Chinese pyramids are pyramidal structures in China, most of which are ancient

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

s and burial

mound A mound is a wikt:heaped, heaped pile of soil, earth, gravel, sand, rock (geology), rocks, or debris. Most commonly, mounds are earthen formations such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. A mound may be any rounded ...

s built to house the remains of several early

emperors of China Throughout Chinese history, "Emperor" () was the superlative title held by the monarchs of imperial China's various dynasties. In traditional Chinese political theory, the emperor was the " Son of Heaven", an autocrat with the divine manda ...

and their imperial relatives. About 38 of them are located around – north-west of

Xi'an Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...

, on the

Guanzhong Guanzhong (, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanised as Kwanchung) region, also known as the Guanzhong Basin, Wei River Basin, or uncommonly as the Shaanzhong region, is a historical region of China corresponding to the crescentic graben str ...

Plains in

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

Province. The most famous is the

Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor The Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang () is a tomb complex constructed for Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of the Chinese Qin dynasty. It is located in modern-day Lintong District in Xi'an, Shaanxi. It was constructed over 38 years from 246 to 208 ...

, northeast of Xi'an and 1.7 km west of where the

Terracotta Army The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE with the purpose of protecting him in his aft ...

was found.

Earliest tombs

The earliest tombs in China are found just north of Beijing in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and in

Liaoning ) , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = Clockwise: Mukden Palace in Shenyang, Xinghai Square in Dalian, Dalian coast, Yalu River at Dandong , image_map = Liaoning in China (+all claims hatched).svg , ...

. They belong to the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

Hongshan culture (4700 to 2900 BC). The site of Niuheliang in Liaoning contains a pyramidal structure.

Information available in the West

In 1667 the Jesuit Father

Athanasius Kircher Athanasius Kircher (2 May 1602 – 27 November 1680) was a German Society of Jesus, Jesuit scholar and polymath who published around 40 major works of comparative religion, geology, and medicine. Kircher has been compared to fellow Jes ...

wrote about Chinese pyramids in his book ''China monumentis Illustrata''. The existence of "pyramids" in China remained little known in the Western world until the 1910s. They were documented in large numbers around Xian, first in 1912 by the Western traders Fred Meyer Schroder and Oscar Mamen, and also in 1913 by the expedition of Victor Segalen. He wrote about the First Emperor's tomb, and about the other mound tombs in the region in his ''Mission archéologique en Chine (1914): L'art funéraire à l'époque des Han''.

Sensational claims

The introduction of pyramids in China to popular attention came soon after World War II. Many early stories were focused on the existence of a "Great White Pyramid" ( Maoling). This is the tomb of

Emperor Wu of Han Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87BC), born Liu Che and courtesy name Tong, was the seventh Emperor of China, emperor of the Han dynasty from 141 to 87 BC. His reign lasted 54 years – a record not broken until the reign of the Kangxi ...

(156–87 BC) located in

Xingping Xingping () is a city located in the center part of Shaanxi province, China. It has been a city since 1993, with a total area of 496 square kilometers and a population of 620,000. The annual average temperature is and its annual precipitation of ...

Shaanxi Province Shaanxi is a province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to the west. Shaanxi ...

. U.S. Army Air Corps pilot James Gaussman is said to have seen a white jewel-topped pyramid during a flight between India and China during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Colonel Maurice Sheahan, Far Eastern director of the Trans World Airline, gave an eyewitness account of his encounter with a pyramid in the March 28, 1947 edition of ''The New York Times''. A photo of Sheahan's pyramid appeared in ''The New York Sunday News'' on March 30, 1947. This photograph later became attributed to James Gaussman. Chris Maier showed that the pyramid in the photo is the Maoling Mausoleum of Emperor Wu just outside

. Pseudohistorians, through promoting their theories, have increased western awareness of these pyramids. Hartwig Hausdorf speculated it was built by aliens, and Philip Coppens repeated this theory. Despite claims to the contrary, the existence of these pyramid-shaped tomb mounds was known by scientists in the West before the publicity caused by the story in 1947. Shortly after the ''New York Times'' story, ''Science News Letter'' (now ''

Science News ''Science News'' (''SN'') is an American monthly magazine devoted to articles about new scientific and technical developments, typically gleaned from recent scientific and technical journals. The periodical has been described as having a scop ...

