Yue Qiang
In addition to the Ming Tombs, Beijing also has the Jinling Tomb located in Dafangshan Mountain, Fangshan District. Like the Ming Tombs, Jinling is also a national key cultural relic protection unit. The Jinling burial contains 17 emperors of the Jin Dynasty, and the Ming Tomb contains 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty. In terms of age, Jinling is more than 200 years earlier than the Ming Tombs, but the Ming Tombs are famous, but Jinling is little known.
The white jade archway on the ruins of Jinling
The layout is like a wild goose spreading its wings
When I found the ruins of Jinling deep in the mountains southwest of Beijing, there was only one old woman on the wide mountain platform. The hillside to the west of the platform has been built into a staircase, and because the steps are low, you can only walk up the steps. At the end of the steps, a white jade archway is erected. My wife told me that people who came to the Jinling ruins took pictures there. Implicitly, this torii is the most eye-catching scenery here.
On the north side of the platform stands a chalk-colored boulder engraved with three large red characters "Nine Dragon Mountain". Jiulong Mountain belongs to the branch of Dafang Mountain, so named because the nine ridges here resemble nine galloping dragons. Jiulong Mountain is also called Yunfeng Mountain, there is an ancient village - Chechang Village at the bottom of the mountain, and not far from the Yanshan Petrochemical Zone. The Rui Ling of Jin Taizu and the Gong Tomb of Jin Taizong Wu Beggars are on this mountain.
Under the mountain roots on the east side of the platform, several uneven display panels are in the shape of houses, and the text on them is "Introduction to Jinling", the main content is: the Jinling site is located in the foothills of Dafang Mountain in the southwest of Fangshan District, which is the mausoleum area of the emperors, concubines and clans of the Jin Dynasty, built by King Hailing, Sejong, Zhangzong, King Weishao, and Emperor Xuanzong in 60 years, forming a grand royal mausoleum, with a trillion domain of 156 li, distributed 17 imperial tombs and the only Houfei mausoleum - Kunhou Mausoleum, as well as the "Zhao Domain of Kings" that buried the Yan Sect's room. In the 29th year of Jin Dading (1189), it was the Fengli Mountain Mausoleum and set up Wanning County. In the 2nd year of Mingchang (1191), it was renamed Fengxian County, which is now Fangshan District.
Before the founding of the Jin Dynasty, a total of 10 tribal leaders below were honored as emperors and buried in the Dafangshan Mausoleum: the ancestor buried in the Guangling Tomb, the Dedi Burial Xi Mausoleum, the An Emperor Burial Jian Mausoleum, the Ancestor Sacrifice Burial Hui Mausoleum, the Zhao Zu Burial An Mausoleum, the Jingzu Burial Ding Mausoleum, the Shizu Burial Yongling Tomb, the Suzong Burial Tailing Mausoleum, the Muzong Burial Mausoleum, and the Kang Emperor Burial Qiao Mausoleum. Among the imperial tombs of the Jin Dynasty in Dafangshan, there are 5 imperial tombs in the Taizu Mausoleum District of Jiulongshan: Taizu Rui Mausoleum, Taizong Gong Mausoleum, Ruizong Jingling Tomb, Sejong Xingling and Zhangzong Daoling Mausoleum.
The old lady who guarded here told me that the road to these mausoleums was behind the panels, that the mausoleums were long gone, and that there was nothing on the mountain except barren grass and dead trees. The situation on the mountain was indeed as the old lady said, with dead trees and decaying grass, ruins and broken walls, a bleak scene of early winter. There is a wooden bridge on the mountain road, and the deck is covered with barbed wire. After I rounded the wooden bridge, I saw a glass cover installed on a section of the steps, a facility for the protection of historical sites, and a sign of the person responsible for cultural relics safety standing next to it. When I went down the mountain, I found the stone stele of "Jinling, a national key cultural relic protection unit" not far from the wooden bridge. Although the handwriting on the tablet is no longer clear and eye-catching, I am still very gratified.
