北京的英文导游词（精选4篇）
Old Summer Palace is located in the western suburbs of Beijing City,Eastern Haidian District. The original Qing Dynasty a large Royal River, coversan area of about 5200 acres, the layout is inverted triangle, a total area of350 hectares. Old Summer Palace " garden of gardens " good name, it was built inthe Qing emperor Qian Long years, the original pavilions, terraces and openhalls at more than 140, a total area of 3500000 square meters. It's land areaand the construction of the Imperial Palace, water area and is a the SummerPalace.
The history of Old Summer Palace, is composed of Old Summer Palace,Changchun Garden, Yee Spring Garden ( Wanchun Garden ). Three Park tightlyadjoin, commonly known as the old summer palace. A total area of 5200 acres (350 hectares ), the entire range of larger than the the Summer Palace nearlyqianmu. It is feudal emperors in Qing Dynasty more than 150 years, by creatingand operating a large Royal palace. Yong Zheng, Qianlong, Jiaqing EmperorDaoguang, Xianfeng, five, had been living in the Old Summer Palace leisurelyenjoyment, and in this holding assembly, and politics, it is similar to theForbidden City ( the Imperial Palace) as the political center of the country,was clear Dili special called " Royal park ".
Old Summer Palace was originally granted to his four son of emperor KangxiYin Zhen (later emperor Yong Zheng the garden ). Kangxi in forty-six years thatthe year 1707, park has begun to take shape. In November the same year, EmperorKangxi had at the Old Summer Palace tours. The emperor Yong Zheng ascended thethrone in 1723, expanding the original Grant Park, and in the South Parkbuilding be open and aboveboard Temple main hall and the cabinet, and in six,the value of real military department, to avoid the " Royal master ". In the 60year of the reign of emperor Qian Long, one day, old summer palace construction,repair, dredges the water shift stone, silver million fee. In addition to hisold summer palace built on local, alterations, and the East New Changchun Park,in the southeast of adjacent incorporated Qi spring garden. In the thirty-fiveyears to 1770 three, the Yuan Ming garden pattern is formed basically. Dynasty,mainly on Qi spring garden was renovated and the extension of the building,which became the main garden occupies the place of one. Daoguang Dynasty, statedeclines, shortage of financial resources, but rather from Chaenomeles,Xiangshan, Yuquan " hills", furnishings, Jehol and Magnolia summer hunting,still did not give up the three Park renovation and decoration.
Old Summer Palace, garden not only known, but also a collection of theRoyal Museum, very rich, is a cultural treasure house. Hugo once said: "even ifthe ( French ) all Notre Dame all the treasures together, the same can not belarge and magnificent Huang Museum comparable to the east. " The luxuriousfurnishings exquisite, has a large collection of art treasures. According to theOld Summer Palace seen Westerners description, " Park splendid brilliant scene,not to can trace the color so called, nor the Europeans can see ". " All kindsof valuable treasures, are accumulated in the Royal Cottage Hotel, numeroushouseholds. " The finest sandalwood carved furniture, exquisite ancientporcelain and enamel bottle lamp broken lines, Zhijin silver brocade fabric,carpet, leather, gilded gold French clock, exquisite Old Summer Palace layout,gem embedded hunting figure, landscape character true to life likeness of theplaque, and their various other artistic products and a variety of Europeanlustrous and dazzling. Ornaments, have everything that one expects to find.
Old Summer Palace is the artificial creation of a grand scale, thebeautiful scenery of the landscape. Flat mountain and water purification,landscape architecture, plant more trees and flowers. In the discontinuoushills, winding surface and pavilions, winding corridor, island, bridgeembankment, the vast space into a size of more than 100 landscape encircle,interest varied scenery group. The water park is about three 4/10 of the totalarea of the park, on the ground in artificial cut the medium small surface, bycircle rayon flow channel is connected in series with a complete water system ofrivers and lakes. Park and decorated with stacked has greatly small hill 250,and drainage combined with mountains, water, hill because of live water, formedthe mountain complex water transfer, layer upon layer of garden space. Theentire landscape as Jiangnan like smoke blurred, true it may be said: Althoughpeople do, since the days of the wan.
Old Summer Palace embodies the ancient Chinese gardening art essence, wasthe most splendid large-scale landscape. The emperor Qian Long said: " it is YaoBao Kobold region, Emperor Yu tour, no more than this ". And gardens in theworld history of architecture also occupies an important position. Itspopularity to Europe, known as the " garden of gardens ". The famous Frenchwriter Hugo in 1861 had this to say: " you just imagine it is a thrillinglonging, as the Moon Castle like building, Summer Palace ( the Old Summer Palace) is a building. " People often say : the Greek Parthenon temple in Egypt,Pyramid, Rome Coliseum, Oriental palace. "It is a matter of the incomparablemasterpiece as the acme of perfection ".
Old Summer Palace the world garden, to ten years Xianfeng, in 1860 October,by British and French troops barbarian raid burned down, become China's modernhistory of humiliation history page.
