Qing Tomb Enigmas

THE Manchurian Qing Dynasty was China’s last imperial regime. All nine Qing emperors that ruled from Beijing, other than the last, Aisin-Gioro Puyi, built magnificent tombs for themselves in Zunhua and Yixian counties of Hebei Province. These mausoleums, respectively 50 km east and 50 km west of Beijing, are known as the Eastern and Western Qing Tombs. They are filled with priceless treasures fit to accompany rulers of that bygone age on their last journey. They are also the source of a wealth of folk literature in the oral story telling tradition, engendered by enigmatic gaps in official Qing documentation.