What's in the Xiaoling Mausoleum in Ming Taizu?
The name of Xiaoling takes its meaning from the word filial piety, which means "ruling the world with filial piety". It is named after Ma Huanghou's "filial piety". In the sixteenth year of Hongwu (A.D. 1383), Xiaoling was built in May. In the thirty-first year of Hongwu (AD 1398), Zhu Yuanzhang died of illness and was buried with Ma Huanghou in this mausoleum. The ancillary works of the Ming Tombs continued until the third year of Yongle (A.D. 1405).
Xiaoling Mausoleum has a large scale and magnificent architecture, and its shape has been improved with reference to the tombs of Tang and Song Dynasties. The mausoleum covers an area of 22.5 kilometers, with tall halls and magnificent pavilions. Half of the 70 monasteries in the Southern Dynasties were enclosed in forbidden gardens. There are 100000 pine trees and1000 deer in the mausoleum, and a silver medal of "stealing to death" is hung around each deer's neck. In order to defend the Xiaoling Mausoleum, there is a shrine overseer inside and a Xiaoling Guard outside, with more than 5000 to 10000 soldiers guarding it day and night. Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty visited the Mausoleum in person, and appointed two guards and forty mausoleum households to allocate some funds to our company. In the third year of Xianfeng (AD 1853), Xiaoling area became an important battlefield for the confrontation between Taiping Army and Qing Army, and almost all the wooden buildings on the ground were destroyed. Existing buildings include Shenshan Monument, Forbidden Monument, Xiamafang, Dajinmen, Sifang City, Shengde Monument, Weng Zhong Stone Statue, Yu He Bridge, Lingmen, Monument Pavilion, Xiaoling Hall, Dashiqiao, Baocheng, Tomb, Monument Pavilion and Appreciation Hall, which were built in the late Qing Dynasty.
At the entrance of Xiaoling Mausoleum, that is, Xiamafang, is a two-column stone archway. The forehead square is engraved with the six characters "Hundred Officials Dismount", and Ye Lingling's civil and military officials must dismount and walk here. The square is about 9 meters high, 6 meters wide in the middle, 6 meters long, 1.28 meters high and 0.32 meters thick. It was once destroyed into several pieces, fell on the side of the road, and was later repaired. Next to the square is a forbidden monument erected in the 14th year of Chongzhen in Ming Dynasty (A.D. 164 1), which reiterated the strict protection regulations for Xiaoling, and offenders were immediately executed.
The main entrance of Xiaoling Mausoleum is Dajinmen, and then it goes to Sifang City, surrounded by walls with the same barriers. There is a big stone beast in the city, holding its head high and dragging its tail as if it were alive. The back is engraved with "the immortal monument of Daming Tomb". The inscription is in block letters, 2746 words long, and the words are as big as fists. It tells the story of Ming Taizu's life. It was written for his father Zhu Yuanzhang in the third year of Yongle (AD 1405). The monument is 8.84 meters high, 4.78 meters high, 2.24 meters wide and 0.83 meters thick. It is the largest stone tablet on the ground in Nanjing.
In the northwest of Sifang City, Yu He Bridge on Thunderbolt Cave is a Shinto. Twelve pairs of stone beasts are arranged on both sides of Shinto from east to west: lion, lion, elephant, unicorn and horse, each with four pairs, two squatting and two standing, and twelve pairs, stretching for more than a mile. After that, Shinto turned north, with a pair of China watches in front and four huge stone statues in the back, which were majestic and solemn, simple and vivid, and were important works of stone carving in the early Ming Dynasty. There are four stone statues of Weng Zhong in front of the tomb. They are tall and lined with stone beasts for one kilometer, symbolizing the ceremonial and bodyguard that Zhu Yuanzhang had before his death. There is a tendency that "Shi Ma Si has a strong wind and Weng Zhongli hesitates to go to class in the middle of the night".
Xiaoling Hall is located behind the Imperial Monument Pavilion. It used to be a pavilion with nine eaves, with two rows of eaves, and other facilities, such as a shrine supervisor, a clothing hall, a sacrificial pavilion, a stove and a well. It is one of the main buildings in Xiaoling Mausoleum. The existing Xiangtang was rebuilt on the original site in the 28th year of Guangxu (AD 1902), but the scale was greatly reduced, and the portrait of Ming Taizu was hung in the hall.
The last heavy building in Xiaoling Mausoleum is Ming Lou, also called "Fangcheng", which is all made of huge stones. The roof of the Ming building has collapsed, leaving only four walls. Then Baocheng, a round mound with a diameter of about 400 meters, was planted with pine and cypress, and the tombs of Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Huanghou were below. Surrounded by high walls, stone foundations and brick walls.