Mausoleum of Genghis Khan

Located upstream of a river, the Mausoleum of Genghis Khan (成吉思汗陵) is in Kandehuo Enclosure, Xinjie Township, Yijin'eluo Banner, Yike Juu League (伊克昭盟伊金霍洛旗新街鎮的甘德爾敖包), Inner Mongolia, the People's Republic of China. Its purpose is more memorial than historical, as the coffins contains no body, only headdresses, and accessories. The real burial place of the Khan has not been discovered.

Table of contents 1 History 2 Architecture 3 Rituals 4 External links

History

The coffin had been circulating between several temples between Gansu and Qinghai. Since then, the portable mausoleum called naiman chaghaan ger (eight white houses) enshrined him. Those who served to the mausolem was called the Ordus[?] (lit. palaces) and the title of their leader was Jinong. The Ordus lived on the Kerulen river[?] but later moved to what is now called Ordos.

In 1942 Kanagawa Kosaku, a colonel of the Imperial Japanese Army, found a non-portable mausoleum of Genghis Khan in Ulaan Khoto. He tried to arouse nationalistic sentiment among the Mongols. It was destroyed in the Cultural Revolution, but rebuilt later.

Another mausoleum, the topic of this article, was constructed by the PRC in between 1954-1956 under the ideology of "Chinese nation". i.e. The Mongols are part of the Chinese nation and Genghis Khan is a hero of China. In contrast, the PRC represses Pan-Mongolism[?]. It was also destroyed in the Cultural Revolution, but rebuilt later.

Architecture

The Mausoleum is in a rectangular (15 × 30 km) cemetery. Within the mausoleum, which appears like three Mongolian tents externally, there are four chambers and two halls:

• Main Palace (正殿): 26-metre high; octagonal
  • contains a 5-metre white-jade statue of Genghis Khan
  • two murals depicting his life
• Resting Palace (寢宮) or Back Palace (後殿): 20-m high
  • 7 coffins:
    • Genghis Khan
    • 3 khan-consorts
    • Tuolei (托雷), the Khan's youngest, and fourth, son.
    • Tuolei's wife
• East Palace (東殿): 20-m high
• West Palace (西殿): 23-m high
  • 9 banners of the 9 generals
• East Hall (東廊): 20-m high
• West Hall: 20-m high

Rituals

The mausoleum is guarded by the Darkhad (達爾哈特), meaning "the sacred ones", who are the descendants of the Borjigin clan.

Mongols gather four times annually:

1. March 21: most important
2. May 15
3. September 21
4. October 3

They follow traditional ceremonies, such as offering flowers and food to the Heaven. After the ceremonies, there are competitions, like wrestling, horse-riding[?], archery, and singing.