiang came up with two "prescriptions": First, let the General Administration of Westernization of Liangjiang and jiangning house set up a "six-country notice monument" in the Ming Tombs, clearly warning foreign tourists with low quality not to scribble; The second is to put all the stone carvings in the Shinto of the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum into a wooden fence cage, so that the cultural relics are isolated from uncivilized foreigners and there is no chance of being destroyed by graffiti. Nevertheless, on the monument of Shengde in ming tomb, you can still see the lettering left by the suspected Russians in the late Qing Dynasty. Since 1997, cultural relics workers have conducted archaeological exploration of the Ming tombs for six years by using high-tech means such as precision magnetic survey. After exploration, it was found that the underground palace was located under the circular roof of the Ming tomb. According to the detection results, the construction area of the underground palace has reached more than 4,000 square meters, almost three times that of the excavated Dingling underground palace. The specific shape of the underground palace in the Ming Tombs is unknown at present, but from the phenomenon that a large number of stones are used as the building foundation in the existing buildings in the Ming Tombs and the architectural remains in the Ming Tombs, and the excavated examples that the underground palace in Dingling is all made of stones, it can be inferred that the underground palace in Xiaoling should also be a large-scale temple-style underground building made of stones.

Experts in literature and history boldly speculate on the design of the underground palace, which refers to the palace where strangers live, so there should generally be a distinction between primary and secondary. As the main feature of Ming tombs, the long-span stone arch coupon door may continue to be used in the underground palace. The main hall should be decorated in the style of a hall, with some sacrificial supplies, a vat filled with sesame oil and an ever-burning lamp. As the main part of underground palace, Houdian is traditionally a place where coffins and various funerary objects of emperors and queens are placed. The coffins of Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Huanghou were parked on the coffin bed in the back hall.

For a founding emperor, there should be no doubt that there are all kinds of gold, silver, jade, official brocade, etiquette utensils and life funerary objects buried in the underground palace. Of course, all guesses are just guesses, and the real mystery of the underground palace can only be known after the future excavation.

In the history of the Ming tombs underground palace, there has never been a successful excavation. Due to the special anti-theft measures, historical opportunities and geographical location of the Ming tombs, they have been well preserved so far.

After exploration, Dulong House, where the Ming Tombs are located, turned out to be a solid stone mountain. Some tombs dig a deep hole from top to bottom and then seal it up, but the Ming tombs cut into the mountains horizontally and hollowed out the Xuan Palace from the inside. Although this horizontal hole method is a huge project, it is very solid. Without explosives, it is impossible for ancient grave robbers to dig holes from top to bottom. The cross-hole design makes the tomb passage the only passage for grave robbers. In order to hide the tombs, the craftsmen who built the Ming tombs also tried their best. Through accurate magnetic survey, archaeologists found that the tomb passage was not in the middle as people thought, but on one side. This unconventional design has made many grave robbers return in vain.

In addition to the horizontal caves and side tombs, archaeologists also found a thick layer of round pebbles under the high hills of Baoding in the Ming tombs. Pebbles should have appeared in low-lying mountain streams, but now they appear on the mountains of Dulong House for only one reason-they were deliberately laid on people's backs, which not only facilitated the rapid infiltration of rainwater into Baoding's drainage facilities, but also prevented theft. This is similar to an ancient quicksand anti-theft method. When a grave robber digs a hole, pebbles will roll down from all directions and fill the hole. That's why even the traces of looting are hard to find now.

Although the Ming Tombs took three effective measures to rob tombs, if they met a warlord with heavy weapons and explosives like Sun Dianying, a thief from Dongling, it would be born to die. Fortunately, the historical opportunity made the Ming tombs escape the clutches of these thieves. Although Nanjing suffered from repeated wars after the Ming Dynasty, every new regime protected the Ming Tombs without exception. After the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, the anti-Qing ideological trend in the south of the Yangtze River was effectively eliminated by protecting the Ming Tombs. Even Emperor Kang and Emperor Gan visited the Ming Tombs every time they went to the south of the Yangtze River. Kangxi also erected a stone tablet in front of the mausoleum to "rule the Tang and Song Dynasties". The first thing Hong Xiuquan and Sun Yat-sen did after they established their political power in Nanjing was to worship the Ming Tombs to show their determination to overthrow the Manchu Dynasty and restore China.

Another important reason why the Ming tombs escaped thieves was that they were too close to Nanjing. As long as there are signs of trouble, the city will immediately know, which makes poaching activities impossible to last long and can only be in vain.