The mausoleum of Zhu Yuanzhang, which has not been stolen for 600 years, what is the mystery

Mondo History Updated on 2024-02-09

In February, the dynamic incentive plan of Sun Dianying robbed the tomb of that year, which shocked the whole country. In 1928, Sun Dianying brutally ransacked the tombs of Qianlong and Cixi on the grounds of military exercises, and Cixi's resting place was rudely split, ruthlessly plundered and dumped, an act that was extremely arrogant and deeply infuriating.

This is the cruel fact that the Qing Dynasty, which had been established for 296 years, was humiliated by a ragtag army at the end of the period.

After more than 600 years, the Ming Tomb is still intact, costing 1 million taels of ** huge project, why the tomb robbers are frightened, even the tomb robber Sun Dianying also gave up?

Perhaps the answer lies in the "milestone" imperial tomb in the Xuanwu District of Nanjing's Purple Mountain, Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum. According to historical records, the Ming Tomb is about 20 kilometers in circumference, after 32 years of construction, hundreds of thousands of migrant workers were mobilized.

From the selection of the mausoleum site to the excavation of the cemetery, to the material of the mausoleum, all reflect the uniqueness of Zhu Yuanzhang, the grassroots emperor. This may be the secret of the Ming Tomb for more than 6 centuries, making it a forbidden place in the hearts of tomb robbers.

The tombs of ancient monarchs and royal families were mostly built in secluded and remote places, far away from the hustle and bustle of the world, and seemed to contain the desire to stay away from the world after death. However, Zhu Yuanzhang did the opposite, setting up the Ming Tomb near Nanjing, the capital of the early Ming Dynasty.

He may have hoped that even after his death, he would be able to watch the glory of the Ming Dynasty for a long time. Soon after Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, he began to choose a resting place for himself and build a mausoleum.

From the perspective of Feng Shui, both the Tomb Palace and the Treasure City conform to the "Four Elephants" of Feng Shui, that is, there is a flowing water symbolizing the green dragon on the left, a long road symbolizing the white tiger on the right, a pond symbolizing the vermilion bird in front, and a hill symbolizing Xuanwu in the rear.

In addition, the three rivers of Xiaoling all flow from left to right, which is the "crown with water" in Feng Shui, so from the perspective of Feng Shui, Ming Xiaoling is extremely rare among the tombs of ancient Chinese emperors.

The design of Zhu Yuanzhang's tomb is ingenious, incorporating many anti-theft technologies to protect it from the danger of theft. The unique rocky terrain provides a natural protective barrier for the tombs.

The excavation of the tomb was also different, with horizontal excavation instead of the usual upper and lower excavations, which increased the difficulty of the project but increased the level of anti-theft. In addition, the Shinto entrance in the cemetery is also ingenious, designed in the form of a labyrinth, so that it is difficult for tomb robbers to find their way to come, but let them eat their own fruits.

This ingenious design, which was initially forced to change by encountering rocks, unexpectedly became a system. The Ming Tombs of the Ming Dynasty all adopted a similar design, but the tomb of Zhu Yuanzhang entered the underground palace because of the east gate, and the descendants deliberately used the west gate as the entrance in order to distinguish them.

Zhu Yuanzhang's mausoleum is not only excavated in a unique way, but even the architectural materials of the tomb are also unique. According to the research of archaeologists, the underground palace of the Ming Xiaoling Tomb is a tomb excavated from the stone mountain alive, which resembles a round "big steamed bun", with a diameter of about 400 meters, surrounded by thick brick walls, and the outside of the brick wall is the stone of the original mountain.

This structure makes the anti-theft index of the tomb composed of this stone mountain soar to a new level, which is simply invulnerable, like an airtight "air-raid shelter".

However, it is not easy to enter this tomb, after all, the structure of the treasure dome is often weaker than the rest of the building. But Zhu Yuanzhang's mausoleum is even more ingenious, he laid a thick layer of round pebbles on the top of the treasure, so that the idea of entering from the top of the treasure becomes a problem, which is undoubtedly more desperate than "the bamboo basket is empty".

