1 layout , monuments
1.1 great golden gate , square city
1.2 sacred way
1.3 lingxing gate
1.4 central area
layout , monuments
the shengong shengde stele in sifangcheng pavilion
great golden gate , square city
da jin men , sifangcheng. 1 enters site through monumental great golden gates (da jin men), , faced giant stone tortoise (bixi), resides in sifangcheng ( square city ) pavilion. tortoise supports splendid carved stone stele, crowned intertwining hornless dragons. well-preserved stele known shengong shengde stele (神功圣德碑), i.e., literally, stele of godly merit , saintly virtue . inscription of stele, extolling merits , virtues of hongwu emperor zhu yuanzhang written fourth son, yongle emperor. tortoise 5.15 m long, 2.54 m wide , 2.8 m tall, stele stands 8.78 m tall (including tortoise) , 1 of best-known examples of genre.
it thought yongle emperor planned install bigger stele here. work on making started in yangshan quarry (some 10 km east of mausoleum) in 1405, unfinished stele abandoned in quarry, realized not possible move it.
unlike similar pavilion @ thirteen ming tombs near beijing, nanjing s sifangcheng not have roof anymore, destroyed during taiping rebellion. recently, chinese engineers have conducted research in regard possibility of restoring roof.
the kangxi emperor s stele of homage ming predecessor of 300 years before
the sacred way
the sacred way 1800-metre-long road @ nanjing city government site. winding sacred way (shendao) starts near sifangcheng pavilion. includes several sections: elephant road , wengzhong road. elephant road lined 12 pairs of 6 kinds of animals (lions, xiezhi, camels, elephants, qilin, , horses), guarding tomb. beyond them column called huabiao in chinese. 1 continues along wengzhong road. 4 pairs of ministers , generals (or warrior guardian figures, wengzhong) of stone have been standing there centuries guard journey after life.
lingxing gate
the lingxing gate, pailou @ end of wengzhong road destroyed long ago, rebuilt in 2006.
the central area
one enters central area of mausoleum complex through wen wu fang men (the gate of civil , military). on inscribed stone tablet outside of gate official notification of local government in qing dynasty (1644–1911) ordered protect tomb. inside gate, there tablet hall (bei dian) in 5 steles stand. 1 in middle, mounted on stone tortoise, inscribed 4 chinese characters, 治隆唐宋 , written qing dynasty s kangxi emperor on third inspection tour of south in 1699. text interpreted alluding greatness of ming dynasty founder zhu yuanzhang, matching (or surpassing) of founders of tang , song dynasties of old.
behind pavilion, there used other annexes; of them have collapsed relics original splendor can still traced. emperor , queen buried in clay tumulus, 400 metres in diameter, known lone dragon hill (du long fu). stone wall terrace on top, known ming lou (ming mansion) or soul tower half-embedded front face of tumulus. on stone wall surrounding vault, 7 chinese characters inscribed, identifying mausoleum of emperor ming taizu (respected title of emperor zhu yuanzhang).
the mountain south of tomb, known meihua shan ( plum flower mountain ), mausoleum of sun quan, king of kingdom of wu in 3 kingdoms period (220-265). existence of tomb reason why sacred way not straight.
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