'') published a short item saying: "The Chinese pyramids of that region are built of mud and dirt and are more like mounds than the pyramids of Egypt, and the region is little travelled. American scientists who have been in the area suggest that the height of , more than twice as high as any of the Egyptian pyramids, may have been exaggerated, because most of the Chinese mounds of that area are built relatively low. The location, reported southwest of Sian, is in an area of great archaeological importance, but few of the pyramids have ever been explored." Some of the pyramids of Xi'an are currently tourist attractions, such as for example the Han Yang Ling Mausoleum of the

Western Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and a warring in ...

, and several of them have museums attached to them.

Partial list of mausoleums and tombs in China

Zhou dynasty tombs complex near Luoyang, Henan

* Tomb of

King Ling of Zhou King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by f ...

* Tomb of Three Kings of Zhou

Zhao Kings' tombs complex near Handan, Hebei

* Tomb of King of Zhao state

Yan King's burial mounds in Yixian, Hebei

* Burial complex in ancient

Xiadu The Xiadu or Lower Capital of Yan () was one of the capitals of Yan (state), Yan during the Warring States period of ancient China. Xiadu may have been List of largest cities throughout history, the largest city in the world from 400 to 300 BC, w ...

Qin dynasty mausoleums near Xi'an, Shaanxi

* Tomb of First Emperor in Lintong .This is the largest Chinese burial mound. The original height was , the present height is , and the dimensions are . It was built during the short-lived imperial

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ) was the first Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China. It is named for its progenitor state of Qin, a fief of the confederal Zhou dynasty (256 BC). Beginning in 230 BC, the Qin under King Ying Zheng enga ...

(221–206 BCE). * Tomb of Emperor Qin Ershi in Xi'an.

Western Han dynasty mausoleums complex in Xianyang and around Xi'an, Shaanxi

Maoling Mausoleum group: * Tomb of

. The size is x . * Tomb of Empress Li * Tomb of Princess Yang Xin Pingling Mausoleum group: * Tomb of

Emperor Zhao of Han Emperor Zhao of Han (; 94 – 5 June 74 BC),''guiwei'' day of the 4th month of the 1st year of the ''Yuan'ping'' era, per Emperor Zhao's biography in ''Book of Han'' born Liu Fuling (劉弗陵), was the eighth emperor of the Han dynasty from 87 ...

* Tomb of Empress Shangguan Yanling Mausoleum group: * Tomb of

Emperor Cheng of Han Emperor Cheng of Han, personal name Liu Ao (劉驁; 51 BC – 17 April 7 BC), was an emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty ruling from 33 until 7 BC. He succeeded his father, Emperor Yuan. Under Emperor Cheng, the Han dynasty continued its growing ...

* Tomb of Empress Xu * Tomb of Consort Ban * Tomb of Empress Zhao Feiyan Kangling Mausoleum group: * Tomb of Emperor Ping of Han * Tomb of Empress Wang Weiling Mausoleum group: * Tomb of

Emperor Yuan of Han Emperor Yuan of Han, personal name Liu Shi (劉奭; 75 BC – 8 July 33 BC), was an Emperor of China, emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty. He reigned from 48 BC to 33 BC. Emperor Yuan promoted Confucianism as the official creed of the Chinese go ...

* Tomb of Empress Wang Group of two "tombs of Zhou Kings" (possibly from Han era): * Tomb of King Wu of Zhou * Tomb of King Wen of Zhou Yiling mausoleum group: * Tomb of

Emperor Ai of Han Emperor Ai of Han, personal name Liu Xin (劉欣; 25 BC – 15 August 1 BC), was an emperor of China's Han dynasty. He ascended the throne when he was 20, having been made heir by his childless uncle Emperor Cheng, and he reigned from 7 to 1 BC ...

