JingTai Mausoleum

　　Zhu Qiyu was the younger brother of Emperor Yingzong. In 1449, when Yingzong was captured by remnants of the Mongol Yuan army, Zhu Qiyu was appointed to the throne in a time of crisis. He established the era name JingTai, defeated the remaining Mongol forces, and enabled Yingzong to return to the capital. After Yingzong regained the throne, he deposed Zhu Qiyu to the status of a prince and had him buried according to princely rites in Jinshan Pass, west of the capital. It wasn’t until the reign of Emperor Xianzong that the site was reconstructed to imperial mausoleum standards.

　　The JingTai Mausoleum largely retains the main architectural features and layout typical of imperial Ming tombs from the same period. The tomb complex consists of an antechamber and a rear chamber, both topped with hip-and-gable roofs. The antechamber is square-shaped, with the entire tomb structure measuring approximately 11 meters in length, making it relatively large in scale. The mausoleum originally included palaces, a divine kitchen, divine storehouse, animal-slaughtering pavilion, inner officials’ quarters, a stele pavilion, and most importantly, the Ling’en Hall—the central structure of an imperial tomb. The imperial tomb mound is located at the very rear of the mausoleum area. Today, the preserved structures within the mausoleum site include the Imperial Stele Pavilion, the Ling’en Hall, and the original central section of the tomb mound. (Source: National Cultural Heritage Administration)