Now the Old Summer Palace Ruins Park, the site for the theme, forming asolid history and full of vibrant garden atmosphere a unique combination oftourism landscape, not only has the important political and historical value, itis a unique tourist destination. The tragedy of Old Summer Palace was destroyed,was the symbol of national humiliation, the rebirth of the Old Summer Palace,has become and will continue to make efforts to become the Chinese nation, thetestimony of increasingly thriving and prosperous. With the introduction ofspecial planning, 20___ basically completed the Old Summer Palace Ruins Parkgoal has been clearly shown in front of us.
We firmly believe that a green Old Summer Palace will become a bright pearlof green Olympic Games; a basic integrity of the Old Summer Palace will become abright spot of humanistic olympics.
Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen:
My name is ___. I’m very honored to be youre guide. I do hope all of youcould like my guiding and enjoy everything on your pleasant day. This morning weare going to visit the Summer Palace. The Summer Palace is located on thenorthwest suburbs of Beijing, about 20 kilometers away from the center of thecity. So it will take us about 1 hour to get there. Before we arrived at theSummer Palace, I would like to introduce you a brief introduction of thewoderful imperial garden. The Summer Palace is the most beautiful and thelargest imperial garden existing in Chinan, and it is the best-preservedimperial garden in the world. In 1998, it was placed on the List of WorldCultural Heritage by the UNESCO.
The Summer Palace was first built as an imperial garden at the beginning of12th century in the Jin Dynasty. The construction continued to the Yuan and Mingdynasties. In the Qing Dynasty, the building of imperial gardens reached itsculmination. During Emperor Qianlong’s reign, the famous ‘Three Hills and FiveGardens’ were built on the northwest suburbs of Beijing. The Summer Palace was apart of it and at that time was called the Garden of Clear Ripples. In 1860, theAnglo-French Allied Forces invaded Beijing. The ‘Three Hills and Five Gardens’were burnt down to ashes.
In 1888, the Empress Dowager Cixi spent the navy fund having the Garden ofClear Ripples rebuilt. And then she renamed it the Garden of Nurtured Harmony(Summer Palace).
In 1900, the Allied Forces of Eight Powers invaded Beijing. The SummerPalace was once again severely damaged. It was rebuilt again in 1902.
In 1924, the Last Emperor Puyi was driven out of the palace, after that,the Summer Palace was turned into a public park.
Ladies and Gentlemen, please look over there, in front of us is an archway.It is called “Emptiness and the collection of excellence”, and it is the firstscenery of the Summer Palace. The two Chinese words on the front side of thearchway mean emptiness and refer to everything in nature and in the scenery. Thetwo words on the back side mean Collection of Excellence and refer to thetranquility of the beautiful scenery just within the garden.
(outside the East Palace Gate)
Now, we have arrived at the East Palace Gate. It’s the main entrance of theSummer Palace. On top of the gate there is a plaque with three Chinesecharacters ‘The Summer Palace’ in Emperor Guangxu’s handwriting. The gate thatwe are now entering was used by the emperor, the empress only in the olddays.
(Inside the East Palace Gate)
Now we are inside the Summer Palace. In front of us is the second gate ofthe Summer Palace— the Gate of Benevolence and Longevity. The annex halls onboth sides were used for officials on duty and the offices of the Privy Council.Well, Before we start our tour in the garden, I will briefly introduce you thelayout of the Summer Palace and our tour route. O.K., ladies and gentlemen, mayI have your attention please? Let’s look at the map together, From it we can seethe Summer Palace covers an area of 290 hectares, which the lake occupies thethree-fourths. The whole garden can be divide into three parts: the area was forpolitical activities, resting places of the emperor and empress, and sightseeingareas. Our tour will start from the area of the political activities, and endoff the Marble Boat. On the way, we will visit the main constructions of theSummer Palace, such as the Hall of Jade Ripples, the Hall of Happiness andLongevity, the Long Corridor, the Hall of Dispelling Clouds and so on. It willtake us about two hours to visit the Summer Palace. Please attention, we won’twalk back and our driver will pick us up at the North Gate. Should you get lostor separated from the group, please meet us at the North Gate.
Ok, everyone, let’s start our tour from the emperors’ office --- the Hallof Benevolence and Longevity. Follow me please.
(Inside the courtyard of the Benevolence and Longevity)
Passing through the Gate of Benevolence and Longevity, we have alreadyentered the courtyard of the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity. The huge rock infront of us is Taihu Rock. It was quarried from Taihu Lake in Jiangsu Province,so it was known as Taihu Rock. Please look around the courtyard and you can seethere are four grotesque shaped rocks placed in each corner of this courtyard,representing the four seasons of the year. The Taihu Rocks are usually used asdecoration for beautifying gardens and they are thin, crease, leak andpenetration in characters.
