The Qing Dynasty had ten emperors altogether, five buried in the
East Tombs and the rest, except for final emperor Pu Yi, buried in
the West Tombs, over 120 kilometers west of Beijing. China had a
tradition in earlier dynasties that the imperial son should be
buffed near the father, a tradition expected to be perpetuated from
generation to generation. After the first two, few of the ten
emperors in the Qing Dynasty were buried in accordance with the
tradition.
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Why did they act against the tradition to develop the East and
West Tombs separately? It turned out that Emperor Yong Zheng broke
the tradition. Yong Zheng, fourth son of Emperor Kang Xi, was said
to have usurped the throne by forging his father's testament of
succession. Since he had a guilty conscience and was superstitious,
he did not want to be buried with Kang Xi.
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Yun Xiang (Prince Yi) and Minister Gao Qizhuo knew well what
troubled Yong Zheng, so they found an auspicious place at
Tianpingyu on Taining Mountain, Yizhou, and pressed the location on
Yong Zheng. In their memorial to the throne they wrote: "It is a
place having all excellence in heaven and on earth; yin
and yang, the two opposing principles in nature are in
great harmony; and the mountain ranges and waters are in proper
arrangement. Provided with all auspicious things, the terrain is
suitable for building an imperial mausoleum."
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After reading the memorial, Yong Zheng accepted it as an
auspicious location and gave orders to construct the Tailing
Mausoleum at the foot of the Taining Mountain. This was the
beginning of the West Tombs. Yong Zheng opened the West Tombs not
only for himself but for successive emperors as well.
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However, his son, Qian Long, acted against his father's will and
chose a tomb location for himself in the Eastern Tombs, following
principles of geomantic omen. He also made it a rule that after him
son and father could not be buried in the same place but must
alternate between East and West Tombs respectively.
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The Qing West Tombs include four emperors' tombs, three
empresses' tombs, and seven tombs for concubines, princes and
princesses, covering an area of 50,000 square meters, with more
than a thousand structures. Altogether, 76 people were buried here.
A hundred or more stone buildings and stone carvings are
intact.
The Qing West Tombs
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The periphery of the Western Tombs totals more than 100
kilometers. Amidst mountains verdant with trees, the setting is
beautiful, with the famous Zijinguan Pass to the west, Yishui River
and the Langyashan Mountain to the south, and, across the river,
the 2,300-year-old ruins of Xiadu (Lower Capital) of the Kingdom of
Yan to its east.
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The Qing West Tombs construction is similar to that of the
East Tombs. From south to north is the avenue of stone animals and
human figures, the greater stone archway, big and small stone
bridges, Dragon and Phoenix Gate, the lesser tablet pavilion,
warehouse of sacrificial offerings, east and west lounges for
officials, the Long'en Gate, east and west side halls, the Long'en
Hall, the gate of glazed tiles, two-pillar gate, rectangular stone
table (altar) with five kinds of sacrificial offerings, Square
Castle, Round Castle, Soul Tower, Precious Dome and underground
palace. Before Dahongmen (Great Red Gate), there is a beautifully
shaped five-arch bridge, which looks like a crescent moon hanging
in the sky.
The Five-arched Bridge at the Qing West Tombs
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To administer the tombs the Qing court established a full set of
organizations. The emperor named the general military commander of
Taining Town as minister concurrently in charge of the West Tombs.
Prince Fu and Prince Zhen were also designated to set up the East
and West Mansions and serve as representatives of the imperial
family to guard the tombs. Under the East and West Mansions there
were the Department of Internal Affairs (in charge of
administration and judicature), the Department of Rites, the
Department of Works (in charge of offering sacrifices to ancestors
and the construction), the "Eight Banners" troops (to protect the
tombs) and Luying Army (to safeguard the boundary of the tombs).
Drawn around the West Tombs were three lines of boundary markers in
red, black and white, with five li separating each line.
Outside the boundary markers were the imperial mountains, which
were heavily guarded and closed to common people.
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In a line with the Red Gate is Yongning Hill, at the foot
of which, in the center, lies Tailing for Emperor Yong Zheng. Later
emperors could choose either east or west of Tailing for their
burial places.
The Tailing Mausoleum of Emperor Yong Zheng
The Grand Hall at Tailing
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The spirit path leading to Tailing is about five li
long, along which are scattered some forty structures, large and
small. The path, paved with three layers of huge bricks, is broad
and even. Exquisitely carved stone animals and human figures stand
on both sides, each wearing a graphic facial expression, and
showing precise detail.
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Clothing folds, beads in civil officials' hands, designs on
military officials' scabbards, animal hair and designs on saddles
are all clearly discernible. The verdant pine tree wall along the
way sighs in the breeze, adding a taste of classic elegance. A
small hill rises in the middle of the way to serve as a screen
wall. Behind it is the Dragon and Phoenix Gate carved with
innumerable dragons belching mouthfuls of clouds and mist as well
as flowers designed in colored glazes.
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At the northern end of the spirit path are three three-arch
stone bridges, under which the Yudai (Jade Belt River flows. Across
the bridges is the lesser tablet pavilion. The tablet inside is
inscribed with emperors' names in Manchu, Han and Mongolian
languages. North of the pavilion is a square, north of which, on a
platform, are five east rooms and five west rooms for visitors to
rest and three east and three west rooms for guards. In front of
the square is Long'en Gate, as wide as five bays (generally, the
number of beams required to support ceilings and roof), with a
single-eared gable roof. On the left and right inside the gate are
color glazed burners to burn funeral orations, gold and silver
bullion and paper of five colors.
