Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties () is the designation under which the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

has included several tombs and burial complexes into the list of

World Heritage Site 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 h ...

s. These tombs date from the

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...

and Qing dynasties of China. Tombs were included in the list in 2000, 2003 and 2004. Three Imperial tombs in Liaoning Province, all built in the 17th century, were added in 2004: the Yongling tomb, the

Fuling tomb The Fuling or Fu Mausoleum (; mnc, , v=hūturingga munggan), also known as the East Mausoleum (), is the mausoleum of Nurhaci, the founding monarch of the Later Jin dynasty (subsequently posthumously recognized as an emperor of the Qing dynasty ...

and the Zhaoling tomb were constructed for the founding emperors of the Qing dynasty and their ancestors. These tombs feature rich decoration of stone statues and carvings and tiles with dragon motifs, illustrating the development of the funerary architecture of the Qing dynasty. The three tomb complexes, and their numerous edifices, combine traditions inherited from previous dynasties and new features of Manchu culture.

Ming Tombs

Hongwu Emperor, the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty, made major reforms to the mausoleum. He changed the mounds on the ground from the previous bucket-shaped square to round or oblong, canceled the palace, and enlarged the temple building. The Qing dynasty followed the Ming dynasty system, paying more attention to the combination of the cemetery and the surrounding mountains and rivers, paying attention to the order of the buried people, and forming the matching sequence of the emperor and concubine tombs, and the sacrificial system was more perfect and reasonable. There are 13 tombs in the

Ming tombs The Ming tombs are a collection of mausoleums built by the emperors of the Ming dynasty of China. The first Ming emperor's tomb is located near his capital Nanjing. However, the majority of the Ming tombs are located in a cluster near Beijing an ...

site near Beijing, but other Ming dynasty tombs are also part of the World Heritage Sites. For example, the Xianling Tomb, located in

Hubei Province Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

, was constructed for the 12th emperor of the Ming dynasty from 1519 to 1566.

Qing Tombs

In traditional China, the veneration of the dead is very important. After the first emperor of the Qing dynasty conquered the Ming dynasty, he choose to build Qing tombs with the Ming tombs, to assure his new subjects that the traditions of the

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctiv ...

would still be respected. In addition, the first emperor of the Qing dynasty believed the concept of ' Mandate of Heaven', this is also one of the reasons that he choose to build around the Ming Tombs. As a feudal ruler, he treated it as an important work related to the prosperity and decline of the country and the length of the emperor's fortune. This concept was pushed to its peak. In the site selection and planning and design of the tomb, the traditional Chinese Feng Shui theory was fully used, and the cosmology of "the harmony between man and nature" was embodied, and the human spirit was cast in nature, creating a lofty, great and eternal Immortal imagery. In terms of the scale and quality of the building, it strives to be magnificent, spectacular and exquisite, in order to embody the idea of the supremacy of imperial power, show off the imperial style and majesty, and become the symbol of the materialization of imperial power. The Three Tombs of ShengJing ( ) are the ancestors' tombs that created the foundation of the Manchu and Qing imperial family. The shape of the tombs of the three tombs is imitated as illuminated mausoleums with strong stylized features, which influenced the construction of the tombs of the Qing dynasty after entering the Pass. The three tombs of Shengjing plus the Eastern Tombs of the Qing dynasty and the Western Tombs of the Qing dynasty, constitute a group of Qing imperial tombs, condensing the history of the Qing dynasty.

Properties included in the World Heritage Site

WHS No. 1004ter includes the following individual tombs and tomb groups:

Other Imperial tombs

The UNESCO World Heritage Site does not include the mausoleum complexes which the Hongwu Emperor (Ming dynasty) had built for his ancestors: * Ming Ancestors Mausoleum (Zuling) in

Xuyi County Xuyi County () is under the administration of Huai'an, Jiangsu province, China. The southernmost of Huai'an's county-level divisions, it borders the prefecture-level cities of Suqian to the north and Chuzhou (Anhui) to the south and west. Xuyi is ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...

* Huangling Mausoleum in Fengyang,

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

References

External links

Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties
on the World Heritage Sites website
Advisory Body Evaluation
(for the Liaoning Tombs, January 22, 2003)
Original Decision Document
(October 29, 2004 - see p. 38, 39)

(for the sites listed in 2000 and 2003) {{World Heritage Sites in China * Ming dynasty architecture Qing dynasty architecture Archaeological sites in China World Heritage Sites in China