The bronze mythical animal behind the Taihu Rock is known as Suanni or somepeople call it Qilin. According to ancient Chinese mythology, the dragon hadnine sons, but none of them became a real dragon. Suanni was one of the ninesons of the dragon. It was an auspicious animal that could avoid evil spirits inancient lengeds. Suanni has the head of dragon, the antlers of dear, the hoovesof ox and the tail of lion.
(In front of the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity)
This grand hall is the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity. It was firstbuilt in 1750. The name of this hall taken from a book entitled ‘Lun Yu’ byConfucius doctrine means, “ those who are benevolent can enjoy a long life.”This hall was the place where Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi heldaudience and handled state affairs when they were in the Summer Palace. Forprotecting the historical cultural relic, we couldn’t enter the hall. So I wouldlike to briefly introduce you the decorations in the Hall of Benevolence andLongevity. The arrangement of the hall has been left untouched. In the middle ofthe hall stands an emperor’s throne carved with nine dragons on design. Thereare two big fans on both sides behind the throne which are made of peacockfeathers. Behind the throne there is a big screen with red sandalwood frame andglass mirror inlaid. On the mirror there are 226 Chinese characters of the word‘Longevity’ written in different styles. There are two scrolls on each side ofthe wall with a big Chinese character ‘Longevity’ written on it. It was saidthat the word ‘Longevity’ written by Empress Dowager Cixi. There are 100 batspainted at the background of the scroll symbolizing happiness.
Well, please look up the two pairs of incense burners in the shape of adragon and a phoenix in front of the hall. They were used to burn incense sticksto create the appropriate atmosphere. In the old days, the dragon and phoenixwere the symbol of the emperor and empress. According to ritual, the dragonsshould be placed in the center while phoenixes were to either side in front ofthe hall.However, here, the dragons are off to the sides and the phoenixes arein the middle. This was a product of the end of Qing Dynasty when EmpressDowager Cixi handled state affairs behind the screen.
(At the entrance of Garden of virtuour Harmony)
We are now visiting the Garden of Virtuous Harmony, where Emperor Qianlongand Empress Dowager Cixi were entertained with Bejing Opera performances. Itmainly consists of the Dressing House, the Grand Theater Building and the Hallof Pleasure Smile. The Grand Theater Building was known as the ‘Cradle ofBeijing Opera’ was uniquely laid out and magnificently decorated. There are 7exhibition halls with articles of daily use on display here.
(In front of the Grand Theater Building)
This is the Grand Theater Building. Of the three main theater buildings ofthe Qing Dynasty, the Grand Theater Building is the tallest and largest one. Theother two are Changyin Pavilion in the Forbidden City and Qingyin Pavilion inthe Mountain Resort in Chengde. The Grand Theater Building, a three-storiedstructure, has a double roof with upturned eaves. It is 21 meters high and 17meters wide. Performances could be staged simultaneously on three levels. Thetop one was a symbol of happiness, the middle level was emolument level and thebottom stage was named longevity stage. Each level has the entrance and theexit. There are some trapdoors in the ceiling and below the floor for ‘celestialbeing’ to fly down from the sky and the ‘devils’ to appear from the earth to setoff a certain atmosphere on the stage. There is also a well and five ponds builtunder the stage for a good effect of water scenes. The stage is open to threesides.
Well, please look at the construction that stands right opposite the GrandTheater Building, it’s the Hall of Pleasure Smile. The Empress Dowager Cixi usedbo sit inside the hall to watch and enjoy the Peking Opera.
(A lakeside walk from the Garden of virtuous Harmony to the Hall of JadeRipples)
We are now standing in the middle of a rockery behind the Hall ofBenevolence and Longevity. It appears that there’s nothing special ahead.However, after we clear the rockery, we will reach Kunming Lake. This is anapplication of a specific style of Chinese
gardening.
Now, we are walking along the bank of the Kunming Lake. Look over there,not far away in the lake there is an islet. It’s called the Spring HeraldingIslet. The pavilion on the islet is called the Spring Heralding Pavilion. Anumber of willow trees and peach trees were planted on this islet. In earlyspring, when the ice begins to melt, peach trees are red in pink blossoms,willow trees turn a tender green signaling that the early spring has returned.Hence the name ‘Heralding Sping Pavilion’.
(In front of the Hall of Jade Ripples)
This group of special and quiet courtyard dwellings is the Hall of JadeRipples. The words “Jade Ripples” came from a verse “Gentle ripples gushing outof Jade Spring”, which refers to the rippling water in the lake. It was firstused by Emperor Qianlong to attend to state affairs. In the late Qing Dynasty,it was where Emperor Guangxu was put under house arrest.