According to historical records, the original Jinling main mausoleum area was based on Shinto as the central axis, with a symmetrical layout on both sides, consisting of stone bridges, Shinto, stone walkways, platform sites (Magpie Terrace, Milk Terrace), East and West Halls, Mausoleum Walls, Mausoleums, etc. The Shinto of the white jade steps is carved with curly grass patterns, the pattern is set neatly, and the railings on both sides are engraved with the pattern of two dragons playing pearls. On both sides of the Ruiling and Gongling tombs, buried by the mountains are the descendants of the Wanyan family, and the layout is like a wild goose spreading its wings, forming a capital "gold" character.
But now, time has passed, and the earliest imperial tomb in the Beijing area can only be completed by imagination.
Gatehouse near the ruins of Jinling
The ruins of Jinling protected by a glass cover
King Hailing moved the capital to the mausoleum
The early capital of the Jin Dynasty was Shangjing (present-day Acheng District, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province), and it was from there that the legendary dynasty became powerful. Today, the once-prosperous Shangjing City is gone. In 1153, the fourth emperor of the Jin Dynasty, King Hailing, destroyed the city and palace of Shangjing with a fire, as he decided to move the capital to Yanjing (present-day Beijing).
After Yan Liang killed his cousin Jin Xizong and proclaimed himself emperor, he was ambitious and tried to dominate the world. In his view, the territory of the Jin Dynasty is constantly expanding, there are more and more officials in the ruling institutions, and the remote Shangjing has inconvenient water and land transportation, and material supply is difficult, and it is no longer able to meet the needs of the development of the situation. To this end, despite the strong opposition of the Jurchen nobles, he insisted on moving the capital from Shangjing to Yanjing. In the intricate entanglement of contradictions, Yan Liang made a quick decision, broke the cauldron and sank the boat, and moved the tombs of the ten emperors below the ancestor to Dafang Mountain near Yanjing. At the same time, the Shangjing Huining Mansion was set on fire, thus cutting off the retreat of the royal family and nobles. After that, Yanjing was renamed Zhongdu, and the center of rule of the Jin Dynasty shifted from the white mountains and black waters in the northeast to areas inhabited by Han Chinese. As a result, Beijing also became the capital of the Jin Dynasty.
After moving the capital and mausoleum, Yan Liang strengthened the centralization of power and unified the administrative order. In 1156, he ordered the abolition of the two provinces of the three-province system, Zhongshu and Menxia, leaving only Shangshu Province as the highest administrative organ. At the same time, the North-South selection system based on different customs was abolished, and officials were selected by word and department, and the mechanism for selecting officials was improved. In terms of local administration, he determined a new political district structure and abolished the Xingtai Shangshu Province, which was established to pacify the people of the Central Plains. The abolition of Xingtai enabled Yanliang to completely control Hebei, Henan and other areas of the Central Plains with the most developed production into his own hands, put an end to the situation of decentralized power, and achieved a high degree of centralization.
On this basis, Yanliang began to consider destroying the Southern Song Dynasty and unifying the world. As a result, he moved the capital a second time, moving the capital to Bianjing, which is today's Kaifeng, because it was closer to the Southern Song Dynasty. At that time, the Jin Dynasty's national strength was exhausted, and the people were not happy, but Yan Liang insisted on going his own way and sent troops to the Southern Song Dynasty. His use of force caused the land to be barren, the population to plummet, the economy to be depressed, popular grievances to boil, social contradictions to intensify, and uprisings to rise everywhere. When Yan Liang led his army to attack the Southern Song Dynasty, a mutiny occurred on the Guazhou front, and he was pierced by arrows and died tragically at the hands of his generals.
Back to Qianling. The reason why Yanliang moved the ancestral tomb to Yanjing (present-day Beijing) was to make the Jurchen nobles desperately follow him to move the capital. Compared with the later construction of the Ming Tomb of Tianshou Mountain, the construction of the Jinling Tomb of Dafangshan was too hasty. In March of the third year of Tiande (1151), the Jin Dynasty began to build a mausoleum on Dafang Mountain, and Yan Liang personally supervised the work on site. The so-called tomb building is to dig a pit in the ground and lay stones around it. The highest part of the mausoleum area is the mausoleum of Jin Taizu Wanyan A bone - Rui Mausoleum, even this highest specification imperial mausoleum does not have underground palace and other facilities, but just a pit is dug in the foundation of the original temple, a coffin is placed in the pit, and a treasure roof is built on it. Although the mausoleum is rudimentary, the drainage system is cleverly designed. There are two stone ring-shaped underground canals behind the mausoleum, which form two small rivers when it rains, thus preventing the mausoleum from being flooded.
