Enkele jaren geleden bezocht in Beijing.
Ten noorden van Beijing bevinden zich de Ming-graven.
In een prachtig gelegen valei tussen de heuveld liggen de
graven en de monumenten die bij die graven liggen met
een Sacred Way (heilig pad) er naar toe.
Maar de oudste Ming tomb ligt bij Nanjing, de eerste
hoofdstad van China.
Die bezocht ik afgelopen september.
Vanaf het metrostation loop je naar een soort cultuur park
met als een van de complexen dit graf.
Je komt bij het graf over een pad met beelden.
Een minister.
Wengzhong Path
Wengzhong Path, 250 meters long, constitutes the second section of the Sacred Way.
This section is flanked by a pair of balusters, two pairs of generals and two pairs of civil officials.
The balusters, with a cylinder crown at the top as well as cloud and dragon designs over the column, have changed the convention of topping the balusters along the Sacred Way with lotus-flower design since the Tang and Sond Dynasties.
It is of innovative significance in art.
The statues of the genrals and officials stand there with great dignity, guarding the tomb with their loyalty.
Het gebied is een World Heritage Monument. De naam is de Xiaoling Tomb of the Ming Dynasty.
Xiaoling Tomb Of The Ming Dynasty
Xiaoling (Filiai Tomb) is the burial place
of Zhu Yuanzhang, founding emperor of the
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) The architectural
system, inheriting from its predecessors while
creating a new standard of its own, was
followed by all the other imperial tombs of the
Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368 – 1911) for more
than 500 years, and thus accupied a milestone
position in the history of the system of ancient
Chinese imperial tombs.
De ligging is prachtig en het weer was goed.
Het is een heel complex met allerlei attracties. Heerlijk om er te wandelen.
De toegangspoort tot het eigenlijke complex.
In het stele-gebouw (Wen Wu Fang Men (The Gate of the Civil and the Military)) zie je altijd een schildpad (eeuwigheid) met op de rug inscripties over de keizer. In dit geval ook van een latere keizer.
Huisje om beschreven documenten te verbranden.
Placed before the Sacrificial Hall on each side of it’s gate, the pair of Sacrificial Censers are actually two small temple-shaped buildings made of yellow and green glazed materials.
The censers are covered with single – eave gable-and-hip roofs. The gate in the middle of the buildings’ front wall leads to a small chamber where pieces of paper (on which characters are inscribed to call back the spirit of the dead) used for sacrificial ceremonies are burnt.
De paraplu is tegen de zon. Sacrificial Hall.
Het monument en de natuur vechten om voorrang.
Sacrificial Hall, also known as Xiaoling Hall, is one of the main buildings og the Ming tomb. It was built in the 16th year under thei reign of Emperor Hong Wu (AD 1383) for the memorial tablets of Zhu Yuangzhang and his empress and concubines. It was a huge wooden structure with 9 bays in width and 5 in depth based on three layers of stone Xumizuo, with 56 stone column bases left behind today. The original building was destroyed during the war in the 3rd year under the reign of Qing Emperor Xian Feng (AD 1853). It was rebuilt during the reign of Qing Emperor Tongzhi.
Inner Red Gate. Het laatste gebouw voordat we bij de eigenlijke tombe aankomen. Daar meer over de volgende keer.
Inner Red Gate
In the North of the Sacrificial Hall, there is a gate, Commonly called Yinyang Gate and alsotermed as Inner Red Gate, as it leads to the residence of the soul of the deceased.
The gate devides the tomb palace building into the front area and the rear area,
i.e. a layout of the tomb palace marked by “the court in front and the residing place in the rear” first established in the Ming Tomb.
Originally, Inner Red Gate was a red gate with three passages going through and its top was covered with yellow glazed tiles.
In 2006, the Administration of Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum renovated the gate according to its original form as a rescue, thus restored its historical appearance.
Het in 2006 gerestaureerde dak van de Inner Red Gate.