Why are there still people guarding the imperial tomb after the demise of the Qing Dynasty?

China has been reburied since ancient times. The ancients believed that after death, the soul would go to another world to live. The residence of the other world is the mausoleum where he was buried. Therefore, whether rich or poor, people will stuff some property into coffins after death, which also led to frequent grave robbery cases in past dynasties. As the richest man in the world, the mausoleum of the emperor was full of treasures after his death. In order to prevent grave robbery, rulers of past dynasties arranged grave guards.

After entering the customs, Manchu rulers actively studied the culture of the Central Plains, so many emperors began to choose their own tombs as soon as they came to power. Shunzhi was the first emperor after the Qing Dynasty entered the customs. The emperor shunzhi's Xiaoling Mausoleum was built in the 18th year of Shunzhi, and it was also the first imperial tomb in the Qing Dynasty. Later, sourdrang dowager, Emperor Kangxi, Emperor Qianlong and Kangxi's grandmother Daoguang were all buried in the Qing Dongling. Why are the imperial tombs in Qing Dynasty divided into Dongling and Xiling? This is all caused by Yong Zhengdi. After Yongzheng succeeded to the throne, he originally planned to build a mausoleum for himself in the Qing Dongling. Later, on the pretext that the geomantic omen in chao yang shan, Jiu Feng was not good, and there was still sand and gravel in the cave, he re-selected a treasure land at the foot of Taining Mountain in Yixian County, Hebei Province, and built Tailing.

After Qianlong succeeded to the throne, he was a little puzzled. Should he be buried with his grandfather or his father after he dies? Later, he thought of a way, that is, the emperor buried the graves of things separately. For example, he was buried in Dongling after his death, then his son Jiaqing was buried in Xiling after his death, and so on. In order to protect these imperial tombs, the Qing royal family also invested money. Not only did some children of the Eight Banners move to live near the imperial tomb, but they were also exempted from the taxes and corvees of the grave keepers.

This grave keeper is usually the dead father and the son of succession, guarding the imperial tomb from generation to generation. It is said that this profession has no future at all. Why did some people continue to guard the mausoleum after the demise of the Qing Dynasty? Who pays them? In fact, hundreds of years have passed, and the grave keeper has long been less loyal to the Manchu royal family. When Puyi was just released from the Forbidden City by Feng Yuxiang, the old nobles of the Qing Dynasty were also busy running away. In order to prevent their ancestors from being dug up, the Manchu nobles collected some money to the grave keeper. Supposedly, the people guarding the mausoleum took money from others to eliminate disasters. But after all, they are ordinary people, who were pointed at by Sun Dianying. Who will serve the late Manchu royal family? Therefore, after Puyi fled to the northeast, there was a grave robbery in Dongling, Qing Dynasty.