Bright and early this morning, we made our way to the Ming Tombs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ming_Dynasty_Tombs). When the third empress of the Ming Dynasty died, her husband immediately sent his men out to find the ideal place to construct their tomb. The decision, however, relied very heavily on the concept of feng shui (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fungshui). Lately, I’ve included links to rather difficult topics in Chinese philosophy but, unfortunately for y’all, this is yet another one. You’ve probably all heard of it, but may not know much about what it really is. In short, I’ll just say that the first Ming emperor wanted to find a good place for the tomb. Ideally, it would have mountains and water. The mountains are important because they act as protection. According to feng shui, the mountains also shield the tombs from wind. Wind (feng) blows away and scatters positive energy (qi), but water (shui) retains positive energy. Therefore, it took 2 years to find the correct tomb location, but the location was so excellent that 12 other generations of Ming emperors decided to have themselves, their wives, and their concubines buried there. This is the entrance:
The statue of the Yongle Emperor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yongle_Emperor_of_China), who first decided to have the tombs built in their present location:
Artifacts from the Ming tombs, including jewelry:
And the wedding headdress from one of the empresses:
Next, we ventured further inside to see the burial mound and Heaven Gate:
This is the Heaven Gate. You’re allowed to enter, but superstition has it that coming out isn’t as easy. When you leave, you absolutely must remember to say the Chinese phrase Wo hui lai le! It means “I will come back,” and it’s a promise to the ghosts at the burial mound. Supposedly, if you don’t say it, the ghost will follow you and make sure you do actually come back, only earlier than expected.
From the top of the Heaven Gate, we had an excellent view of the Ming Tomb grounds:
The surrounding mountains were also quite beautiful. This range is called the Dragon Mountains:
And this range is called the Tiger Mountains:
Remember the relationship between Dragons and Tigers? Chinese philosophy always comes down to balance and the relationships between opposites. It’s about maintaining a state of homeostasis and doing everything in moderation. Therefore, even in death, a place has good feng shui only if there is a balance between physical (tiger) and mental (dragon) forces.
Next, we went to a jade-carving factory where you could buy government-certified authentic jade pieces at wholesale prices. We didn’t spend a very long time, but I did surprise myself and buy something. The Cup of Justice I got in Xi’an broke en route back to Hong Kong and, although a little hot glue might help, I still wanted to get something else since I had planned to give the cup to Dad as a gift. Mind you, I’ve been trying to find a good gift for him for an entire year now. Well, I found an equally interesting curio at the jade factory. This strange-looking object is called the Happiness Ball. It’s carved from a single piece of jade, and can be up to 9 layers thick. Each layer has 12 holes to represent time. There’s 12 traditional Chinese hours (2 modern hours long each) in a day, 12 months in a year, and 12 years in the Chinese zodiac cycle. Each layer represents a different generation of a family. On the outside, the carvings you see are of a phoenix and a dragon. The relationship between phoenix and dragon is different from that between tiger and dragon. In this instance, the dragon represents “yang,” or masculinity, while the phoenix represents “yin,” or femininity. Originally, the dragon was the symbol of the emperor while the phoenix symbolized the empress. Now, the dragon and phoenix pair represents a husband and wife. Think of the Happiness Ball as a 3D family tree. In the middle, you have just one tiny dragon and phoenix pair, then the layer outside that is larger with another dragon and phoenix pair. It goes on and on, generation after generation. You put the Happiness Ball in your home, and supposedly you will have many descendants. The best part? Jade has a hardness level of 8 (diamond is 10), so it definitely will not break in transit. Actually, the shop lady wrapped it up really well too. I hope you like it, Dad!
After a brief lunch, we went to what is arguably the most famous place in China. You’ve all heard of it and—next time you’re in outer-space—you can check it out from the window. It’s the only man-made structure you can see from up there. That’s right. It’s the Great Wall of China (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_wall). Specifically, we went to the section called Badaling, which is one of the most famous areas. Chairman Mao went there once and made a famous statement along the lines of “He is not a real hero who does not climb the Great Wall.” Ever since then, the tourists have flocked to that particular location and shelled out the dough for “Hero Certificates.” We passed on that part because, after all, “He is not a real tourist who does not take the cable car up to the Great Wall instead of climbing.”
Seriously, my ears popped going up and down that cable car. The thing was steep, and the crowds were huge.
Once we made it to the top, the view was absolutely breathtaking:
Don’t worry, we all did our fair share of climbing. The cable car got us up the mountain, but from there we still hiked for around 2 hours up some seriously steep slopes:
The view from the 8th watchtower:
Proof! I made it here to the Great Wall of China:
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