| History |  |
The Soul Tower is a symbolic structure of the mausoleum. The stele erected characters engraved with the inside was "the mausoleum of emperor Muzong". The tower was burnt and damaged by the peasant uprising army in 1644, therefore,it caused cracks in the stele. The tower was reconstructed in the Qing Dynasty during 1785-787, but the original rules of Ming Dynasty were not followed. when the reconstruction was carried out in 1787. New design was adopted on the components of the top structure of the Soul Tower referring to other towers . |
| Description | |
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In front stands a small building known as Minglou (Soul Tower), containing at its center a stele inscribed with the posthumous title of the emperor. In front of the Soul Tower is a set of five glazed pottery altar pieces, consisting of two candlesticks, two beakers and an incense burner.
Every mausoleum had special areas near the mausoleum called jian, yuan and wei. Jian was the residence area for officials and eunuchs who were in charge of the offering of sacrifices to the deceased emperor. These areas have become residential grounds for peasants. Yuan were for the gardeners who supplied vegetables and fruits for offering as sacrifices to the deceased emperor. Wei was for the guards who defended the mausoleum.
All halls in the Ming tombs were built with nanmu. The timber came from the mountains in Yuannan, Guizhou, Sichuan and other provinces in southwest China. In the Ming Dynasty, special groups were sent to the south to collect nanmu, called imperial timber, for construction of imperial palaces and mausoleums.
This kind of tree grew deep in the mountains where searchers had to walk in groups among the dangerous, uninhabited mountain slopes where wild beasts would attack and where diseases struck. These parties braved wind and rain and suffered from cold and hunger and many lumbermen died in these mountains in pursuit of nanmu. "One thousand people went to the mountains, but only five hundred came back" is a saying vividly describing the fate of the lumbering expeditions.
The thinks were so big it was difficult to carry them on the rugged mountain paths. The lumbermen had to await the rainy season when torrents of water rushing down the mountain could wash the big tree trunks down and into the open. Then the timber would be carded to a river. It took five to six years to transport these logs to Beijing. Even on the river, as lumbermen shepherded the timber, they were often engulfed by terrifying waves. Again, many died along the way and much timber was lost.
Bricks used in Ming Tombs were also special. Each brick weighted about 25 kilograms with the word shou (longevity) imprinted. Before the Jia Jing reign, the bricks were provided by local kilns in Beijing. Later, most of the bricks were transported from Linqing, Shandong. The Imperial Construction Office sent specialists there to arrange manufacture of the bricks.
One million bricks were required each year, each of good quality, solid and smooth and emitting a clear tone when struck. The names of brick manufacturers and officials put in charge were printed on every brick for later check.
Large quantifies of stone were also used during construction of the Thirteen Ming Tombs. Black stone and doucha stone were used to pave the path and build foundations for walls, bridges and wharves. The stones were from Beijing suburbs. |
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