Imperial Tombs in Tang China, 618-907

Imperial Tombs in Tang China, 618-907 PDF

Author: Tonia Eckfeld

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2005-09-20

Total Pages: 222

ISBN-13: 1134415559

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Intellectually and visually stimulating, this important landmark book looks at the religious, political, social and artistic significance of the Imperial tombs of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). It traces the evolutionary development of the most elaborately beautiful imperial tombs to examine fundamental issues on death and the afterlife in one of the world's most sophisticated civilizations. Selected tombs are presented in terms of their structure, artistic programs and their purposes. The author sets the tombs in the context of Chinese attitudes towards the afterlife, the politics of mausoleum architecture, and the artistic vocabulary which was becoming the mainstream of Chinese civilization.

Sacred Landscapes of Imperial China

Sacred Landscapes of Imperial China PDF

Author: Giulio Magli

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-06-15

Total Pages: 179

ISBN-13: 3030493245

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This book analyses the magnificent imperial necropolises of ancient China from the perspective of Archaeoastronomy, a science which takes into account the landscape in which ancient monuments are placed, focusing especially but not exclusively on the celestial aspects. The power of the Chinese emperors was based on the so-called Mandate of Heaven: the rulers were believed to act as intermediaries between the sky gods and the Earth, and consequently, the architecture of their tombs, starting from the world-famous mausoleum of the first emperor, was closely linked to the celestial cycles and to the cosmos. This relationship, however, also had to take into account various other factors and doctrines, first the Zhao-Mu doctrine in the Han period and later the various forms of Feng Shui. As a result, over the centuries, diverse sacred landscapes were constructed. Among the sites analysed in the book are the “pyramids” of Xi’an from the Han dynasty, the mountain tombs of the Tang dynasty, and the Ming and Qing imperial tombs. The book explains how considerations such as astronomical orientation and topographical orientation according to the principles of Feng Shui played a fundamental role at these sites.

The Ming Tombs

The Ming Tombs PDF

Author: Ann Paludan

Publisher:

Published: 1991

Total Pages: 100

ISBN-13:

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Few visit Beijing without going to the Ming Tombs, the burial grounds of the Ming dynasty who ruled China from 1368 to 1644. This book gives a concise and up-to-date description of one of China's most important archaeological sites. It explains the beliefs underlying Chinese burial practices and the significant symbolism of the stone monuments lining the spirit road--the avenue leading to the first tomb in the valley--with its animals and stone officials in fifteenth-century court costume.

Imperial China

Imperial China PDF

Author: Charis Chan

Publisher: Chronicle Books (CA)

Published: 1992

Total Pages: 180

ISBN-13:

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A splendid guide to the palaces, temples, tombs, and parks of the Chinese emperors. Most of the buildings described are in and around the ancient city of Peking. Also described are the Imperial tombs, sections of the Great Wall, and the Qing dynasty summer resort of Chengde. Illustrated (in bandw) with photographs, maps, plans, and drawings. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Modeling Peace

Modeling Peace PDF

Author: Jie Shi

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2020-03-24

Total Pages: 407

ISBN-13: 0231549202

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Among hundreds of thousands of ancient graves and tombs excavated to date in China, the Mancheng site stands out for its unparalleled complexity and richness. It features juxtaposed burials of the first king and queen of the Zhongshan kingdom (dated late second century BCE). The male tomb occupant, King Liu Sheng (d. 113 BCE), was sent by his father, Emperor Jing (r. 157–141 BCE), to rule the Zhongshan kingdom near the northern frontier of the Western Han Empire, neighboring the nomadic Xiongnu confederation. Modeling Peace interprets Western Han royal burial as a political ideology by closely reading the architecture and funerary content of this site and situating it in the historical context of imperialization in Western Han China. Through a study of both the archaeological materials and related received and excavated texts, Jie Shi demonstrates that the Mancheng site was planned and designed as a unity of religious, gender, and intercultural concerns. The site was built under the supervision of the future occupants of the royal tomb, who used these burials to assert their political ideology based on Huang-Lao and Confucian thought: a good ruler is one who pacifies himself, his family, and his country. This book is the first scholarly monograph on an undisturbed and fully excavated early Chinese royal burial site.

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