This hall is a hallmark of the Movement of 1898. Emperor Guangxu wasEmperor Dowager Cixi’s nephew. After Emperor Tongzhi died, Emperor Dowager Ciximade her nephew, who was at that time four years old a successor in order tocontinue her hold on imperial power. She ‘handled state affairs behind thescreen’. After Emperor Guangxu ‘managed state affairs personally’ at the age of19, a political conflict occurred between the conservatives and the reformers.In 1898, the Reform Movement took place with the aim of sustaining the coreprinciples of the Qing Dynasty while reforming outdated laws. The movementlasted for103 days until it was suppressed by Empress Dowager Cixi. It wascalled the ‘Hundred-Day Reform’. After the reform failed, Emperor Guangxu wasput under house arrest here. For the strict control of him, Empress Dowager Cixiordered to build many brick walls in the front, back, and on the right and leftof the Hall of Jade Ripples. At that time the hall was entirely sealed up, justlike a prison. Today only the hidden walls in the east and west annex room stillmaintain its original appearance. It is open to visitors as the relic related tothe 1898 Reform Movement.
(In front of the Chamber of Collecting Books)
This is the Chamber of Collecting Books. In Chinese, it’s called “Yi YunGuang”. “Yun” was a kind of fragrant weed. In ancient times, it was usually usedas termite repellent in rooms where books were stored.In the Emperor Qianlong’sreign, the purpose of the hall was for collecting books. Later it was convertedinto a residence. There used to be the residence of Guangxu’s Empress Longyu,and his favorite concubine Zhenfei.
(In the Hall of Happiness and Longevity)
This group of courtyard is the Hall of Happiness and Longevity. It was themajor architectural structure in the living quarters and the residence ofEmpress Dowager Cixi. The whole compound was basically made of wood, which isideal for ventilation and lighting. With its quiet and tasteful layout, the Hallof Happiness and Longevity made life very easy and convenient. In front of theHall of Happiness and Longevity there is a huge rock placed in the middle ofthis courtyard named “Qing Zhi Xiu” and nicknamed as “Family Bankruptcy Rock”.This huge rock was discovered in Fangshan District by a Ming official MiWanzhong. He wanted to transport it to his own garden “Shaoyuan”. In the olddays, transporting such rock was very difficult. After spending all his money toship it, he still could not succeed in doing this. The big rock was then left onthe roadside somewhere near Liangxiang County, 30 kilometers southwest ofBeijing. Hence it was nicknamed “Family Bancruptcy Rock”. Later Emperor Qianlongdiscovered it and transported to the Garden of Clear Ripples and laid in frontof the Hall of Happiness and Longevity. The colorful glass chandeliers hanginginside the hall was introduced from Germany in 1903. It is one of the earliestelectric lights in China.
(In front of the Gate of Inviting the Moon of the Long Corridor)
Ladies and Gentlemen, you may have visited some of the best museums in theworld, such as the Louvre in France and the Museum of Great Britain. Now I willshow you a special gallery in the palace—the Long Corridor. In 1990, the LongCorridor was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as ‘the longestpainted corridor’ in the world’. It would be a pity if we leave the SummerPalace without visiting the Long Corridor and the Marble Boat. Now, here we go,the Long Corridor first!
(Strolling along the Long Corridor)
The Long Corridor starts from the Gate Inviting the Moon to the ShizhangGate. It is 728 meters long and consists of 273 sections. The Long corridor isone of the major structures of the Summer Palace. Since the corridor wasdesigned to follow the physical features of the southern slope of LongevityHill, four multiple-eaved, octagonal pavilions ( Retaining the GoodnessPavilion, Living with the Ripples Pavilion, Autumn Water Pavilion, Clear and FarPavilion) were placed at bends and undulation, they represent four seaons of ayear. Thus visitors will hardly notice the rise and fall of the terrain. As amajor part of the architectural style of the Summer Palace, the Long Corridorserves as an ingenious connector between the Lake and the Hill. Scatteredbuildings on the southern slope were linked to create a unified complex.
The Long Corridor is the longest covered veranda in any Chinese garden. Onthe purlins and beams of the covered veranda, there are over 14,000 Suzhou stylepaintings. Among them, there are 546 color paintings relating to the scenes ofWest Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. Beside the colorful paintings ofnatural scenery, there are also scenes of flowers, birds, fish, insects,mythology and figures. The paintings of figures are mainly adapted from ancientChinese classical literature, such as ‘Pilgrimage to the West’, ‘The Romance ofthe Three Kingdoms’, ‘The western Chamber’, “Water Margin’, and ‘The Dream ofthe Red Mansion’.
(In front of the Gate of Dispelling Clouds)
Now we are approaching the central part of the structures on the lakesideslope, the Tower of Buddhist Incense within the Hall of Dispelling Clouds. Thecentral axis line starts from the wharf next to the lake to the Sea of Wisdom ontop of the Hill. The main architectural structures here are the Gate ofDispelling Clouds, Hall of Dispelling clouds, Tower of Buddhist Incense and theSea of Wisdom, which altogether form a splendid three-dimensional landscape. Thelayout of this group of architectures was based on scenes described in Buddhistsutras. This group of structures are among the most magnificently constructedhere in the Summer Palace. This is a good place to taking photos, we will stayhere for about 15 minutes.
Now we are walking continuely along the Long Corridor, the next scene weare going to visit is Marble Boat.
