Explain how the Chinese During the Ming Dynasty Commemorated Death in the Monumental Expression of Their Tombs Within the Urban and Natural Con (Essay Sample)

Explain how the Chinese during the Ming dynasty commemorated death in the monumental expression of their tombs within the urban and natural con.
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Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Introduction PAGEREF _Toc449504760 \h 3The Layout of the Tombs PAGEREF _Toc449504761 \h 4Construction of the Ming Tombs PAGEREF _Toc449504762 \h 5Three primary types of roofs known: PAGEREF _Toc449504763 \h 7Changling- Emperor Yongle’s Tomb PAGEREF _Toc449504764 \h 8Dingling Tomb. PAGEREF _Toc449504765 \h 8Zhaoling PAGEREF _Toc449504766 \h 9Bibliography PAGEREF _Toc449504767 \h 11
Introduction
The Ming dynasty of China saw the rise of collections of mausoleums known as the Ming tombs that were built by the emperors that ruled during the Ming dynasty. The First Monument was built in the capital on Ming that is in Nanjing even though a majority of these tombs are located near Beijing and are commonly referred to us the thirteen tombs of the Ming Dynasty.1 From the emperor Yongle onwards 13 emperors of the Ming dynasty were buried around the same area. Hongwu was the first emperor of the Ming dynasty and was buried in the Xiaoling Tomb, which is near Nanjing. Jianwen, the second emperor, was overthrown by Emperor Yongle, and he disappeared without a traceable Tomb. Then came a temporary emperor who was known as Jingtai, who also was not buried among these tombs as his proceeding Emperor Tianshun did not allow him to have an imperial burial .and instead Jingtai was buried in West Beijing. Emperor Chong Zhen, who was the last emperor of the Ming dynasty to be buried in this location because of his heinous act of committing suicide by hanging himself on 25th of April 1644, this made him be buried in the Tian’s tomb which was his concubine Consort. The Tian’s tomb was later built an imperial monument by Emperor Siling an emperor of the Shun dynasty which was short lived.2
In the Ming Dynasty, the local citizens were not allowed to enter or come close to the tombs. In 1644the, Li Zicheng army looted and set many tombs on fire before seizing Beijing in April the same year. Yuqing states that however in 1725 during the Qing dynasty, emperor Yougzheng bequeathed the title of Marquis on one of the descendants of the imperial family of the Ming dynasty3. Zhu Zhiliang, who was entitled to perform various rituals at the Ming tombs and was given a hefty salary for this. Further, he was also inducted as the Chinese plain white banner. The proceeding emperor Qianlong granted Zhu Zhuliang the title of Marquis of Extended Grace in 1750 and the title was later passed through twelve generations belonging to the descendants of Ming until the end of the Qing dynasty. 4
In the contemporary China, the Ming tombs are considered as one of the components of the World Heritage.
The Layout of the Tombs
The unique imperial tombs are believed to have been carefully selected following the geomancy laws.it is said that evil spirits and the demonic winds coming from the northern part were supposed to be deflected, according to the Feng shui principles. This could then lead to the formation of a valley that was arc shaped right at the foot of Mount Kundu that is located at the northern side of Beijing: that was the focal point of selection. The area is approximately 40 square kilometer surrounded by mountains. The valley is a hollow characterized with complete darkness calm water and other peculiar descriptions exalted by the Feng shui. He highly elaborates the whole process becoming the famous necropolis of the Ming dynasty.5
The pinyin Shendo that means "spirit way" is a seven-kilometer path lined with well-structured statues of guardian animals. It has a front gate decorated with three unique arches that have been painted red hence the name the" great red gate." The sacred way starts with an enormous stone in the history of the archway right at your first step that lies just in front of the sacred area. This was constructed in the year 1540 in the Ming Dynasty era and is considered the largest stone archways in China to date. 6
As if that’s not enough the conspicuous shengong shengde stele pavilion doesn’t go unnoticed. The inside is endowed with 50 ton stone monument of the Bixi holding a memorial tablet. This sculpture was added during the Qing dynasty and is considered not be part of the original statue of the Ming layout. It also has four white Huabiao, which is considered to be the pillars of glory, that are put in place at each corner of the stele pavilion .A mythical beast is then placed on top of each mythical beast. Then on each side the road, the two pillars protrude with their surfaces curved in a cloud design having their heads molded and round like a cylinder. This structure is traditionally designed and was originally a guiding light to the souls of the dead. The spirited way is a direction to the unique eighteen pairs of stone statues of the legendary animals. All these are made carved from complete stones that are larger than life size that leads to the gate with three arches known as the dragon and phoenix gate.7
Currently, the public can only access three tombs.There are plans for new archeological research, though there haven’t been any excavations, and the practice of the total sculpturing activity since 1989, the opening of the tombs is also evident.This is visible on Google Earth Chang-ling, Ding Ling, and Zhao Ling that have their underground fortress excavated. 8
UNESCO world heritage site has recognized the tombs and have them listed among other famous monument sites under" the imperial tombs of the Ming dynasties" in August 2003.
