Intangible culture with Related Tags
Heritage with Related Tags
Tombs of Buganda Kings at Kasubi
The Tombs of the Buganda Kings at Kasubi are located in the Kampala District and cover nearly 30 hectares. Most of the site is agricultural land, cultivated using traditional methods. The core of the hilltop is the old palace of the Kabaka of Buganda, built in 1882 and converted into a royal cemetery in 1884. Four royal tombs exist within the main building, Muzibu Azaala Mpanga, which is circular in shape and topped with a dome. It is an excellent example of building using organic materials, primarily wood, thatch, reeds, wattle and mud. However, the main significance of the site lies in its intangible values of faith, spirituality, continuity and identity.
Arslantepe Mound
The Arslantepe Mound is a 30-meter-high archaeological site located in the Malatya Plain, 12 kilometers southwest of the Euphrates River. Archaeological evidence at the site indicates that it was inhabited from at least the 6th millennium BC to the late Roman period. The earliest strata of the Early Uruk period are characterized by adobe houses from the first half of the 4th millennium BC. The most prominent and prosperous period of the site was the Late Chalcolithic period, during which the so-called palace complex was built. Extensive evidence also confirms the presence of the Early Bronze Age, the most prominent of which is the Royal Tomb Complex. Archaeological strata then extend to the Old Assyrian and Hittite periods, including the Neo-Hittite period. The site demonstrates the processes that led to the emergence of state societies and complex bureaucratic systems that predate writing in the Near East. Many exceptional metal objects and weapons have been unearthed at the site, including the earliest swords known to date in the world, indicating that organized forms of combat began to become the prerogative of the elite, who displayed these swords as instruments of their new political power.
Yin Xu
Located near Anyang, about 500 km south of Beijing, the Yinxu site was an ancient capital of the late Shang Dynasty (1300-1046 BC), witnessing the heyday of China's Bronze Age and the golden age of early Chinese culture, craftsmanship and science. A number of royal tombs and palace buildings were unearthed at the site, laying the foundation for China's later architectural style. These include palaces and royal ancestral halls, where more than 80 house sites were discovered, and the only intact tomb of a member of the Shang royal family - the tomb of Fu Hao. The large number of burial objects and the exquisite craftsmanship are testaments to the high level of craftsmanship in the Shang Dynasty. The oracle bones discovered at Yinxu are one of the oldest writing systems in the world and a valuable testimony to the development of ancient beliefs and social systems.
Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty
The royal tombs of the Joseon Dynasty consist of 40 tombs spread over 18 sites. The tombs were built over five centuries between 1408 and 1966 to honor ancestors, honor their merits, maintain royal authority, protect ancestral spirits from evil, and prevent vandalism. Tombs were chosen in locations of natural beauty, usually backed by hills, facing south toward water, and ideally with ridges in the distance. In addition to the burial areas, the royal tombs also have ritual areas and entrances. In addition to the tombs, the associated buildings that form part of the tombs include T-shaped wooden shrines, stele sheds, royal kitchens and guardhouses, red pointed gates, and gravekeepers' houses. The exteriors of the tombs are decorated with a variety of stone objects, including human and animal statues. The Joseon Dynasty tombs complete the 5,000-year history of royal tomb architecture on the Korean Peninsula.
Temple of Heaven: an Imperial Sacrificial Altar in Beijing
The Temple of Heaven was built in the first half of the 15th century. It is a stately complex of exquisite sacrificial buildings set in gardens and surrounded by a historic pine forest. The overall layout of the Temple of Heaven and the arrangement of its individual buildings symbolize the relationship between heaven and earth (between humans and gods) that is central to Chinese cosmology, and the special role that the emperor played in this relationship.