* Tomb of Empress Fu Anling mausoleum group: * Tomb of Emperor Hui of Han * Tomb of

Empress Zhang Yan Zhang Yan (; died April or May 163 BC), known formally as Empress Xiaohui (孝惠皇后) was an empress#China, empress during the Han dynasty. She was a daughter of Princess Yuan of Lu (the only daughter of Emperor Gaozu of Han, Emperor Gao (Liu ...

* Tomb of Marquis Zhang Ao (father of Empress Zhang Yan) * Tomb of Princess Lu of Yuan (mother of Empress Zhang Yan) Changling mausoleum group: * Tomb of

Emperor Gaozu of Han Emperor Gaozu of Han (2561 June 195 BC), also known by his given name Liu Bang, was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning from 202 to 195 BC. He is considered by traditional Chinese historiography to be one o ...

* Tomb of

Empress Lü Lü Zhi (241 BC – 18 August 180 BC), courtesy name E'xu (娥姁) and commonly known as Empress Lü () and formally Empress Gao of Han (), was the empress consort of Emperor Gaozu of Han, Gaozu, the founding emperor of the Han dynasty. They h ...

* Tomb of Consort Qi Yangling mausoleum group: * Tomb of

Emperor Jing of Han Emperor Jing of Han (188 BC – 9 March 141 BC), born Liu Qi, was the sixth Emperor of China, emperor of the Han dynasty from 157 to 141 BC. His reign saw the limiting of the power of the feudal kings and princes which resulted in the Rebellion ...

p. 10. * Tomb of Empress Wang Baling mausoleum group: * Tomb of

Emperor Wen of Han Emperor Wen of Han (; 203/02 – 6 July 157 BC), personal name Liu Heng (), was the fifth Emperor of China, emperor of the Han dynasty from 180 until his death in 157 BC. The son of Emperor Gaozu of Han, Emperor Gao and Empress Dowager Bo, Conso ...

(The tomb of the Emperor himself does not feature a pyramidal mound, due to his death wish) * Tomb of Empress Dou * Tomb of Empress Dowager Bo Duling mausoleum group: * Tomb of

Emperor Xuan of Han Emperor Xuan of Han (; 91 BC – 10 January 48 BC), born Liu Bingyi (劉病已), was the tenth emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning from 74 to 48 BC, and was one of the only four Western Han emperors to receive a temple name (along with Empero ...

* Tomb of Empress Wang * Tomb of Empress Xu

Eastern Han mausoleums near Luoyang, Henan

Yangling, Shaanxi

* Tomb of Emperor Wen of Sui

Xining, Qinghai

* The Lianghu Altar (凉虎台)

Tang dynasty mausoleums in Shaanxi

The eighteen mausoleums of the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

emperors (唐十八陵) in the valley of the

Wei River The Wei River () is a major river in west-central China's Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. It is the largest tributary of the Yellow River and very important in the early development of Chinese civilization. In ancient times, such as in the Records ...

north of the

Qin Mountains The Qinling () or Qin Mountains, formerly known as the Nanshan ("Southern Mountains"), are a major east–west mountain range in southern Shaanxi Province, China. The mountains mark the divide between the drainage basins of the Yangtze and Ye ...

(秦岭). Most are natural hills shaped by man, and they are among the biggest Chinese mausoleums, such as Qianling (乾陵), joint tomb of

Emperor Gaozong of Tang Emperor Gaozong of Tang (21 July 628 – 27 December 683), personal name Li Zhi, was the third Emperor of China, emperor of the Chinese Tang dynasty, ruling from 649 to 683; after January 665, he handed power over the empire to his second wife ...

and of the Empress

Wu Zetian Wu Zetian (624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao, was List of rulers of China#Tang dynasty, Empress of China from 660 to 705, ruling first through others and later in her own right. She ruled as queen consort , empress consort th ...

