It is generally believed that Yao’s mausoleum is located in Linfen. But there are many mysteries surrounding Yao's Mausoleum in Linfen. For example, when was Yao's Mausoleum built? Was Yao's Mausoleum built by the legendary subjects wrapped in earth, or was it a natural mound? In recent years, some people have suggested that Yao's Mausoleum is not in the north but in Younan, Hunan. county. According to legend, Jizhou, where Yao established his capital, is not in today's Shanxi at all. "Ji" actually means "wing", and Jizhou is in the state of Chu.
Yao, Shun, and Yu were three outstanding leaders of the tribal alliance in ancient times. They can also be said to be the earliest emperors in China who ruled the world. Because of their outstanding achievements and promoting the development of human civilization, they were highly respected and admired by Chinese descendants. Yao and Shun were listed among the five ancient emperors and respected as ancient saints.
Di Yao, surnamed Yi Qi and given name Fangxun, was born and lived in Pingyang, the center of ancient Jizhou, which is now Linfen City, Shanxi Province. Legend has it that he was named Tao Hou and Tang Hou successively. In ancient times, people took the land as their surname, so they also called him Tao Tang. It is said that he is the son of Emperor Ku and the fifth generation grandson of Huangdi. In the troubled times when all nations were competing for supremacy, he united his relatives and allies, conquered the barbarians, unified the Chinese tribes, and was elected as the leader of the tribal alliance. Sima Qian commented on Emperor Yao in "Historical Records": "His benevolence is like heaven, and his knowledge is like God. He treats it like the sun, and looks at it like clouds. He is rich but not arrogant, and he is noble but not comfortable." During his reign, Emperor Yao sent Hou Yi, the master archer, shot at the sun, sent Gun to control the floods, formulated a calendar, and ordered all officials. When Yao reigned for 70 years, he visited the wise men all over the world and found Shun, who assisted him in government for 20 years and passed the throne to Shun.
Although Yao, Shun, and Yu were all holy emperors and had their own achievements in history, the period when the value of their lives was most fully demonstrated was during the reign of Emperor Yao. It can be said that the basic ideas of their governance strategy were initiated and laid down by Emperor Yao. Shun Yu was once a minister of Emperor Yao. According to Emperor Yao's policies, he carefully planned and implemented them with all his strength, effectively advancing the progress of human civilization.
When Emperor Yao died, the people were like mourning their heirs, and there were huge crowds of mourners. It is said that Yao's body was buried in Yao's mausoleum. The tomb is about 50 meters high and nearly 300 meters in circumference. It is magnificent. Yao's mausoleum is located in Qiao Village, Guohang Township, 35 kilometers northeast of Linfen City. It is backed by a mountain and faces a river, surrounded by residual walls. To the north of the mausoleum are loess steep cliffs, guarded by two loess gullies on the east and west. To the south, the Yangcun River flows around the tomb in the shape of a crescent moon through the southeast, south and southwest. Because of the many ancient trees, it is commonly known as the sacred forest. There is an ancestral temple in front of the mausoleum, which is said to have been built in the early Tang Dynasty. It was rebuilt many times in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In 1984, the stele pavilion and the hall were rebuilt. There are existing buildings in the temple such as the mountain gate, archway, wing room, offering hall, sleeping hall, stele pavilion and so on.
As early as the Han Dynasty, the government had built a Yao temple on the Yangtze River west of Fenhe River. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty Liu Che’s "Sacrifice to Yao" is still preserved today: "The towering Emperor Yao, the virtuous and holy king... …Eternal emperor, the leader of the people for thousands of generations, the beginning of civilization, respected by the world. Emperor Yao established the calendar and straightened out the time and seasons; He widely listened to the advice of the people, abdicated the throne, and ushered in democracy. He established the capital at Pingyang, harmonized all nations, set up Jiuzhou, completed the mountains and rivers, and created China. Emperor Yao was also the ancestor of China." Then he moved to 3 kilometers south of Linfen City. Yao Temple covers an area of ??85 acres and was first built in the Western Jin Dynasty. It was rebuilt in the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. There are several major buildings such as Shanmen, Wufeng Tower, Guangtian Pavilion, Yaojing Pavilion, Bedroom, and Guangyun Hall. There are more than ten ancient inscriptions in the temple. Under the cover of green pines and cypresses, they seem to tell people the story of Tang Yao.
