| History |  |
 |
In feudal societies, imperial tombs were tightly sealed because emperors feared grave robbers; such sealed tombs also made excavations difficult for modern researchers. Therefore, there are many mythological stories about the underground palace. To reveal the secrets of the under-ground palace has been the research goal of many archaeologists. Chinese archaeologists began excavation of the underground palace in the Ding Ling in May, 1956. Because the Ding Ling is so large they really did not know how to start the work on such a huge project.
However, they discovered that several layers of outer wall bricks had collapsed on the southeast side of the grave mound within high, castle-like walls. The gate of the arched passage could be seen from the broken wall. Later, some characters, such as "gate of the passage," "stone passage" and "left passage" were discovered on the inner side of the walls. These discoveries provided important leads for excavation of the Ding Ling.
Based on these findings, the first step was to start from the inner side of the wall. A ditch, 3.5 metres wide and twenty metres long, was dug facing the gate of the arched passage. A brick passage way was found, suggesting this passage might lead to the underground palace. But the ditch was not long, so the whole passage could not be seen clearly.
After further consultation among archaeologists, a zigzag passage leading to the back side of Minglou (Soul Tower) was found. Thus the archaeologists decided to dig another ditch, ten meters wide and thirty meters long from the back side of the Soul Tower standing before the mound. When they had dug 7.5 meters below ground level, they found a small stone tablet with sixteen Chinese characters, telling that the distance from the tablet was sixteen zhang (nearly 53 meters) to the Jingang Wall and 3.5 zhang (11.5 meters) deep in the ground. This was the unexpected research bonus. Some guessed the small tablet was the key to opening the underground palace; others said it was a guide.
The archaeologists, after further consideration of the small tablet, concluded that the tablet was a guide to finding the palace for the ancients.
Ding Ling was built in 1590. Emperor Shen Zong and the empress were buried there in 1620. After it was built, the underground palace was covered with deep soil. The people in charge of the tomb construction and later burial of the imperials erected the tablet as a sign for relocating the underground palace when needed.
Following guidance of the small tablet, a third ditch was dug in the western side and a stone passage sloping down from east to west was found, with a large wall at he end. Measurement from the small tablet to the wall showed the same distance as was inscribed on the tablet, leading to the conclusion that the Jingang Wall of the underground palace had been found. |
| Description | |
|
Twenty-three layers of bricks across the front wall sealed the door. The bricks were moved out, revealing a square arched chamber, with an arched stone passage on its east side. In the center of the west wall of the arched passage, are two white marble doors, the entrance to the underground palace. The doors were tightly closed, and could not be pushed open because of a stone slab against the inside of the doors. To push the stone slab away without breaking it, archaeologists inserted a lead wire through the door crack to hook and hold the stone slab while the doors were pushed open. A wooden slab through the door crack then eased the stone from the door and, with great effort, the doors were pushed open. The stone slab had eleven Chinese characters inscribed : "The underground palace has seven doors." Each panel of the entrance doors is 3.3 meters high, 1.8 wide and weighs four tons. Nine lines of engraved knobs are on each huge door panel.
Ding Ling underground palace
The underground palace consists of five spacious halls : an antechamber, central hall, rear hall and left and right annexes. The vaulted halls are built of stone. A stone door stands between the antechamber and central hall. At the end of the central hall is the rear hall. On both sides of the central hall are tomb passages and stone doors opening to the left and right annexes.
Interior of the Ding Ling underground palace
The underground palace occupies a total of 1,195 square meters. The vaulted halls are built of stone, without a single beam or column. To avoid damaging the marble floor, the surface from the antechamber to the rear hall was covered with thick planks for the hearse to roll on when it entered the underground palace, thick planks that can still be seen today.
In the central hall are three white marble thrones, arranged with one in front and the other two on each side and slightly behind the first. In front of each throne is a set of five glazed pottery altar-pieces (consisting of two pricket candlesticks, two beakers and an incense burner), a blue-and-white porcelain jar of oil, and an "everlasting lamp," a bronze bowl with a wick, floating on its surface. The lamp was lit when the emperor was buried, but once the tomb was closed, the flame soon died for want of oxygen.
The two annexes are similar to the antechamber and central hall. Each contains a white marble dais evidently intended for a coffin. The rear hall, the largest of the five chambers is the main part of the underground palace. At the center is a dais on which is placed the coffin of Emperor Shen Zong (Zhu Yijun), with the coffins containing the First Empress on his left and the Second Empress on his right. Each coffin was surrounded by pieces of jade, porcelain vases and twenty-six red lacquered wooden boxes filled with precious funeral objects.
The archaeologists expected the remains would be enclosed in a wax coveting, but when the coffin containing Emperor Shen Zong was opened, only the unprotected skeleton was found, with the hair still in good condition. The hair was tied in a bun in which there were several gold hairpins, and some beard was still visible. The skeleton wore a gold crown, an imperial robe, a jade belt and boots. The emperor was not tall, one leg was a bit shorter than the other, and he was a hunch back.
Empress Xiao Rui, the First Empress was a native of Yuyao, Zhejiang. She died in April, I620, at the age of fifty seven. Emperor Shen Zong survived Empress Xiao Rui by three months. Empress Xiao Jing, the Second Empress and mother of Emperor Guang Zong, was native of Xuanhua, Hebei. At first she was a maid in the palace, who served Emperor Shen Zong's mother. At the age of seventeen, she won Emperor Shen Zong's favor and became his concubine. After she gave birth to a son, she became highest-ranking imperial concubine, and her son later was crown prince. The emperor's favorite concubine, Zheng, was very jealous of all this and hated Xiao Jing, seizing any opportunity to do her harm. Empress Xiao Jing, who died at the age of forty seven, was first buried in Dongjing, but in October, 1620, her coffin was moved to Ding Ling to be buried in the underground palace.
The Ding Ling tomb contained a very large number of precious objects buffed with the emperor. About three thousand burial objects have been excavated, including cloth woven in beautiful patterns, clothes, small and exquisite gold jewelry, and exquisite gold, jade and porcelain articles. All these are art treasures contributing to an understanding of the technology of the Ming Dynasty. |
