EAN: 9783030493264

SACRED LANDSCAPES OF IMPERIAL CHINA - GIULIO MA...

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.

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