The Dingling underground palace is at a depth of 27meters and is composed of five separate halls.It covers1，195 square meters in area.Three white marble platforms stand in the middle hall.A large glazed ceramic vessel containing oil stands before each，with its accessories of bronze ladle and lamp.A bronze tube once connected the oil to the lamp，but the oil has long since been used up.The rear hall is the largest in the underground palace，being 9.5 meters tall，30.1 meters long and 9.1 meters wide.Its floor is of polished stone.In the center of the outer wooden coffin is the inner coffin of Zhu Yijun.Xiaoduan and Xiaoqing，the two empresses，are placed to either side，one on the left and one on the right.Arrayed around the three coffins are red lacquer chests full of decorative objects to accompany the afterlife.Some 3，000 objects were recovered from the tomb at the time of excavation，among them a golden crown and a phoenixcrown that are priceless treasures.
The thirteen tombs are an outstanding example of China’s ancient burial traditions.In China，people have always believed strongly in the peaceful burial of a person after death and funerary customs were an important part of ancient Chinese culture.Generally speaking，anemperorreceivedafirst-classtomb，ministers，premiers，and high officials were entitled to a second-class，while officials and large merchants got a third-class tomb.Each had its own standards and specifications，while the common man was glad simply to be placed peacefully in the ground.The tomb of emperors had a Spirit Way placed before the building constructed over the tomb，and on either side of this Spirit Way were Spirit animals and loyal ministers.The main function of the building constructed over the tomb was to serveas a commemorative hall，in which to hold ceremonies and make offerings.On either side were subsidiary halls;there was also a separate pavilion for slaughtering animals.A stele lauding the virtues of the emperor was generally placed.Behind the Hall was a Ming-tower，in the middle of which was a spirit stele.On it was carved the name of the temple of the occupent of the tomb which could be made known only after the emperor had died.
Three of the Ming-dynasty emperors are buried elsewhere.The founding emperor of the dynasty，Ming Taizu，or Zhu Yuanzhang（reigned 1368–1398，reign name Hongwu）is buried in Nanjing at the Xiaoling.Zhu Yuanzhang was a cruel and tyrannical ruler.As soon as he came to power he began to fabricate intrigues and accuse his ministers of plotting rebellion before having them killed.He murdered his chief strategist，Liu Ji.The second advisor or strategist was Li Shanchang，who was also the relative of Zhu Yuanzhang’s children.When this strategist was at the advanced age of 77，Zhu Yuanzhang had him killed together with seventy members ofhis family. The famous General Xu Da was one of the very few who had not been accused of plotting to over throw the throne. Legend has it that he developed a strange illness and had a particular aversion to eating geese.Zhu Yuanzhang sentanofficialto deliver a bowl ofgeesetohim，andstayednextto him as he ate it.Xu Da died that same day.The PrimeMinister Hu Weiyong was the most important assistant to Zhu Yuanzhang，yet Zhu Yuanzhang still wove stories of his plot to rebel.Zhu Yuanzhang said that Hu Weiyong planned to link up with the Japanese in plotting his overthrow.Out of his paranoia，Zhu Yuanzhang is said to have massacred several tens of thousands of people.
The cruelty of the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty was no less than that of his father.The third was Zhu Di.He mobilized a war to seize power from his legally appointed predecessor Zhu Yunwen, the Emperor Jianwen. He killed Zhu Yunwen’s ministers Qi Tai,，Huang Zicheng，and others，and put to death a loyal Confucian official who refused to write the document allowing him to ascend the throne.Then he obliterated the loyal retainer’s entire clan.The successive rulers ofthe Ming Dynasty were characterized by maniacal cruelty.The character and style of the founding emperor of a dynasty is critical to the dynasty’s future success.Other than the rapacious Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di，the rest of the Ming Emperors were mediocre and incapable，some cared nothing for state affairs，others pursued Daoist elixirs.Ruling through the use of spies was a Ming-dynasty specialty.The behavior of such people formed an atmosphere of extreme terror among both officials and common people.Although the reforms of the Prime Minister of Shenzong let in a few rays of hope，they turned out to be like fleeting mist before the eyes.They did little to obstruct the traditional posture of 16 Ming Emperors.Eventually it was up to Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong to start the rebellion that enabled the Manchus to break through the passes from the north and put an end to the Ming Dynasty.
