The Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum

The Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum in Nanjing is the final resting place of the first emperor of Ming dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, and his queen Mashi. Situated at the southern foot of Purple Mountain, it is a stately structure surrounded with fantastic scenery with archeology, the art of stone carving and environmental aesthetics combined in perfect unity.

After the completion of the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum, for over 500 years of the Ming and Qing Dynasties it has had great impact on more than 20 imperial mausoleums. Therefore, the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum has earned the title of the No. 1 imperial mausoleum of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

The "Copy" in the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum

Sacred Monument of the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum

Starting from the 14th year of Hongwu (1381), the construction of the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum took more than 30 years and engaged the military staff of a total of 100,000. The entire project was not completed until the "Sacred Monument of the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum" had been made.

The Sacred Monument of the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum measures 8.78 meters in height and the Guifu, a legendary animal which carries the Monument on its back, measures 2.08 meters in height. On the monument 2,746 characters are inscribed, giving an account of a lifetime of laudable feats of Zhu Yuanzhang. It is the largest inscription in Nanjing and also the largest among all the imperial mausoleums of the Ming and Qing Dynasties of the same type.

However, this Sacred Monument is in fact a replica of the real Sacred Monument for Zhu Yuanzhang!

So where is the original?

The Best Monument Material in the World

Yangshan Monument Material

On the southern slope of Zhenyangshan Mountain of Tangshan Town 25 kilometers away from Nanjing stand three gigantic rocks called the "Yangshan Monument Material". According to research, these giant rocks were dug out by the order of Zhu Di, Yongle Emperor of Ming dynasty, and were intended as the building material for a monument for his father Zhu Yuanzhang to eulogize his lifetime of feats. The rocks are taken from a large piece of Qixia limestone of high integrity in the Yangshan Mountain and consist of the base, the head and the body of the monument.

Yet the monument was left unfinished till this day. Why?

The most obvious explanation is that the rocks are so massive that it is impossible to move them.

The piece of rock for the monument base is 13 meters high, 16 meters wide and 30.35 meters long. The piece for the body is 49.4 meters long, 4.4 meters wide and 10.7 meters high. The piece for the head is 10 meters high, 20.3 meters long and 8.4 meters wide. With the aid of modern weight measuring devices, the three pieces of the base, the head and the body are calculated to be an unbelievable 16,250 tons, 6,118 tons and 8,799 tons respectively.

Should such a monument be made, it would measure a total of 78 meters in height and 31,167 tons in weight!

The pyramids of Egypt, wonders of the world, do not even compare with the Yangshan Monument Material. The average weight of the giant pyramid stones is 25 tons, with the largest one among them weighing no more than 50 tons. The rocks of the Yangshan Monument Material are more than 600 times as heavy.

Even if the workers were to use logs and ice to slide the Yangshan Monument Material to the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum, it would take at least 50 years. This is a mission impossible. So, today the rocks are still attached to the mountain. The mountain is the monument, and the monument is the mountain.