. Some mausoleums feature a burial mound: * Chongling Mausoleum of

Emperor Dezong of Tang Emperor Dezong of Tang (27 May 742According to Li Kuo's biography in the ''Old Book of Tang'', he was born on the ''guisi'' day in the 4th month of the 1st year of the ''Tianbao'' era of Tang Xuanzong's reign. This date corresponds to 27 May 74 ...

* Jinling Mausoleum of Emperor Xianzong of Tang * Tomb of Princess Chengyang of Emperor Taizong * Tomb of Princess Xincheng of Emperor Taizong

Mausoleum of Emperor Xiaojing of Tang near Goushi, Henan

* Tomb of Emperor Xiaojing of Tang * Tomb of Empress Ai

Imperial mausoleums complex of Song dynasty in and around Gongyi, Henan

Elsewhere

* Shou Qiu in Qufu, Shandong – a small pyramidal monument believed to be the birthplace of the

Yellow Emperor The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch, or Huangdi ( zh, t=黃帝, s=黄帝, first=t) in Chinese, is a mythical Chinese sovereign and culture hero included among the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. He is revered as ...

, located adjacent to the Shaohao Tomb * Janggun-chong (Jiangjunzhong 將軍塚) Step Pyramid in

Jilin ) , image_skyline = Changbaishan Tianchi from western rim.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = View of Heaven Lake , image_map = Jilin in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_al ...

, " Tomb of the General", is supposed to be the mausoleum of King Jangsu (Ko. 장수왕 Ch. 長壽王) (413–491), king of

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC – 668 AD) (; ; Old Korean: Guryeo) also later known as Goryeo (; ; Middle Korean: 고ᇢ롕〮, ''kwòwlyéy''), was a Korean kingdom which was located on the northern and central parts of the Korea, Korean Peninsula an ...

, an ancient Korean kingdom. It belongs to the Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom on the

World heritage list World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

. Nearby is the Taewang-neung / Taiwangling (태왕릉, 太王陵) Pyramid believed to be the burial of King Gwanggaeto the Great (Ko. 광개토태왕; Ch. 廣開土太王) (391–413); while twice bigger than Janggun-chong, it is in bad shape and Janggun-chong is touted as the touristic highpoint of the site. *

Shimao Shimao () is a Neolithic site in Shenmu County, Shaanxi, China. The site is located in the northern part of the Loess Plateau, on the southern edge of the Ordos Desert. It is dated to around 2000 BC, near the end of the Longshan culture, Longsha ...

a Neolithic site in

Shenmu County Shenmu () is a county-level city in the north of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Inner Mongolia to the northwest and Shanxi province, across the Yellow River, to the southeast. Under the administration of Yulin City, Shenmu is endowed with pl ...

with a large stepped pyramid with palaces at its top and used also for artisan or industrial work * The Western Xia tombs of the Tangut Empire near

Yinchuan Yinchuan is the capital of the Ningxia, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China, and was the capital of the Tangut people, Tangut-led Western Xia, Western Xia dynasty. It has an area of and a total population of 2,859,074 according to the 2020 C ...

in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, northwestern China, a large number of tombs covering some are referred to as 'Chinese Pyramids'.

References

External links

{{GeoGroup
Niuheliang Archaeological Site

Center for the Art of East Asia article discussing Western Han pyramidal mounds and Tang dynasty tombs

Steinhardt, Nancy Shatzman. 1993. The Tangut Royal Tombs near Yinchuan. In Muqarnas X: An Annual on Islamic Art and Architecture. Margaret B. Sevcenko, ed. Leiden: E.J. Brill.

Google Map – Mount Li Mausoleum (Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum)

Google Map – Maoling Mausoleum (Great White Pyramid)
Archaeology of China Pyramids in China Mausoleums in China Han dynasty architecture