The address of Zhu Yuanzhang's mausoleum was chosen by himself. Dulong House at the southern foot of Zijinshan Mountain is a rare land of geomantic omen. Zhongshan is in the north, with an altitude of150m. The spring water is deep, purple transpiration, misty and changeable day and night. Since ancient times, people have known that "there are many strange mountains here, and thousands of clouds are different." Besides, there are lush trees, swaying shadows, winding streams and flowing water. Many famous ancient temples and important tombs have been built here.
The construction of the cemetery began in the fourteenth year of Hongwu, and the main projects such as the mausoleum hall were completed in the sixteenth year of Hongwu. 654.38+100000 military personnel were transferred one after another, and Yongle was completed in three years, which lasted for 25 years. In August, 15th year of Wu Hong, Queen Ma Shi was buried for the first time. Because the queen's will is "filial piety", the mausoleum was named "Xiaoling Mausoleum", which means "ruling the world with filial piety". In the 25th year of Wu, Crown Prince Zhu Biao was buried in the east of Xiaoling, named Dongling. In the 31st year of Wu Hong, on May 10th, Zhu Yuanzhang collapsed in the Nishinomiya. He was buried with Ma Huanghou and buried 46 concubines.
Within the walls of Xiaoling at that time, temples were towering, pavilions and pavilions were magnificent. There are 65438+ ten thousand pine trees and 1000 deer planted in the mausoleum. The silver medal of "thief black boy" hangs between the necks of each deer, and is called "immortal deer". In order to defend Xiaoling, 5600 non-commissioned officers were specially set up as prison guards, equipped with Xiaoling guards. If a lumberjack strays into the mountains by mistake, he will be beheaded by the "just law". Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty both went to the Bridge Mausoleum during their southern tour. They also set up two guardians and 40 mausoleum households, which were assigned to four elephant fields. In the third year of Xianfeng, Xiaoling area became an important battlefield for the confrontation between Taiping Army and Qing Army, and almost all the wooden buildings on the ground were destroyed. The existing steles built at the end of the Qing Dynasty, such as Shenlie Mountain, Forbidden City, Xiamafang, Dajinmen, Sifang City, Shengde Monument, Weng Zhong Stone Statue, Dashiqiao, Baocheng, Mausoleum, Monument Pavilion and Xiangdian, are still magnificent and embody the spirit of emperors.
According to records, the circumference of the red wall of Xiaoling is 22.5 kilometers, which is equivalent to two-thirds of the length of the city wall at that time, showing its huge scale. Shinto stone carving in Ming Dynasty is the only stone carving that is not straight in the mausoleum of Emperor China. During the Three Kingdoms period, an arc was formed around Meihua Mountain where Sun Quan's tomb was located, similar to the Big Dipper. There are Xiamafang, Forbidden Monument, Dajinmen, Shen Gong Shengde Monument Pavilion, Yuqiao, Shi Xiang Road, Lion King Column, Military Commander, Civil Servant and Huangxingmen in turn, and they enter the northeast main body of the cemetery after passing through Huangxingmen. The main building of the cemetery is arranged on the north-south central axis, which is grand in scale and momentum.
Emperor Kangxi and other Qing emperors visited Ming Taizu in the Ming Tombs, but later, with the decline of the national strength of the Qing Dynasty, the Ming Tombs gradually became barren, especially during the Xianfeng period, which became the main battlefield of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Qing Dynasty, almost destroying the surface buildings of the Ming Tombs, and even the imperial tablet written by Kangxi fell to the ground. So far, all the wooden halls in the mausoleum have been burned down, but the layout scale of that year can still be seen from the remaining stone foundation. Its layout and architectural form are the same as those of the Ming Tombs in Beijing, but it is much larger than the Ming Tombs. It can be seen that all the Ming Tombs are based on this.
Legend has it that Zhu Yuanzhang may not really be buried here, but he is afraid that someone will retaliate against him after death. Just like Cao Cao, he built 72 suspicious tombs. But these legends are not well-founded, because the mausoleum was built before Zhu Yuanzhang's death, and when Zhu Yuanzhang died, all the facilities of the mausoleum were ready. In addition, Zhu Yuanzhang died in May of the thirty-first year of Hongwu, and Nanjing has entered the summer. After stopping for seven days, he was immediately buried in Xiaoling. If a new mausoleum is built somewhere else, it will be too late. Besides, Xiaoling is very close to Miyagi, with Zhongshan in the north and the imperial city in the south. The officers and men of Xiaolingwei patrol outside day and night, which is much safer than other places. This place gathers the dragon spirits of Nanjing. Since Zhu Yuanzhang chose this place as the mausoleum, he would not give up his life and be buried.
Long Mai was chosen by his ancestors. He gave Zhu Yuanzhang the opportunity to make a fortune, and he met nobles many times in his life, which laid the necessary foundation for him. After Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne, Nanjing was designated as the capital. Although there is a tendency to sit on the dragon plate, the dynasty that chose dragon plate as its capital is short-lived. Qin Shihuang ordered the excavation of Lian Gang. Because Wang was here, he suppressed hegemony, hence the name Moling. From then on, the life span of the dynasty with Jinling as its capital was only a few decades. After Zhu Yuanzhang's death, Nanjing became a short-lived capital, but fortunately, the Ming Dynasty moved its capital to Beijing and opened Long Mai from north to south. This flexibility also made the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty last for nearly 300 years.