Huangling County is located on the Loess Plateau of northwest
China in Shaanxi Province. It is known for the Yellow Emperor s
tomb, hence the name Huangling of the county.
Yellow Emperor is the legendary ancestor of the Chinese nation.
His surname is Ji and Xuan Yuan or You Xiong is his name. He led
his people to victory over other tribes under the interfering
Emperors Yan Di and Chi You and brought unity and stability among
them. With those triumphs, he was made leader of union of all the
tribes. It is said he taught people silkworm breeding, vessel and
vehicle making, characters, temperament, healing art, calculation
and so on. Therefore people loved and admired him.
About 4,000-5,000 years ago, i.e. during the late period of
primitive society of China, a number of legendary heroes had
emerged to conquer nature and improve the lives of the people,
among whom were included the Yellow Emperor, Fu Xi, Nu Wa, Shen
Nong, Yao, Shun and Yu. In their memories, people built many tombs
and even had several tombs in different provinces built for the
same hero. The Yellow Emperor is one, for example, who had two
tombs built in Shaanxi, in addition to others in Henan, Hebei and
Gansu provinces.
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Actually, no one knows for certain about these legendary heroes,
and even historical records spring mostly from hearsay. As for
their deaths and burial places, the records here are also vague and
the stories quite different. Based on what is known of burial
practices, tombs as large and lavish as those of legendary heroes
could not have been built at the times of their death, neither had
mausoleums for sacrifice yet appeared. All the existing mausoleums
and buildings, therefore, were built by later generations in their
memory, virtually eliminating the possibility that the bodies of
the heroes were inside the tombs.
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The Yellow Emperor's tomb is located on Qiaoshan Hill in
north Huangling County, one kilometer from the county town. Jushui
River runs by the left side of beautiful Qiaoshan. Amid a luxuriant
growth of ancient cypresses is the Yellow Emperor's Tomb, 3.6
meters high and 48 meters in circumference.
A distant view of the Yellow Emperor
Mausoleum
At the entrance of the mausoleum stands a pavilion in
which there is a tombstone with the characters ''The Yellow
Emperor's Tomb." Behind this structure is another pavilion in which
stands a stele carrying the characters "Supreme Guidance from
Qiaoshan." Behind it there is a stone tablet erected in 1776 during
the reign of Emperor Qian Long of the Qing Dynasty, with the
characters "Ancient Yellow Emperor's Tomb on Qiaoshan." To the
south of it is a large, tall terrace said to have been built by
Emperor Wu Di (140-87 BC) of the Han Dynasty for prayer and for
offering sacrifice to the Yellow Emperor over 2,000 years ago after
he returned from his expedition to the northern territory of the
country.
Tombstone and grave mound of the Yellow Emperor
Mausoleum
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There are several different accounts relating to the death and
burial of the Yellow Emperor. One is the story told in "Title
Conferring" from the Records of the Historian by Sima Qian
(c 145 or 135 BC-?) during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD
24):
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Minister Gong Sun said: The Yellow Emperor mined bronze from
Shoushan Mountain and cast a cooking cauldron at the foot of
Jingshan. Once the casting was completed, a dragon with drooping
whiskers came down and, carrying on its back the Yellow Emperor
with his retinue of 70 high officials; it flew up and away. We
small officials couldn't get on, but caught hold of the dragon's
drooping whiskers. The whiskers pulled loose and we dropped with
the Yellow Emperor's bow. All the people gazed after the Yellow
Emperor who was disappearing in the sky and cried as they dung to
his bow and the dragon's whiskers.
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"Hence, the place where the cauldron was cast was named Cauldron
Lake and the emperor's bow was Bow of Crying. Then Emperor Wu Di
said: 'Aha, if I could become like the Yellow Emperor, I would
leave my wife and children without hesitation.'
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"In the winter of the next year Emperor Wu Di ordered over
100,000 soldiers on a north expedition. After coming back from the
expedition, they held a memorial ceremony at the Yellow Emperor's
tomb on Qiaoshan. Emperor Wu Di said: 'I heard that the Yellow
Emperor had gone up to Heaven, why is his tomb here still?' Someone
answered: 'After the Yellow Emperor went up to Heaven the officials
buried his dresses.'"
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According to Sima Qian's Records, people in his time
thought the Yellow Emperor had gone up to Heaven and there could be
no tomb. But, Sima Qian legitimized the tomb as containing the
Yellow Emperor's clothing.
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No known records tell the true stow of the Yellow Emperor's
tomb, so we must rely on hearsay. What is true, according to Sima
Qian, is that Emperor Wu Di held a memorial ceremony for the Yellow
Emperor at the tomb on Qiaoshan after coming back from his north
expedition. Thus, it may be safe to say that the Yellow Emperor's
tomb dates back at least 2,000 years.
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There is also a Temple of the Yellow Emperor at the foot
of Qiaoshan, an old structure adjoining the tomb, used for offering
sacrifices. There are many centuries-old cypress trees with huge
branches towering over the temple ground. The largest one is 19
meters high, with a 10 meters girth at the base, 6 meters in the
middle and 2 meters at the top of the trunk, said to have been
planted by the Yellow Emperor.
The cypress said to have been planted by the Yellow Emperor more
than 5,000 years ago
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Below the western steps of the hall there is a small
old cypress from which Emperor Wu Di is said to have hung his
armour when he camped there and offered his sacrifice to the Yellow
Emperor after returning from his north expedition. This incident
gives the cypress its name Marshal Cypress. To this day the mark of
the nail from which the armour is said to have hung on the tree is
still visible. Though these are only hearsay, the size of these
cypresses prove they have endured for centuries.
The armour hanging cypress
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The temple entrance has five doors with a single eave
under the same beam, and fixed on the temple in front is a
horizontal board inscribed with the characters "Temple of the
Yellow Emperor."
The gate of the Temple of the Yellow Emperor
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There are three passage pavilions in the court of the
front hall of the temple, with more than 70 steles erected during
the Ming and Qing dynasties, and inscriptions by emperors through
the ages to memorialize the Yellow Emperor. The inscriptions on the
steles clearly describe the sacrificial rituals of the emperors.
Beyond the pavilions of steles sits the main hall of the Temple of
the Yellow Emperor, along with a seven-room structure with a single
eave, a circular corridor and a large front terrace. The hall is
surrounded by old cypresses. A horizontal board inscribed with "The
Progenitor of Human Civilization'' is hung in the very middle of
the hall. Placed in the mid-hall is a tablet dedicated to the
Yellow Emperor, marking the Chinese traditional way of ancestor
worship. On display inside the hall are legends and materials about
the life of the Yellow Emperor, representing the great exploits of
this ancient hero and founder of the Chinese nation.
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The Great Hall of the Temple of the Yellow
Emperor
Carved stone image of the Yellow Emperor
