Jottings from the Granite Studio

A 600-year old tomb (ming zuling 明祖陵) built for the parents and grandparents of Ming dynasty founder Zhu Yuanzhang (1328-1398, r. 1368-1398) is in danger of being inundated with floodwaters from nearby Hongze Lake.

Via Xinhua:

A 2,700-meter-long cofferdam built in the 1970s separates the tomb from the Hongze Lake, which covers an area of 2,069 square kilometers and is still suffering from heavy floods since June. “The water level of Hongze Lake is higher than the ground of the tomb. If the cofferdam was damaged, the tomb would be flooded,” said Wang Dong, an official in charge of the tomb protection.

“We are keeping round-the-clock inspection to monitor the water level and condition at the cofferdam,” he said.

“In a bid to fight against the new round of flood peak, which is expected to arrive in a couple of days, we have prepared abundant facilities and materials, including pumps, rocks and sandsacks, around the tomb,” the official added.

A drainage system has been installed, ensuring rainfall on the building roof to be collected in a pool and flow through a underground channel.

Meanwhile, a pump has been equipped to drain off the water from the pool.

Having been built on a flood plain next to China’s fourth largest lake, the tomb has a long history with water. It rather famously sank in 1680 and became known as the “Emperor’s underwater tomb.” During a long period of drought in the 1960s, sections of the tomb finally reemerged including the series of statuary shown in the picture. The upper portions of the tomb had collapsed, but the underground sections were still relatively intact. A series of levees was put in place to protect the tomb, it is these levees that are currently being threatened by the rising floodwaters.

The article from Xinhua also states that the tomb was built “by Zhu Yuanzhang in 1413.” What I think they mean is that the tomb was started by Zhu Yuanzhang in 1385 and finally completed in 1413. Zhu Yuanzhang died in 1398 and the Ming capital was moved to Beijing beginning around 1403.

It’s been a rough and wet summer in southern and central China as well as in Xinjiang. Thoughts and prayers go out to all the families affected by the flooding.