Look over there! Halfway up the slope there stands the Hall of Listening toOrioles. It was the place for emperor and empress to enjoy opera and courtmusic. It is said the singing of orioles is very pleasing. Before the Garden ofVirtuous Harmony was built, Empress Dowager Cixi enjoyed opera and music here.Now the hall is one of the most famous restaurants in China, featuring imperialdishes and desserts.
This is the famous Marble Boat. A famous scientist of China’s Eastern HanDynasty once said, “Water can float the boat, but it can also tip it over.” Aprime minister of Tang Dynasty Wei Zheng once used these words to persuade LiShimin, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. He said people are water and theemperor is the boat. People can support a good emperor. However, they also canoverthrow the dynasty. Emperor Qianlong built this huge boat in the Garden inorder to make the allusion concrete. On one hand, Emperor Qianlong encouragedhimself to run the country well. On the other hand, he wanted to show that hisrule of the Qing Dynasty was as firm as the Marble Boat and there was no fear ofoverturning the boat. The Marble Boat was the place for Emperor Qianlong tosample tea and enjoy the scenery of Kunming Lake. Emperor Qianlong once camehere to engage in the freeing of captive animals. In the times of Qianlong, theMarble Boat was a Chinese styled stone boat with a Chinese style woodensuperstructure on the top of it. When it was rebuilt in the times of Guangxu, aforeign and Chinese elements mixed resulting in two wheels to be added to theboat, one on each side. The floor was paved with colored bricks. All of thewindows were inlaid with multiple-colored glass. A big mirror was installed onthe superstructure for viewing rain.
Our tour is drawing to a close after we visited the Marble Boat. Today weonly visited the major scenic spots of the Summer Palace. I have left otherspots of interest for your next visit. I will now show you out through the RuyiGate. Our coach is waiting for us outside the gate. I do hope you enjoyedtoday’s tour. Thank you.
Beijing is the birthplace of Chinese Civilization and one of the six ancient capital cities in China. During the last 3000 years it served as a capital for several dynasties. It is the second largest city in China with a population of more than 11 million. Beijing is neither cold in winter nor very hot in summer. The best seasons in Beijing are Spring and Autumn. Beijing is indeed an ideal place to visit all round the year.
Temple of Heaven in the southern part of Beijing is China`s largest existing complex of ancient sacrificial buildings. Occupying an area of 273 hectares, it is three times the area of the Forbidden City. It was built in 1420 for emperors to worship Heaven. The principle buildings include the Altar of Prayer for Good Harvests, Imperial Vault of Heaven and Circular Mound Altar.
Forbidden City, so called because it was off limits to commoners for 500 years, is the largest and best-preserved cluster of ancient buildings in China. It was home to two dynasties of emperors -the Ming and the Qing - who didnt stray from this pleasure dome unless they absolutely had to.
Great Wall of China, Also know n to the Chinese as the 10,000 Li Wall, the Great Wall of China stretches from Shanhaiguan Pass on the east coast to Jiayuguan Pass in the Gobi Desert. Standard histories emphasize the unity of the wall.
he Ming Tombs are 40 kilometers north of Beijing City on the southernslopes of Tianshou Mountain. They are the burial grounds of 13 Ming Dynastyemperors. In July 20___ the site was designated a world cultural heritage siteby UNESCO.
Empress Xu died in the 5th year of Yongle (1407). Zhu Di sent
Zhao Hong, secretary of the Ministry of Rites and a geomancer----LiaoJunqing along with many others to Beijing in search of an auspicious place forthe tombs. It is said that this group of people first selected the area of TuJia Ying, which means slaughter-house, and as such, it couldnt be used as theburial ground. Next they selected the foot of Yangshan Mountain, Changping.However, since the surname of the emperor (Zhu) is a homophone for pig andbecause a village named wolf mouth ravine was located there, they decidedagainst using that area. Later, they found Yan-jiatai west of Beijing. Again,since Yanjia was the homonym of the death of the emperor, it was also deemedunsuitable. It was not until the 7th year of Yongle (1409), that they finallychose the present Heavenly Longevity Mountain as their cemetery grounds.
The whole area covers 40 square kilometers. It has mountains to its east,west and north, and Dragon Mountain and Tiger Mountain are on either side of itssouthern entrance. The 13 tombs go from north to south. They are arranged in themanner of the Imperial Palace, with the administration area in the front andliving quarters in the rear. In front of the tombs are divine passes, stonearchways and steel towers. The Precious City and Ming Tower stand over theUnderground Palace.
There were 16 emperors during the Ming Dynasty. Buried in the Ming tombs,are 13 Ming emperors and 23 empresses, as well as many concubines, princes,princesses and maids. The other 3 emperors, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Yunwenand Zhu Qiyu are buried in other locations.
The founder of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, established his capital inpresent day Nanjing where he was buried after his death. His tomb is calledXiaoling (Tomb of Filial Piety).
The body of the second emperor of the Ming, Zhu Yunwen, is missing. Somesaid that he died in a fire, while others said that he went to a temple andbecame a monk. There is no final conclusion yet.
