1 1 emperors in the Western Han Dynasty were all buried in Xianyang North Plain, north of Weihe River, except Wendi who was buried in Xi 'an Fuling and Xuan Di who was buried in Ling Du, Chang 'an. From west to east, they are Liu Che Maoling, Zhao Di Liu Fuling Ping Ling, Chengdi Liu Ao Yanling, Pingdi Liu Kan Kangling, Yuan Di Liu Ling Wei, Aidi Liu Xinyi Yiling, Gaozu Liu Bangchang Mausoleum and Jingdi Yangling. The mausoleum stretches for 50 kilometers and is roughly in a straight line. There is a poem by Jin Zhao Bingwen: "There is no one near the Weishui Bridge, and there is a unicorn lying on a lonely hill. The fame of the ages has turned into the dust of Xianyang. "
According to the Western Han system, the emperor began to build a mausoleum for himself at the beginning of his reign, which was called "Shouling". Construction costs a lot of money and becomes a heavy burden for the people. The tombs in the Han dynasty are all bucket-shaped, small at the top and large at the bottom, very stable, and all of them are made of rammed earth. In the Han Dynasty, the five tombs of Chang, An, Yang, Ping and Mao also had a mausoleum, where rich people migrated. For example, Anling County and Liu Ying, Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty, are nicknames of "Female Zhaoling", which are characterized by "moving to Guandong to promote excellence, and 5,000 households are good at Zhao Opera (ensemble of various bamboo instruments)". These massive migrants have gradually formed a special area in the paranormal, which can compete with Chang 'an. Those rich kids do nothing all day, fighting cocks and committing crimes. They are called "Wuling teenagers", "Wuling sons" or "Wuling heroes". In the Tang Dynasty, the "Five Tombs" were even transformed into the name of luxury and debauchery.
Maoling is located at 15km east of Xingping County, Shaanxi Province. Located in the southwest of the Han Mausoleum, the west is the top, and the southwest is the "land of respecting Wei Zheng". Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty is a proud man, and his mausoleum will of course choose tombs. In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, this was Maoxiang, the mother of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and the hometown of Princess Jingdi. Mausoleum is named Maoling because it is located in Maoxiang. According to legend, the site of the mausoleum was selected by Mr. Feng Shui of the imperial court during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. But Mr. Feng Shui secretly kept the treasure for himself. After Emperor Wu was buried in Maoling, Mr. Feng Shui also died, and his son buried him in a marked place. Mr. Feng Shui's tomb is getting taller every day. Suddenly, a big stone fell from the sky and fell on the top of the tomb, and it never grew back. The local people call the tomb of Mr. Feng Shui "Stone Hill", where Feng Shui is the best, and you can "lie down and look at Chang 'an", while Maoling wants to "sit and look at Chang 'an".
In the second year after Emperor Wu ascended the throne (BC 139), the construction of the mausoleum began, which lasted for 53 years. According to historical records, at that time, one-third of the national tribute was used as the cost of building tombs and collecting funerary objects. The construction of the mausoleum is very luxurious. In order to prevent weeds from growing in the tomb soil, the sealed soil was specially shipped from other places and used after screening, heating and frying. Therefore, the tomb soil here is "as expensive as corn". The mausoleum is the largest of the Han tombs, and its shape is like a pyramid with the upper part cut off. According to the ritual system of the Western Han Dynasty, the emperor's tomb can cover an area of one hectare, with a height of twelve feet, and a sacrificial hall can be built on the top of the tomb. The mausoleum of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was 20 feet high and its circumference was increased by 20 steps to show his achievements and talents.
There are extremely rich funerary objects in the mausoleum. According to records, when Emperor Wu was buried, cicada slough jade was in his mouth, surrounded by treasures and things he loved before his death. In order to prevent ghosts from eating his heart, a live tiger was sacrificed. "Han Gong Yuchuan" said: Emperor Wu "abandoned the world, showing that the emperor was young and weak, and Huo Guang was petty, ignorant of etiquette and righteousness, and hid more money and things." Birds, beasts, fish, turtles, cattle, horses, tigers and leopards give birth to birds. 190 Everything is hidden. Yu Shinan Biography of the New Tang Dynasty said that Liang Wudi was a long time ago, and by the time of the funeral, the mausoleum was already full of human objects, and there was no room for anything anymore. Therefore, Maoling became the target of robbery. In the last years of Xinmang, the Red Eyebrow Uprising "entered Chang 'an, destroyed the mausoleum, and took insufficient things". It is said that due to the rich funerary objects in the mausoleum, a large number of soldiers only took half of the funerary objects in the mausoleum. In the Jin Dynasty more than 200 years later, people can still see piles of rotten silk and pearls and jade left in the mausoleum. Mausoleum and other Han tombs still preserve a large number of precious cultural relics and rare treasures. It is predicted that once the Han Tomb is developed, it will become the ninth wonder in the world.
Maoling city was built in the southeast of Maoling at that time, and many civil and military ministers and rich children settled here. According to the geographical records in Hanshu, there are more than 277,000 people in Maoling City, ranking first among the Five Mausoleums. Its prosperity even surpassed that of Chang 'an, the capital at that time, and the dignitaries in Chang 'an envied those who could move to Maoling.