|
Ming Tombs
Located 50 kilometers northwest of Beijing,
the Ming Tombs built from 1409 A.D. -1644 A.D is where 13
emperors of the Ming (1368-1644) and their empresses and
concubines were buried.
Thirteen tombs spread over 40 kilometers
in circumference. A 7-kilometer-long sacred way flanked
by 18 pairs of giant stone statues leads to the Changling
- the tomb of Emperor Yongle, the most powerful emperor
in the Ming dynasty. The up-turn-cornered marble Stone Arch
with beautiful bas-relief carvings of lions, dragons and
flowers - the first on your way to the tomb was erected
in 1540. The Great Palace Gate built in 1426 marks the beginning
of the Sacred Way to Changling.
The Great Palace Gate used to have three
passageways and the central one was used by the deceased
emperor only while the living emperor used the side ones.
Officials and civilians had to dismount before the gate.
About 460 meters from the gate stands the vermilion Stele
Pavilion with an exquisitely engraved 7-meter-high stone
column called as huabiao - similar to the one on the Tian'anmen
Square. Inscriptions from Qing Emperor Qianlong's Reign
on the back recorded the reconstruction of the tombs. Next
along the path are bizarre, mythical stone monsters standing
guard. At the end of road stands Changling and on half the
way a sideway to the left leads to Dingling a prior for
visitors - the tomb of Emperor Wanli. To get to the tomb
itself, you have to walk down many flights of stairs till
you are deep inside the mountain. It is kind of creepy and
cool to go down and down.
The Sacred Way and
Stone Statues
In the front part of imperial necropolises
there is usually a "sacred way" or "divine
road" for the spirits of the royal dead-- in which
the ancients believed to walk on. This road is often lined
with stone statues of men and animals as important decorations
of the grounds.
The traditional name for the giant-sized
statues of men, popularly called "stone men",
is strictly wengzhong. It is said that a herculean giant
by the name of Ruan Wengzhong lived in the Qin Dynasty (221-207
B. C.) and distinguished himself with great service in garrisoning
the borders in Gansu and in fighting the Huns. After he
died, Emperor Qin Shi Huang, to commemorate him, had a bronze
statue carved in his likeness and erected at his palace
in Xianyang. It is also said that, when Huns came to Xianyang
and saw the statue, they thought Wengzhong was still alive.
After that, all bronze men (and then stone statues) standing
guard at palaces and imperial tombs came to be known as
Wengzhong.
As for the stone animals, they have their
origin in the following historical event:
Huo Qubing (140-117 B. C.) was a young military
genius in the period of the Western Han. Distinguished in
archery and horsemanship, he became an imperial attendant
at age 17 and was several times sent on expeditions under
his uncle Wei Qing, a famous commander, to fight the marauding
Huns. He was given a command himself at 19 and twice led
government forces to what was present-day Gansu and dealt
telling blows to the Huns. He died at the age of 23 only.
Emperor Wudi built for his beloved young general a magnificent
tomb at Maoling and, to perpetuate the fame of his exploits
in the northwest, had the mausoleum grounds landscaped like
the Qilian Mountains where the battles had been fought.
And as the mountain range is marked by rugged rocks that
resemble wild beasts, so Huo's tumulus was strewn with grotesque
rocks;furthermore, masons building the tomb sculptured many
stone statues of animals-- leaping and squatting horses,
resting tigers, kneeling elephants, piglets and fish, bears
and other wild beasts preying on sheep... Of the sculptures,
the most renowned is one showing a Hun under the hoof of
a galloping horse, a work of art aptly summing up the achievements
of the young general in his meteoric career.
 |
The group of statues are the earliest giant-sized
stone sculptures known to stand in front of an ancient tomb
in China.
Emperors in later epochs, taking their cue
from this, had stone men and animals made for their own
tombs, and they are now a common sight to greet visitors
to imperial mausoleums of the Tang, Song, Ming and Qing
dynasties.
The group of giant stone figures that stand
on the grounds of the Ming Tombs near beijing are the best
preserved, the most true-to-life and most skilfully carved
of their kind.
Erected where they are in A. D. 1435 (or
the 10th year of the reign of the Ming Emperor Xuande),
they consist of 12 human figures (civil and military officials
and courtiers with meritorious records) and 24 animals (lions,
camels, xiezhi, elephants, qilin, and horses-four of each,
two standing and two squatting). The human figures were
meant to imply firm and popular support to the imperial
house, while the animals in different postures signified
alternate day and night services to the dead monarchs.
Besides, different animals had each their
symbolic significance:
The lion, ferocious in nature and lording
it over the animal kingdom, symbolized awesome solemnity.
The camel and elephant, being dependable
means of transport in the deserts and tropics, put together
at the imperial tombs, were meant to suggest the vastness
of the territory controlled by the court.
The xiezhi, a mythological unicorn which
was supposed to possess a sixth sense to tell between right
and wrong and which, when two men were embroiled in a fight,
would gore the wicked one, was put there to keep evil spirits
away.
The qilin, one of the four "divine
animals" (the other three are dragon, phoenix and tortoise),
was represented at the tombs as an auspicious symbol.
The horse, being the emperor's mount on
many occasions, was of course indispensable.
|
