Maoling

Construction of the tomb began in 139 BC, the second year in the reign of Emperor Wu[https://books.google.com/books?id=O7LE3XfgDOsC&pg=PA120 Xianyao Li, Zhewen Luo: China's Museums, Cambridge University Press, 2011] and took 53 years until completion upon the emperor's death. About one third of the court's annual revenue from taxes and tributes was used towards construction of the tomb.

Maoling is the largest in a group of more than 20 tombs. The smaller tombs surrounding it belong to former members of Emperor Wu's court, such as Lady Li, the emperor's favorite concubine, and the military strategist Huo Qubing (died 117 BCE).

The town of Maoling was created during the construction of the tomb.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20190624174246/https://www.monument-tracker.com/en/guide/49584-maoling-the-tomb-of-wudi.html History of Maoling, the tomb of wudi at Xi'an]}}, Monument-tracker.com (accessed on 24 June 2019)

The artifacts found in Wu's tomb are now in the Maoling Museum.[https://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/shaanxi/xian/maoling.htm Maoling Mausoleum (Mao Ling)], Travelchinaguide.com (accessed on 24 June 2019) The museum exhibits 4,100 cultural objects and 14 historical relics.

The golden horse of Maoling, the largest gilded horse ever found in China, was discovered in 1981 by farmers in a field nearby the mausoleum.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}} In 1985, geophysical explorations of the area led to the discovery of gold deposits in and around the mausoleum's soils, estimated to be deposits from proterozoic sedimentary rocks.{{cite journal |last1=Cheng |first1=Quiming |last2=Hattori |first2=Keiko |last3=Fan |first3=Jizhang |last4=Wang |first4=Shichen |title=Exploration history and geology of disseminated gold deposit at Maoling in Proterozoic sedimentary rocks in North China Platform |journal=Journal of Geochemical Exploration |date=April 1994 |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=93–108 |doi=10.1016/0375-6742(94)90007-8 |bibcode=1994JCExp..51...93C }}

In 2009, restoration of the site began. The Chinese authorities aimed at preserving as much as possible the original construction material, but admitted that at least half of that material will be replaced because it was in poor conditions.[http://www.cctv.com/english/special/excl/20090723/110091_1.shtml Large scale repair work on Ming Dynasty Maoling Tomb begins], Cctv.com, 23 July 2009 (accessed on 24 July 2019) In 2014, the Shaanxi Conservation Institute and the Wuhan University led a joint surveillance study on the site.[http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/culture/2014-12/30/content_19201816.htm Maoling to be renovated], Chinadaily.com, 30 December 2014 (accessed on 26 June 2019)

The tomb is the largest of all tombs built during the Han dynasty. It is also well known as "Great White Pyramid" since U.S. Army Air Corps pilot James Gaussman saw it as "a white jewel-topped pyramid during a flight between India and China during World War II" (see Chinese pyramids).[https://books.google.com/books?id=4cxA6Da0MdYC&pg=PA73 Charles George: Pyramids, ReferencePoint Press, Inc. 2008]

It is a trapezoidal tumulus built from rammed earth with a rectangular base which measures {{convert|222|by|217|m}} and a height of {{convert|47|m}}.

File:Maoling.JPG|Main building.

File:Golden_Horse_of_Maoling,_Liverpool.jpg|The golden horse of Maoling, exhibited in Liverpool.

File:茂陵 - panoramio.jpg|The tumulus

• Chinese pyramids
• "Maoling" is also the name of one of the Ming Dynasty Tombs to the northwest of Beijing

==References==

{{reflist}}

Category:Han dynasty architecture

Category:Buildings and structures in Xi'an

Category:Mausoleums in China

Category:Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Shaanxi

Category:Tourist attractions in Xi'an