The Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor
6 min readLeaving the capital city of Beijing, we now travel out on the high loess plateau to pay ourrespects to an imperial tomb in Shaanxi Province. This imperial tomb was called “Qiao Ling” or Bridge Tomb in ancient times, and is situated in the Bridge Mountains of Huangling County, Shaanxi Province. The progenitor of the Chinese people, the Yellow Emperor, is honored and recognized by this mausoleum.A stele with the inscription “Tomb of the Yellow Emperor” stands before the Altar for Offerings. At the entrance to the precinct of the tomb is an”immortals terrace”of Han Wudi. The Xuanyuan Temple, Xuanyuan being the name given to the Yellow Emperor, is located at the foot of the Bridge Mountains, and is the place where genera-tions of sons and grandsons of the Yan clan made offerings to the Emperor. Inside the temple, the central axis of the architectural grouping includes buildings called the “Mountain Gate,” .
“Honesty Pavilion,””Stelae Pavilion,””Ancestral Hall of Humanity,”on the East side is a stelae pavision, on the west side are arrayed exhibition rooms. Sixteen ancient trees stand inside the courtyard that are over one thousand years in age. Among them, the cypress that is said to have been planted by the hand of the Emperor himself is reputed to be 5,000 years old. It well deserves the title of the world’s reigning cypress tree. Surrounded by a peaceful environment of mountains and water, the tomb district is ancient and simple, conveying a sense of great and unusual majesty.
Where was the Yellow Emperor born？Where did he establish his rule，and administer his domain？According to the historian Sima Qian，of the second century BC，it was in the vicinity of Xuanyuan Hill.In the record of the Five Emperors in Sima Qian’s Historical Records（the Shi Ji，finished in 91 BC），it is written that”the Yellow Emperor，son of Shaodian，surname Sun，name Xuanyuan.Resided on Xuanyuan Hill.”This Xuanyuan Hill is in modern-day Xinzheng City，Henan Province.In ancient times，Xinzheng was the capital of a country named for its having bears，or”Youxiong.”Shaodian，father of the Yellow Emperor，was head of the country Youxiong.Xinzheng is situated in the central part of Henan Province.In 1977，archaeologists discovered a culture that they named the Peiligang Culture at this site，evidence that ancestors of the Chinese nation lived here some 8，000 years ago.The dating of the archaeological material corresponds roughly to the time of the life of the Yellow Emperor.Other Chinese his torical documents contain many references to Xuanyuan，noting that Xinzheng was the site of his rule.In the book Generations of Imperial Capitals，it is recorded:”The Yellow Emperor was born at Xinzheng in the country known as Having Bears.”The Yi-tong Annals recorded：”Xuanyuan Hill is located in Xinzheng County in Kaifeng Prefecture.”In former days，a tall stone stele stood six feet high to the north of Xinzheng，at the pass leading out of town.On it were inscribed four large characters:”Site of Xuan Yuan.”Since this stele was embraced by an ancient scholar tree that had grown around it，the common name for the place was”Scholar tree-embraced Stele.”The temple built to commemorate the Yellow Emperor was built near this stele.By now，both stelae and temple have long since disappeared，but a new stele has been erected at the location of the old one with the same words，and the Xuanyuan Yellow Emperor Temple has been rebuilt.Sons and grandsons of the Yan-state clan come from around the world to seek the roots of their ancestry here，and to pay respects to the Xuanyuan Yellow Emperor.
