|
The mausoleum of the ancestor of Chinese nation is the greatest heritage of China. It stands in the district of Huangling, Shaanxi province. For over 2,000 years that place is considered sacred for each Chinese.
The ancestor of Chinese history, Emperor Qin Shi Huang ascended the throne of Qin state, the most powerful of the seven separate Chinese states, at the age of 13. When he was 22 Qin Shi Huang took the helm. In 10-years’ time he subdued the 6 remaining states. By 221 BC the absolute monarchy was established in Chine for the first time in history. The young autocrat proclaimed himself Qin Shi Huang "Founder Emperor ". Qin Shi Huang was the first emperor of united China in 221 — 210 BC. The erection of his tomb began BC right after his enthronement. As it conquered and annexed more and more territories of China the tomb construction grew in volume. Thousands of workers for 36 years erected the monumental tomb. The work lasted until 206 BC when Qin dynasty was overthrown, so it was not finished.
Its true size has not been identified yet. Nobody knows why after the burial of Emperor Qin Shi Huang in the autumn of 210 BC after so many years the tomb has not been excavated.
The territory of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang is about 4 square kilometers. If you enter the mausoleum gate the first thing you will see is a huge cypress. According to the legend it was planted by Qin Shi Huang personally. The cypress stands 29 m tall, 10 m in girth. Near that old cypress stand many other ancient trees aged almost 3,000. Hence the yard where the ancient cypresses grow is called Gubaiyuan, “the yard of ancient cypresses”. The main building in Gubaiyuan is the pavilion having a huge horizontal tablet with four hieroglyphs: the founder of Chinese civilization. The pavilion is dedicated to Qin Shi Huang.
The square behind the yard of cypresses is called the donation square. It occupies more than 10 thousand sq. m and is paved with granite. On the right and the left there stand a huge bell and a drum. Those are the necessary tools for conducting rituals of Qingmin holiday. In the end of the donation square there is the pavilion of Suantuang (the first name of Qin Shi Huang). The pavilion was constructed entirely from granite. The pavilion stands on three levels. That is the main place where they esteem the memory of Qin Shi Huang. The pavilion was built in ancient Chinese architectural style.
|
