Three Ming Tombs
Thirteen of the Ming Emperors built their tombs in an array just north of Changping. The exact location of each was planned by imperial geomancers. The first to be interred there was the Yongle Emperor, who died in 1424. His tomb was called Changling, which, at the end of it all, remained the largest of the thirteen.
More after the jump
The area where we walked we have seen in the distance from around Yanzikou and Changling. When I took this picture last March, I was struck, as I often am, by how beautiful the tombs look tucked against the mountains. There's something about the shapes of the roofs, the yellow tile, the red stucco, and the backdrop of mountains that just appeals to me. In my files I have several versions of this same image, taken at different times of year. It's a wonder, then, that I was never terribly motivated to get up close to these buildings I have admired in the distance.
We began our walk at Yongling, the tomb of the 11th Ming Emperor, the Jiajing Emperor. Even as we were driving up to it, we were amazed that the Jiajing Emperor's Spirit Way, the long road up to his stele and tomb, was largely intact. As often as we have been around unrestored parts of the Great Wall and have seen five hundred year-old parts still standing, perhaps we should have expected it. The road wasn't perfect, and reminded us of Pennsylvania potholes that form in time significantly less than that measured in centuries.
Of course, the stele-bearing turtle stands ever at attention.
Yongling has a really, really long Spirit Way. In most other Ming Tombs, the stele sits fairly close to the entrance. In this case, though, the Jiajing Emperor wanted to make a big statement with his tomb.
The triple gate is impressive and still standing.
The doors are, of course, locked, but through the gaps the surviving interior is visible. There are signs inside, too, for when this was or at least was intended to be open to the public.
From there we turned left to walk around the outside of the tomb.
At Kangling, there's a break in the exterior wall where we can look in to see the sacrificial altar. We had been hoping that at Yongling this might, too, be possible, but it was not. We were, though, afforded views across the orchards of the rooftops of Changling.
As we continued around the retaining wall, we noticed that there were a lot of trees growing out of the wall itself. They had successfully pushed their way through the upper bricks and stone.
There were also these incredible dragon head water spouts holding their own against the escaping trees.
The well-trodden path we had followed to the rear of Yongling veered away from this tomb and appeared to continue on up toward Deling, the tomb of the Tianqi Emperor.
Deling is relatively small, as Ming Tombs go. The path led us to the five arch bridge that is part of this tomb's Spirit Way. Some people drove over it, but we were glad we did not. It had evidence of modern repair and reinforcement, but it was still a very uneven surface.
Over the last few years I have sometimes posted pictures and blogged about structures that were built during wetter times in Beijing. Deling's bridge is also evidence of this.
At this tomb, the stele is much closer to the front gate than at Yongling, as expected.
The wooden gate is not nearly as imposing as the larger one at Yongling.
Here the doors would not budge any more apart than they were, so the look inside was really a peek.
Another time we can walk around to the rear to try for a better look at the Soul Tower, if that is possible.
We walked down through the Deling village to return to Yongling via a newer paved road. Instead of leaving Yongning on the pitted, uneven Spirit Way we drove up on, we followed the paved road as it continued toward the third and final tomb of our afternoon, Jingling, the tomb of the Xuande Emperor. He was the grandson of the Yongle Emperor, the one buried in Changling.
The way this tomb looks tucked up against the foot of the mountain is just incredible. The first three Ming emperors really got the best spots (the father of the Xuande Emperor is buried on the other side of Changling).
This tomb is completely inaccessible. A modern locked gate prohibits access even as close as we had to the other closed tombs that afternoon. If I want better pictures in the future I will have to bring my real camera, not just my phone.
I can do better than just phone-camera zoom. Another time.
It is a shame, I admit, how little time we have spent studying the Ming Tombs compared to how much of our lives we have devoted to chasing the Great Wall. These tombs were built contemporaneously to much of the Wall we so often admire. Of course, the Wall, being a military structure, is much more appealing than a necropolis, but why should we value one five hundred year old building over the other? I think this spring we will work toward remedying that, especially now that I have found this site published by someone who is apparently Ming-obsessed.
We've spent some time, usually only when we have guests, visiting one or more of the four ticketed Ming Tomb attractions around Changping. However, in six years now here, we have really been woefully neglectful of the history in our back yard. We often just drive on past the ruins of the tombs on our way to the Great Wall.
Sunday afternoon was bright and clear, but much too windy for a really good Great Wall climb. We decided to do something we have always postponed indefinitely, to walk around some of the Ming Tombs. We had no idea how fascinating the afternoon would end up being, though, with all the time we have spent around the Ming-built Great Wall, we should have known.
