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Changling
Changling is the tomb for Emperor Yongle, the third Ming emperor, and his wife Empress Xu. He ruled for 22 years and made some achievements in political, military, economic, cultural and diplomatic fields.

Changling is located at the foot of Tianshoushan (Heaven and Longevity) Mountain and is the first and the largest of the Ming tombs. The tomb was constructed in 1409 and completed in 1427. It took almost 18 years.

In architectural design, it is square in the front and round in the rear, and is divided into three courtyards. The main buildings on the central axis are still standing.

Ling'an Hall, or the Hall of Eminent Favour, is grand and magnificent. It is 66.67 metres long from east to west and 19.31 metres wide from north to south. The 32 gigantic columns carved out of nanmu, a kind of cedar (this kind of nanmu can give off an unusual scent reputed to repel mosquitoes in summer), support the entire building. The four columns in the middle are the biggest, 1.17 metres in diameter and 14.3 metres in height. Each is made of a whole trunk. This kind of valuable timber came from Southwest China. The succeeding emperors used the hall for offering sacrifices to their ancestors.

According to historical records, 16 imperial concubines were buffed alive with the third Ming emperor, and the imperial concubines were permitted to be buried in the tomb of the emperor, various tomb grounds known as "pits" were built on either side of Changling. They were called pits because they were vertical shafts without horizontal tunnels.

Human sacrifice was a common practice in the slave-owning society in feudal China. From the Qin and Han dynasties onwards, wooden or earthen human figures were used instead, like the ones in Dingling. The first Ming emperor restored the old system. Those buried alive were granted honorable titles and their family members were usually assigned official posts.

This practice came to an end when the sixth Ming emperor made an edict in mid 15th century to abolish the system of human sacrifice.

A bronze seated statue of Zhu Di, the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was designed by Miao Xintian, a sculptor in Shanxi Province and manufactured by the Dalian Daqing Metal Company Ltd. , was placed in Changling Tomb. The statue is 2.75 metres tall, 2.18 metres wide, and the total height is 4.08 metres, weighing 5.6 tons. A ceremony for placing the statue was held in Changling Tomb on September 18, 1999.


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Yonghegong Lamasery (The Lama Temple)
Yonghegong Lanasery is a famous lamasery located in the northeastern part of the old city of Beijing. It was a palatial residence built in 1694 by Qing emperor Kangxi for his fourth son, Prince Yongzheng who later succeeded to the throne. This magnificent temple consists of five main buildings lying on the north-south axis, with annex halls standing on both sides. The temple is listed by the Chinese Government as one of the important historical monuments under special preservation. After the death of his father, Emperor Yongzheng moved to the Forbidden City. The compound was closed to ordinary people and was renamed Yonghegong (the Palace of Harmony). Yellow ones to suit a monarch's home replaced green roof tiles. In 1744 his successor Emperor Qianjong converted the palace into a lamasery.

Several renovations have been carried out since 1949. The temple has taken on a new look and was reopened to the public in 1981. It is now not only a functional lama temple, but also a tourist attraction.

Yonghemen (Gate of Harmony)
It is actually a hall rather than a gate. Following the Buddhist tradition, the first hall in a lamasery is usually called the Maitreya's shrine or the Hall of Heavenly Kings. In this hall Mile or Maitreya in Sanskrit, the Laughing Buddha always greets people with a smiling face. A Bodhisattva often worshipped in China as a fat, laughing man. He is known in China as the Big Belly Buddha. Legend has it that he was born 1,000 years ago and became a monk in Yuelin Temple in Fenghua County, Zhejiang Province. He often went spreading Buddhism with a hag in his hand begging for food, so people usually called him the Bag Buddha. He is also known as the Laughing Buddha because he always smiles. It is said that before his death he was sitting on a piece of stone slab, telling people that he was the reincarnation of the Future Buddha Maitreya. According to what he said people called him Buddha Maitreya after his death.

On each side of Buddha Maitreya, there is a sandalwood pagoda. On the pagoda stand many small Buddhist images, which were symbols of longevity. Hence, the Longevity Pagoda. On both sides of Maitreya's shrine are seated four fearsome looking Heavenly Kings or Celestial Guardians, two on each side.

The Buddhist theory goes that the earth is divided into four worlds: northern, southern, eastern and western. Each of the four worlds is guarded by one of the Four Heavenly Kings.

The one with a sword is the Southern World Heavenly King named Zengzhang. When ghosts and monsters dare to step in, he chants an incantation and throws his magic sword up into the sky. In a flash the sword flies down like lightning, hitting, sometimes even killing the intruder.

Next to him sits Chiguo, the Eastern World Heavenly King, who plays a pipa, a 4-stringed Chinese lute. On the battlefield, he plucks the musical instrument and gives his enemy a headache. So he wins the battle.

Opposite to him is Duowen, the Northern World Heavenly King, who carries a huge umbrella. Whenever he puts up his umbrella, the sky over the battlefield turns dark and a cyclonic storm howls, sending sand and rocks whirling about. The eyesight of his rivals is sure to be impaired. Hardly has he shut up the umbrella when the rivals are drawn into it and arrested.

The one with a water snake is the Western World Heavenly King Guangmu. Once released, the snake mounts the clouds and rides the mists. All of a sudden, this animal spurts out water and disperses his enemy.

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Weituo (Skanda)
Behind the shrine of Maitreya stands the statue of Weituo facing backwards to a large courtyard. Because he made great contributions towards guarding the graveyard of Sakyamuni, he was appointed protector of Buddhism and ranked first among the 32 guardian generals. He holds in his hand a Monster-surrender Stick, named Vajra (a symbol of might), used for defeating and conquering evil spirits or devils.

At first, Weituo, together with the two generals Heng and Ha, and the four Heavenly Kings, were all supernatural generals who protected Buddhist doctrines. All of them took on the responsibility of guarding the Buddhist temples. However, each had his work to do. Weituo, also known as Weituo Tian, or Weituo Bodhisattva, is one of the eight generals under the leadership of the "Southern World Heavenly King" named Zengzhang. Each of the Four Heavenly Kings had eight generals totalling 32 generals in all and Weituo ranked first among all the guarding generals. According to Buddhism, Buddha issued decrees that Weituo be responsible to protect those people who became monks and nuns and to shield and sustain Buddhist doctrines.

Weituo was regarded as Shen Xing Tai Bao and was good at flying over the ground. Buddhism says that after Tathagata (Buddha) was cremated, suddenly a fast moving ghost stole Buddha's two teeth and escaped with them. After Weituo discovered this he was enraged and ran through the air after it. Although the ghost was moving fast and was very agile, he was no match for the fleet-footed Weituo and finally it was caught. Weituo took back the Buddha's teeth and thereafter, he was assigned the special job of guarding the graveyard of Sakyamuni, founder of Buddhism.

After Buddhism was introduced to China about 2,000 years ago, Weituo with an Indian origin thoroughly changed his appearance and became an ancient Chinese military general. His statue is armed with a golden suit of armour. The statue shows him to be young, majestically-looking with martial bearing.

Bronze Incense Burner
This incense burner was cast in 1748. It stands 4.2 metres high with six openings to let out flames. Above each opening two dragons playing with a pearl are cast in bas-relief, while on the pedestal a design with three lions contesting for a ball is portrayed. As one of the two bronze tripods of its kind ever found in China, this is really a treasure trove. The other one stands in the Imperial Garden in the Palace Museum.

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