The Yellow Emperor belonged to the clan with the surname of Ji, although some say his surname was Gongsun. He is said to have been the leader of the clan. According to notations in Chinese historical annals, after he defeated the Emperor of the state of Yan, he formed an alliance with the Yan Emperor, and repelled the invasion of nine tribes. He then took over from the Emperor of Yan as head of the alliance. The Emperor of Yan, as Yellow Emperor, is also known in Chinese legend as being the father of or even the god of agriculture. He invented agriculture, created agricultural tools, taught the people about sowing and reaping, and in general led the people out of the age of hunting into an agricultural age. The god of agriculture was also the god of medicine, who strode the hills collecting specimens, and who discovered which plants could treat which maladies.Because of this experimentation，he personally was seriously ill 72 times.Later，he transmitted his extensive pharmacological knowledge to the people by writing a book on pharmacopiaea，recording 365 kinds of medicinal plants.The Yellow Emperor united all the tribes in China，and built his capital at Xinzheng（some scholars believe it was elsewhere）.He calculated the calendar，discovered the magnetic compass，made ships and arrows，revived education，created musical instruments，understood the Heavenly stems and Earthly branches.The Yellow Emperor and the Emperor of Yan are both regarded as being the progenitors of the Chinese race.Chinese people therefore call themselves，”the sons and grandsons of Yan Huang.”
The monument of Macao’s return with Edmund Ho Hau-wahs epigraph and the monument of Hongkong’sreturn with Tung chee-hwas epigraph in the yard of Xuanyuan Temple.
Legend has it that the primary imperial concubine of the Yellow Emperor was named Luo，a woman who was also the ancestor of Chinese people who invented silk spinning and weaving.
The statue of the Emperor of Yan at the Mausoleum of the Emperor of Yanin Zhuzhou, Hunan.
Legends relating to the history of China’s primordial beginnings start with the myth of Pangu splitting the heaven and earth, and creating man together with the being known as Niiwa. This corresponds to the creation myths of Western people, with God creating the earth and humankind. In China, after the creation came a period of the three “Huangs”and the five “Dis.”The two words together, huang-di, form the modern Chinese word for Emperor. There are different versions of the legend, but the most common reckoning has it that the three “Huangs”or Emperors were Emperor of heaven, of earth, and of man. The five “Dis”were the Yellow Emperor and then four others. Some say that the Yellow Emperor was third among the first three”Huangs,”namely, the Emperor of man. Others hold that he was among the five “Dis.”Either way, his high standing can be recognized. According to the Historical Records of Sima Qian, the Yellow Emperor had twenty-five sons, and fourteen of them received his surname. The monarchs of successive dynasties, from Xia(2070-1600 BC), Shang(1600-1046 BC), and Zhou(1046-256 BC), all regarded themselves as descendants of the Yellow Emperor.
According to the Historical Records and also to other historical records, documentable histor in China can be traced back to 2070 BC. The life of the Yellow Emperor goes back roughly one thousand years before that. For the thousands of years after his death, no matter how dynasties came and went, the status of the Yellow Emperor as the ancestor of the Chinese peoplehas never wavered. Paying respects by making sacrifices or offerings to the Yellow Emperor became one of the necessary rites of every successive head of a dynasty. The Yellow Emperor’s Tomb became a symbol, strengthening the solidarity of the tribe, honoring the ancestors, serving as a locus of respect and belonging. On the eve of the irruption of the War of Resistance against Japan, in the midst of efforts to save the Chinese people representatives were sent from both parties of China to the Xuanyuan Tomb. These two parties held different political views, but they came to commemorate the great ancestor of all Chinese people and to carry out offi-cial rites at the time of the Pure Brightness Festival in 1937.
From 1955 to 1962, offering rites were carried out every year by Shaanxi Province at the time of the Pure Brightness Festival, but these activities were stopped in 1963 and not re-sumed until 1980. Since then, they have been held every year in a formal and impressive way, officiated by the National People’s Congress and the CPPCC. In 1992, Shaanxi Province began repairs of the Yellow Emperor Tomb. Today, commemorating the Yellow Emperor with public offerings has become a kind of expression of the cohesiveness of the Chinese people. Many overseas Chinese and compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan come to participate, and one can see that there is no substitute for the position of the Yellow Emperor in the hearts and minds of his”sons and grandsons.”