Some people have raised questions about Yao’s Mausoleum in Linfen. When was Yao’s Mausoleum built? Was Yao’s Mausoleum built by the legendary subjects wrapped in earth, or was it a natural mound?
It is actually impossible to verify when Yao’s Mausoleum was built. It is said that Danzhu, the son of Yao, usually did not listen to his father's teachings and always acted against his wishes. Therefore, Yao originally wanted to be buried in the yin of Laohe River after his death, but instead he said that he wanted to be buried in the yang of Laohe River. Danzhu thought that he had repeatedly disobeyed his father's teachings. How could he be a human being if he continued to disobey? So he obtained the consent of the ministers and obeyed his father's instructions. He chose the geomantic treasure land of Laohe Yang to be buried. The burial place is now Yao's Mausoleum. The inscription in the second year of Taihe of the Jin Dynasty (1202) says that Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty once stationed here during his campaign against Liu Wu and Zhou Dynasty, offering sacrifices and statues to Yao's mausoleum. Inscriptions from the Qing Dynasty also said that when Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty entered Chang'an, he went to Yao's mausoleum to pray for Yao's magical powers.
Inscriptions from the Qing Dynasty also record that there is a traditional incense festival held every year during Qingming Festival and early September to pay homage to Yao's mausoleum.
From the perspective of the geographical environment where Yao Ling is located, Yao Ling is just a small loess hill when viewed from the Otogaki Loess Liang in the north. But if you stand in the Yangcun River Valley and look up to the north, Yaoling appears tall and majestic and has special landform features. Laohe is the name after the confluence of the Yangcun and Baicun rivers. The loess flat beam between the two rivers is called Zhongyuan. The loess flat beam north of the Yangcun River is called Dahuyuan. Yaoling is located at the westernmost end of Qiaojiayuan. Dahuyuan The southern edge of the wall, where Yangcun River and Baicun River will join, is the famous piedmont loess platform hilly area in Pingyang. This vast loess platform is composed of a number of loess flat beams. The beams are like earth dragons just emerging from Yunshan Mountain, running from east to west. There is water in the ditches between the beams, like water dragons swimming from east to west. . In the era when the Yao tribe lived, the mountains and ridges were dressed in green, the rivers and ditches were gurgling, and the green mountains and green waters were poetic and picturesque, just like a fairyland.
In ancient China, people chose to build Yin and Yang houses in the leeward and sunny areas, so that they could avoid the cold wind and receive the warm sunshine. The soil layer is deep and the water flow around the tomb should be gentle and gentle. Yaoling is located to the southwest of the main peak of Huoshan Mountain, where the airflow flows smoothly. Moreover, the waterlogged river formed by the confluence of Yangcun River and Baicun River gathers the airflow here. Since the height to the south of the main peak of Huoshan Mountain gradually decreases, the height of the loess beam extending to the west gradually decreases from south to north. As the mountains rise and fall, the clear water bends between the mountains, and there are ditches on both sides of the tomb. Therefore, Yao Tomb is a geomantic treasure place with the wind facing the sun, hiding the wind and absorbing the air, the clear water flowing long, and the air gathering and never dissipating. After research, experts such as Ma Zhizheng and Li Fulan believe that the subjects of Yao who believed in Feng Shui must bury the people they respected here. Even later people who believed in Feng Shui would also set up a false tomb to satisfy people's sustenance. Therefore, the Yao Tomb is a Lidui Mountain formed by the diversion of the river about 10,000 years ago. It is not a tomb built by the mourners each with a bag of earth.
Yao’s mausoleum is in Linfen. Most people believe that Yao was buried in Yao’s mausoleum. For thousands of years, no one has doubted this. However, in recent years, some people have put forward a novel view, believing that the political center of Yao's time was in the south, and that Yao was buried in Gaoshi Township, You County, Hunan Province after his death.
