The scale of the Cixi Mausoleum in Zunhua, Hebei is so huge. Why is there no grass growing on the top of the mausoleum?
Many people know that Empress Dowager Cixi was buried in the Qingdong Tomb in Zunhua, Hebei Province after her death. But no one could have imagined that in such a royal geomantic treasure land, when the descendants were eagerly guarding the ancestral graves and preparing to live their lives, the ancestral graves would be dug up. This was a great shame for Cixi's descendants.
"Lafayette" Cixi not only had many strange experiences during her lifetime, but also had an even more incredible experience after her death: Cixi's body was buried three times in a 76-year period. He was buried in the same coffin and his remains are still intact to this day. In the fifth year of Tongzhi, Emperor Xianfeng's Dingling Tomb was completed.
According to the Qing Dynasty system, the tombs of his two queens, Ci'an and Cixi, could only be located near Dingling, and only one queen's mausoleum could be built. At that time, it was decided to build a mausoleum for the two empress dowagers, with their coffins and coffins placed side by side. Cixi was very angry after reading the memorial: "In which mausoleum are two queen mothers buried? Even the concubines who sleep in the concubine's garden are their own. Isn't this an obvious bullying of our sisters?" In the style of the mausoleum, a treasure city, a treasure top and an underground palace are built side by side in the east and west in the backyard of the mausoleum.
Unexpectedly, Cixi asked: "Are we two concubines? Who said that we are not worthy of each building a mausoleum?" This is breaking the mausoleum system again, but who dares not to listen? Therefore, on the Qingming Festival, the 9th day of March in the 12th year of Tongzhi, the 18-year-old Tongzhi went to Dingling. After performing the Fushi ceremony and the feast ceremony for Emperor Xianfeng, he went to the nearby Pingding Mountain and Putuo Mountain to check the Feng Shui. On the 15th, Pingding Mountain was renamed "Puxiang Valley", which is the auspicious place for Ci'an to live in for thousands of years; Putuo Mountain was renamed to "Putuo Valley" to be the auspicious place for Cixi to live for thousands of years. The construction of the Shuangling Tombs started at the same time in August of that year and was completed at the same time in June of the 5th year of Guangxu. It took 6 years and cost more than 5 million taels of silver.
The organizational structure of Shuangling was originally the same, but after Ci'an died, Cixi had the opportunity to overpower Ci'an. In August of the 21st year of Guangxu's reign, in order to please Cixi, the guardian of the Dongling Mausoleum reported to the court that Cixi's Mausoleum was in a state of decay due to years of rain and was in urgent need of repairs. Cixi appointed his close confidant Prince Qing and Minister of War Ronglu as the ministers in charge. As a result, all the buildings in the mausoleum were repaired, and the main hall and the east and west side halls were modified from the original Jiewawei to demolished and rebuilt! This overhaul project was huge. By the 25th year of Guangxu's reign, 1.5 million taels had been allocated, and the subsequent funds were a bottomless mystery.
In the middle, the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded China and the project was halted. After Cixi returned to Beijing, she came to the construction site again to inspect it in person. On October 18, 1908, the project was finally completed after 13 years of reconstruction (coincidentally, Cixi passed away four days later). The amount of leaf gold used in the three palaces alone amounted to 4592 taels! The Danbi stone in the mausoleum is carved with high relief and through techniques, with the pattern of "dragon below, phoenix above". The 69 white marble slabs around the Long'en Hall are all carved with the image of "phoenix leading the dragon to chase". The 74 pillar capitals break the historical pattern of one dragon and one phoenix. They are all "one phoenix pressing two dragons", implying her two hanging curtains. ?