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Yandimausoleumislocatedinluyuanpo,TangtianTownship,15kilometerssouthwestofYanlingCounty,HunanProvince,alsoknownas"tianzifen".EmperorYan'smausoleum,theShennongfamily,isalegendarytriballeaderinancienttimes,surnamedJiang.Inhistory,hetaughtthepeopletoplantandharvestgrain,sohewascalled"Shennong".Healsotastedherbsandinventedmedicine,sohewasalsothe"Godofmedicine".Besides,itisalsosaidthatheusedfiretobenefitmankind,mademusicalinstrumentsandadvocatedmaterialexchangeInaword,theShennongfamilyofYanEmperorisaGodwhoisinseparablefromtheinventionandcreationofagriculture,industry,commerce,medicine,literatureandotherfieldsinthehistoricallegend,soithasbeengreatlyrespectedandsacrificedbytheChinesepeopleofalldynasties.Finally,hediedbecausehetastedthepoisonousheartbrokenherbandhadnoremedy.ItwasrecordedinEmperorCenturywrittenbyEmperorFumiofJinDynasty.Afterhisdeath,hewasburiedinChangsha.AccordingtoLuShiwrittenbyLuoMiofSongDynasty,"theendofChangsha'steatowniscalledChaling"(YanlingCountywasdividedbyChalingintheSouthernSongDynasty).AncienttreescoverthesurroundingareaofYandi'sMausoleumandwatersurroundsit.Onthesideofthemausoleum,thereisa"medicinewashingpool",whichissaidtobetheplacewhereEmperorYanwashedherbalmedicine,aswellasseveralRoyalSacrificestelesoftheMingandQingDynasties.
YandiMausoleumscenicareaincludesYandimausoleum,Yanlingtemple,Fengshengtemple,Chongdesquare,huzhenguantemple,LuyuanPavilion,shenghuotaiandotherculturallandscapes,aswellasLuyuancave,longnaostone,longzhushi,xihuachiandothernaturallandscapes,whichareallattractiveplaces.
ThemausoleumareaofYanEmperorwascalled"Huangshan"inancienttimes,coveringanareaof2.4squarekilometers.Themausoleumareaiscoveredwithgreenmountains,greenwatercirculation,toweringancienttrees,andthemausoleumhallwithnationalarchitecturalstyleisbrilliant,coveringanareaof3000squaremeters.In960ad,songTaizuascendedthethrone,visitedancientmausoleumsallovertheworld,foundYanEmperorMausoleuminBailuyuan,andbuiltatemplein967.In1950,EmperorYan'smausoleumwaslistedasakeyculturalrelicprotectionunitoftheprovince.In1954,themainhallwasburneddownbecauseofthefireofpilgrims.InJune1986,themainhallofYanEmperor'smausoleumwasofficiallyrebuiltwiththeapprovalandfundingofHunanProvincialPeople'sgovernment.Therebuiltmausoleumhallisdividedintofiveparts:thefirstpartistheMeridianGate,inwhichthereareDanlong,twocorridorsontheleftandrightforthesteleroom,andthesecondpartistheXingliPavilion,whichisanoctagonalpillarPavilionsupportedbyeightstonepillars,withahorizontalplaqueinscribed"theancestorsofthenationshineontheworld"andacoupletunderitsaying"virtueshinesonthegloriousindustryforthousandsofyears;greatachievementsaremadeforthousandsofgenerations";Thethirdentranceisthemainhall,with24stonepillarssupportingthetopofthehall.Aplaqueinscribed"Chinesepeoplewillneverforgettheirancestors"ishunginthehall.Onbothsidesofthehall,thecoupletsays"makingleidantolayafoundationforagricultureandindustry;tastingahundredherbstomakeaprecedentformedicine".Intheshrineofthehall,thestatueofYanEmperorShennongisworshipped.ThestatueofYanEmperorisagoldbody,withriceearsinhislefthandandGanodermaluciduminhisrighthand.Infrontofthestatueisabamboobasketcontaininggrainsandmedicinalmaterials.Thebannerof"QiTian'sancestor"ishungontheshrine.Therearecoupletsonbothsidesoftheshrine,whichare"thenameoftheuniverse;thegraceoftheDivineLand".Thewholehallismagnificentandsolemn.ThefourthentranceisthetombPavilion,withastoneinscription:"thetombofEmperorYanShennong".ThefifthentranceisthemausoleumofEmperorYan.ShennongisoneoftheancestorsoftheChinesenation,sothesacrificetotheYanEmperor'smausoleumhasbeenverysolemnandgrandsinceancienttimes.Accordingtohistoricalrecords,itbegantooffersacrificestoEmperorYan'smausoleumintheTangDynasty.IntheSongDynasty,sincethefoundingofthetemplebyTaizuoftheSongDynasty,itwassetasabigsacrificeinthreeyears.IntheQingDynasty,theceremoniesweremorefrequent,with41timesofbigsacrificealone.
Aroundthemausoleumhall,thereisaredwallmorethan10metershigh.Surroundedbyalarge-scaleFengshengtemple,huzhenguantemple,angelplatform,Chongdesquare,ZaishengPavilion,Shijimansion,yongfengtaiandotherancientbuildings,thereareLuyuancave,Xiaqiao,pool(alsoknownasXiyaopool),Huangyangmountain,longzhushiandothermonuments.TherearealsothetensceneriesofYanmausoleum.Theyare:thefragrantgrassPavilion(alsoknownasthegrassPavilion)withflowersandplants;thebankislikeadragon'shead,likeastonedragon'sbun;thecloudsaremistyandbleak,likeautumnrain;thehazearoundthepavilionissometimeslooming,likeadensehaze;Inspring,therearefinegrasses,clustersofwildflowers,yellowandwhiteflowers,redandpurpleflowers,justlikeJinyininthedestinationofFangzhouspringbrocade.Birdsanddeerinthemountainsareinconstant,andsometimessilent.Whensacrificing,theyflyawayandsingharmoniously.ThereareShengHuang'sbirdanddeer'sharmonies(alsoknownasBailuyuan):thebigcamphorishorizontal,hollowasahole,andpeoplecansitwithafewcupstochanttheemptycamphorhole;TherearethousandsofancienttreesinLuyuan,whicharestrange.Thereisafirinfrontofthemausoleum,whichisdividedintotwotrunks.Itissurroundedbymorethantenbranchesandleaves.Afterhundredsofyearsofmoistening,itiscalledqiuzhanglingmu.Inthenorthofthemausoleum,thepoolisdeepandclear,andtherearehundredsofscales.Everyday,thewavesarewarm,andthewaterandlightmatcheachother;Asaresult,thepavilionwasbuiltandengravedwithastele:FeixiangPavilionofdifferenttrees(alsoknownasFeixiangPavilion).
ThemajesticpalaceofYanEmperor'sMausoleumandtheancientbuildingsblendwiththenaturalsceneryhere,andaddthetenfamousscenesofYanEmperor'smausoleumtomatch,makingthewholeYanEmperor'sMausoleumquiet,beautifulandmagnificent.Emperorsofalldynastiesregardeditasaholyland,heldannualsacrifices,heldceremonies,andsentenvoystopayhomagetoit.DuringthespringandAutumnperiod,manylocalmemberscametooffersacrifices.Peoplewhosacrificeanimals,burnincenseandworship,comeinanendlessstreamthroughouttheyear.Asfornewyear'sfestival,thousandsofworshiperscanbeseeninneatformation,fullofofferings,incenseshacklesaround,whichcanberegardedasaspectacle.