Dr. sun yat-sen's mausoleum

Among all the historical and cultural attractions in NanJing ,the most favored highlight is Dr.Sun Yatsen’s Mausoleum. Dr.Sun Yatsen’s Mausoleum sits on the southern slope of the Purple Mountain.The construction began on March 12 ,1926 and was completed in 1929 when the remains of Dr.Sun Yatsen was transported from Beijing and buried at the present site on June 1.

   (生平)Dr Sun Yatsen, also named Sun Wen or Sun Zhong shan,he is the great forerunner of chinese democratic revolution. on october 12, 1866, Dr. sun was born in a peasant family in guangdong province. In 1905, he set up “Chinese Revolutionary League” in japan . he put forward the famous guiding principle- "Expelling Tartars ,Restoration of China, Establishment of Republic and equalization of land " and the three people's principles-"Nationalism, Democracy and People's livelihood. " .On october 10, 1911, the wuchang uprising broke out and Dr. sun was elected inrterim president of the Republic of China by representatives from seventeen provinces. on the following new year's day (january 1, 1912) Dr. sun took the oath of office in nanjing. from then on ,Dr. sun experienced yuan shikai's usurpation, the second revolution and so on.In 1911 , Dr.sun Yatsen brought together the Chinese Revolutionary League and other revolutionary groups to form a stronger organization called the Chinese Kuomintang.At the first National Congress of the Chinese Kuomintang in 1924,he developed the old Three People’s Principles to the new Three People’s Principles by adopting the policy of “alliance with Russia,cooperation with the Communist Party  and assistance to peasants and workers. " In november 1924, in spite of his illness,Dr. sun went up to beijing to discuss state affairs with general feng yuxiang. Unfortunately, he broke down from constant overwork and passed away on march 12, 1925.

   （墓址的选择和设计） The location of the mausoleum was chosen by Dr. sun himself. here is exactly a good place to build a mausoleum. you may wonder: why was Dr.sun Yatsen buried in Nanjing instead of in his hometown or Beijing where he died?

   It is said that far before mr. sun took office in 1912, the abbot of lingu monastery had recommended him that his place is good for geomantic omen. On march 31,1912  Dr. sun resigned as a political compromise for the sake of the union of the north china and the south china. one day of the early april, he went hunting with hu hanmin around the piety tomb of ming dynasty. Dr. sun was really so amazed by the beautiful environment that he said :〝I wish I could be bestowed a piece of land by people and be buried here after my death". Surely,the reason he chose Purple Mountain as his permanent resting-place is to commemorate the revolution of 1911 and to encourage the revolutionaries.In order to respect Dr. sun's wish, the Funeral Committee , including his wife song qingling and his son sunke, examined the area and chose the site for the mausoleum. They sponsored a competition for the design of mausoleum. A young architect named lu yanzhi was honored to win the competition with his design and was appointed the chief architect and engineer for the project.

  （孝经鼎） Dr.Sun Yatsen’s Mausoleum was designed in the shape of a liberty bell,intending to remind people never to get self-contented.Please look to the south. there is a octagonal stone platform in three level of with each enclosed by a stone railing. On the top level of the platform stands a the copper "ding" with two looped handles and two legs, weighing 5000 kilogram. It is 4.25 meters high and its diameter is 1.23 meters. It was presented by Mr.DaiJitao and all the students and faculty of Zhong shan University. one side of the "ding " is engraved with three characters "intelligence, humanity and brevity". These three words are the school instruction of zhongshan university.Inside of the "ding "stands a hexagonal copper tablet on which dai jitao's mother's handwriting of the "filial piety" is engraved.

   （博爱坊） Stepping on the steps, at the opposite side of the “ding”,we will see a soaring memorial archway with four columns. the archway was built between 1931 and 1933, 12meters hight and 17.3 meters in width. now, look up at the shining words inscribed on the horizontal board. the word in english mean fraternity. they were written by Dr. sun yat-sen. These two words are quoted from a tang dynasty poet han yu's "fraternity is humanity " .Dr. sun devoted his whole life to democratic revolution with great fraternity and struggled for the national independence .So we can say that "fraternity" is the best generalization of his life.

（墓道）Further from the fraternity archway, there is a 480 meters long tomb avenue leading to the mausoleum.Both sides of the avenue are planted with pines,gingko and maple trees etc,having replaced the stone statues and animals before ancient tombs.The tomb avenue in such a design may best embody Dr.Sun’s spirit and noble character.

（陵门）At the end of the tomb avenue stands a magnificent entrance tower.It is single-eaved and gable-roofed with bule-glazed tiles too.Under the front eave of the tower,Dr.Sun Yatsen’s motto“The World Belongs to the People”can be seen.Dr.Sun often wrote them during his life as the wording for a scroll,because this is the lofty ideal that Dr.Sun pursued all his life.

(碑亭)Now,we have passed the entrance tower, in front of us is the tablet pavilion. Erected in the middle of the pavilion is an eight meters high stele which was engraved with 24 gold-plating characters "Chinese Kuomintang buried premier sun here on june 1, 18th year of the republic of china". These words were written by one of the founder members of kuo min tang, tan yankai.

    (石阶)Going out of the pavilion, we'll see numerous layers of steps. the people of nanjing often say that the steps in the mausoleum were as number as the stone lions on lugou bridge. so when coming here tourists usually ask, "how many steps on earth are there in the mausoleum?" my friends, if you are interested you can count them.

(纪念堂)Ascending the steps,Now we are in front of the memorial hall and the coffin chamber. They are the major parts of the mausoleum.The lintel of the memorial hall is inscribed with “nationalism,democratic rights and people’s livelihood”.A vertical plaque under the eave is inscribed with 4 characters “hao qi chang cun”meaning imperishable noble spirit.Please follow me into the memorial hall. In the center of the memorial hall sits the Italian white marble statue of Dr.Sun Yatsen mounted on pedestal carved in bas-relief by Polish sculptor about his revolutionary activities.The surrounding walls are inscribed with the national constitution writeen by Dr.Sun Yatsen.

(墓室)Behind the memorial hall, we have come to the coffin chamber.The tomb is a half globe in shape. The vault ceiling of the chamber is decorated by a K.M.T.emblem.In the middle of the chamber is a round tomb pit enclosed by a marble railing,and in which a marble coffin is placed with the sleeping status of Dr.Sun in Chinese tunic suit on its top,as if he were resting in peace. But his remains are buried 5 meters deep underneath.