The Ming Xiaoling () is the

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

of the

Hongwu Emperor The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398. As famine, plagues and peasant revolts ...

, the founder of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

. It lies at the southern foot of Purple Mountain, located east of the historical centre of

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...

. Legend says that in order to prevent robbery of the tomb, 13 identical processions of funeral troops started from 13 city gates to obscure the real burying site. Asian Historical Architecture The construction of the

began during the

's life in and ended in , during the reign of his son the

Yongle Emperor The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (), was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424. Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dyn ...

, with a huge expenditure of resources involving 100,000 labourers. The original wall of the mausoleum was more than 22.5 kilometres long. The mausoleum was built under heavy guard of 5,000 troops.

Layout and monuments

Great golden gate and Square city

Da Jin Men and Sifangcheng. One enters the site through the monumental Great Golden Gates (''Da Jin Men''), and is soon faced by a giant stone tortoise ('' bixi''), which resides in the ''Sifangcheng'' ("Square city") pavilion. The tortoise supports a splendid carved stone stele, crowned by intertwining hornless dragons. The well-preserved stele is known as the "''Shengong Shengde'' Stele" (), i.e., literally, "The Stele of Godly Merit and Saintly Virtue". The inscription of the stele, extolling the merits and virtues of the

was written by his fourth son, the

. The tortoise is 5.15 m long, 2.54 m wide and 2.8 m tall, the stele stands 8.78 m tall (including the tortoise)明孝陵景区
(MIng Xiaoling Scenic Area); at the Nanjing city Government site. and is one of the best-known examples of its genre. It is thought that originally the Yongle Emperor planned to install a much bigger stele here. The work on making it was started in the

Yangshan Quarry The Yangshan Quarry () is an ancient stone quarry near Nanjing, China. Used during many centuries as a source of stone for buildings and monuments of Nanjing, it is preserved as a historic site. The quarry is famous for the gigantic unfinished ste ...

(some 10 km east of the mausoleum) in 1405, but the unfinished stele was abandoned in the quarry, as it was realized that it would not be possible to move it. Unlike the similar pavilion at the Ming Tombs near Beijing, Nanjing's ''Sifangcheng'' does not have its roof anymore, as it was destroyed during the

Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a massive rebellion and civil war that was waged in China between the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the Han, Hakka-led Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It last ...

. Recently, Chinese engineers have conducted research in regard to the possibility of restoring the roof. MingXiaoling ZLTS01 rotated

The Sacred Way

The Sacred Way is an 1800-metre-long road at the Nanjing city Government site. The winding Sacred Way (''Shendao'') starts near the Sifangcheng pavilion. It includes several sections: the Elephant Road and the ''Wengzhong'' Road. The Elephant Road is lined by 12 pairs of 6 kinds of animals (

lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

, '' xiezhi'', camels, elephants, '' qilin'', and horses), guarding the tomb. Beyond them is a column called '' huabiao'' in Chinese. One then continues along the Wengzhong Road. Four pairs of ministers and generals (or warrior guardian figures, ''wengzhong'') of stone have been standing there for centuries to guard the journey to the after life.

Lingxing Gate

The Lingxing Gate, a '' pailou'' at the end of the Wengzhong Road was destroyed long ago, but rebuilt in 2006.

The central area

One enters the central area of the mausoleum complex through the ''Wen Wu Fang Men'' (The Gate of the Civil and the Military). On an inscribed stone tablet outside of the gate is an official notification of the local government in the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

(1644–1911) is ordered to protect the tomb. Inside the gate, there the Tablet Hall (''Bei Dian'') in which 5 steles stand. The one in the middle, also mounted on a stone tortoise, is inscribed with 4 Chinese characters, "治隆唐宋", which were written by the Qing dynasty's

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to ...

on his third inspection tour of the South in 1699. The text is interpreted as alluding to the greatness of the Ming dynasty founder Zhu Yuanzhang, matching (or surpassing) that of the founders of the Tang and

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...

