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The term Chinese pyramids refers to pyramidal shaped structures in China, most of which are ancient
mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be cons ...
s and burial
mound A mound is a heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. Most commonly, mounds are earthen formations such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. A mound may be any rounded area of topographically highe ...
s built to house the remains of several early emperors of China and their imperial relatives. About 38 of them are located around – north-west of
Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqi ...
, on the
Guanzhong Guanzhong (, formerly romanised as Kwanchung) region, also known as the Guanzhong Basin, Wei River Basin, or uncommonly as the Shaanzhong region, is a historical region of China corresponding to the crescentic graben basin within present-day ce ...
Plains in
Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...
Province. The most famous is the
Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor The Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor () is the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of the Qin dynasty. It is located in Lintong District, Xi'an, Shaanxi province of China. It was constructed over 38 years, from 246 to 208 BCE, and ...
, northeast of Xi'an and 1.7 km west of where the
Terracotta Army The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE with the purpose of protecting the emperor ...
was found.


Earliest tombs

The earliest tombs in China are found just north of Beijing in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and in
Liaoning Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmo ...
. They belong to the
Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...
Hongshan culture (4700 to 2900 BC). The site of Niuheliang in Liaoning contains a pyramidal structure.


Information available in the West

In 1667 the Jesuit Father Athanasius Kircher wrote about Chinese pyramids in his book ''China monumentis Illustrata''. The existence of "pyramids" in China remained little known in the Western world until the 1910s. They were documented in large numbers around Xian, first in 1912 by the Western traders Fred Meyer Schroder and Oscar Mamen, and also in 1913 by the expedition of Victor Segalen. He wrote about the First Emperor's tomb, and about the other mound tombs in the region in his ''Mission archéologique en Chine (1914): L'art funéraire à l'époque des Han''.


Sensational claims

The introduction of pyramids in China to popular attention came soon after World War II. Many early stories were focused on the existence of a "Great White Pyramid" ( Maoling). This is the tomb of
Emperor Wu of Han Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87BC), formally enshrined as Emperor Wu the Filial (), born Liu Che (劉徹) and courtesy name Tong (通), was the seventh emperor of the Han dynasty of ancient China, ruling from 141 to 87 BC. His reign last ...
(156–87 BC) located in
Xingping Xingping () is a city located in the center part of Shaanxi province, China. It has been a city since 1993, with a total area of 496 square kilometers and a population of 620,000. The annual average temperature is and its annual precipitation ...
,
Shaanxi Province Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), ...
. 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. Colonel Maurice Sheahan, Far Eastern director of the Trans World Airline, gave 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 just outside
Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqi ...
. Pseudohistorians, through promoting their theories, have increased western awareness of these pyramids. Hartwig Hausdorf speculated it was built by aliens, and Philip Coppens repeated this theory. 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 ''Science News (SN)'' is an American bi-weekly magazine devoted to articles about new scientific and technical developments, typically gleaned from recent scientific and technical journals. History ''Science News'' has been published since ...
'') 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 , 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 southwest of Sian, is in an area of great archaeological importance, but few of the pyramids have ever been explored." Some of the pyramids of Xi'an are currently tourist attractions, such as for example the Han Yang Ling Mausoleum of the
Western Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a war ...
, and several of them have museums attached to them.


Partial list of mausoleums and tombs in China


Zhou dynasty tombs complex near Luoyang, Henan

* Tomb of
King Ling of Zhou King Ling of Zhou (), personal name Ji Xiexin, was the twenty-third king of the Chinese Zhou dynasty and the eleventh of Eastern Zhou. He died in 545 BC. In the twenty-first year of his reign, Confucius was born. His successor was his son Kin ...
* Tomb of Three Kings of Zhou


Zhao Kings' tombs complex near Handan, Hebei

* Tomb of King of Zhao state


Yan King's burial mounds in Yixian, Hebei

* Burial complex in ancient
Xiadu The Xiadu or Lower Capital of Yan () was one of the capitals of Yan during the Warring States period of ancient China. Xiadu may have been the largest city in the world from 400 to 300 BC, with an estimated peak population over 300,000. The rem ...


Qin dynasty mausoleums near Xi'an, Shaanxi

* Tomb of
First Emperor Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of "king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor ( ...
in
Lintong Lintong District (), formerly Lintong County, is one of 11 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi Province, Northwest China. The district was approved to establish from the former ''Lintong County'' () by th ...
.This is the largest Chinese burial mound. The original height was , the present height is , and the dimensions are . It was built during the short-lived imperial
Qin Dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), ...
(221–206 BCE). * Tomb of Emperor Qin Ershi in Xi'an.


