Feng Shui Master Luo Guiyuan: Empress Xiaozhuangwen’s Zhaoxi Mausoleum, a model among the empress’s tombs

The Zhaoxi Mausoleum at the foot of Changrui Mountain in Zunhua, Hebei Province is the tomb of Empress Xiaozhuangwen, Emperor Taizong of the Qing Dynasty. It is located outside the gate of the Eastern Tomb of the Qing Dynasty and southeast of the big stone archway. The Zhaoxiling Mausoleum hangs alone outside the Feng Shui Wall of the Eastern Tombs of the Qing Dynasty. After hundreds of years of erosion, it has become dilapidated, desolate and lonely. This is incompatible with the regular layout and magnificent royal tombs inside the Feng Shui Wall. Empress Xiaozhuangwen of Zhaoxiling was the empress of Emperor Taizong of the Qing Dynasty Huang Taiji, the mother of Emperor Shunzhi, and the grandma of Emperor Kangxi. We all know that Huang Taiji’s tomb is in Zhaoling in Shenyang, Liaoning. So why did Xiaozhuang, as the empress, not die after her death? They were buried together with Huang Taiji in the Zhaoling Mausoleum in Shenyang, but they were buried in the Eastern Tombs of the Qing Dynasty? Speaking of Empress Xiaozhuangwen, there have been many movies and TV shows about her acting skills in recent years, with mixed reviews, but this does not prevent her from becoming a remarkable woman in the history of the Qing Dynasty. She left the Horqin Grassland at the age of thirteen and married Huang Taiji, the crown prince of the Later Jin Kingdom, was named Zhuang Fei. She went through the three dynasties of Huang Taiji, Shunzhi, and Kangxi, and assisted the two emperors of Shunzhi and Kangxi. She kept a low profile and acted decisively, giving full play to her political wisdom. She turned the tide in the complicated palace struggle, stabilized the foundation of the Qing Dynasty, and made the Qing Dynasty move smoothly. During the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong, it can be said that she played an important role in the stability of the country in the early Qing Dynasty. After the death of Empress Xiaozhuang Wen of Zhaoxiling, she should have returned to Shenyang to be buried with Huang Taiji in Zhaoling. However, she said before her death that Emperor Taizong and Huang Taiji had been enshrined for a long time and were too humble to reopen the underground palace because of her. Moreover, she still missed her sons Shunzhi and Grandson Kangxi and his son could not bear to go far away from the customs, so they decided to be buried near the Xiaoling Mausoleum in Shunzhi. The Luo City Wall inside and outside the Zhaoxi Mausoleum stumped Kangxi. He was hesitant about whether his grandmother's burial place should be in the Zhaoling Mausoleum outside the Pass or the Eastern Tomb of the Qing Dynasty. As a result, he could not decide until his death. As a descendant of the Qing Dynasty, Xiaozhuang entered the Guan Pass. The empress with the highest score could not be buried in the Xiaoling Mausoleum of her son Emperor Shunzhi. Instead, the coffin of Xiaozhuang was temporarily placed in the Feng Shui Hall outside the Feng Shui Wall of the Eastern Tomb of the Qing Dynasty. As a result, it remained there for decades. After Yongzheng succeeded to the throne, he ordered to build a mausoleum for his great-grandmother on the spot where the palace was temporarily enshrined. Only then did Xiaozhuang's coffin be officially placed in the underground palace for permanent burial. The mausoleum was named Zhaoxi Mausoleum, which means it is to the west of Zhaoling Mausoleum in Shenyang. , which is also different from the Qingdong Tomb within the Feng Shui Wall. The problem of the tomb that had troubled his father all his life was cleverly solved by him, which makes people admire the wisdom of Emperor Yongzheng. Zhaoxiling Mausoleum Today, the turbulent era of the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties has long passed, and the empress Xiaozhuangwen, who was both beautiful and wise, has also passed away. However, she made her own historical contribution to the political stability of the early Qing Dynasty and the unification of the country.