The seventh Ming Emperor Zhu Qiyu, was buried as a prince by his elderbrother Zhu Qizhen at Jinshankou, a western suburb of Beijing, because in theTumubao Upheaval, Emperor Zhu Qizhen became a captive and the younger brother ofZhu Qizhen. Zhu Qiyu was chosen as the new emperor, but later Zhu Qizhen wasback and proclaimed his re-enthronement in the Seizing Gate Upheaval.
The Memorial Arch was built in the 19th year of Jiajing (1540) as a symbolof the Ming Tombs. It is 14 meters high and 28. 86 meters wide, and has 5 archessupported by 6 pillars with beautiful bas-relief carvings of lions, dragons andlotus flowers. The Memorial Arch is the biggest and the most exquisite stonearch preserved in the country today. The major designs of dragon and clouddecorations reflect the character of imperial architecture. In addition, it alsodemonstrates the skillful artistry of the Ming craftsmen.
The Big Palace Gate is the front gate of the Ming Tombs, and is morecommonly known as Big Red Gate. Facing south, there are three arch entrances tothe gate, the main inlet to the Ming Tombs. Flanking the gate are two stonetablets, inscribed with orders for the emperor, officials and other people todismount, before entering into the tomb area. If they did not obey, they wouldbe punished for their disrespect. The rules governing the Ming Tombs in the MingDynasty, stipulate that one who sneaks into the tomb area to pick firewood andbreak twigs would be flogged. Those who came to fetch dirt and stone would bebeheaded. Those who entered arbitrarily into the tomb area would be flogged ahundred times.
The Tablet House was built in the 10th year of Xuande (1435), and standsabout 10 meters high with two tiers of eaves. A huge tablet stands in the middleof the Tablet House. The front side bears an inscription by Emperor Renzong forChengzu. The reverse side is a poem by Qing Emperor Qianlong recording in detailthe conditions of the broken Changling, Yongling, Dingling and Xiling. On theeast side is the record of expenditures for repairing the Ming Tombs by the Qinggovernment. On the west side is an epitaph by Qing Emperor Jiaqing. It waswritten in the 9th year of Jiaqing (1804) describing the cause of the fall ofthe Ming Dynasty.
On the north side of the Tablet House, stands a group of stone carvings (36in all). Behind the house, there are two stone pillars. Beyond the pillars arestone animals and other statues. Lions, Xie Zhi, camels, elephants, and Qi Linhorses .All of the animals are in two pairs. Two stand, while the other twokneel. It is followed by the statues of military officers, civil officials andofficials of merit, four in each group. These stone animals and statues weremade in the 10th year of Xuande (1435). They reflect the imperial power when hewas alive and the imperial dignity after he was deceased. The animals andstatues were created using whole blocks of stone weighing a couple of tons andeach was delicately and masterfully carved.
Here stands Ling Xing Gate, also known as the unique Dragon and PhoenixGate, with the meaning of the Gate of Heaven. The gate is pierced with six doorleaves, attached to three archways. The top of the central section of the threearchways is decorated with flames and precious pearl, so it is also known as theFlame Archway. To the north of the Dragon and Phoenix Gate there lays aseven-arch marble bridge, leading to the gate of Changling. To the east of theseven-arch bridge stands an old five-arch bridge, which was the original site ofthe seven-arch bridge.
Actually we are standing on the axle line of the Ming Tombs, otherwiseknown as the Sacred Way or the Tomb path. We passed the Memorial Arch, the BigPalace Gate, the Tablet House, Sacred Way, stone animals and statues, and LingXing Gate. This seven-kilometer long sacred pathway leads from south to north,all the way to the Gate of Changling.
Now, we are moving to Chang Ling. Changling is the first tomb built in theMing Tombs area, covering 10 hectares and containing Emperor Zhu Di and hisempress Xu.
Zhu Di (Chengzu) of the Ming Dynasty was the fourth son of the firstEmperor Zhu Yuanzhang, born in 1360. Zhu Di was conferred the title of theprince of Yan in the 3rd year of Hongwu (1370). He was appointed at Beiping.After the death of Zhu Yuanzhang (the first Ming Emperor), Zhu Di used thepretext of eliminating evil officials at the side of Emperor Jianwen to lead anarmy expedition down south to Nanjing. He seized the throne in the 4th year ofJianwen (1402) and ascended the throne in June inside the Hall of AncestralWorship in Nanjing. Zhu Di was an emperor of outstanding accomplishment in theMing Dynasty. As soon as he became the prince of Yan, he led the generals out tobattle. He had great achievements in calming down the north. After he took overhis nephews power and became the emperor, he still went out to battle throughoutthe country and consolidated the rule of the Ming Dynasty. He made the importantdecision to move the capital to Beijing. During the rule of Zhu Di, magnificentdevelopments were made in the economy, culture and in diplomacy. In terms ofculture, Zhu Di successively sent Grand Academician Xie Jin, Yan Guangxiao andothers to compile the Yongle encyclopedia. The book has become the largest bookever complied in Chinese history. For expanding external exchanges and trade,Zhu Di selected eunuch Zheng He to lead a large fleet filled with precious gold,silver, silk and satins to sail to southeast Asia and Africa seven times in theearly years of Yongle.
