IMPERIAL MAUSOLEUMS AND TOMBS - ANCIENT CHINESE ARCH

A tour of the different imperial mausoleums and tombs provides a unique opportunity to savour the artistic delights of ancient Chinese sculpture and painting. The underground mausoleums and tombs developed out of China's longstanding practice of sacrificial rites and burial. Prior to the Zhou dynasty, simple enclosures were the rule, mounds followed in the Qin dynasty and by the Han dynasty, brick and stone structures had been widely adopted. These were in turn superseded by the magnificent palace-like imperial tombs of the Ming and Qing dynasties. All of the various architectural and ceremonial developments and styles are examined and illustrated in detail.