Construction of the Ming Tombs
Foundations: Raised platforms acted as foundations of most of the buildings, alternatively the vertical structural beams could be supported on the same raised stones which in some cases it could rest on piles. For poor quality constructions, a rammed earth could act as the foundation of the platforms that could be surfaced or cemented with bricks or ceramics. In other occasions where simpler constructions were to be made, vertical structural beams would be dug into the ground directly, For the most complex constructions, high raised stones paved rammed earth were used. Alternatively, the stones with decorated carved weighty stones pedestals were used for supporting large structured beams. The parallel beams were supported solely by the pedestals and friction. 9
The pressure generated by the whole structure too was supported by this
Structural beams: bigger structural timber were majorly used for roofing to support the rooftop of the building. Wooden large trimmed logs were necessary and was primarily used as load bearing columns and lateral beams for framing the structures and backup the roofs. The beams were put in a way that they were connected to each other directly with higher quality structures tied together through the use of the brackets. The structural timbers could then be exhibited on the completed structures.it is still a wonder on what tactics the traditional constructors used to raise the large wooden logs while keeping the columns in position.11
Structural connections: the timber frames were made in such a way that the doweling and joinery were the only ones used alone, occasionally was the glue or nails used. These type of joints permitted timber to repel the folding and torsion while under pressure. Further maintenance of the stability of the wood structure is assured through the use of weighty beams and roofs that would put the structure under pressure. The usage of the dugong and wood as structural members instead of glue and nails in joinery ensured the flexibility of the structures enabling it to flex and hinge as it counteracts shock vibration resulting from earthquakes without actually causing damage. 12
Walls: curtain walls and door panels are famous for the demarcation of rooms especially the commonly used load bearing walls. They are recommended majorly for quality and high-class buildings. However due to deforestation that has led to the reduction of trees in the later dynasties for building structures. Brick and stones are commonly used along with the load bearing walls especially in the nongovernmental and religious constructions.13
Roofs: Gabbled roofs are the most common compared to the flat roofs of the traditional Chinese building structures. There are two ways of putting them in place. One way is by building it on roof cross beams or directly on vertical structural beams .on higher quality architecture the beams that hold the roof in place are supported through a more complicated dugong bracketing systems that connect them to the main structural beams.14
Three primary types of roofs known:
Straight inclined: Roofs with a single incline are the cheapest form and are used by most building constructors.
Multi-inclined: These are characterized by roofs with 2 or more sections of the slope. These roofs are used in building complex and higher quality buildings especially residence of the rich and palaces.15
The top decoration is a symbol that can be found from different colors, and other types of roofing material. The imperial rooftops were painted gold or yellow, which usually represented the emperor
Ann states the
The stone creatures that looked like humans represented the emperor in the Ming tombs. Some of these statues are approximately 30 cubic meters in volume which represents the authority of the respective rulers. They also represented that the emperors are still prominent even in death. These sculptures were purely transported using human labor. This was done by first pouring water on the road in winter which subsequently formed ice. They were then dragged forward by sliding them on the Ice. The Chinese sunk wells every 500 meters so as to get the water for the same purp...