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At the north gate are east and west side halls. The east hall is
constructed for the storage of zhuban (a square of wood
slightly less than half a meter in width and length covered with
yellow paper at four sides, for reading funeral orations when
offering sacrifices to ancestors). The west side hall is where
lamas chanted scriptures.
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The Long'en Hall, the main hall, lies on the front platform. It
is five bays wide and three bays deep with double eaves and yellow
glazed gable roofs. Inside the hall, the beams are painted with
gilt lines, dots and circles.
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Central paintings titled "A United Country" and "Illuminating
the Universe" are done in gentle colors to create an air of
solemnity. The hall is still bright in colors today and contains
three rooms, one for consecrating the figures of Buddha and the
other two enshrined with the tablets of emperors and empresses. A
memorial ceremony, big or small, was held here each year.
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Behind the Long'en Hall are Sanzuo Gate, Two-Pillar Gate,
a rectangular five-piece sacrificial stone altar, the square Castle
and Soul Tower. The cinnabar tablet in Soul Tower is inscribed with
the names of temples for each emperor in Manchu, Han and Mongolian
languages. From Soul Tower, a path leads to the Round Castle and
its two parts: Precious Dome, and underground palace.
Soul Tower at Tailing
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Emperor Yong Zheng died in the 13th year of his reign (1735) and
was buffed in Tailing in the second year of the Qian Long reign
(1737). Buffed with him are empress Xiao Jingxian and concubine Dun
Su. Some 1.5 kilometers northeast of Tailing is the Taidongling, in
which is buried empress Xiao Shengxian, Qian Long's mother. South
of Taidongling lies Taifeiling where Yong Zheng's 21 concubines,
including concubine Yu and concubine Qi, were buried.
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A kilometer west of Tailing is the Changling, Emperor Jia Qing's
tombs, where Jia Qing and his empress Xiao Shurui (Xitala) were
buffed. West of Changling are the Xiling and Changfeiling,
containing the remains of Jia Qing's concubines.
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Very close to Tailing, Changling nearly matches Tailing in
luxury. Pillars of the Long'eh Hall are decorated with gilded
clouds and dragons and look splendid; the floor is paved with
precious piebald stones and yellow slabstones streaked with purple
lines, looking smooth and bright.
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Muling is built at Longquanyu, southwest of Changling, where
Emperor Dao Guang and his empresses, Xiao Mucheng and Xiao
Quancheng, were buried. Not far from Muling is the Mudongling,
which contained Dao Guang's empresses Xiao Shencheng and Xiao
Jingcheng. The Muling is the smallest among the Qing West and East
Tombs, having neither a Square Castle nor a Soul Tower, and its
underground palace is enclosed only by a stone fence.
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Emperor Dao Guang first selected his tomb site at the East Tombs
in keeping with the alternate burial tradition. However, since the
underground palace was found soaked with water, he ordered a new
tomb constructed at the West Tombs. Emperor Dao Guang thought the
water in his tomb might be the spit of dragons as they dug holes.
If the dragons were moved to the ceiling, he reasoned, they would
no longer spit water in the underground palace. So many dragons
carved in nanmu (phoebe nanmu) wood decorated the caisson
ceilings, forming an array of dragons and permeating the
underground palace with the fragrance of nanmu.
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Therefore, the Long'en Hall in Muling is unique with all
its ceilings, beams and bracket sets covered with swimming and
coiling dragons. Further, the surface of the carved dragons are not
painted, retaining the original color of nanmu. The
fragrant nanmu smell still greets visitors to the
hall.
The Nanmu Hall at Muling, Mausoleum of
Emperor Dao Guang
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East of Tailing is Chongling, the final tomb. It was built in
the first year of the Xuan Tong reign (1909) and completed in the
fourth year of the Republic of China (1915). It is, then, the
newest among the extant tombs of the emperors, under a thick growth
of rare trees such as yew podocarpus. In the underground palace are
buried Emperor Guang Xu and his empress, Long Yu.
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In 1980, the underground palace at Chongling was cleaned and
some repairs made. Although it had been looted in early years and
severely damaged, some cultural relics such as precious pearls and
silk fabrics were still discovered. Near the Chongling there is the
Chongfeiling where concubine Zhen Fei and concubine Jin Fei were
buried.
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In August 1900, combined forces of eight imperialist powers took
Beijing, forcing Empress Dowager Ci Xi, who had Guang Xu in her
power, to flee with imperial court to Xi'an. Before she left
Beijing, Ci Xi ordered her eunuch to drown concubine Zhen Fei, who
often opposed her, in a palace well. The corpse was retrieved the
next year and buried in Tiancun Village in the western suburb of
Beijing. Later her remains were moved to Chongfeiling.
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The Qing West Tombs contain many exquisite carvings. The
three stone archways outside the Great Red Gate are exquisitely
made with each of its top ridges, purlins and bracket sets carved
out of one piece of stone. The bracket sets and tie beams are
engraved with designs of flowers and animals, exquisite and vividly
executed. The stone human figures and animals on both sides of the
spirit path are also masterpieces of stone carvings, fierce and
restless unicorn, elephant, horse and lion are made tractable and
lovely. Seen from afar, these stone animals in life size look real
and lively. The sculptures of civil and military officials are well
shaped and each wears a vivid facial expression. Their long gowns
are carved loose and with distinct wrinkles, showing an artistic
realism.
Stone archway at the Qing West Tombs
