How many emperors were buried in Shaanxi?
Shaanxi is one of the important birthplaces of Chinese civilization and the Chinese nation. Chang'an has been the capital many times, and 13 dynasties including Western Zhou, Qin, Western Han, Xinmang, Eastern Han, Western Jin, Former Zhao, Former Qin, Later Qin, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui and Tang established their capitals here.
Dynasties established their capitals here, and emperors would naturally choose this place to build their mausoleums. The location of the emperor's tomb is a major decision that determines the fate of the empire. "Bury it with etiquette and sacrifice it with etiquette." Shaanxi can obviously satisfy the wishes of emperors of the past dynasties.
The eight hundred miles of Qinchuan are surrounded by mountains and rivers. The north and south are sandwiched by the Qinling Mountains and the Weibei Plateau respectively. The Weihe River flows through it in an east-west direction. As the saying goes, Guanzhong has Xiaohan on the left and Longshu on the right, with thousands of miles of fertile fields. . Therefore, Shaanxi (Guanzhong) is truly the "Valley of the Oriental Emperors". So how many emperors have been buried in Shaanxi in history?
According to research, there are 82 imperial tombs in total in Shaanxi. Most of these tombs are concentrated in Guanzhong, ranking first in the country in number. Most of them are the tombs of emperors from powerful dynasties and rich in funerary objects.
Including the world-famous Mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin, Maoling of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Qianling Mausoleum of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, etc., excluding the tombs of the ancient Yan and Huang emperors, there are 42 imperial mausoleums whose locations can be basically determined in Shaanxi.
Among them, there are 6 Qin cemeteries from the Spring and Autumn Period, 2 Mausoleums of Qin Shihuang and Qin II, 11 imperial mausoleums from the Western Han Dynasty, 4 imperial mausoleums from the Sixteen Kingdoms to the Northern Dynasties, and 19 imperial mausoleums from the Sui and Tang Dynasties. .
Some serious people may ask, don’t the Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor and the Mausoleum of the Yan Emperor count? They are the common ancestors of our Chinese nation, but they are figures from ancient times, so of course they count. The question is probably about the imperial mausoleums that later had a definite history and established the capital of Shaanxi.
For example, the Western Zhou Dynasty was the first to establish its capital in Shaanxi, but the tomb of the Emperor of the Western Zhou Dynasty has not yet been discovered, because the tombs of the emperors before the early Spring and Autumn Period were not sealed with trees or mounds, and no marks were made. "Book of Rites Tan Gong" records that "those with high soil are called tombs, and those that are hidden without a tomb are called tombs." Therefore, there is no way to count them.
With the development of social productivity, in order to express the identity of the owner of the tomb, there began to be a "tomb" on the ground. As an emperor, he must have the highest standards. It is recorded in the Han Dynasty that the soil area of the Qin Shihuang Emperor's mausoleum is about 250,000 square meters, with a height of 115 meters. The current height is 87 meters, and the bottom area is 120,000 square meters. The Han Dynasty favored generous burials. The Maoling Mausoleum of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was the largest imperial mausoleum in the Han Dynasty. All the tombs in the Han Dynasty were 12 feet high and 120 steps square, while the Maoling Mausoleum was 14 feet high and 150 steps square.
In addition to the necessary palace gates, the most distinctive feature of the cemetery is the various tombs. The tombs of Emperor Wu’s most beloved concubine, Mrs. Li, and the most respected general Huo Qubing are all located in Maoling Cemetery. , the north-south central axis of the cemetery is nearly 5 kilometers long, and there are two layers of city walls inside. There are four gates in the inner city: Qinglong in the east, Zhuque in the south, White Tiger in the west, and Xuanwu in the north. The imperial tombs of the Qin, Han and Tang dynasties are distributed in a linear pattern. Most of them are backed by mountains and face water. The terrain is high and open, making it a spectacular sight.
The Mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin is adjacent to the Li Mountain to the south and the Wei River to the north. The 11 mausoleums of the Western Han Dynasty were all built on the tall and open Xianyang Plain and Bailu Plain. Most of the imperial mausoleums of the Tang Dynasty were built along the mountains, mostly distributed in the mountains of Weibei. The appearance is even more huge. Jiuwei Mountain and Liangshan Mountain, where Zhaoling and Qianling are located respectively, are both above 1,000 meters above sea level.
These places, recognized by ancient etiquette experts as "excellent Feng Shui", carry the hope of ancient emperors to spread their dynasties to eternity. They hope that they can still keep an eye on their empire after they sleep underground. , can still command thousands of troops.
Although emperors of all dynasties used tens of thousands of people to build their tombs, and it was the blood and tears of migrant workers that built the emperor’s tombs, but now looking back at history, these tombs have become a period of time for us to observe and learn from. A tangible reality. It also added a significant amount to the history of China.