Therefore, even in the ancient tombs, quicksand was laid on the top of the underground palace to prevent theft, but in Zhu Yuanzhang's mausoleum, he chose to replace the quicksand with pebbles, which shows the ruthlessness of his anti-theft methods.

This method of construction has two advantages: it is good for drainage and it prevents theft. Once the roof of the dungeon is opened, the pebbles on it will pour down like a mudslide, filling the hole in an instant, this scene is simply unimaginable, there is nothing but despair.

Above the top of the underground palace of Zhu Yuanzhang's tomb, the mountain is very thick and full of stones, and it is very difficult to open it. Secondly, the special geographical location of the Ming Tomb is located in the suburbs of Nanjing City at the foot of the Ming Dynasty, and the slightest movement will alarm the people in the city.

I think that the people at the feet of the Son of Heaven are just like today's "Aunt Chaoyang District", and they can also be sensitive to the "enemy situation". As mentioned earlier, to break down Zhu Yuanzhang's tomb, it takes a very violent method, and once it is implemented, the city will immediately know, so who dares to be so blatant?

In addition to the above reasons, we have to mention the artificial protection of the Ming Dynasty. A month after Zhu Yuanzhang's burial, the new emperor Zhu Yunwen transferred more than 5,000 guards from the army and formed a filial piety guard to guard the Ming Tomb.

During the Ming Dynasty, the Xiaolingwei were a mystical team that did not seek to be famous, but enjoyed lucrative treatment. As long as you join Xiaolingwei, it is equivalent to having an iron rice bowl that enjoys the emperor's grain for life.

This job is not only well paid, but also extremely confidential, and it is difficult for ordinary people to have access to everything about Xiaolingwei. However, if you want to enter Xiaolingwei, you need to pass the screening and assessment of the imperial court, and Xiaolingwei implements a strict last elimination system, and only by making continuous progress can you gain a foothold in the team.

The Ming Dynasty royal family maintained a strict attitude towards guarding the tombs of their ancestors, and even though Ming Chengzu Zhu Di moved the capital to Beijing, Xiaolingwei was stationed in the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum for 267 years.

This kind of strict protection makes it impossible for thieves to succeed. Even after the fall of the Ming Dynasty, the Southern Ming Dynasty still adhered to the Ming Tomb, which also shows that Zhu Yuanzhang's mausoleum enjoys the advantages of the right time, place and people.

After the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, the worship of the Ming Dynasty ended, and people's feelings for the Qing Dynasty were complicated. At this time,"Anti-Qing and restoration of sight"Zhu Yuanzhang enjoys a high prestige in the hearts of the people, and it is not too much to be described as an "eternal god".

The people and the descendants of the Ming Dynasty launched the "Restoration of Vision" movement from time to time. In order to buy people's hearts and consolidate the rule of the Manchu royal family, the Qing Dynasty included the protection of the Ming Dynasty's imperial tombs into political issues, and paid special attention to the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum to show respect for the Han monarchs.

The emperors of the Qing Dynasty adhered to"The Manchu and Han families"The concept of constantly protecting Zhu Yuanzhang's mausoleum. From the regent Dolgon to Kangxi, Qianlong, Jiaqing, and Daoguang, they all actively fulfilled their responsibilities to protect Zhu Yuanzhang's mausoleum.

Emperor Qianlong even ignored the ** of Wanli Dingling, adhered to the commitment to maintain the society of the country and the feelings of the Han people, and resolutely did not move the tomb of Zhu Yuanzhang. The behavior of the emperors of the Qing Dynasty not only showed the concept of the Manchu and Han families, but also showed their deep attachment and protection to the Jiangshan Society.

