Why are the sixteen emperors of the Ming Dynasty called the Ming Tombs?

Because there are still three emperors not buried in it, namely the founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, the Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunwen and the Ming Dynasty Zong Zhu Qiyu. The specific reasons are as follows:

1. Zhu Yuanzhang

First of all, the first person who is not in Minling Tomb is Zhu Yuanzhang. After Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed himself emperor in Nanjing, he had been considering moving the capital. Prince Zhu Biao visited Xi'an, Luoyang, Kaifeng, Beijing and other places and had always planned to move the capital.

Later, Prince Zhu Biao passed away, and until Zhu Yuanzhang's death, the capital move was not implemented, so Zhu Yuanzhang was buried on the spot in Nanjing, which is the Ming Xiaoling Tomb near the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum today.

According to Zhu Biao's previous investigation, Zhu Yunwenzhi planned to move the capital to Xi'an after successfully reducing the vassal status. If history develops like this, the subsequent story may be very different, and it is likely to be linked to Zhu Yuanzhang. All emperors of the Ming Dynasty will be buried in Xi'an together.

But Zhu Yuanzhang died without moving the capital. In the 31st year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang died of illness in Nanjing and was buried in the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum in Purple Mountain in the eastern suburbs of Nanjing.

2. Zhu Yunwen

The second emperor who did not enter the Ming Tombs was Emperor Jianwen Zhu Yunwen. Zhu Yunwen is the grandson of Zhu Yuanzhang. Because the prince Zhu Biao died early, Zhu Yunwen directly inherited the throne of his grandfather Zhu Yuanzhang.

But after Zhu Yunwen ascended the throne, he began to reduce the vassal status. At this time, the uncles and princes were very dissatisfied, and the four emperors decided to rebel. After the Battle of Jingnan, Zhu Yunwen successfully escaped. Zhu Di was afraid that Zhu Yunwen would make a comeback, so he sent people to search everywhere but could not find him. So it is not known where his body ended up.

3. Zhu Qiyu

The last one is Zhu Qiyu, who is the son of Zhu Zhanji and the younger brother of Zhu Qizhen. However, because Zhu Qizhen listened to the eunuchs, he personally conquered the Mongols when they attacked south. However, Zhu Qizhen became a prisoner.

However, as a country, a country cannot live without a king for a day. So the ministers below let his younger brother Zhu Qiyu ascend the throne, but history happened to be here. When Zhu Qiyu came to the throne, Zhu Qizhen was released by the enemy, and the country became two emperors.

But after several battles, his elder brother Zhu Qizhen won the throne. Zhu Qizhen thought that he was not worthy of entering the imperial mausoleum, so he destroyed Zhu Qiyu's mausoleum. According to the prince's specifications, a mausoleum was built for him and he was buried in Xishan, Beijing.

Extended information:

Historical evolution of the Ming Tombs

The Ming Tombs were built from 1409 to 1645, covering an area of ​​40 square kilometers. , is the largest existing imperial mausoleum complex in China and even the world, with the largest number of imperial mausoleums.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, in order to protect this cultural relic, the government began repairs from the early days of liberation and protected the Ming Tombs as a national key cultural relic.

In 1957, the Beijing Municipal People's Government announced the Ming Tombs as the first batch of key ancient architectural and cultural relics protection units in Beijing.

In 1961, the Ming Tombs were announced as a national key cultural relics protection unit.

In 1982, the State Council announced the Badaling-Ming Tombs Scenic Area as one of the 44 key scenic spots and protection areas in the country.

In 1991, the Ming Tombs were identified as one of the "Top 40 Tourist Attractions in China" by the National Tourism Administration.

In 1992, the Ming Tombs were rated by the Beijing Tourism World's Best Selection Committee as "the most complete tomb group in the world with the largest number of buried emperors."

In 2003, the Ming Tombs The mausoleum is included in the World Heritage List.

In 2011, the National Tourism Administration approved the Ming Tombs Scenic Area as a national 5A-level tourist attraction.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Ming Tombs