The underground palace of the Dingling Tomb belonged to Emperor Zhuxianjun, the thirteenth emperor of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It is also the tomb of two empresses. Located under the foot of Dayu Mountain, to the southwest of the Changling Tomb, the Dingling Tomb was built between 1584 and 1590 which is the12th year to the 18th year during the Wanli Era. There are architectural buildings like Ling En Gate, Bao City, Ming Building, and the underground palace. It is the only tomb among the thirteen Ming tombs which has been excavated and can be visited by tourists.
The general layout on the ground of the Dingling Tomb is round at the front and square at the back. It was designed under the ancient Chinese philosophical concept ‘the sky is round and the ground is square’. The Dingling tomb started to be built in the 12th year (1584) during the Wanli Era when the Emperor Wanli was still alive. The project took ten years and cost 400, 000 kilograms of silver, which is how ancient Chinese people paid for things. It was done by 1620 when the emperor was 28 year old. The tomb was not used for thirty years. The Dingling Tomb is one of the three largest tombs. It has three courtyards at the front and one big Bao City at the back. Right in front of the gate of the tomb is a white marble stone bridge. Across the bridge is a tall stele pavilion, where 300 rooms like offices and stations are built. Then there is the fence wall called Wailuo City on the edge of the tomb. A Chinese ancient book about tombs of emperors describes the Wailuo City as superb workmanship.
Ming Dynasty Tombs (Shisan Ling)
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