The Qing Dynasty Imperial Mausoleum Guardian Photo reveals the true appearance of the tomb guards
This is a group of precious historical elders taken in the late Qing Dynasty, which truly presents the image of the guardians of the royal tombs in history. During the Qing Dynasty, in addition to the "Three Tombs outside the Guan", two royal mausoleums were established on the east and west sides of Beijing, which were named the Qing Eastern Tombs and the Qing West Tombs respectively.
Due to the large scale of the imperial tomb and the countless valuables and treasures that accompany the burial, in order to prevent theft, a special guardianship organization has been set up.
The Qing Dynasty royal mausoleum was strictly managed, and the "Sanling Prime Minister's Affairs Yamen" was set up, which was equivalent to the six departments of officials, households, rites, soldiers, criminals, and workers, and at the same time set up special management institutions in Dongling and Xiling, which were under the unified jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
In order to ensure the safety of the mausoleum, each imperial tomb is equipped with an elite Eight Banners Mausoleum Guard.
At that time, the Tomb Guards had a special political status, enjoyed preferential treatment from the royal family and the children of the Eight Banners, had a good annual salary, and their families enjoyed tax exemptions and the privilege of exemption from military service.
After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, in order to show respect for the royal family, the "Qing Family Preferential Treatment Conditions" was specially formulated, which has a special provision, that is, "Although the Qing Emperor abdicated, his temples and mausoleums should still be respected and protected.
As a result, these royal ceremonies have been properly protected and maintained.
In the early days, the contradictions and struggles within Beiyang escalated, which led to the serious impact on the management and protection of the imperial tombs of the Qing Dynasty. The duties of the mausoleum guards were not effectively discharged, and there was even a horrific incident of warlord Sun Dianying stealing and excavating the Tanglin in 1928.
During the ** period, some descendants of the Manchu royal family or the children of the Eight Banners hired others to guard the imperial tombs, but due to the social unrest of the time, they were unable to fully perform their duties. Although *** occasionally allocated funds to maintain the imperial tomb, when the salary was not available, some mausoleum keepers began to steal funeral goods to make a living, resulting in the situation of self-theft by the guards.
During the ** period, there were some guardians of the imperial tombs who were descendants of the royal family. Out of deep respect for their ancestors, they voluntarily took on the responsibility of guarding the imperial tombs, and their actions were not for profit, but out of faith and respect for their ancestors, and they firmly guarded these royal tombs.
These ** reveal the problem of negligent management of the cemetery at the end of the Qing Dynasty, and some areas are overgrown with weeds and seem to have not been maintained for a long time.
Although there are a large number of guards guarding the tomb at the Ming Tower of the Changling Tomb in the Western Tomb of the Qing Dynasty, their posts are still full of weeds, which seems to be very vicissitudes.
This ** was taken in the late Qing Dynasty, the guards guarding the tomb next to the stone elephant of Changling. **The ground is flat, overgrown with weeds, and the stone carvings of the mausoleum stand still, as if silently witnessing the vicissitudes of history.
* The scene in the middle used to be the daily life of the guards at the Muling stone archway in the Western Tomb of the Qing Dynasty. Their lives are dull and repetitive, and they stick to it every day in the cemetery. This pattern of life has been inherited by many members of the Mausoleum Guards and has become the profession of generations of Mausoleum Guards.
However, as the years passed, their duties gradually shifted from guarding the cemetery to living in the area, no different from ordinary farmers.
Today, these imperial tombs of the Qing Dynasty have been highly valued by the state and have become important places for the protection of cultural relics. The royal mausoleum still retains its former appearance, and the natural beauty is still the same.
The descendants who once guarded the Imperial Tomb have become local residents, but they still guard their ancestral tombs in their own way. For them, it is a belief that they hold on, and it is also a family honor.
This group of ** was originally black and white historical data, and after the later restoration and coloring of artificial intelligence, it can show the vicissitudes of history.