Dynasties of old.明孝陵两大“碑石之谜”被破解
(Solving the two great riddles of the Ming Xiaoling's stone tablets). ''People's Daily'', 2003-06-13. Quote regarding the Kangxi's stele text and its meaning: "清朝皇帝躬祀明朝皇帝 ... 御书“治隆唐宋”（意思是赞扬朱元璋的功绩超过了唐太宗李世民、宋高祖赵匡胤）"; regarding the dimensions of the stele and its tortoise "康熙御碑孝陵碑殿中部主碑，是清康熙三十八年（1699年）由康熙皇帝爱新觉罗·玄烨所立，高3.85米，宽1.42米，上阴刻楷书“治隆唐宋”4字，字径0.68米，碑座为石制龟趺，高1.06米。"Photo and description of the Kangxi's stele
The inscription is interpreted as "His reign was as glorious as that of the Tang and Song"] Behind the pavilion, there used to be other annexes; however most of them have collapsed into relics from which the original splendor can still be traced. The emperor and his queen were buried in a clay

tumulus A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or '' kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones ...

, 400 metres in diameter, known as the Lone Dragon Hill (''Du Long Fu''). A stone wall with a terrace on top, known as ''Ming Lou'' (Ming Mansion) or the Soul Tower is half-embedded into the front face of the tumulus. On a stone wall surrounding the vault, 7 Chinese characters were inscribed, identifying the mausoleum of Emperor Ming Taizu (respected title of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang). The mountain to the south of the tomb, known as Meihua Shan ("Plum Flower Mountain"), is the mausoleum of

Sun Quan Sun Quan (, Chinese: 孫權) (183 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of the Eastern Wu dynasty, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime es ...

, King of the Kingdom of Wu in the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...

period (220-265). The existence of this tomb is the reason why the Sacred Way is not straight.

Later history

The mausoleum complex suffered damage during the mid-19th century Taiping Civil War, but was restored during the Tongzhi era thereafter. Along with the Ming Tombs north of

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum of Nanjing was inscribed by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...

as part of the

World Heritage Sites A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

" Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties".

Gallery

File:Ming Xiaoling - entry - P1060376.JPG, ''Da Jin Men'' (The Great Golden Gates), the main entrance to the site File:Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum Spirit Way.jpg, "Elephant Road" (or

Spirit Way A spirit way () is the ornate road leading to a Chinese tomb of a major dignitary. The term is also sometimes translated as spirit road, spirit path or sacred way. The spirit way is lined on both sides by a succession of statues, pillars, and ...

) File:Sifangcheng bixi - left - P1060401.JPG, The ''Sifangcheng'' ("Square City") pavilion File:MingXiaoling Animal Lion01.jpg, A stone lion on the Spirit Way File:Stone Elephant Road - xiezhi - P1060445.JPG, A '' xiezhi'' on the "Elephant Road" File:Stone Elephant Road - camels - P1060452.JPG, Camels along the "Elephant Road" File:Stone Elephant Road - elephants - P1060469.JPG, Elephants along the "Elephant Road" File:Stone Elephant Road - qilin - P1060473.JPG, '' Qilin'' along the "Elephant Road" File:MingXiaoling_Animal_Horse_01.jpg, Horses along the "Elephant Road" File:MingXiaoling WuJiang.jpg, Statue of a military official on the Spirit Way File:Wengzhong Road - civil - P1060489.JPG, A civil official on the "Wengzhong Road" File:Lingxing Gate - P1060494.JPG, Lingxing Gate at the end of the "Wengzhong Road" File:Wen Wu Fangmen, Ming Xiaoling.jpg, The ''Wenwu Fangmen'' gate File:Ming Xiaoling - Kangxi's turtle - left - P1060508.JPG, The Tablet Hall, with the tortoise left behind by the Kangxi Emperor File:Xiaoling Hall - inside - P1060528.JPG, Inside the ''Ting Dian'' ("Pavilion Hall"), which replaces the old Xiaoling Hall File:Ming Xiaoling - Nei Hong Men - P1060529.JPG, ''Nei Hong Men'' (The Inner Red Gate) File:Ming Xiaoling - Ming Lou - Soul Tower - P1060545.JPG, The Soul Tower on top of the ''Ming Lou'' File:Ming Xiaoling - Ming Lou - view from the terrace - P1060541.JPG, The wall surrounding the top of the Lone Dragon Hill, seen from the Soul Tower File:Ming Temples Nanjing Plum Blossom Festival.jpg, The annual plum blossom festival is located on Plum Blossom Hill File: Ming Xiaoling (Emperor Hongwu Tomb) (10150994034).jpg , The Shenbo Stove ("The Silk Burner")

The mystery of the third tortoise