Royal mausoleums of the western Han and of the Song Chinese dynasties: A satellite imagery analysis

Abstract

The mausoleums of the Emperors and of some members of the royal family of the Western Han Chinese Dynasty are a spectacular ensemble of tombs, covered by huge earth mounds and scattered throughout the outskirts of modern Xi'an. Their inspiration comes from the world-famous mausoleum of the first Emperor of the Qin, who reigned immediately before the Han, and these in turn inspired the much later mausoleums of the Song Dynasty. For numerous reasons it is nowadays difficult to acquire data and to capture on the ground the spatial and cognitive relationships between these monuments and the way they formed a unified cultural landscape. Therefore we make use here of satellite data to investigate dimensions, orientations and mutual cognitive aspects of their projects. The analysis encompasses a consideration of the cultural links of astronomy with orientation and topography, as well as a test of the possible influence of traditional Chinese doctrines on these. The special case of the mountain tomb of Emperor Wen of Han is also discussed.