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

Maoling Mausoleum group: * Tomb of
Emperor Wu of Han Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87BC), formally enshrined as Emperor Wu the Filial (), born Liu Che (劉徹) and courtesy name Tong (通), was the seventh emperor of the Han dynasty of ancient China, ruling from 141 to 87 BC. His reign last ...
. The size is x . * Tomb of Empress Li * Tomb of Princess Yang Xin Pingling Mausoleum group: * Tomb of Emperor Zhao of Han * Tomb of Empress Shangguan Yanling Mausoleum group: * Tomb of
Emperor Cheng of Han Emperor Cheng of Han (51 BC – 17 April 7 BC) was an emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty ruling from 33 until 7 BC. He succeeded his father Emperor Yuan of Han. Under Emperor Cheng, the Han dynasty continued its growing disintegration as the em ...
* Tomb of Empress Xu * Tomb of Consort Ban * Tomb of Empress Zhao Feiyan Kangling Mausoleum group: * Tomb of Emperor Ping of Han * Tomb of Empress Wang Weiling Mausoleum group: * Tomb of
Emperor Yuan of Han Emperor Yuan of Han (Liu Shi 劉奭; 75 BC – 8 July 33 BC) was an emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty. He reigned from 48 BC to 33 BC. Emperor Yuan promoted Confucianism as the official creed of the Chinese government. He appointed Confucius ...
* 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: * Tomb of
Emperor Ai of Han Emperor Ai of Han (27 BCE – 15 August 1 BCE) was an emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty. He ascended the throne when he was 20, having been made heir by his childless uncle Emperor Cheng, and he reigned from 7 to 1 BCE. The people and the o ...
* Tomb of Empress Fu Anling mausoleum group: * Tomb of Emperor Hui of Han * Tomb of Empress Zhang Yan * Tomb of Marquis Zhang Ao (father of Empress Zhang Yan) * Tomb of Princess Lu of Yuan (mother of Empress Zhang Yan) Changling mausoleum group: * Tomb of
Emperor Gaozu of Han Emperor Gaozu of Han (256 – 1 June 195 BC), born Liu Bang () with courtesy name Ji (季), was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning in 202–195 BC. His temple name was "Taizu" while his posthumous name was Emper ...
* Tomb of Empress Lü * Tomb of Consort Qi Yangling mausoleum group: * Tomb of
Emperor Jing of Han Emperor Jing of Han (Liu Qi (劉啟); 188 BC – 9 March 141 BC) was the sixth emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty from 157 to 141 BC. His reign saw the limiting of the power of the feudal kings/princes which resulted in the Rebellion of the Sev ...
p. 10. * Tomb of Empress Wang Baling mausoleum group: * Tomb of
Emperor Wen of Han Emperor Wen of Han (; 203/202 – 6 July 157 BCE), born Liu Heng (), was the fifth emperor of the Western Han dynasty in China from 180 to his death in 157 BCE. The son of Emperor Gao and Consort Bo, his reign provided a much needed stability ...
(The tomb of the Emperor himself does not feature a pyramidal mound, due to his death wish) * Tomb of Empress Dou * Tomb of Empress Dowager Bo Duling mausoleum group: * Tomb of
Emperor Xuan of Han Emperor Xuan of Han (Liu Xun 劉詢, né Liu Bingyi 劉病已; born 91 BC – 10 January 48 BC) was the tenth emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty, reigning from 74 to 48 BC, and was one of the only four Western Han emperors to receive a temple na ...
* Tomb of Empress Wang * Tomb of Empress Xu


Eastern Han mausoleums near Luoyang, Henan


Yangling, Shaanxi

* Tomb of Emperor Wen of Sui


Xining, Qinghai

* The Lianhu Altar (凉虎台)


Tang dynasty mausoleums in Shaanxi

The eighteen mausoleums of the
Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
emperors (唐十八陵) in the valley of the
Wei River The Wei River () is a major river in west-central China's Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. It is the largest tributary of the Yellow River and very important in the early development of Chinese civilization. The source of the Wei River is close to ...
north of the
Qin Mountains The Qinling () or Qin Mountains, formerly known as the Nanshan ("Southern Mountains"), are a major east–west mountain range in southern Shaanxi Province, China. The mountains mark the divide between the drainage basins of the Yangtze and Yellow ...
(秦岭). Most are natural hills shaped by man, and they are among the biggest Chinese mausoleums, such as
Qianling Qianling may refer to: * Qianling Mausoleum (乾陵), tomb of Emperor Gaozong of Tang and Empress Wu Zetian, in Shaanxi, China * Qianling Mountain (黔灵山), in Guiyang, Guizhou, China * Qianling, Baojing (迁陵镇), town and county seat of Bao ...
(乾陵), joint tomb of
Emperor Gaozong of Tang Emperor Gaozong of Tang (21 July 628 – 27 December 683), personal name Li Zhi, was the third emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, ruling from 649 to 683; after January 665, he handed power over the empire to his second wife Empress Wu (the f ...
and of the Empress
Wu Zetian Wu Zetian (17 February 624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao, was the ''de facto'' ruler of the Tang dynasty from 665 to 705, ruling first through others and then (from 690) in her own right. From 665 to 690, she was first empres ...
. Some mausoleums feature a burial mound: * Chongling Mausoleum of
Emperor Dezong of Tang Emperor Dezong of Tang (27 May 742According to Li Kuo's biography in the ''Old Book of Tang'', he was born on the ''guisi'' day in the 4th month of the 1st year of the Tianbao era of Tang Xuanzong's reign. This date corresponds to 27 May 742 in ...
* Jinling Mausoleum of
Emperor Xianzong of Tang Emperor Xianzong of Tang (4 March to 1 April 778'' Old Book of Tang'', vol. 14. – 14 February 820; r. 805 – 820), personal name Li Chun, né Li Chun (), was an emperor of the Chinese Tang Dynasty. He was the eldest son of Emperor Shunzo ...
* Tomb of Princess Chengyang of Emperor Taizong * Tomb of Princess Xincheng of Emperor Taizong


Mausoleum of Emperor Xiaojing of Tang near Goushi, Henan

* Tomb of Emperor Xiaojing of Tang * Tomb of Empress Ai


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


Elsewhere

*
Shou Qiu Shou Qiu () is a historical site on the eastern outskirts of the city of Qufu in Shandong Province, China. According to the legend, Shou Qiu is the birthplace of the Yellow Emperor. Shou Qiu itself is today marked only by a pyramidal monument ...
in Qufu, Shandong – a small pyramidal monument believed to be the birthplace of the
Yellow Emperor The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch or by his Chinese name Huangdi (), is a deity ('' shen'') in Chinese religion, one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes included among the mytho-historical Three Soverei ...
, located adjacent to the
Shaohao Tomb The Mausoleum of Shaohao () is located in the north-east of Jiuxian Village, on the eastern outskirts of the city of Qufu in Shandong Province, China. The mausoleum complex honours Shaohao, the son of the first mythical Chinese ruler (the Yellow ...
* Janggun-chong (Jiangjunzhong 將軍塚) Step Pyramid in
Jilin Jilin (; Postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three Provinces of China, provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea (Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, R ...
, " Tomb of the General", is supposed to be the mausoleum of
King Jangsu Jangsu of Goguryeo (394–491, r. 413–491) was the 20th monarch of Goguryeo, the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He was born in 394 as the eldest son of Gwanggaeto. He became the crown prince in 408, and upon his father's death ...
(Ko. 장수왕 Ch. 長壽王) (413–491), king of
Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled mos ...
, an ancient Korean kingdom. It belongs to the
Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom The Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom is an UNESCO World Heritage Site which includes a number of archaeological sites currently in Ji'an, Jilin Province and Huanren, Liaoning Province in Northeast China. Goguryeo (or Kogur ...
on the
World heritage list A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
. 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. * Shimao a Neolithic site in Shenmu County,
Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...
with a large stepped pyramid with palaces at its top and used also for artisan or industrial work * The Western Xia tombs of the Tangut Empire near
Yinchuan Yinchuan (, ; ) is the capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China, and was the capital of the Tangut-led Western Xia dynasty. It has an area of and a total population of 2,859,074 according to the 2020 Chinese census, and its built ...
in
Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Ningxia (,; , ; alternately romanized as Ninghsia), officially the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR), is an autonomous region in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. Formerly a province, Ningxia was incorporated into Gansu in 1 ...
, northwestern China, a large number of tombs covering some are referred to as 'Chinese Pyramids'.


See also

*
Chinese architecture Chinese architecture ( Chinese:中國建築) is the embodiment of an architectural style that has developed over millennia in China and it has influenced architecture throughout Eastern Asia. Since its emergence during the early ancient era, t ...


References


External links

{{GeoGroup
Niuheliang Archaeological Site

Center for the Art of East Asia article discussing Western Han pyramidal mounds and Tang Dynasty tombs



Steinhardt, Nancy Shatzman. 1993. The Tangut Royal Tombs near Yinchuan. In Muqarnas X: An Annual on Islamic Art and Architecture. Margaret B. Sevcenko, ed. Leiden: E.J. Brill.

Google Map – Mount Li Mausoleum (Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum)

Google Map – Maoling Mausoleum (Great White Pyramid)
Archaeology of China Pyramids in China Mausoleums in China Han dynasty architecture