The mystery of the location of the Imperial Tombs of the Northern Song Dynasty
The Imperial Tombs of the Northern Song Dynasty are located on the loess ridge of more than 130 square kilometers north of Songshan Mountain and south of Luohe River in Gongyi. People’s first question is: Why did the Northern Song Dynasty emperors build all their tombs here?
Anyone familiar with the history of the Song Dynasty knows a legend about Zhao Kuangyin’s self-selected tomb: Zhao Kuangyin really wanted to move the capital to Luoyang, but was blocked by his younger brother Zhao Guangyi and his ministers, and felt very sad. When he returned to Kaifeng from Luoyang and passed through Gongyi, he paid homage to his father who was buried here, and felt even more sad. So he climbed up to the platform, faced the west, bent his bow, and said to his ministers: "I can't live in Xijing, and I will be buried here when I die!" He bent his bow and nocked an arrow, and the arrow flew northwest. The place where the arrow fell was Today's Yongchang Mausoleum of Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin.
Accompanying this legend, many court Yin-Yang magicians also found many reasons to be buried here, and described Gongyi as the best Feng Shui treasure place in the world. Different from the general location selection of imperial tombs of past dynasties, the Feng Shui concept of the imperial tombs of the Northern Song Dynasty is indeed unusual and unique. "Yongding Mausoleum Xiu Feng Quarrying Records" summarizes the Feng Shui basis for the location of Song Tomb. It means: Gongxian is a place where wind and rain meet, where yin and yang meet, and the center of heaven and earth. It has always been the place where emperors live. The Junji Peak of Songshan Mountain is the central pillar of heaven and earth. On the top of the Song Tomb Underground Palace, such a star chart is drawn.
Sun Xianzhou, a cultural relics expert who has been engaged in research on Song tombs for a long time, said: The imperial tombs of the Northern Song Dynasty were sited according to the "five-star benefit theory", "topography" and "landscape and wind". There are two characteristics in the use of terrain. First, unlike the imperial tombs of previous dynasties, which are either located high up or close to mountains and rivers, the Song Tomb is exactly the opposite. It faces Songshan Mountain and backs to Luoshui. The direction of the central axis of the emperors' and Hou's tombs in the mausoleum area is all northward. A few degrees to the west, it is facing the main peak of Songshan Shaoshi; secondly, the natural terrain of each mausoleum is higher in the south and lower in the north, with a dome in the east and a vertical dome in the west. The mausoleum is at the lowest point of the terrain. Contrary to the gradual increase of the building base in ancient my country, the main building Tradition placed in the highest position.
In the Zhaozhen Yongzhao Mausoleum of Renzong, which is the most completely restored on the ground, the reporter walked into the first mountain gate known as Magpie Tower, and found that it was different from the habit of worshipers of imperial mausoleums in the past dynasties who had to look up to see. , but this first mountain gate is the highest point of the entire mausoleum area. There are steps going down, connecting to the second mountain gate Rutai, and then down the steps to the third mountain gate Nanshenmen, until the lowest point of the mausoleum area. Just now is the tomb of Song Renzong.
The abnormal practice of Feng Shui in the Imperial Tombs of the Northern Song Dynasty completely subverted my country's traditional architectural concepts and was called "the only isolated example" in the history of world architecture by ancient architecture experts.
Different acupoints of emperors and empresses
"Why is the tomb of Queen Liu not together with that of her husband Song Zhenzong Zhao Heng?" It is one kilometer northwest of the Yongding Mausoleum of Zhenzong Zhao Heng. , is the mausoleum of his empress Liu E. The reporter was puzzled that this empress who once ruled the court during the reign of Zhenzong and Renzong was not buried with her husband. Sun Xianzhou explained: This is also one of the characteristics of the Song Dynasty mausoleum system that is different from the imperial mausoleums of previous dynasties. The concubines adopted the nephrological burial system, and they were buried outside the emperor's mausoleum, not in the same cave as the emperor. The structure of the empress's tomb is similar to that of the emperor's mausoleum, but the scale is smaller. The other concubines are buried behind the emperor's mausoleum.
Not only do emperors and empresses have different acupoints, but unlike previous emperors who built mausoleums as soon as they ascended the throne, emperors in the Northern Song Dynasty did not build mausoleums during their lifetime, but they had to be buried within seven months of their death. According to historical records: Emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty were buried according to the "Zhou Rites", that is, starting from a certain day of Emperor Yan Jia's death, the site selection, construction of the mausoleum, burial and the closed palace were completed within 7 months. From the funeral period to the subsequent management of the mausoleum, there are specialized agencies, both permanent and temporary. Permanent ones, such as Taichang Temple, were specially set up by the central government of the Song Dynasty and were responsible for matters such as rituals and music, ancestral temples, gifts, mausoleums, etc. During the state funeral, there were also special institutions, such as the "Five Envoys" formed during the funeral period, whose specifications were Very high.
Looking at the vast history of the Song Dynasty, in the Yongding Mausoleum of Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty, a major event that alarmed the government and the public at that time occurred due to the "Five Envoys" exercising power, that is, the eunuch Lei Yungong moved the palace without authorization. The Imperial Case. After the death of Song Zhenzong, Empress Liu took charge of Zhenzong's funeral arrangements. Empress Liu appointed her trusted eunuch Lei Yungong as the supervisor of the mountain mausoleum. When he was responsible for the construction of Yongding Mausoleum, Lei Yungong made his own decision and abandoned the old cave and changed it to the original site. The imperial hall was excavated a hundred steps above, but gravel and quicksand appeared under the new cave, and water was later dug out. The project was forced to stop. As a result, Lei Yungong was beaten to death in Gong County Prison, Shanling Prime Minister Ding Wei was demoted, and Empress Liu also lost face.