Author:
Giulio Magli
Publisher:
Springer
Publication date:
June 2020
Abstract:
This book analyses the magnificent imperial necropolises of ancient China from the perspective of Archaeoastronomy, a science which takes into account the landscape in which ancient monuments are placed, focusing especially but not exclusively on the celestial aspects. The power of the Chinese emperors was based on the so-called Mandate of Heaven: the rulers were believed to act as intermediaries between the sky gods and the Earth, and consequently, the architecture of their tombs, starting from the world-famous mausoleum of the first emperor, was closely linked to the celestial cycles and to the cosmos. This relationship, however, also had to take into account various other factors and doctrines, first the Zhao-Mu doctrine in the Han period and later the various forms of Feng Shui. As a result, over the centuries, diverse sacred landscapes were constructed. Among the sites analysed in the book are the “pyramids” of Xi’an from the Han dynasty, the mountain tombs of the Tang dynasty, and the Ming and Qing imperial tombs. The book explains how considerations such as astronomical orientation and topographical orientation according to the principles of Feng Shui played a fundamental role at these sites.
Table of Contents:
1 Heavens and Earth in Ancient China
2 In Between Wind and Water
3 A Mound and A Terracotta Army
4 Pyramids on the River
5 The Golden Age
6 A New Splendor
7 A Beautiful Valley
8 The Last Dynasty
Conclusions: A View from Purple Mountain
Appendix Probing Feng Shui Landscapes
The Azimuth-Altitude Reference System
The Horizon Formula
The Use of Virtual Globe Software
Palaeomagnetic Models Chronology of Imperial China
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