From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core

Chinese pyramids are ancient mausoleums and burial mounds built to house the remains of several early emperors of China and their imperial relatives. About 38 of them are located around 25 kilometres (16 mi) - 35 kilometres (22 mi) north-west of Xi'an, on the Qin Chuan Plains in Shaanxi Province. The most famous is the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, northeast of Xi'an and 1.7 km west of where the Terracotta Warriors were found[citation needed]. Chinese pyramids were also built during the Han, Tang, Song, and Western Xia dynasties.[citation needed]

They have flat tops, and thus are more similar in shape to the Teotihuacan pyramids north-east of Mexico City, Mexico than to the pyramids in Giza, Egypt. Although known in the West for at least a century, their existence has been made controversial by sensationalist publicity and the problems of Chinese archaeology in early 20th century.

Earliest pyramids

The earliest pyramids in China are found just north of Beijing in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and in Liaoning. They belong to the Neolithic Hongshan culture (4700 to 2900 BC).

One such pyramid is situated about 1 km (0.62 mi) north of Sijiazi (四家子) Town, Aohan County (敖漢旗).

The site of Niuheliang in Liaoning contains a pyramidal structure too.

Information available in the West

The 'Tomb of the General' in Ji'an, Jilin , China. It was built during the Goguryeo Kingdom (37 BC – 668 AD)

In 1667, the Jesuit Father Athanasius Kircher speaks about Chinese pyramids in his book China monumentis Illustrata.

The existence of "pyramids" in China remained little known in the Western world until the 1910s. They were documented in large numbers around Xian, first in 1912 by the Western traders Fred Meyer Schroder and Oscar Maman, and also in 1913 by the expedition of Victor Segalen. He wrote about the First Emperor's tomb, and about the other mound tombs in the region in his Mission Archeologique en Chine (1914): L'art funeraire a l'epoque des Han.[2]

Sensational claims

The introduction of pyramids in China to popular attention came soon after World War II. Many early stories were focused on the existence of a "Great White Pyramid" (Maoling). This is the tomb of Emperor Wu of Han (156–87 BCE) located in Xingping, Shaanxi Province.

U.S. Army Air Corps pilot James Gaussman is said to have seen a white jewel-topped pyramid during a flight between India and China during World War II. Colonel Maurice Sheahan, Far Eastern director of the Trans World Airline, told an eyewitness account of his encounter with a pyramid in the March 28, 1947 edition of The New York Times.[3] A photo of Sheahan's pyramid appeared in The New York Sunday News on March 30, 1947. This photograph later became attributed to James Gaussman.

Chris Maier showed that the pyramid in the photo is the Maoling Mausoleum of Emperor Wu just outside Xi'an. Pseudohistorians, through promoting their theories, have increased western awareness of these pyramids. Hartwig Hausdorf speculated it was built by aliens, and Philip Coppens repeated this theory.[4]

Despite claims to the contrary, the existence of these pyramid-shaped tomb mounds was known by scientists in the West before the publicity caused by the story in 1947. Shortly after the New York Times story, Science News Letter (now Science News) published a short item saying: "The Chinese pyramids of that region are built of mud and dirt and are more like mounds than the pyramids of Egypt, and the region is little travelled. American scientists who have been in the area suggest that the height of 1,000 feet (300 m), more than twice as high as any of the Egyptian pyramids, may have been exaggerated, because most of the Chinese mounds of that area are built relatively low. The location, reported 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Sian, is in an area of great archaeological importance, but few of the pyramids have ever been explored."[5]

Some of the pyramids of Xi'an are currently tourist attractions, such as for example the Han Yang Ling Mausoleum of the Western Han Dynasty, and several of them have museums attached to them.

Partial list of pyramids in China

File:Han Yang Ling 02.JPG A modern model portraying how Emperor Jing's tomb complex would have appeared upon completion

Zhou dynasty tombs complex near Luoyang, Henan

Tomb of King Ling of Zhou Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Tomb of Three Kings of Zhou Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Zhao Kings' tombs complex near Handan, Hebei

Tomb of King of Zhao state Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Yan King's burial mounds in Yixian, Hebei

Burial complex in ancient Xiadu Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Qin dynasty mausoleums near Xi'an, Shaanxi

Tomb of First Emperor in Lintong Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. .This is the largest Chinese burial mound. The original height was 76 metres (249 ft), the present height is 47 metres (154 ft), and the dimensions are 357 by 354 metres (1,171 ft × 1,161 ft). It was built during the short-lived imperial Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC). [ citation needed ]

.This is the largest Chinese burial mound. The original height was 76 metres (249 ft), the present height is 47 metres (154 ft), and the dimensions are 357 by 354 metres (1,171 ft × 1,161 ft). It was built during the short-lived imperial Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC). Tomb of Emperor Qin Ershi in Xi'an.[ citation needed ]

Western Han dynasty mausoleums complex in Xianyang and around Xi'an, Shaanxi

Maoling Mausoleum group:

Tomb of Emperor Wu of Han Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. . The size is 222 metres (728 ft) x 217 metres (712 ft).

. The size is 222 metres (728 ft) x 217 metres (712 ft). Tomb of Empress Li Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Tomb of Princess Yang Xin

Pingling Mausoleum group:

Tomb of Emperor Zhao of Han Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Tomb of Empress Shangguan Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Yanling Mausoleum group:

Tomb of Emperor Cheng of Han Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Tomb of Empress Xu Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Tomb of Consort Ban Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Tomb of Empress Zhao Feiyan

Kangling Mausoleum group:

Tomb of Emperor Ping of Han Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Tomb of Empress Wang

Weiling Mausoleum group:

Tomb of Emperor Yuan of Han Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Tomb of Empress Wang Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Group of two "tombs of Zhou Kings" (possibly from Han era):

Tomb of King Wu of Zhou

Tomb of King Wen of Zhou

Yiling mausoleum group:

Tomb of Emperor Ai of Han Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Tomb of Empress Fu Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Anling mausoleum group:

Tomb of Emperor Hui of Han Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Tomb of Empress Zhang Yan

Tomb of Marquis Zhang Ao (father of Empress Zhang Yan) Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Tomb of Princess Lu of Yuan (mother of Empress Zhang Yan)

Changling mausoleum group:

Tomb of Emperor Gaozu of Han Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Tomb of Empress Lü Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Tomb of Consort Qi

Yangling mausoleum group:

Tomb of Emperor Jing of Han Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Tomb of Empress Wang Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Baling mausoleum group:

Tomb of Emperor Wen of Han (The tomb of the Emperor himself does not feature a pyramidal mound, due to his death wish)

Tomb of Empress Dou Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Tomb of Empress Dowager Bo Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Duling mausoleum group:

Tomb of Emperor Xuan of Han Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Tomb of Empress Wang Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Tomb of Empress Xu Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Eastern Han mausoleums near Luoyang, Henan

Yangling, Shaanxi

Tomb of Emperor Wen of Sui Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Xining, Qinghai

The Lianhu Altar (凉虎台) Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Tang dynasty mausoleums in Shaanxi

The eighteen mausoleums of the Tang Dynasty emperors (唐十八陵) in the valley of the Wei River north of the Qin Mountains(秦岭). Some are among the biggest Chinese mausoleums, such as Qianling (乾陵), joint tomb of Emperor Gaozong of Tang and of the Empress Wu Zetian. It is a natural hill shaped by man.

Mausoleum of Emperor Xiaojing of Tang near Goushi, Henan

Tomb of Emperor Xiaojing of Tang Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 668: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Tomb of Empress Ai

Imperial mausoleums complex of Song dynasty in and around Gongyi, Henan

Elsewhere

See also