The history of the Imperial Tombs of the Northern Song Dynasty
In 960 AD, Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty Zhao Kuangyin and Chen Qiao rebelled against each other and joined the Huangpao army, and established the capital in Bianjing, Tokyo (now Kaifeng). In 963 AD, the mausoleum was selected in Gong County. First, he planned to move the capital to Luoyang, so he chose Gong County for his mausoleum; second, Gong County has good Feng Shui, with Song Mountain in the south and the Yellow River in the north. The south is high and the north is low. According to the burial method of the Tang Dynasty, this is called mountains high and water Come. Emperors of the Song Dynasty generally began to build mausoleums after their death, and were buried in Bianjing Palace before burial. At the same time, the imperial court invested tens of thousands of soldiers in quarrying stone to build mausoleums and making ancient utensils. After the imperial mausoleum was completed, the emperor's coffin was raised from Tokyo, passing through Zhongmou, Zhengzhou, Xingyang, Gongxian, Yanshi and other places, detouring to the northwest of the mausoleum area, passing through the plains, and then turning east to enter the plateau. The funeral procession chose such a flat and unobstructed route probably because the procession of funeral processions was too large and the coffin was extremely heavy. It usually takes about ten days to walk from Tokyo to the mausoleum area. In special circumstances, it may take longer. When Zhezong Zhao Xu was buried, there was heavy rain on the road and the hearse was stuck in the mud. The funeral procession had to sleep in the wilderness for several days.
The structure of the Song Tomb is generally inherited from the Tang system. Although it is not as majestic and majestic as the Tang Tomb, it is still a shocking masterpiece. Today's Song Tomb has become the only traceable memorial site of the Northern Song Dynasty. It hides countless mysteries of the past. It stands silently and solemnly in this troubled land, revealing to people a bitter and humiliating history.
After the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty, Jin soldiers stationed in the Song Tomb. In order to plunder and retaliate, they carried out devastating excavations of the Song Emperor's tomb. Suddenly, there was smoke everywhere, graves were dug and coffins opened, and it was a terrible tragedy. The mausoleum area was instantly filled with corpses and bones, filled with fireworks, and was a mess. The royal family of the Southern Song Dynasty, who lived in Lin'an, was deeply saddened by the news that their ancestral tombs had been looted. Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Gou, ordered the Henan governor Zhai Xing and his son, Yue Fei and other generals to lead troops to Gong County to fight the Jin army. The Jin army was driven out of the Song Mausoleum, and the Southern Song Dynasty royal family sent people to repair the mausoleum. But as soon as the Song army withdrew, the Jin soldiers came again and carried out greater revenge. Fang Tingshuo, the envoy of the Three Capitals and Huaibei Province, went to Gong County to visit the mausoleum. He saw with his own eyes that the majestic and solemn forbidden area of the imperial mausoleum was now infested with wild beasts in the bushes, and it was very desolate. He wrote sadly: "Everyone below the Yongchang Mausoleum was shocked. The Tailing Mausoleum was exposed, and Ting Shuo took off his clothes to cover it." He witnessed this tragic situation with his own eyes, and saw that the bones of Zhezong in the Yongtai Mausoleum were exposed in broad daylight, and Fang Tingshuo could only take off his clothes and wrap the bones. When Emperor Gaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty heard about it, he was extremely angry and burst into tears, but there was nothing he could do about it.