More after the jump
The area where we walked we have seen in the distance from around Yanzikou and Changling. When I took this picture last March, I was struck, as I often am, by how beautiful the tombs look tucked against the mountains. There's something about the shapes of the roofs, the yellow tile, the red stucco, and the backdrop of mountains that just appeals to me. In my files I have several versions of this same image, taken at different times of year. It's a wonder, then, that I was never terribly motivated to get up close to these buildings I have admired in the distance.
We began our walk at Yongling, the tomb of the 11th Ming Emperor, the Jiajing Emperor. Even as we were driving up to it, we were amazed that the Jiajing Emperor's Spirit Way, the long road up to his stele and tomb, was largely intact. As often as we have been around unrestored parts of the Great Wall and have seen five hundred year-old parts still standing, perhaps we should have expected it. The road wasn't perfect, and reminded us of Pennsylvania potholes that form in time significantly less than that measured in centuries.
Of course, the stele-bearing turtle stands ever at attention.
Yongling has a really, really long Spirit Way. In most other Ming Tombs, the stele sits fairly close to the entrance. In this case, though, the Jiajing Emperor wanted to make a big statement with his tomb.
The triple gate is impressive and still standing.
The doors are, of course, locked, but through the gaps the surviving interior is visible. There are signs inside, too, for when this was or at least was intended to be open to the public.
From there we turned left to walk around the outside of the tomb.
At Kangling, there's a break in the exterior wall where we can look in to see the sacrificial altar. We had been hoping that at Yongling this might, too, be possible, but it was not. We were, though, afforded views across the orchards of the rooftops of Changling.
As we continued around the retaining wall, we noticed that there were a lot of trees growing out of the wall itself. They had successfully pushed their way through the upper bricks and stone.
There were also these incredible dragon head water spouts holding their own against the escaping trees.
The well-trodden path we had followed to the rear of Yongling veered away from this tomb and appeared to continue on up toward Deling, the tomb of the Tianqi Emperor.
Deling is relatively small, as Ming Tombs go. The path led us to the five arch bridge that is part of this tomb's Spirit Way. Some people drove over it, but we were glad we did not. It had evidence of modern repair and reinforcement, but it was still a very uneven surface.
Over the last few years I have sometimes posted pictures and blogged about structures that were built during wetter times in Beijing. Deling's bridge is also evidence of this.
At this tomb, the stele is much closer to the front gate than at Yongling, as expected.
The wooden gate is not nearly as imposing as the larger one at Yongling.
Here the doors would not budge any more apart than they were, so the look inside was really a peek.
Another time we can walk around to the rear to try for a better look at the Soul Tower, if that is possible.
We walked down through the Deling village to return to Yongling via a newer paved road. Instead of leaving Yongning on the pitted, uneven Spirit Way we drove up on, we followed the paved road as it continued toward the third and final tomb of our afternoon, Jingling, the tomb of the Xuande Emperor. He was the grandson of the Yongle Emperor, the one buried in Changling.
The way this tomb looks tucked up against the foot of the mountain is just incredible. The first three Ming emperors really got the best spots (the father of the Xuande Emperor is buried on the other side of Changling).
This tomb is completely inaccessible. A modern locked gate prohibits access even as close as we had to the other closed tombs that afternoon. If I want better pictures in the future I will have to bring my real camera, not just my phone.
I can do better than just phone-camera zoom. Another time.
It is a shame, I admit, how little time we have spent studying the Ming Tombs compared to how much of our lives we have devoted to chasing the Great Wall. These tombs were built contemporaneously to much of the Wall we so often admire. Of course, the Wall, being a military structure, is much more appealing than a necropolis, but why should we value one five hundred year old building over the other? I think this spring we will work toward remedying that, especially now that I have found this site published by someone who is apparently Ming-obsessed.
Comments
Why are they not open?
Since the 80s the government policy is of non-excavation unless it is necessary for preservation. At this point, too, only the main Spirit Way, and three of the tombs are open for ticketed admission. They are also the three with the best area for large parking lots. A fourth tomb, called Maoling, is being shored-up and outfitted with a ticketing booth, though I am not sure when it is slated to be open and it wasn't clear to me, either, where people might park. The other nine tombs, which includes the three we saw on this day, will remain closed to both tourists and archeologists for the time being. For tourists, they are really difficult to get to---some are on narrow but paved roads with little area for parking, especially for tour vans and buses, limited access to plumbing for tourist toilets. There's also a concern about grave robbers, though I have no idea how successful the current policy has been to prevent that.