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In the front part of the imperial necropolises, there
usually is a Sacred Way (or Divine Road) which means
the road leading to heaven. The Emperor, known as
the Son of the Heaven, who came from Heaven to his
country through the Sacred Way, also deservedly would
return to Heaven through this road.
The road is often lined with
stone statues which are important decorations of the
mausoleum. These statues are usually 12 human figures
(including the general, civil officials and meritorious
officials) and 24 animals which are lion, camel, elephant,
xiezhi (a mythological unicorn), qilin (one of the
four "divine animals, the other three are dragon,
phoenix and tortoise), and horse. There are 4 of each
of these animals: two standing and two squatting with
different meanings. Lion symbolizes awesome solemnity
because of their ferocity. Camel and elephant are
meant to suggest the vastness of the territory controlled
by the court, because they are dependable transport
in desert and tropics. Xiezhi was put there to keep
evil spirits away, because it was believed to possess
the sixth sense to tell right and wrong. If two men
fight, a xiezhi would gore the wicked one. Qilin,
an auspicious symbol, was placed on two sides. Horse,
as the emperor's mount, is absolutely indispensable.
It is said that these animals is supposed to change
guard at midnight.
Among the many Sacred Ways, the
one of Ming Tombs' is best preserved and complete. The
Sacred Way starts with a huge stone memorial archway
lying at the front of the area. Constructed in 1540,
during the Ming Dynasty, this archway is the earliest
and biggest stone archway existing in China today. Farther
in, the Shengong Shengde Stele Pavilion can be seen.
Inside it, there lies a 50-ton tortoise carrying a stone
tablet. A white marble Huabiao (ornamental pillar) is
positioned at each corner of the stele pavilion. At
the top of each is stationed a mythical beast facing
either inward or outward, expressing hope that the emperor
will neither cling to the palace nor forget to return
to the Palace to handle state affairs. Then come two
Roof Pillars on each side of the road, whose surfaces
are carved with the cloud design, and tops are shaped
like a rounded cylinder. After the 18 pairs of stone
statues which are all sculpted from whole stones, and
larger than life size, comes the Dragon and Phoenix
Gate.
The Sacred Way was originally
built to lead to the Changling mausoleum. Afterwards,
twelve more mausoleums were built. It is a ten-minute
bus ride from the Sacred Way to Changling.
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Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic
