Chinese pyramids

Chinese pyramids
The tumulus mound covering the tomb of Emperor Jing of Han (r. 156-141 BCE), located outside of Xi'an

Chinese pyramids are ancient mausoleums and burial mounds built to house the remains of several early emperors of China and their imperial relatives. About 38 of them are located around 25 kilometres (16 mi) - 35 kilometres (22 mi) north-west of Xi'an, on the Qin Chuan Plains in Shaanxi Province. The most famous is the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, northeast of Xi'an and 1.7 km west of where the Terracotta Warriors were found. Chinese pyramids were also built during the Han, Tang, Song, and Western Xia dynasties.

They have flat tops, and thus are more similar in shape to the Teotihuacan pyramids north-east of Mexico City, Mexico than to the pyramids in Giza, Egypt. Although known in the West for at least a century, their existence has been made controversial by sensationalist publicity and the problems of Chinese archaeology in early 20th century.

Contents

Recognition in the West

Pottery figurines of domesticated animals and female servants dressed in silk robes, excavated from the mausoleum of Emperor Jing of Han (r. 156-141 BC) near modern Xi'an (ancient Chang'an)

The introduction of pyramids in China to popular attention came in two stages. Many early stories were focused on the existence of "Great White Pyramid." U.S. Army Air Corps pilot James Gaussman is said to have seen a white jewel-topped pyramid during a flight between India and China during World War II. Colonel Maurice Sheahan, Far Eastern director of Trans World Airlines, told an eyewitness account of his encounter with a pyramid in the March 28, 1947 edition of The New York Times. A photo of Sheahan's pyramid appeared in The New York Sunday News on March 30, 1947. This photograph later became attributed to James Gaussman. Chris Maier showed that the pyramid in the photo is the Maoling Mausoleum of Emperor Wu of Han, just outside of Xi'an. Alternative writers such as Hartwig Hausdorf (who speculated it was built by aliens) and Phillip Coppens did much to bring them to public attention.

Despite claims to the contrary, the existence of these pyramid-shaped tomb mounds was known by scientists in the West before the publicity caused by the story in 1947. Shortly after the New York Times story, Science News Letter (now Science News) published a short item saying "The Chinese pyramids of that region are built of mud and dirt and are more like mounds than the pyramids of Egypt, and the region is little travelled. American scientists who have been in the area suggest that the height of 1,000 feet (300 m), more than twice as high as any of the Egyptian pyramids, may have been exaggerated, because most of the Chinese mounds of that area are built relatively low. The location, reported 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Sian, is in an area of great archaeological importance, but few of the pyramids have ever been explored." [1] Victor Segalen visited China in 1913 and wrote about the First Emperor's tomb (and other mound tombs in the region) in Mission Archeologique en Chine (1914): L'art funeraire a l'epoque des Han.[2]

Some of the pyramids of Xi'an are now tourist attractions and several pyramids have small museums attached to them.

The Development of Mound Tombs in China

There is a long history of building mounded tombs in China, dating back to at least the Shang-Zhou period.[3]

Partial list of Chinese pyramids

Xi'an, area of the majority of Chinese pyramids.
A modern model portraying how Emperor Jing's tomb complex would have appeared upon completion

Zhou dynasty tombs complex near Luoyang, Henan

Zhao Kings' tombs complex near Handan, Hebei

Qin dynasty mausoleums near Xi'an, Shaanxi

Western Han dynasty mausoleums complex in Xianyang and around Xi'an, Shaanxi

Maoling Mausoleum group:

Pingling Mausoleum group:

Yanling Mausoleum group:

Kangling Mausoleum group:

Weiling Mausoleum group:

  • Tomb of Emperor Han Yuandi
  • Tomb of Empress Wang

Group of two "tombs of Zhou Kings" (possibly from Han era):

  • Tomb of King Wu of Zhou
  • Tomb of King Wen of Zhou

Yiling mausoleum group:

Anling mausoleum group:

  • Tomb of Emperor Han Huidi
  • Tomb of Empress Zhang Yan
  • Tomb of Marquis Zhao Ao (father of Empress Zhang Yan)
  • Tomb of Empress Luyuan (mother of Empress Zhang Yan)

Changling mausoleum group:

  • Tomb of Emperor Han Gaozu (Liu Bang)
  • Tomb of Empress Lu
  • Tomb of Consort Qi

Yangling mausoleum group:

  • Tomb of Emperor Han Jingdi
  • Tomb of Empress Wang

Baling mausoleum group:

Duling mausoleum group:

Yangling, Shaanxi

Xining, Qinghai

Mausoleum of Emperor Xiaojing of Tang near Goushi, Henan

Imperial mausoleums complex of Song dynasty in and around Gongyi, Henan

Elsewhere

  • Shaohao Tomb in Qufu, Shandong - a small pyramid
  • Inner Mongolian pyramid, situated about 1 km (0.62 mi) north of Sijiazi (四家子) Town, Aohan County (敖漢旗), vestige of the Hongshan culture. The site of Niuheliang contains a pyramidal structure too.
  • The eighteen mausoleums of the Tang Dynasty emperors (唐十八陵) in the valley of the Wei River north of the Qinling Mountains(秦岭). Some are among the biggest Chinese mausoleums, such as Qianling (乾陵), joint tomb of Emperor Gaozong of Tang and of the Empress Wu Zetian. It is a natural hill shaped by man.
  • Janggun-chong (Jiangjunzhong 將軍塚) Step Pyramid in Jilin, "Tomb of the General", is supposed to be the mausoleum of King Jangsu (Ko. 장수왕 Ch. 長壽王) (413-491), king of Goguryeo, an ancient Korean kingdom. It belongs to the Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom on the World heritage list. Nearby is the Taewang-neung / Taiwangling (태왕릉, 太王陵) Pyramid believed to be the burial of King Gwanggaeto the Great (Ko. 광개토태왕; Ch. 廣開土太王) (391-413); while twice bigger than Janggun-chong, it is in bad shape and Janggun-chong is touted as the touristic highpoint of the site.
  • The Western Xia tombs of the Tangut Empire near Yinchuan in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, northwestern China, a large number of tombs covering some 50 km2 (19 sq mi) are referred to as 'Chinese Pyramids'.[4]
Comparison of approximate profiles of some notable pyramidal or near-pyramidal buildings. Where the base is an oblong, the longer side is shown. Dotted lines indicate original heights, where data is available.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The Science News-Letter, Vol. 51, No. 15. (Apr. 12, 1947), pp. 232-233.
  2. ^ Review in the Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Vol. 1, No. 3/4. (Nov., 1936), pp. 391-393.
  3. ^ http://www.gisdevelopment.net/aars/acrs/1992/ps1/ps006.asp LIU Shuren YU Guopei, A Remote – Sensing study on the distribution pattern of ancient. Platform – like ruins and earth-mounded graves of TH WU colture in southern Jiangsu, China and its relation. ship with palaegeographical evolution Proceedings of the Asian Conference on Remote Sensing, 1992
  4. ^ Steinhardt, Nancy Shatzman (1993). "The Tangut Royal Tombs near Yinchuan". Muqarnas (Brill Publishers) 10: 369–381. doi:10.2307/1523201. JSTOR 1523201. 

External links

Coordinates: 34°20′17″N 108°34′11″E / 34.33806°N 108.56972°E / 34.33806; 108.56972


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