Empress Xu was buried together with Emperor Zhu Di in Changling. EmpressXushi was the eldest daughter of Xu Da who was one of the founding fathers ofthe Ming Dynasty. Throughout her lifespan, Xu Shi complied 20 articles ofinternal lectures and a book advising to be good, so as to cultivate peoplesminds. She was the very first one to be buried in Changling and in the Ming Tombarea.
The Hall of Eminent Favor in Changling is the best preserved among thethirteen tombs. It is a valuable relic of ancient Chinas wooden structures. Itis nine rooms wide and five rooms long, a hall size rarely seen in China. Theroof is made of top-class double eaves and there are multiple rooms covered withyellow glazed tiles. The hall is supported by 60 thick Nanmu pillars, the middlefour in the hall are the thickest, the diameter of each one can reach over onemeter. It is known as the best Nanmu (phoebe) hall in the country.
Now we are going to Dinging. Dingling is located at the east foot of DayuMountain. Buried here are the 13th Ming Emperor Wanli (Zhu Yijun) and his twoempresses Xiaoduan and Xiaojing. Zhu Yijun was the longest on the throne of theMing Emperors. (He was emperor for 48 years). He was the greediest and laziestemperor in the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yijun ascended the throne at the age of 9.After he came to power, he was supported by the chief minister Zhang Juzheng. Atthis time, various aspects of society gained development.
Later ,Zhang Juzheng died of illness. Not long after Wanli managed stateaffairs on his own, he used the chance to select the location for his tomb sitewhen he went to pay homage to the ancestors tombs. He spent eight million taelsof silver (250,000 kilos of silver) and six years to build a high quality tombDingling. After the Dingling was completed, Zhu Yijun personally went to inspectit, and felt very satisfied with the result. He went so far as to hold a grandbanquet in the Underground Palace, which was unheard of in history.
Zhu Yijun was a typical muddle-headed emperor. Reflecting on his reign, hedid not pay attention to state affairs for 28 out of his 48 year rule. The stateorgan was effectively semi-paralyzed during his reign. Later generationscommented that the fall of the Ming dynasty was caused by this emperor.
Zhu Yijun had two empresses. Empress Xiaojing was originally a maid ofWanlis mother Cisheng. Later she gave birth to a son of the emperor. That sonwas the one-month emperor Guangzong (Zhu Changluo). She died of illness 9 yearsearlier than Shenzong died. She was buried as a concubine at Pinggangdi, aroundthe east pit, at the Heavenly Longevity Mount. After Xiaojing was conferred thetitle of “grandmother of the emperor”, her body was moved to the UndergroundPalace of Dingling, and buried together with Emperor Wanli and Empress Xiaoduanon the same day. Xiaoduan was conferred the title of empress, but she could notgive birth to either a son or a daughter to the emperor. Xiaoduan died ofillness. A hundred days later, Emperor Wanli (Zhu Yijun) died too. EmpressXiaoduan, Emperor Wanli, and Empress Xiaojing were buried together in theUnderground Palace.
The tablet in front of Dingling has no words on it. It is called thewordless tablet. There is a pair of coiling dragons along the top and a patternof sea waves carved on the bottom. Its base is composed of a tortoise (Bixi). Itis said that the dragon has nine sons. In twelve of the Ming Tombs, excludingChangling, all the tablets are wordless. Originally there were no tablet housesin front of the Tombs, but later the tablet houses and steeles of the first sixtombs were completed. But the emperor Jiajing at the time indulged in drinking,lust and searching for longevity pills, so he had no time to pay attention onthe inscriptions. Consequently the six tablets are wordless. And in keeping withthis tradition, that’s why the tablets later on are also blank.
Now we are arriving at The Gate of Eminent Favor and the Hall of EminentFavor of Dingling, The Hall of Eminent Favor is also called Hall of Enjoyment.It was the place where the emperor and his entourage held grand sacrificialrites. They were mostly destroyed when the Qing soldiers came. And they weredestroyed again later, so now only the ruins remain.
Moving on, this is the exhibition rooms that were built after theexcavation of the Underground Palace. The exhibition explains in detail thehistory of the tomb master and introduces the tomb excavation process. Theexhibition rooms are divided into two parts, the south and the north. In thesouth room, on display are the sacrificial objects of Emperor Wanli unearthedfrom the Underground Palace. In the north room, on display are the sacrificialitems of the two empresses. All of then are fancy and invaluable.
