Photography Emperor’s Memorial Arch Pailou in the Mausoleum Si

• Skušek's Collection (SEM)
• Slovene Ethnographic Museum

A black-and-white photograph showing the five-part memorial triumphal arch (pailou 牌楼) next to the tomb of Emperor Chongzhen (reigned 1627–1644). It stands in one of the areas of the Ming Dynasty Tombs in Beijing (Ming Shisan Ling 明十三陵) – Mausoleum Si (Ming Siling 明思陵). The columns of the triumphal arch are made of white marble hanbai yushi 漢白玉石, and the passageways are made of wood. Emperor Chongzhen (reigned 1627–1644), the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), is buried in this mausoleum.

The photograph is the 381st of 449 photographs of Beijing and its surroundings in the album of Ivan Skušek Jr., purchased during his stay in Beijing (1914–1920). In the handwritten inventory of the album, the photograph is referred to as Si-Ling: Kaiser-Pailou. (DZ, MV)

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