Qianlong went down to the south of the Yangtze River and went to worship the tomb of Zhu Yuanzhang every time, which was also the result of the protection of the Ming Tomb of the two dynasties. Zhu Yuanzhang was respected and admired by later generations, not only because of his legendary life, but also because of his promotion and positive influence on political reform.

He is an iron man, but also tender, it is not easy to rise in troubled times, and work hard to start an iron-fisted reform.

During the reign of Zhu Yuanzhang in the Ming Dynasty, the prime minister system was abolished and the political system was improved. Drawing lessons from the failure of the Yuan Dynasty, he severely punished the corrupt officials, implemented the principle of equality before the law, and the founding prime minister Hu Weiyong and Lan Yu and others were sentenced to death, and a total of more than 100,000 people were sentenced to death for **.

He granted amnesty to the enslaved people, promoted agricultural development, reduced taxes, supported agricultural and sideline industries, and built water conservancy, so that the country and the people were safe and prosperous during the Hongwu period, and the economy was prosperous.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang also has a tender side. In 1376, he began to build the Ming Tomb, and in 1382 the first phase of the project was completed, but unfortunately his wife Empress Ma died in this year, and he was very saddened by this.

Queen Ma was the most trusted and helpful person in his life. Her departure made Zhu Yuanzhang unable to control himself, and as the king of a country, he even beat his chest and cried loudly in the palace.

In order to commemorate and express his deep admiration for Queen Ma, Zhu Yuanzhang decided to bury her in his own cemetery, and named her "Filial Piety Tomb" with the nickname of "Empress Xiaoci".

After Zhu Yuanzhang died of illness, his grandson Zhu Yunwen buried Taizu and Queen Ma in Xiaoling, and named the underground palace where the two were buried together as "Baocheng". Zhu Yuanzhang is a person who loves and respects heroes, even when Sun Quan's mausoleum clashed with the plum blossom mountain in front of the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum, he also chose to respect Sun Quan and let Sun Quan be a guard for himself in front of him, protecting his mausoleum from being moved.

In the context of ancient China's profound feudal thinking, Zhu Yuanzhang's behavior showed his spirit of righteousness and respect for heroes.

After more than 600 years, the tomb of Zhu Yuanzhang, the Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, is still intact, as if Sun Quan's spirit in the sky has been guarding. After the establishment of the Ming Tomb, for hundreds of years, successive leaders have gone all out to protect it, just like a relay race, one baton after another, never stopped.

The Ming Dynasty has an irreplaceable position in everyone's hearts, because in ancient Chinese history, not every dynasty had it"No land, no harmony, no tribute, no compensation"of spirit.

Zhu Yuanzhang, as the founding monarch of the country, has a lofty status, and the admiration of later generations for the Ming Tomb is also extremely strong. Although the Qing Dynasty monarchs had mixed emotions, they could not deny their admiration.

1.Zhu Yuanzhang: Ming Taizu, a rare emperor in ancient China who enjoyed high courtesy after death. 2."Drive out the Tartars and restore China": In the chaotic times at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang stepped forward and shouldered this major mission.

3.At the end of the Qing Dynasty, corruption and the people's livelihood were poor: the League was formed, determined to overthrow the rule of the incompetent **. 4.Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum: The first batch of key cultural relics protection units in the country, world cultural heritage.

In the archaeological exploration in 1997, the authority certified that the Ming Xiaoling Tomb had not been excavated for 600 years. Zhu Yuanzhang's mausoleum has been well preserved after 600 years, not only thanks to clever anti-theft measures, but also due to the protection of successive dynasties.

Thankfully, until now, the Ming Tomb is still well preserved, and there is no serious damage except for some collapses and cracks in the ground. This is undoubtedly good news for the archaeological community, leaving an extremely precious historical evidence for future archaeological research.

The underground palace of the Ming Tomb has not yet been opened by technology, although we cannot be sure whether Zhu Yuanzhang is buried in it, but at least when the underground palace is opened one day in the future, we may be able to solve this mystery.

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