Scholars who hold this view point out that the political center of Emperor Yao was in the south. Regarding the location of Yao's mausoleum, "Hanshu Geography" said it was in the south of Tang County, Zhongshan. "Shui Jing Zhu" has questioned this and denied this theory. "Road History" did some research, but the exact location was not found. From ancient times to the present, scholars who have studied Yao's Mausoleum have unanimously believed that the "Book of Han" is inaccurate, so it is necessary to re-study it.
"Nanyue Zhi" quoted "Spring and Autumn Sensing Fu" and said: "Yao is the Jingxing of Wings, in the south." Ancient astronomy and geography correspond to each other. According to the ancient star field theory, the two constellations of Yi and Zhen correspond to Chu. country, and Yao star is one of the stars in Yisu, and its place should be in Nanchu. Yao had a close relationship with Yisu. The "Bamboo Book Annals" says that Yao "lived in Ji" after he came to the throne. Hebei's intention to become the capital began with Yao. The Han people's view that Ji is a northern state has long been denied, and Ji actually means "wing". The "Ji" in ancient times was in the state of Chu, because Yisu corresponds to the state of Chu, which is the land of the Miao people. When Yao and Chan were located in Shun, the ancient secretary Tianxiang said that "the scenery star comes from the wing", and this scenery star is what later generations call Said Yao Xing. "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" says that Tao Tang's family is within the South China Sea, and also says: "The emperor's two daughters lived there, and they often traveled to the rivers and abyss. The winds of Li and Yuan met the abyss of Xiao and Xiang, and they were between Jiujiang and Jiujiang. "Yaoshan Mountain is 419 miles southeast of Huangling Tomb where the two concubines' tombs are located by Dongting Lake. Based on the distance, it is estimated to be in the north of today's You County.
There are place names such as Pingyang and Danling near Huangtuling Town in the north of today's You County. The Beijiang River in You County is a tributary of the Lu River. These are consistent with what is recorded in "Emperor Century". The book says that Yao was born in Danling and his capital was Pingyang. Danling is the mausoleum of Danzhu. According to the "Book of Mountains and Seas", he was buried in the north of Cangwu Mountain. You County has Fenghuang Mountain in the west and Luan Mountain and Fengling in the east. Fenghuang Mountain is one of the seventy-two peaks of Nanyue. The "Nanyue Temple" is located in Jichong, Pingyang Township. In the ancient people's concept, the phoenix is ??a kind of pheasant that flies very high, also known as Zhai and Tianzhai. Zhai often served as Di. "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" says: "In Mount Dishan, Emperor Yao was buried in Yang, and Emperor Ku was buried in Yin." This makes it clear that Yao was buried in the southeast of Fenghuang Mountain.
Some scholars have personally conducted inspections in You County and found a family surnamed Liu with Yao as its distant ancestor. The family has fifteen rooms, one of which is called Yaoshan Room. The people of Yaoshanfang are mainly distributed in some towns in Pingyangmiao, Huangtuling, Gaoshi, Huangfengqiao and Liling in You County. Yaoshan is a small mountain with a relative height of about 150 meters in Gaoshi Township. At 90% of the top of the mountain, there is a vertical cave with a diameter of more than ten square meters, called Tianjinglong. People think that this cave was used to bury the emperor. of. Some people think that the cemetery sunk into a well. Gaoshi Township is surrounded by mountains. Yao Mountain is located at the western entrance of the extremely narrow place. The nearby place names are all related to Yao, Tian and Long, such as Yaoqian Formation, Yaoshan Formation, Longtanqian Village, Longtan River, Longjiapi, Tianjinglong, Tiantai Mountain, Tianziping, etc. In Gaoshi Township, archaeologists have discovered many ancient cultural relics. For example, stone axes and stone clusters from the Neolithic Age have been discovered in Jietou Village. A group of Warring States tombs were excavated in Xinle Village and a copper cauldron was discovered. One Neolithic site each was also excavated in nearby Jiashan Township and Caihuaping Township. Pingyang Temple Township to the west of Tianziping is surrounded by mountains on three sides. The entrance is very small. There is only one passage on the mountain. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack. It is ideal for Emperor Yao to build his capital here.
The traditional view is that the burial places of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors are often in the north, but now some scholars have put forward new perspectives, making this issue an unresolved issue. We hope that the historical community can carry forward the spirit of contention among a hundred schools of thought, continue to explore this issue, and return history to its true colors~