In the eyes of ordinary people, Zhu Yuanzhang chose Zhongshan as his tomb because of its feng shui. When later generations looked at this issue, they often explained its mystery from a superstitious point of view. Yesterday, Professor He Yun'ao from the Institute of Cultural and Natural Heritage of Nanjing University told reporters that the site selection process for Xiaoling Tomb in the Ming Dynasty was actually based on ancient environmental science and exquisite architectural planning theory.
Professor He Yun'ao said that in this huge imperial mausoleum area, the designer incorporated the entire Zhongshan Mountain and part of the water surface into the architectural planning and design of Xiaoling Mausoleum as important "Feng Shui" landscapes, thus achieving The architectural traditions and cultural concepts of Chinese imperial mausoleums are “the mountains are mausoleums” and “the unity of nature and man”.
For example, Zhongshan was called "Longshan" in ancient times. As early as the late Eastern Han Dynasty, it had been regarded as a "dragon and pan" place by politicians such as Zhuge Liang and Sun Quan. As the founder of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang chose the "Dragon Vein" of Jinling as his burial place, which is completely in line with the essentials of Feng Shui. Build your own imperial mausoleum to the south of Zhongshan, bury the heroes on the back of Zhongshan, and let your courtiers protect you after death. The north and south correspond, and the dignity is clear. Zhongshan has three peaks: east, middle and west. In ancient Feng Shui, these were called the "Three Peaks of Huagai". According to Chinese tradition, the Zhongfeng has the highest status. Dulongfu, where Xiaoling Mausoleum is located, is just under Mount Everest to the south of Zhongfeng. Professor He Yun'ao told reporters that the first people to regard this site as a geomantic treasure were the eminent monk Baozhi of the Liang Dynasty and Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty Xiao Yan. To the west of the Xiaoling Mausoleum, there is a small mountain, known as "Little Tiger Mountain". I didn't understand its meaning in the past, but now from the analysis of Feng Shui and landforms, we know that it is located on the "Husha" position to the right of the Xiaoling Mausoleum, and is directly connected with the Xiaoling Mausoleum. The "Dragon Sand" icons in the east are lined up on the left and right; and the "Plum Blossom Mountain" directly opposite the Xiaoling Mausoleum was believed to be left by Zhu Yuanzhang to let Sun Quan, the great emperor of Wu, guard the gate of his mausoleum. , in fact, this screen-like hill is the "case mountain" in Xiaoling Feng Shui, which has very important cultural symbolic significance; the front lake in the southwest and the "Zhongshan Pu" winding south also have the spirit of "Suzaku" “Feng Shui characteristics. In this way, Xiaoling Mausoleum and Baocheng have the "four images" of Feng Shui: Qinglong on the left, white tiger on the right, Suzaku in the front, and Xuanwu in the back. In addition, the three "royal rivers" of Xiaoling all flow from left to right. Planting water is called "crown water" in Feng Shui, and it is also very rare.
Professor He believes that, in fact, this is Zhu Yuanzhang and his architectural designers deliberately making use of nature. Zhu Yuanzhang took advantage of the situation and incorporated the three rivers into the scope of his mausoleum, which not only preserved the flood discharge channels, but also allowed the rivers to add color to the mausoleum. This is because Zhu Yuanzhang respects the laws of nature. If Zhu Yuanzhang filled up three rivers to build his mausoleum, the consequences of flash floods can be imagined! The Xiaoling Mausoleum is located in this kind of beautiful environment created by nature. Among the imperial mausoleums of all dynasties before the early Ming Dynasty in China, there are very few mausoleums with such a perfect Feng Shui landscape like the Xiaoling Mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty.
To put it simply, in Feng Shui, any house with running water on the left is called Qinglong; a house with a long road on the right is called White Tiger; a house with a pond in the front is called Suzaku; Those with hills behind them are called Xuanwu. The best place to build a house is where these four conditions are met. But as a modern person, you can imagine that with a pond in front, a mountain behind, a river next to it, and close to a convenient road, the environment is pleasant. Wouldn't it be the highest enjoyment to live here?
Professor He said that "Feng Shui theory" is an important part of ancient Chinese environmental science and architectural planning theory, and has rich scientific thoughts and cultural and philosophical connotations. Although it is limited by the times and contains some superstitious elements, in contemporary Eastern and Western academic circles, people regard it as one of the typical features of ancient Chinese culture.