The Qing Dynasty was the second-- also the last -- political regime set up by an ethnic minority group of China's to rule a unified China, following the Yuan Dynasty set up by the Mongols. The Manchurian rulers of the Qing Dyasty were keen to learn from the advanced culture of the Han majority ethnic group and the experiences of government from the Han rulers. To this end, they settled in the Forbidden City, the imperial complex of the Ming Dynasty, and inherited the Ming

Dynasty's institutional rules and laws. Likewise, the imperial tombs of the Ming Dynasty were taken as models in construction of the Qing Dynasty's imperial tombs.

    In 1644, Beijing became the capital of the Qing Dynasty. Not long after he was enthroned in the Forbidden City, Emperor Shun Zhi (1644-1661), the first Qing emperor to rule the entire China, followed the example of the Ming emperors and engaged himself in search of a site for his own tomb even though he was then a mere child. The site was finally decided, at the foot of the Yanshan Mountains in what is now Zunhua County, Hebei Province, to the northeast of Beijing. EmperorShun Zhi had his tomb built there, and so did his successor, Emperor Kang Xi. So the site became the "East Imperial Burial Ground of the Qing", relative to the "West Imperial Burial Ground of the Qing" in Yixian County, Hebei Province, to the west of Beijing. The East Imperial Burial Ground is home to tombs of five emperors, 15 crown empresses, and 130 imperial concubines, princes and princesses. Four emperors and 14 crown empresses, imperial concubines, princes and princesses were buried in the West Imperial Burial Ground.

    In ground plan, the East Imperial Burial Ground is modeled after the 13 Ming Tombs, with the various tombs constructed under a unified plan while independent of one another. The largest tomb there belongs to Emperor Shun Zhi. A magnificent stone archway marks the entrance of the burial ground, and behind the archway there is the Divine Boulevard about 500 meters long, with stone statues standing at either side. Like the 13 Ming Tombs, the Divine Boulevard, along with the "imperial guard of honor" is meant for all the imperial tombs.

    By tradition, children after death should be buried where their dead parents were buried. But Emperor Yong Zheng broke the convention and had his tomb built in the West Imperial Burial Ground, even though it is more than 100 kilometers away from the East Imperial Burial Ground, where his grandfather and father were buried. He had personally chosen the site in Yixian, arguing that it was of an even higher geomantic quality. To justify his decision, the emperor quoted

this and that classics to prove that it would be a blessing to the country if the imperial family had two burial grounds. As he had expected, nobody in the court dared to challenge his decision.

    The next emperor, Emperor Qian Long, should have been buried at the side of his father's tomb in the West Imperial Burial Ground if the tradition was followed. In fact he had already chosen a site for his tomb there before he changed his mind, thinking that the East Imperial Burial Ground would eventually became a scene of destitution if his children and grandchildren, after their deaths, were buried in the West Imperial Burial Ground like him. So Emperor Qian Long had a tomb built in the East Imperial Burial Ground. Meanwhile, he issued an imperial decree to the effect that emperors that were to follow him should be built separately, alternately in the East Imperial Burial Ground

and the West Imperial Burial Ground. In other words, if the father was buried in the East, the son should be buried in the West, and then the grandson, in the East. The rule of getting the father and son buried separately was followed for a period, but it was broken as two of the emperors in the late Qing period were buried with their fathers.

    In ground plan, the two imperial burial grounds are identical.Emperor Qian Long died at 89, and occupied the throne for as long as 60 years. Under his reign, China enjoyed a long period of peace and prosperity, a period known to historians as the "flourishing age of Emperor Qian Long". Imposing and majestic as it is, his tomb, the Yu Mausoleum, is a vivid express expression of his complacence for his success. The underground part of the Yu Mausoleum consists of three halls with four doors, all built with stone. The door plates, altogether eight, are three meters high, 1.5 meters wide and 0.19 meters thick, weighing three tons each.

    A Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, standing barefooted on lotus flowers above clear ripples and wearing something that looks like a Western-style evening dress, is engraved on each plate. She has a crown of lotus flower petals on her head, and on her naked shoulders a shawl flutters in the gentle wind. The Goddess of Mercy is beautiful in shape, and her facial expressions are lively. The main hall in the underground palace complex features three sacred flowers on the ceiling, with Buddha engraved in the center of each flower which, along with inscriptions in Sanskrit, is surrounded by 24 petals. Texts of Buddhist sutras in Sanskrit are engraved on the walls, with Tibetan alphabets as phonetic symbols. The east and west walls, in particular, are engraved with images of Buddha and sacred objects of Buddhism. It is obvious that the underground palace complex enlivens what Emperor Qian Long, the self-styled "Old Man of Utter Perfection''7, perceived of the Western Paradise, the "land of utter pleasure and happiness" where he hoped to stay after his death.

    Emperors of the previous dynasties were invariably buried with their queens. In the Qing Dynasty, however, emperors and their queens were often buried in separate tombs. Under the court rules, the queen would share a tomb with her husband if she died earlier, and if she died after the emperor, a separate tomb would be built for her, at a site close to the emperor's tomb. Queens' tombs are, as a rule, smaller in size than emperors' tombs.

    The tomb of Empress Dowager Ci Xi (1835-1908) was the only exception. She was just one of the numerous concubines Emperor Xian Feng (1831-1861). Because she mothered the emperor's only son, she was given the title "empress dowager" after her son assumed the throne. And as such, she was able to manipulate the child emperor and ran roughshod over the next emperor, also a child when ascending the dragon throne. She ordered rebuilding of her tomb so that it would be large and magnificent enough to suit her status as the country's de facto ruler. Now let's have a look at her mausoleum in the East Imperial Burial Ground. The Hall of Intense Benevolence, the main structure, and the two side halls are of precious hard timber. The beams bear patterns done with gold threads of the dragon, wind, clouds and the Chinese character  (longevity). The walls are inlaid with auspicious patterns of the bats- and the character , which are produced by painstakingly putting bricks together.

    What merits even greater attention, however, is the platform on which the Hall of Intense Benevolence stands. On those breast boards, a careful observer can count more than 100 engravings depicting the phoenix, the symbol of the queen, flying in the sky while the dragon, the symbol of the emperor, is trailing behind. Moreover, the tip of each rail post is carved into the shape of the phoenix, and beneath the legendary bird, on the rail post, a dragon is flying over the sea. Empress Dowager Ci Xi's mausoleum is the only place where the phoenix is pictured as assuming a higher status than the dragon.

    1 .The Chinese Govemment has, since the 1950s, encouraged cremation of dead bodies to economize use of the country's land resources that are limited relative to the population. The traditional practice of burying dead bodies in the ground is virtually banned, but burial customs of ethnic minority groups arerespected.

    2.Visiting graves of elders and friends on the Qing Ming, the "festival" of the dead that falls on April 4, is still a folkway in modern China.

    3.Wu Zetian (about 624-705) usurped the throne from her son in 690, but abducted in 705. She was the only female emperor throughout the Chinese history.

    4.Zhu Yuanzhang or Emperor Taizu reigned supreme over China until he died in 1398.

    5.In ancient times, celestial burials were popular among ethnic Mongolians as among ethnic betans, both ethnic groups taking Lamaism as their religion.

    6.Manmu is a precious hard timberthat can be preserved almost indefinitely.

    7.In late years, Emperor Qian Long, who took pride in his political and military achievements and his personal life characterized by luxury, peace, and many wives and consequently manychildren, called himselfthe"OId Man of Utter Perfection".

    8. The bat is regarded as an auspicious animal, because in Chinese"bat" and "happiness"arehomonyms.