Xiannongtan
The symmetrical layout of the Temple of Agriculture and the Temple of Heaven reflects the respect and emphasis on etiquette in traditional Chinese capital planning. As the largest existing royal place for worshipping the god of agriculture in ancient China, the Temple of Agriculture demonstrates the respect for farming culture in traditional Chinese society and carries the ritual tradition of worshipping the god of agriculture in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Book of Rites: Sacrifice records: "The emperor personally ploughed in the southern suburbs to provide for the prosperity of the country." The Temple of Agriculture is located in the southwest corner of the outer city of Beijing's old city. Its location follows the tradition of personally ploughing in the southern suburbs. The Temple of Agriculture and the Temple of Heaven are symmetrically arranged from east to west along the central axis of Beijing. The Temple of Agriculture is divided into the inner and outer altars. The inner altar is located to the south and west of the outer altar and is a rectangular courtyard. The Taisui Hall complex located on the central axis of the inner altar, and the Temple of Agriculture, Jingtian and Guangengtai to the south are the main places for worship. The inner altar also has three groups of facilities serving sacrificial activities, namely the Shencang complex to the east of the Taisui Hall, the Shenchu complex to the west, and the Jufu Hall to the south. The outer altar wall was historically in the shape of a circle in the north and a south in the south, similar to the Temple of Heaven. The outer altar also has the altar of gods on the south side of the inner altar and the Qingcheng Palace on the east side of the inner altar. The main altars in the Xiannong Altar are all square in plan, which contrasts with the circular planes of the Circular Mound Altar and the Altar of Prayer for Good Harvests in the Temple of Heaven, forming two groups of national sacrificial buildings that are symmetrically arranged along the central axis of Beijing and contrast in architectural form. The inner altar of the Xiannong Altar is a ritual space for worshiping Tai Sui and Xiannong, and it is also the place where the emperor personally ploughs. The outer altar includes the altar of gods for worshiping gods of heaven and earth and the Qingcheng Palace used as a fasting palace. The worship of Xiannong is an important part of traditional Chinese national rituals, showing the importance that ancient Chinese society attached to agricultural activities and farming culture. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the core objects of worship in the Xiannong Altar were the God of Agriculture (Emperor Yan Shennong) and Tai Sui Sui Jiang (the god of the year and the god of guarding the twelve months). According to legend, Shennong was the first person to teach Chinese ancestors how to cultivate land and grow grains. To thank him, his descendants worshipped him as a god and prayed for agricultural abundance. During the sacrifice to Shennong, the emperor not only had to worship Shennong, but also had to plow the land himself, promote the spirit of valuing agriculture and encouraging farming, and watch the princes and ministers plowing the land. The sacrificial activities at the Xiannong Temple continued until 1911. Today, the Xiannong Temple is open to the public as a museum, displaying ancient Chinese architecture and the sacrificial traditions of the Xiannong Temple. The Xiannong Temple was first built in the 18th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty (1420). When it was first established, the altar had core ritual spaces such as the Xiannong Temple, the Taisui Hall, the Worship Hall, and the Fentian. In the second year of the Tianshun reign of the Ming Dynasty (1458), the Zhai Palace (now the Qingcheng Palace) was added. In the 10th year of the Jiajing reign (1531), the altars of the gods of heaven and earth were built on the south side of the Xiannong Temple, and a wooden viewing platform was built to the north of the Fentian for the emperor to watch plowing. In the 18th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1753), the altar of Xiannongtan was rebuilt, and the wooden viewing platform was replaced with a brick one. In 1915, the north side of the outer altar of Xiannongtan was opened to the public as a park, and was renamed Chengnan Park in 1918. In 1991, the Beijing Ancient Architecture Museum was established in Xiannongtan.
Eastern Qing Tombs
The Eastern Qing Tombs are located in Tangshan City, Hebei Province. They are the largest and most complete imperial mausoleum complex in my country, integrating royal culture, filial piety culture, funeral culture, ancient inscriptions and architectural art. The Eastern Qing Tombs were first built in the 18th year of Shunzhi (1661) and lasted for 274 years until the two imperial concubines of Emperor Tongzhi were buried in Huifei's mausoleum in 1935. There are 15 mausoleums and more than 580 single buildings distributed within the 80 square kilometers of protection area of the Eastern Qing Tombs, where 5 emperors, 15 queens, 136 concubines, 3 princes, and 2 princesses, a total of 161 people, are buried. Among the people buried in the Eastern Qing Tombs, there are many who had an important influence on the history of the Qing Dynasty, such as Empress Xiaozhuang Wen, a female politician in the early Qing Dynasty who assisted Emperor Shizu and Emperor Shengzu; Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong, who created the "Kangxi and Qianlong Prosperous Era"; Empress Dowager Cixi, who ruled China for 48 years twice behind the scenes in the late Qing Dynasty. These people played important roles in the historical stage of the Qing Dynasty, dominated the fate of the country, and were very well-known at home and abroad. Their tombs are rich in content and have extremely high historical value.