Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (2)

Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (2)

　Xiaoling Tomb, located on the southern slope of Purple Mountain in eastern suburban Nanjing, capital city of Jiangsu Province, buried the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Zhu Yuanzhang, and his empress. Looking grand and magnificent, it represents the greatest attainment of architecture and stone-engraving art, having a great impact on subsequent emperors‘ tombs scattered in Beijing, Hubei, Liaoning and Hebei in the following 500 years.
　　
　　

　　Construction of the Xiaoling Tomb was officially started in 1381 and took 25 years to complete in 1405. Some 100,000 military soldiers and civilians were deployed to carry out the project. Damaged by war, the Xiaoling Tomb site has now only the Sacred Way, Archway for Dismounting, Great Golden Gate and Rectangular City still preserved in addition to the tomb itself.
　　
　　In 1398, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang died after ruling his dynasty for 31 years. The coffin chamber where he and his queen were buried is called Baocheng (Precious Hall), a clay vault some 400 meters in diameter and with walls made of rectangular stone slabs. After being exposed to the elements for some 600 years, part of the walls collapsed and huge cracks appeared in some other parts due to earth subsidence. Nanjing municipal authority in charge of cultural heritage has so far invested over 3 million yuan (US$0.36 million) in the repairing and maintenance of these walls.
　　
　　

　　Xiaoling Tomb starts with the Archway for Dismounting and extends to the Precious Hall in the rear, having a depth of over 2,600 meters. Along the way are scattered some 30 functional constructions and stone sculptures of different styles and uses.
　　
　　The creativeness of Xiaoling Tomb is also embodied in the winding Sacred Way flanked by stone animals and figures, representative of high-level stone engraving art in the early period of Ming Dynasty.