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| Curiosity > Landscape > links |
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The Western Han Mausoleums According to the Zhaomu theory, tombs of different generations should be lined up, with the oldest and foremost ancestor¡¯s tomb laid right in the middle and those of his offspring on both sides; on the left should stand tombs of even-number generations like the second, fourth, sixth, and so on, and on the right should be tombs of odd-number generations like the third, fifth, seventh, and so on.
This argument, however, does not hold much water. The tomb of Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty, lay only several miles away from the eastern end of the whole cemetery. If the Zhaomu theory had been applied to the overall planning, it might be concluded that Liu Bang was declaring his empire would be short-lived because the eastern section was only capable of accommodating 3-5 tombs. Therefore, application of the Zhaomu theory was not convincing enough.
However, still persistent, proponents claimed the Zhaomu theory did work in that Liu Bang¡¯s son Huidi (reign 195-188BC) was buried to the left of Liu Bang¡¯s tomb and his grandson Jingdi (reign 157-141BC) to the right. This assumption, however, presupposes that the cluster of Western Han mausoleums was facing south, which was challenged by the recent archeological findings that several tombs such as Yangling were facing east.
At this, the much-applauded Zhaomu theory can be ruled out, leaving what dictated the sequential arrangement of the Western Han tombs still unknown.
Author:Lency
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