Xiaodongling Mausoleum

Xiaodongling

Xiaodongling is a cultural tourism attraction.

Xiaodongling Mausoleum is located to the east of Xiaoling Mausoleum and contains the remains of Empress Xiaohuizhang, the wife of Emperor Shunzhi (Fulin), as well as 28 concubines, princesses, and noble ladies. The construction start and completion dates of Xiaodongling are unknown. When it was first built, it was called the "New Tomb." On February 21 of the 58th year of the Kangxi reign (1719), it was officially named "Xiaodongling."

The architectural layout of Xiaodongling from south to north is as follows: one three-arch bridge, five side halls on the east and five on the west, three duty rooms on the east and three on the west, one 5-room Long’en Gate, one cremation furnace on the east and one on the west, five side chambers on the east and five on the west, one 5-room Long’en Hall, three mausoleum gates, one Stone Five-Offering Platform, as well as a square city, a Ming Tower, a treasure city, and a treasure mound. In front of the square city, along both sides of the spirit way, there are 14 small treasure mounds arranged in two rows, each row running north to south. On the east side, there are 10 small mounds on the outer row and 4 on the inner; on the west side, there are 11 small mounds on the outer row and 3 on the inner. This arrangement of the mounds still reflects the style of the imperial concubine tombs outside the Shanhai Pass in Shengjing.

As Xiaodongling was the first imperial tomb built for an empress in the Qing Dynasty, there were no precedents to follow, and therefore its design was not yet fully standardized. Subsequent imperial tombs for empresses were improved and refined based on this model.

The tomb’s principal occupant, Empress Xiaohuizhang, of the Borjigit clan, was the grandniece of Empress Xiaozhuangwen, the birth mother of Emperor Shunzhi, and the daughter of Prince Chuo’erji of the Horqin Mongols. She entered the palace in May of the 11th year of the Shunzhi reign (1654), was appointed as a consort, and was enthroned as empress in June. When Emperor Shunzhi died, she was only 21 years old. Empress Xiaohuizhang was highly respected during the reign of Emperor Kangxi. She passed away on the sixth day of the twelfth month of the 56th year of the Kangxi reign (1717) at the age of 77 and was interred in 1718. Seven consorts buried with her include Consort Gongjing, Consort Shuhui, Consort Duanshun, Consort Ningque, Consort Ke, Consort Zhen, and Consort Dao.

In addition, Xiaodongling also houses the remains of 17 princesses and 4 noble ladies, all of whom

Xiaodongling pioneered the practice of building separate mausoleums for empresses, and its design became a blueprint for subsequent imperial female tombs.