十三陵的英文导游词---不是一般的费劲THEMINGTOMBSTheMingTombsare40kilometersnorthofBeijingCityonthesouthernslopesofTianshouMountain.Theyaretheburialgroundsof13MingDynastyemperors.InJuly2003thesitewasdesignatedaworldculturalheritagesitebyUNESCO.EmpressXudiedinthe5thyearofYongle(1407).ZhuDisentZhaoHong,secretaryoftheMinistryofRitesandageomancer----LiaoJunqingalongwithmanyotherstoBeijinginsearchofanauspiciousplaceforthetombs.ItissaidthatthisgroupofpeoplefirstselectedtheareaofTuJiaYing,whichmeansslaughter-house,andassuch,itcouldn'tbeusedastheburialground.NexttheyselectedthefootofYangshanMountain,Changping.However,sincethesurnameoftheemperor(Zhu)isahomophoneforpigandbecauseavillagenamed'wolfmouthravine'waslocatedthere,theydecidedagainstusingthatarea.Later,theyfoundYan-jiataiwestofBeijing.Again,since'Yanjia'wasthehomonymofthedeathoftheemperor,itwasalsodeemedunsuitable.Itwasnotuntilthe7thyearofYongle(1409),thattheyfinallychosethepresentHeavenlyLongevityMountainastheircemeterygrounds.Thewholeareacovers40squarekilometers.Ithasmountainstoitseast,westandnorth,andDragonMountainandTigerMountainareoneithersideofitssouthernentrance.The13tombsgofromnorthtosouth.TheyarearrangedinthemanneroftheImperialPalace,withtheadministrationareainthefrontandlivingquartersintherear.Infrontofthetombsaredivinepasses,stonearchwaysandsteeltowers.ThePreciousCityandMingTowerstandovertheUndergroundPalace.Therewere16emperorsduringtheMingDynasty.BuriedintheMingtombs,are13Mingemperorsand23empresses,aswellasmanyconcubines,princes,princessesandmaids.Theother3emperors,EmperorZhuYuanzhang,ZhuYunwenandZhuQiyuareburiedinotherlocations.ThefounderoftheMingDynasty,ZhuYuanzhang,establishedhiscapitalinpresentdayNanjingwherehewasburiedafterhisdeath.HistombiscalledXiaoling(TombofFilialPiety).ThebodyofthesecondemperoroftheMing,ZhuYunwen,ismissing.Somesaidthathediedinafire,whileotherssaidthathewenttoatempleandbecameamonk.Thereisnofinalconclusionyet.TheseventhMingEmperorZhuQiyu,wasburiedasaprincebyhiselderbrotherZhuQizhenatJinshankou,awesternsuburbofBeijing,becauseintheTumubaoUpheaval,EmperorZhuQizhenbecameacaptiveandtheyoungerbrotherofZhuQizhen.ZhuQiyuwaschosenasthenewemperor,butlaterZhuQizhenwasbackandproclaimedhisre-enthronementintheSeizingGateUpheaval.TheMemorialArchwasbuiltinthe19thyearofJiajing(1540)asasymboloftheMingTombs.Itis14metershighand28.86meterswide,andhas5archessupportedby6pillarswithbeautifulbas-reliefcarvingsoflions,dragonsandlotusflowers.TheMemorialArchisthebiggestandthemostexquisitestonearchpreservedinthecountrytoday.Themajordesignsofdragonandclouddecorationsreflectthecharacterofimperialarchitecture.Inaddition,italsodemonstratestheskillfulartistryoftheMingcraftsmen.TheBigPalaceGateisthefrontgateoftheMingTombs,andismorecommonlyknownasBigRedGate.Facingsouth,therearethreearchen-trancestothegate,themaininlettotheMingTombs.Flankingthegatearetwostonetablets,inscribedwithordersfortheemperor,officialsandotherpeopletodismount,beforeenteringintothetombarea.Iftheydidnotobey,theywouldbepunishedfortheirdisrespect.TherulesgoverningtheMingTombsintheMingDynasty,stipulatethatonewhosneaksintothetombareatopickfirewoodandbreaktwigswouldbeflogged.Thosewhocametofetchdirtandstonewouldbebeheaded.Thosewhoenteredarbitrarilyintothetombareawouldbefloggedahundredtimes.TheTabletHousewasbuiltinthe10thyearofXuande(1435),andstandsabout10mete...
