Ming Tomb of Qingling

Ming Tomb of Qingling

The Ming Tomb of Qingling is a cultural tourism attraction.

The Ming Tomb of Qingling is located at the southern foot of Huangshan Temple's Second Ridge in the Tianshou Mountains, Changping, Beijing. It is the joint burial mausoleum of the 14th Ming emperor, Emperor Guangzong (posthumously named Emperor Zhen), Zhu Changluo (reign title: Taichang), and his empresses, Lady Guo, Lady Wang, and Lady Liu.

The underground palace of Qingling was built starting in March of the first year of the Tianqi era (1621 AD), with the main gate sealed on July 29. The construction took four months and cost 1.5 million taels of silver. The workmanship was exquisite — apart from the entire underground palace being made of stone, the "rear, middle, and front halls" were separated by "multiple gates." The surface structures were completed in the sixth year of the Tianqi era (1626 AD). The mausoleum complex consists of three parts: the Sacred Way, the mausoleum palace, and auxiliary structures outside the palace. A single-arch stone bridge was built along the Sacred Way. Near the tomb is the remains of a stele pavilion for the Sacred Merit and Virtue Stele, housing an undecorated stele with a dragon-headed turtle base.

The layout of the mausoleum palace is generally square in the front and round in the back, covering an area of approximately 27,600 square meters. There are two courtyards in the front, not connected to each other, linked by the Sacred Way between the two courtyards, with three single-arch stone bridges built after the first courtyard. The first courtyard has the En Gate as the main entrance, featuring a single-eave hip-and-gable roof and three bays in width. Inside the courtyard are the En Hall and side halls, each with five bays, along with two spirit vessel furnaces. The second courtyard has a triple gate at the front, housing a two-pillar archway and a stone offering table, on which sits a stone incense burner, two statues of Taizai, two vases, and beyond the square courtyard lies the circular treasure city. At the entrance of the treasure city is a square platform, atop which stands a double-eave hip-and-gable Ming Tower. Inside the tower is the Sacred Name Stele, inscribed with “Great Ming” and “Tomb of Emperor Zhen of Guangzong.” Behind the Ming Tower, the treasure city is filled with earth, and at its center is a compacted cylindrical structure that is smaller at the top and larger at the bottom, known as the treasure mound, with a base diameter of about 28 meters. A wall in front of the mound matches the height of the treasure city wall and, together with the city platform and side walls, encloses a courtyard shaped vaguely like a crescent moon — the Mute Courtyard — which contains a wall-mounted glazed screen. Outside, there are also auxiliary buildings such as the animal-slaughtering pavilion, divine kitchen, divine storeroom, sacrificial office, imperial mausoleum administration, waiting halls, orchard, hazelnut factory, and imperial horse stables.

The drainage system of Qingling is quite unique. For the streams between the valleys on both sides of the treasure city, other tombs use open ditches to divert water around the front of the tomb. However, Qingling features a T-shaped underground drainage culvert built in front of the Ming Tower. Water from both sides of the treasure city flows through underground culverts beneath the walls, converges in front of the Ming Tower, then flows forward underground, bypassing the dragon-shaped earth in front, before entering the open drainage ditches. It then passes the three stone bridges behind the En Hall and flows around the right side of the front courtyard into the gully.

According to reports by Jin Jian, Minister of Works during the Qianlong era of the Qing dynasty, Cao WenZhi, Vice Minister of Revenue, and De Bao, Minister of Rites: the Ming Tower, offering hall, and palace gates of Qingling had “tiles, beams, and brackets falling off, with rafters, columns, and wooden ornaments leaning or missing.” Therefore, between 1785 and 1787 (the 50th to 52nd years of Qianlong’s reign), the Qing court ordered repairs. During this time, the wall of the Sacred Merit and Virtue Stele Pavilion in front of the tomb was removed, leaving only the stele itself, with waist-high walls added at the four corners. The En Hall and En Gate were rebuilt at a reduced scale. The left and right side halls were demolished. The square gate of the treasure city was sealed, and a ramp (Jiangshi path) was added on the right side of the platform leading up to the top. The Ming Tower's wooden beam structure was replaced with a stone vaulted roof.

Due to long-term neglect, the current structures of the mausoleum are severely damaged. The tiles on the top of the walls are largely broken. The platform stones and components of the En Gate and En Hall are damaged and shifted significantly. The crossbeams of the triple gate are rotten, and the tiles are missing. Stone railings on the bridges have fallen, and most of the crenellations and walls of the treasure city are damaged. Nearly all the caisson ceiling tiles of the Ming Tower are ruined. In addition, drainage on both sides of the inner river of the treasure city is poor.

In line with the cultural heritage conservation principle of “protection first, rescue foremost,” the Thirteen Tombs Special Zone Office, with strong support from the National Cultural Heritage Administration, Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau, relevant departments, and experts in ancient architecture, carried out emergency restoration work on Qingling.

Portrait of Emperor Guangzong of Ming: Zhu Changluo (1582–1620), of Han ethnicity, reign title Taichang, was the 14th emperor of the Ming dynasty and reigned for one month. He was the eldest son of Emperor Wanli of the Ming dynasty and his mother was Concubine Wang Gong. Zhu Changluo is one of the most legendary emperors of the Ming dynasty, associated with all three of the great mysteries of the Ming court. Emperor Wanli did not favor this crown prince, whose position was once precarious. After enduring 39 years, he finally ascended to the throne he had long dreamed of, but just 30 days into his reign, this newly enthroned emperor died mysteriously one morning. After his death... More details about Zhu Changluo ++

Shisanling Town: a township under the jurisdiction of Changping County. Established as Tailingyuan Township in 1956, renamed Shisanling Commune in 1958, and became Shisanling Township in 1982. Located in the northern part of the county, 1 km from the county seat. Covers an area of 67.9 square kilometers with a population of 14,000. National Highways 108 and 110 pass through. Administers 16 village committees including Jian Tou, Shima Fang, Nan Xin Cun, Xian Ren Dong, Da Gong Men, Kang Ling Yuan, Wang Zhuang, Tai Ling Yuan, Hu Zhuang, Xi Shan Kou, Xiao Gong Men, Dao Ling Jian, Wan Niang Fen, De Sheng Kou, Guo Zhuang, and Chang Ling Yuan, and one neighborhood committee, Bei Xin Cun. One of Beijing’s top ten fruit-producing townships, famous for its flat-peach persimmons... More details about Shisanling Town ++

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