Now we arrive at The Soul Tower, this is the symbol of the tomb. It is astone structure with colorful painted decorations. The Soul Tower and thePrecious citadel of Dingling have never been damaged seriously. The Soul Toweris the best preserved architecture above the ground of Dingling. On top of theyellow, glazed tiled roof of the Soul Tower sits a big stone tablet. Two Chinesecharacters----Dingling, are carved on the tablet. Inside the Soul Tower, on topof another stone tablet, there are two big characters----the Great Ming writtenin seal characters. On the body of the tablet, seven Chinese characters-----Tombof Emperor Shenzong Xian are carved. The Soul Tower is connected with thePrecious Citadel. The Precious Citadel is a large round wall built with bricks.The Precious Citadel wall is 7.5 m high, and lower part is thick while the upperpart is thin. The round walls perimeter is over 800 meters, and inside the wallis a large artificial mound, the emperors tomb mound, known as Precious Top.
Dingling is the only Ming Tomb to be excavated. Formal excavation workstarted in May 1956 and ended in 1958. First, the working personnel discoveredan exposed gateway at the side wall to the southwest of the Precious Citadel ofDingling. So they dug the first tunnel facing the position of the gateway. Atthe bottom of the tunnel, they discovered a tunnel made of bricks. Three monthslater, along the direction of the tunnel, to the west of the Soul Tower, theydug the second tunnel. During the digging, they encountered with a stone tabletwhich inscribed the words from here 48. 8m forward and 10. 7m downward lies theprecious wall. Therefore it gave the correct direction of opening up theUnderground Palace.
According to the direction of the stone tablet, after digging the thirdtunnel, they found a stone tunnel. At last they got to the precious wall. Thusthey opened the precious wall with a square stone room. To the west end of theroom, lay two marble doors. The working personnel used a wire and wood plank toremove the self-acting stone bar, which was against the back of the door. Withthis method, they opened the entrance of the Underground Palace.
The palace has no beam which was built according to the principles ofgeomancy Altogether there are five chambers. The chambers are separated by sevenmarble doors. The Underground Palace is 27 meters deep, covering an area of1,195 square meters. There is a same structure stone door in between the front,middle and rear chambers. The door is made of marble. The biggest marble door is3. 3 meters high, 1.7 meters wide, 4 tons in weight. It looks heavy, but it isreasonably designed. The pivot of the stone door is inclined to the door axle,so the door is easy to open and close. On top of the door is a lintel (made ofbronze) tube weighing about 10 tons to prevent the door from falling. Carved onthe front of the marble door are 9 rows of 81 knobs and strange animals withrings in their mouths. Located on the reverse side, opposite the animals, is aprotruding section that holds the doors self-acting stone bar.
The front and middle chambers are 7. 2 meters high and 6 meters wide. Thefloor is covered with gold bricks. According to records, the gold bricks aresmooth and durable. The more you polish them, the brighter they become. Thereare no decorations in the front and two annex chambers. In the middle chamber,there are three marble thrones for Emperor Wanli and his two Empresses, known asthe precious thrones. In the front of the thrones, there are five yellow glazedofferings and one blue-and-white porcelain jar of Jiajing Years style with acloud-and-dragon design. It is about 0.7 meters in diameter. Originally therewas sesame oil in the jar. On the surface of the oil was a copper tube with awick inside. It is called the everlasting lamp. Due to the lack of oxygen, thelight went out so the oil had not been used all.
The rear chamber is the biggest of the three. It is 9.5 meters high, 31meters long, 9.l meters wide, the floor is paved with polished stones. In therear chamber, there is a coffin platform edged with white marble. Placed on theplatform are the coffins of Emperor Wanli and his two Empresses as well as 26vermilion boxes filled with funeral objects.
In the middle of the coffin platform, there is a rectangular hole filledwith soil called Gold Well. Putting jade stone around the coffin or inside thecoffin or in the mouth of the deceased is called being buried with jade. Ancientpeople believed Gold Well was the pit of geomancy. It could prevent the bodyfrom decay for a long time. Being buried with jade on a Gold Well was thehighest standard of entombment one could receive in the feudal era.
Originally the empresss coffin should have been placed in the rear chamber.Then why were the coffins of the two empresses also in the same chamber as theemperors? In 1620, first empress Xiaoduan died in April, then in July EmperorWanli also died. After that, the son of Zhu Changluo died 29 days after hissuccession. In only a few months, two emperors and one empress had died insuccession. In addition they had removed Empress Xiaojings coffin to Dingling.All the burdens of the funeral burials fell on the just enthroned Emperor ZhuYoujian. The preparation work was done in a hurried fashion (this was clearlyrecorded in historical documents). The rainy season had already arrived beforethe funeral could occur and the passage leading to the empress annex chamber maynot have been convenient to open. So the coffins of the emperor, empresses allentered the Underground Palace through the front entrance. After the coffinsentered the Underground Palace, since the passage to the annex chambers werenarrow, the coffins of the empresses would not fit through it. So they had toput all the three coffins together into the rear chamber.
Now please follow me out of the underground palace. And our tour for todayis completed. I hope you have found our time together informative and enjoyable.We now have half an hour for a rest, and then we will get together here at4:00pm. Thank you.