[wuTao]

A discussion about the Chinese pyramids on the Shaanxi plains came up on another forum, and I was wondering whether there's been any excavation work done on them yet? I've seen pics of these pyramids on various sites, but I'm still curious to know, do they really exist? And since I may be going to vacation in China toward the end of the year, I was wondering if they were open to tourism? Some websites say yes, some say no.

[General_Zhaoyun]

Qinshihuang's tomb is in pyramid shape.. but it has not really been excavated sofar.

Btw, the Terrocotta army is part of Qinshihuang's tomb.

[Mod edit: The terracotta army was found in a burial pit near the tomb. The actual tomb mound has not been opened up.]

[Yun]

The pyramids you referred to are actually the tombs of the Han and Tang emperors. Many have not been excavated yet, and you probably couldn't enter them even if they had been opened up.

[Manchuconqueror]

The problem is that they have been carbon dated to have been 1000 years before Quishihuang.

They used the C-14 method. Like C-14 decomposes gradually to C-12. By measuring the total amount of C-14 left, they figured out the age.

The real irony comes when they stopped the excavation in 1973, 10 years after they started excavating, when they figured out its ancient age.

Then Europeans successfully taken pictures of them, and now the Chinese gov is starting to open them to public. At the same time, they are claiming Koguryo as theirs. I'm leaning towards believing that these two factors have something in common.

[DaMo]

Pyramids and tumuli were quite often used as tombs for Chinese throughout history and prehistory. The tumuli/pyramid tradition goes back well into the Neolithic. There is a 65-foot-tall mound in the Sidun site of the Hemudu culture (~5000 BC), several mound tombs near the Niuheliang site of the Hongshan culture (~3500 BC), and a 5000-year-old Hongshan rectangular pyramid about 3 storeys tall.


Qin Shihuangling, a pyramid about 76 feet tall (I had a good aerial view pic, but I lost it. It showed the pyramidal nature of the structure very clearly)


Maoling, tomb of Han Wu Di, a subulate pyramid about 46 meters tall


Han Yangling, tomb of Han Jing Di, a "topless pyramid" 32 meters tall.


Qianling, the Tang dynasty mausoleum complex of Taizong's family had some pyramidal tombs too, with bases like extremely elongated rectangles.


The Western Xia also built pyramidal tombs, and many of them.


Changling, the Ming dynasty necropolis of the famous Yongle emperor features a 31x28m burial mound.


Qingdongling, where the Qing dynasty built numerous mound tombs.

So Chinese pyramids, mounds and tumuli were not built by aliens, Europeans or Africans, as paranormalists, white supremacists and black supremacists respectively would have you believe. Nor is the Chinese government intentionally keeping them under wraps, as far as the evidence goes. Many have been excavated and are accessible to tourists.

[Yun]

There's apparently also a wild theory about there being pyramids in Manchuria, built by the ancestors of the Koreans. Manchuconqueror/Demon, as usual, is keen on it. Read these threads on AE:
http://www.allempire...=128&PN=1&TPN=1
http://www.allempire...sp?TID=205&PN=1

[DaMo]

Yun, on Aug 28 2004, 10:19 AM, said:

There's apparently also a wild theory about there being pyramids in Manchuria, built by the ancestors of the Koreans. Manchuconqueror/Demon, as usual, is keen on it. Read these threads on AE:
http://www.allempire...=128&PN=1&TPN=1
http://www.allempire...sp?TID=205&PN=1

On it? He's practically raping it. <_<

I don't know about pyramids in Korea proper, but there are many tumuli, or mounds, in Korea and various interesting kinds of tumuli in Japan, some extremely large. The Nintoki Kofun is a good example.

Most of that post, however, is unsubstantiated rant. There is no credible consistent source documenting exactly where these super-pyramids are, or that they actually exist as described. Last I heard, they were in Tibet and Shaanxi. It's not that I contest the fact that Northeasterners built pyramids too, but that post seems full of paranoia, hearsay, and conspiracy theory. Not to mention the obvious malice against China, which, by the way, doesn't desperately need Koguryo to validate or antedate its already rich and ancient history. This man Hausdorf, by the way, is the author of such literary masterpieces as "Satellites of the Gods," and believes in UFO's, aliens and such. :rolleyes:

Next we'll be hearing that "Koreans" invented Chinese writing, and that "Koreans" founded the Shang dynasty. Oh, wait, we already HAVE heard that. :rolleyes:

And what's this nonsense about the DongYi coming from India? :lol: