久久久无码人妻精品无码_6080YYY午夜理论片中无码_性无码专区_无码人妻品一区二区三区精99

USEUROPEAFRICAASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
China
Home / China / Focus

Inside the tomb of the emperor

By Zhao Xu | China Daily Africa | Updated: 2017-05-28 08:23

Sixty-one years have passed, but Sun Xianbao well remembers exactly what he saw after squeezing himself through the narrow opening between two giant stone panels that formed the gate to the burial chamber of Emperor Wanli (1563-1620).

"On the ground were rotted wooden boards and some whitish circles," the 80-year-old says.

"The circles, it turned out, were paper coins meant for the deceased. Time had turned the paper into grainy dust."

Once inside the tomb in 1957, Sun removed a rectangular stone slab that had leaned against the panels and had served as a lock for 337 years.

 Inside the tomb of the emperor

Clockwise from top left: Archaeologists recording what they saw inside the Dingling Mausoleum's underground tomb in 1957; archaeologists clearing the coffins at Dingling Mausoleum; inside Emperor Wanli's underground tomb. Photos Provided to China Daily

Now the gate leading to the final resting place of the longest-reigning emperor of China's Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) had finally been opened.

"The excavation of the Dingling Mausoleum came about by pure chance," says Yang Shi, wife of Zhao Qichang, a key member of the excavation team who died in 2010. Emperor Wanli had the mausoleum built for himself between 1584 and 1590. The Chinese character for ding in the name means to anchor - a fitting metaphor for the emperor - and ling simply means tomb.

In the late 1980s Yang, together with Yue Nan, a historian, wrote the book Wind and Snow at Dingling (Feng Xue Ding Ling), a vivid account of the excavation process.

In the 1950s, when leading historians and archaeologists decided to excavate an imperial tomb from the Ming Dynasty for research, Dingling was not even near the top of the list, Yang says.

"They initially focused on other tombs, either belonging to historically more important Ming emperors or promising to yield crucial information - imperial tomes, for example."

They did not lack choice. Of all the 16 emperors of the Ming Dynasty, 13 were buried in the region. The immense burial ground, with meandering mountains as a backdrop, is known today as the Ming Mausoleums.

Hardly had the excavation team got down to work than they realized they faced a giant conundrum, the answer to which the designers and builders of the mausoleums had tried very hard to hide. With no clues visible of the tombs they were aiming for, frustrated archaeologists eventually decided to focus on any mausoleum that might yield clues. That was when someone noticed a caved-in section of wall surrounding the circular area that constitutes the second half of the mausoleum's design.

The layout of the mausoleum is split in two - a rectangular part at the front and a circular part at the back, separated by a stone tower known as Ming Lou, or the Worldly Tower. The different shapes were meant to represent Earth and Heaven, believed by ancient Chinese to be square and circular, respectively.

The circular part, known as Bao Cheng, or the Treasure City, has at its heart an earth mound that rises more than 10 meters above the ground. Since the burial chamber was most likely to be deep in the ground and directly under the peak of this symbolic burial mound, the question had always been: How to approach it?

The broken wall might be the place to start. This was in May 1956.

"The bricks had gone and there was a big hole about half a meter in diameter," Yang says. "Since it was three meters above the ground, the team members set up a human ladder to reach the hole and take a peek inside. It was a peek that would change the contemporary history of the Dingling Mausoleum."

The rim of the hole appeared like the upper edge of an arched gate. Peeking inside, the man at the top of the human ladder also glimpsed brick marks - marks left on earth indicating the previous existence of bricks. What, according to some villagers, had been a hiding place for local bandits suggested to the archaeologists the entrance to a secret tunnel.

So they began digging. Two hours later, a stone stele was unearthed bearing the characters sui dao men, or tunnel gate. Ten days later, 4.2 meters underground, the team discovered brick walls on both sides of an 8-meter-wide path that ran along the circular wall of the Treasure City. In retrospect, we now know that the path, called "the brick tunnel", was the route the colossal coffins of the emperor and his two empresses traveled after their arrival at the mausoleum.

However, a promising beginning did not lead to a quick ending. After digging for months and finding nothing, the team pressed ahead and dug more along that same route, but still found nothing.

"It seemed that they had assiduously followed this clue that rolled out before them like thread from a skein, only to arrive at the end and find nothing but the end of the thread," says Yang. "It was in July and August, with rainwater constantly filling the trench. Yet just when most people were about to give up, the emperor, if you like, sent another beckoning."

The team unearthed a second stele. Inscribed on it was a line of words that translates as: "From here to the wall, the horizontal distance is 53.28 meters and the vertical distance is 11.66 meters."

Today the stele, lying in a glass cabinet in one of the two exhibition halls of the mausoleum, is presented by tour guides to visitors as "the key of Dingling". And the wall mentioned is the one that separates the burial chamber of the emperor and the tunnel that leads to it.

"Elated by the new find, the team started digging its third and last tunnel from where the second stele was found, at the back of the Worldly Towers. Not long into digging, they discovered another tunnel - not a brick one but a much sturdier stone one that ran toward the center of the burial mound.

"It's clear now that the stone tunnel constitutes the last section of the journey taken by Emperor Wanli and his empresses en route to their final resting place," Yang says. "The team could not find the stone tunnel initially because there is a turn between the brick tunnel and this stone one."

At the end of this 40-meter-long tunnel lies "the wall", called Jin Gang Qiang, or "The Impregnable Wall". Made of big stone blocks, the wall indeed seemed impregnable until the archaeologists realized that the central part of it could be easily dismantled by pulling out blocks one by one, like pulling drawers from a chest.

Sun remembers vividly when the first stone block was pulled out.

"There was a clear puff, accompanied by a plume of dark smoke. The air, trapped inside for more than three centuries and thick with the smell of mold, charged out.

Wearing a face mask and with a rope tied to his waist, Zhao, fresh from the Archaeology Department of Peking University, was the first to get in.

"His sleeves and both legs of his trousers were sealed tightly so no noxious air could enter," Sun says.

When Zhao arrived at the stone gate standing right behind the wall, it was closed. Under the light of an electric torch, he discerned a narrow opening between the two stone panels. Pressing himself against that opening, he could see a huge rectangular stone slab leaning against the panels from inside the chamber. It was a lock, a firm one - anyone who wished to enter the forbidden area needed to find a way to remove the stone - from the outside.

Zhao's answer to the challenge was some thick iron wire.

"He fashioned the wire into a half circle with a long handle and then gradually put that circle through the opening, noosed the stone slab on the top and pushed," says Yang, who has lived in a retirement home in suburban Beijing since her husband died at the age of 84 in 2010.

"The upper edge of the stone slab, the part that was in contact with the gate, was slightly lifted backward, so the gate could be pushed open just a little bit," she says.

A little bit indeed, but big enough for Sun - back then a skinny 18-year-old - to squeeze through.

That was in May 1957. A year had passed since the team members had dug out their first shovelful of dirt.

Three months after that, the archaeologists opened the wooden coffins of the emperor and his two empresses, coffins that had lain in the innermost room of this five-room burial chamber. Some parts of the coffins had rotted away, or even collapsed. And the corpses had long been reduced to bones. But the items found inside the coffins, including brocaded fabrics and accessories made of silver, gold and jade, stunned the archaeological world in China and beyond.

However, due to inadequate conservation techniques, many precious objects, fabrics in particular, were exposed to the air and suffered irreversible damage.

"The luster retained for centuries, thanks to the lack of oxygen inside the tomb, was lost forever," says Yang, who married Zhao in the winter of 1957, a few months after the excavation was completed.

"The loss was genuinely mourned by everyone who had taken part in the excavation."

In fact, in 1956, before digging started, opinion had been divided on whether it should go ahead. Those who opposed it warned of the significance of the task and the gravity of the matter if anything went wrong.

But eventually, Zhou Enlai, the Chinese premier, gave the nod. After the warning had turned, at least partly, into reality, Zhou, petitioned by a group of saddened archaeologists, ruled that there would be no further excavations of imperial tombs, either in his lifetime or until the Chinese archaeological world had become fully prepared. That decree still holds today.

Zhao, who later became renowned as a historian and archaeologist, an expert on the history of Beijing, died in the winter of 2010.

"He suffered respiratory problems for nearly three decades before death," Yang says.

"I always felt that the disease had something to do with his time spent in the burial chamber. At the time, senior members of the team often reminded him to put on a face mask, but many times he would overlook the precaution. He was so young and everything was so exciting."

Sun, who spent most of his time with the team carrying either a kerosene light or an electric generator, says the most memorable moment was when he entered the tomb, through the opening between two stone slabs.

"I was so scared. It was still and chilly, but eventually everyone let out that thrilled cry."

Editor's picks
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
久久久无码人妻精品无码_6080YYY午夜理论片中无码_性无码专区_无码人妻品一区二区三区精99

    欧美日韩综合一区| 久久久久国产精品麻豆| 三级不卡在线观看| 欧美一级xxx| 激情五月婷婷综合| 国产精品毛片无遮挡高清| 日本精品一区二区三区四区的功能| 亚洲一区二区三区影院| 欧美一级久久久久久久大片| 国产一本一道久久香蕉| 国产精品国产三级国产aⅴ入口| 色综合一个色综合亚洲| 婷婷一区二区三区| 久久精品亚洲精品国产欧美| a4yy欧美一区二区三区| 亚洲成人免费在线观看| 精品免费国产一区二区三区四区| 国产福利不卡视频| 一区二区三区在线视频免费观看| 欧美精品一卡二卡| 国产伦精品一区二区三区在线观看 | 日韩欧美亚洲另类制服综合在线| 国产麻豆一精品一av一免费| 日韩理论电影院| 欧美久久久一区| 国产精品69久久久久水密桃| 一区二区三区精品在线| 精品少妇一区二区三区在线视频| 91色视频在线| 久久激情五月婷婷| 亚洲人成在线观看一区二区| 91精品国产综合久久蜜臀| 国产成人av影院| 亚洲国产成人va在线观看天堂| 欧美变态凌虐bdsm| 色综合一个色综合| 激情欧美日韩一区二区| 亚洲综合在线电影| 久久久久久9999| 欧美日韩精品系列| 成人午夜视频在线观看| 日韩黄色一级片| 国产精品久久久爽爽爽麻豆色哟哟| 在线播放国产精品二区一二区四区 | 在线观看亚洲精品| 国产自产高清不卡| 