Zhongshan Tomb

Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum () is situated at the foot of the second peak of Purple Mountain in Nanjing, China. Construction of the tomb started in January 1926, and was finished in spring of 1929. The architect was Lü Yanzhi, who died shortly after it was finished. His representative and project partner was his close friend Huang Tanpu.

History

Dr. Sun was born in Guangdong province of China on 12 November 1866, and died in 1925 in Beijing, China. On 23 April 1929, the Chinese government appointed He Yingqin to be in charge of laying Dr. Sun to rest. On 26 May, the coffin departed from Beijing, and on 28 May, it arrived in Nanjing. On 1 June 1929, Dr. Sun was buried there. Sun, considered to be the "Father of Modern China" both in mainland China and in Taiwan, fought against the imperial Qing government and after the 1911 revolution ended the monarchy, and founded the Republic of China.

Selection of the design

A committee decided to host a design competition in order to collect designs for the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. The committee put advertisements in the newspapers on 5 May 1925, inviting architects and designers at home and abroad to send their designs. In exchange for a 10 yuan charge, the committee would provide the designer with 12 pictures of the site. The design would have to adhere to guidelines. It had to be done in a traditional Chinese style that also evoked a modern design with special and memorial substance. Not only should it evoke the Chinese architectural spirit, but also add creativity. Designers were required to insure that the proposed construction costs within 300,000 yuan (the final cost exceeded 3,000,000 Yuan). Over 40 proposals were received. On 20 September 1925, the committee convened in Shanghai, and unanimously selected Lu Yanzhi's proposal.

The mausoleum was designed by Lu Yanzhi and completed by Poy Gum Lee between 1926 and 1929.

Architecture

Reclining on a mountain slope, the majestic mausoleum blends the styles of traditional imperial tombs and modern architecture. Lying on the mountainside, the vault is more than away from the '' paifang'' on the square below, which is the entrance of the mausoleum. There is a three-tier stone stand on which a huge bronze ding, an ancient Chinese vessel symbolizing power, perches. To the north of the square, the '' paifang'' towers high. Beyond is the and -wide stairway which has 392 stairs leading to the vault. On both sides, pine, cypress, and ginkgo trees guard the way. At the end of the stairway is a gate which is high and wide. The tri-arched marble gate is inscribed with the personal motto of Dr. Sun, with four Chinese characters written by him, "Tian Xia Wei Gong" ("天下爲公") which means "What is under heaven is for all". Inside the gate, there is a pavilion in which a stele is set, which is a memorial monument set by the Kuomintang (KMT). A few stairs up is the sacrificial hall and the vault.

In front of the sacrificial hall there stands a pair of '' huabiao'', ancient Chinese ornamental columns, which are 12.6 meters high. The sacrificial hall is actually a palace of in length, in width, and in height. In the center of the hall a -high statue of Dr. Sun sits. The statue was sculptured out of Italian white marble. The hall's ceiling features the flag of the Kuomintang. Biographical information on Dr. Sun is available to visitors in the hall. North of the hall lies the bell-shaped vault, wherein lies the marble false sarcophagus of Dr. Sun. Dr Sun's body is interred in a burial chamber 5m below the marble false sarcophagus in a bronze coffin.

Architectural influence of the Mausoleum's design is evident in Taiwan's Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.

High profile visits

In a historical documentary,Theodore H. White Mel Stuart, ''China: The Roots of Madness; a Documentary'' (New York,: Norton, 1968). Chiang Kai Shek, former President of the Republic of China, officiated the opening and paid his visit to Mausoleum reporting his victory of the Northern Expedition to unify China in 1929. Chiang also made a second visit in summer of 1946 after the conclusion of the Second World War to report the victory for his cause that mainland China was once again in Chinese sovereignty.

On 27 April 2005, Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan, his wife, and other KMT members visited the Mausoleum. It was the first visit of KMT members to the site since 1949.

On 15 November 2006, a visit was made to the Mausoleum by Dr. Sun's granddaughter, Sun Huiying, who was by then over eighty years old.

In May 2008, Wu Po-hsiung became the first ruling KMT Chairman to visit the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum since 1949. There were concerns that the 392 steps leading to the tomb would be too taxing given Wu's leg injuries.

On 12 February 2014, Wang Yu-chi became the first ROC government official in office to visit the site after the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.

On 31 October 2016, KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu visited the mausoleum during her mainland trip for the Cross-strait Peace Development Forum.

Modifications

In 1981, Lily Sun, a granddaughter of Sun Yat-sen, visited the mausoleum. The flag of the KMT had been removed from the ceiling at the time of her visit, but was later restored. In May 2011 on another visit, she was surprised to find the four characters "General Rules of Meetings" (), a document that Sun wrote in reference to Robert's Rules of Order had been removed from a stone carving.

Gallery

Image:Sunzhongshan.jpg, Marble sarcophagus
File:Sun Yat-sen Sacrificial Hall table.jpg, Sun Yat-sen Sacrificial Hall information
File:Sun-jat-sen nanjing 140883.jpg, Statue in the Mausoleum, Kuomintang flag on the ceiling
Image:Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum.jpg, Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing
File:Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum 1st May 2011.jpg, 1 May 2011 (Labour Day)
File:Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum at 1st May 2011.jpg, 1 May 2011
Image:boaifang.jpg, The Entrance Gate
Image:Ryoumon02.jpg, Gate

See also

* National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
* Cihu Mausoleum
*Ching-kuo Memorial Hall
* Touliao Mausoleum
* Linggu Temple and Tomb of Tan Yankai
* Plum Blossom Mountain in Nanjing (Former Tomb of Wang Jingwei, demolished in 1946)
*Tomb of Hu Hanmin at Longyandong, Guangzhou
* Wu Zhihui Memorial park in Kinmen
* Yangmingshan Cemetery, Beitou District, Taipei
* Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall
* Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall
* Sun Yat Sen Memorial House
* Sun Yat-sen Museum Penang
* Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park

References

External links

Dr. Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum national park

{{coord, 32, 3, 51.90, N, 118, 50, 53.77, E, type:landmark, display=title

Monuments and memorials to Sun Yat-sen
Mausoleums in China
Buildings and structures in Nanjing
Parks in Nanjing
Buildings and structures completed in 1929
Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Jiangsu
AAAA-rated tourist attractions
Tourist attractions in Nanjing
Cemeteries in Nanjing