Research On Henan Mausoleum Gardens In The Republic Of China

Henan Province boasts a long history and profound cultural heritage.From the period of Xia and Shang,numerous dynasties established capital cities here as well as built imperial tombs,making Henan a province full of historic legacy.The development of tombs lasted for thousands of years.But it was not until the Republic of China that they gradually evolved into modern open public mausoleum gardens.This paper selects Yuanlin and Bishagang in the Republican period as the research object to examine the influence of times on the two cemeteries,clarifies the inheritance and innovation of Henan tomb gardens at that time during the transformation period,and discusses the characteristics of different times to explore possible strategies on the protection and utilization of the tomb gardens.First,this paper reviews the origin of mausoleums and their evolution to mausoleum gardens.And the four stages of these gardens including infancy,development,maturation and modernization are elaborated to generate discussions on the layout form and construction method of Henan mausoleum gardens in the Republic of China.Second,compared with previous tomb gardens of past dynasties,the layout style of Yuanlin in the early Republican period combined Chinese and Western features and it was constructed by adopting both ancient and contemporary methods.The construction of Yuanlin not only inherited the traditional elements under the influence of the feudal ideology,but also applied advanced Western culture and technology.Although the limitations of times resulted in an unfavorable integration,it was also a meaningful attempt.The Bishagang Martyrs Cemetery was built after the victory of the Northern Expeditions,which shook off the shackles of feudal mausoleum concepts and made important innovations on the layout form and construction method.It replaced the mysteriousness and solemnness of traditional tombs with a seriously cheerful and approachable atmosphere,blazing a trail for the construction of public tomb gardens in Henan.Both Yuanlin and Bishagang demonstrate distinctive transitional features on time,space and culture.Third,the present study illustrates the values of Henan mausoleum gardens in the Republican period from three perspectives: historical status,architectural art and influence on later generations.As the only personal cemetery built in accordance with feudal imperial mausoleums in the Republican period of China,Yuanlin is renowned for the transition from the traditional to the modern,and the blend between the East and the West.It has created a precedent for the construction of mausoleums combining both Chinese and Western elements,and provided reference for the building of tomb gardens in the same period;The novel layout form of Bishagang and the emergence of a cemetery for dead soldiers are vital nodes for a transformation from the traditional to the modern.Bishagang marked a transition from the feudal autocratic imperial cemeteries to modern open public tomb gardens,which had a significant influence on modern tomb gardens.Based on the findings of field investigation,this paper proposes some strategies for the protection and utilization of tomb gardens centering on site protection,atmosphere creation and moderate construction.Researches on the mausoleum gardens in the Republican period prominently focus on relatively developed areas like Nanjing and Guangzhou.While studies on Henan mausoleum gardens lack systemic examination and in-depth analysis.Meanwhile,most of them concentrate on the period from Xia and Shang to Tang and Song Dynasties.Few pay attention to the Republic of China when Henan was neither a political and economic center nor a cultural center.This paper hopes to systematically elaborate the development of Henan mausoleum gardens in the Republican period,and objectively evaluate their historical status to provide some guidelines for contemporary constructions.