亚瑟在线精品视频| 国产精品久久久久久久久免费相片 | 色综合久久久久久久| 久久99久久精品| 亚洲一区在线观看网站| 国产欧美一区二区在线| 7799精品视频| 一本色道久久综合狠狠躁的推荐 | 色婷婷亚洲精品| 国产一区二区三区高清播放| 亚洲国产一区二区在线播放| 国产精品短视频| 精品国产sm最大网站免费看| 欧美亚洲一区三区| 99久久免费国产| 国产美女精品在线| 男女男精品网站| 亚洲自拍偷拍综合| 国产精品麻豆一区二区| 久久久精品tv| 精品日韩一区二区三区| 5566中文字幕一区二区电影 | 欧美日本不卡视频| 一本色道久久综合狠狠躁的推荐| 国产盗摄视频一区二区三区| 欧美aaaaa成人免费观看视频| 一二三区精品视频| 国产精品二三区| 亚洲国产精品二十页| 久久这里只有精品视频网| 制服丝袜成人动漫| 欧美在线三级电影| 色香色香欲天天天影视综合网| 丁香亚洲综合激情啪啪综合| 韩国理伦片一区二区三区在线播放 | 欧美日韩亚洲综合在线| 91论坛在线播放| av男人天堂一区| 粉嫩高潮美女一区二区三区| 美国毛片一区二区| 免费成人在线影院| 日韩中文字幕av电影| 午夜欧美在线一二页| 亚洲一级不卡视频| 夜夜揉揉日日人人青青一国产精品| 国产精品超碰97尤物18| 欧美经典一区二区三区| 国产亚洲一区字幕| 国产欧美一区二区在线观看| 国产三级三级三级精品8ⅰ区| 亚洲精品在线电影| 亚洲精品在线观| 久久久综合激的五月天| 久久婷婷国产综合精品青草| 久久精品在这里| 国产日韩欧美a| 国产精品系列在线| 国产精品免费看片| 国产精品高潮呻吟久久| ●精品国产综合乱码久久久久 | 日韩成人dvd| 日本视频一区二区| 美女脱光内衣内裤视频久久网站 | 精品一区二区三区日韩| 激情综合网最新| 国产伦精品一区二区三区在线观看| 国产很黄免费观看久久| 国产精品911| av一区二区三区黑人| 色欧美乱欧美15图片| 欧美亚洲精品一区| 91麻豆精品国产| 精品国产凹凸成av人导航| 国产亚洲污的网站| 国产精品成人免费精品自在线观看 | 国产精品免费av| 亚洲色图在线看| 亚洲国产日韩一级| 日本午夜精品视频在线观看| 开心九九激情九九欧美日韩精美视频电影 | 色婷婷久久一区二区三区麻豆| 欧美性生活一区| 制服丝袜激情欧洲亚洲| 精品99久久久久久| 国产精品久久久久久久久快鸭 | 久久网站最新地址| 国产蜜臀av在线一区二区三区| 亚洲欧洲精品一区二区三区不卡| 一区二区三区毛片| 琪琪久久久久日韩精品| 国产精品99久久久久久似苏梦涵 | 久久精品日产第一区二区三区高清版 | 一区二区在线观看免费| 亚洲午夜精品在线| 久久精品国产秦先生| 成人性生交大片免费| 在线观看日韩国产| 日韩欧美你懂的| 亚洲国产成人午夜在线一区| 亚洲狠狠丁香婷婷综合久久久| 日韩精品免费专区| 国产激情精品久久久第一区二区| 一本色道久久加勒比精品| 日韩丝袜情趣美女图片| 亚洲国产精华液网站w| 亚洲高清免费一级二级三级| 狠狠色丁香九九婷婷综合五月| www.亚洲在线| 91精品国产综合久久精品麻豆| 国产午夜精品理论片a级大结局| 亚洲综合久久久久| 国产一区二区三区精品视频| 91久久精品一区二区三| 精品国精品自拍自在线| 亚洲精品免费在线观看| 国产专区欧美精品| 欧美视频自拍偷拍| 国产视频不卡一区| 天堂蜜桃一区二区三区| 成人18精品视频| 欧美一区二区性放荡片| 综合激情网...| 免费视频一区二区| 一本高清dvd不卡在线观看| 精品国产凹凸成av人导航| 一区二区在线观看不卡| 国产精品一区三区| 69av一区二区三区| 亚洲视频1区2区| 黄色日韩三级电影| 欧美伊人久久久久久久久影院 | 亚洲欧洲成人av每日更新| 伦理电影国产精品| 欧美专区日韩专区| 国产无遮挡一区二区三区毛片日本| 午夜欧美2019年伦理| 99精品在线观看视频| 久久久天堂av| 日本免费新一区视频| 色素色在线综合| 中文一区二区完整视频在线观看| 日本视频在线一区| 在线观看日韩精品| 国产精品久久久久永久免费观看| 韩国av一区二区三区四区| 欧美理论片在线| 一区二区三区四区在线播放| 成人午夜伦理影院| 精品黑人一区二区三区久久 | 加勒比av一区二区| 91精品国产综合久久久久久久| 夜夜操天天操亚洲| 91影院在线观看| 中文无字幕一区二区三区|