Despite this, Jinling still did not survive. First, after the fall of the short-lived Jin Dynasty, the mausoleum was unattended, and the above-ground part was gradually damaged and destroyed. Second, during the Ming Dynasty's apocalypse, Houjin rose, and Ming Xizong was bewitched by warlocks, believing that the rise of Houjin was "related to the qi vein" of Jinling, so he ordered the demolition of the above-ground buildings in Jinling. Although part of the mausoleum was restored in the early Qing Dynasty, and a mausoleum guard was set up. However, later, the Jinling was damaged again, the whereabouts of the guards were unknown, and only the ruins of the huge mausoleum remained.
Landmark stone of Jiulong Mountain
Rise and fall in a hurry, no traces are visible
1.5 kilometers from the ruins of Jinling, there is a fork in the road leading to the mountains, and at the intersection stands a unique wooden gatehouse, covered with thatch, and below the thatch is the ink-faced gold characters - the Jurchen tribe. The Jin Dynasty established by the Jurchens rose rapidly from the fishing and hunting tribes in the black waters of the White Mountains, first destroying Liao, and then destroying the Northern Song Dynasty, with the tendency to dominate the world. However, this brave and martial dynasty lacked stamina, and only existed for 119 years before disappearing into the sky of history.
King Hailing's move of the capital, tomb move, destruction of Shangjing, and conquest of the Southern Song Dynasty greatly consumed the national strength of the Jin Dynasty, so that the lives were ruined and mourned everywhere. After King Hailing finished Yan Liang's death, Jin Shizong took the throne after Yan Yong. At the suggestion of the ministers, he once again moved the capital from Bianjing back to Zhongdu, and with Zhongdu as the ruling center, he commanded the whole world and inherited and perfected the centralized system during the Hailing Dynasty. While appointing new people, he retained ministers who were hostile to him during the period of King Hailing regardless of previous suspicions, and treated non-imperial Jurchen officials, as well as Khitan and Han officials. This style of magnanimity and meritocracy has won the support of people from all walks of life, the smooth transition of central power, and the rare harmony of the ruling class.
Unlike King Hailing's militarism, Kim Sejong was committed to building peaceful and friendly relations with neighboring countries. He took the initiative to negotiate peace with the Southern Song Dynasty and reached a Longxing peace agreement. From then on, the Jin and Song dynasties determined the border from Dasanguan in the west to the Huai River in the east, stabilizing the Jin and Song territory. In the following 40 years, there was no major war between the two sides, and the Jin Dynasty reached its peak in peace and stability, the national treasury was full, and the people lived and worked in peace. Kim Sejong's year name was Dading, and history refers to this period as Dading Injeong.
In 1190, Emperor Jin Zhangzong succeeded to the throne after Yan Jing and changed his name to Yuan Mingchang. During the reign of Jin Zhangzong, he absorbed a large number of management concepts in the Central Plains, such as proper etiquette, revision of criminal law, and official system, and developed the economy and unprecedented prosperity of society. At the same time, a crisis is brewing. The abundance of wealth made the Jurchens gradually lose the spirit of bravery, good fighting, hardship and hard work, and they were extravagant and flashy in the court and the public, and did not want to forge ahead. Official corruption and the government's disregard for the well-being of the people have exacerbated social contradictions. At this time, the Mongol cavalry in the north quickly became stronger, and they were as sharp as the army that Jin Taizu had beaten Yan Abone. In 1234, three months after Caizhou, the last bastion of the Jin Dynasty, was besieged by the combined forces of the Mongols and the Southern Song Dynasty, the city was destroyed, and the last emperor of the Jin Dynasty, Jin Weizong, hanged himself.
Among the ethnic minority regimes in the history of the mainland, the rapid splendor and rapid demise of the Jin Dynasty made future generations feel very emotional. Just like the Jinling of Dafang Mountain, it gradually disappeared from people's vision.