After moving the capital to Beijing, Zhu Di, the third emperor of the Ming dynasty, built not only the Imperial Palace in Beijing, but also his own tomb, in which he was to be buried when he died. In the 230 years that followed, all the later Ming emperors had their tombs built on the left and right of his tomb. These tombs, located 40 kilometers north of Beijing proper, have become known as the Thirteen Tombs of the Ming dynasty.
The book is illustrated with beautiful photographs to show the style of dimension of these imperial tombs as well as some of the highly valuable artifacts unearthed there.
True and legendary stories about the life of the emperors, empresses and imperial concubines, such as stories of fratricidal strife, the sacrificial burial of imperial concubines with the dead emperor and eunuchs seizing power, are told in clear language in the text. Like stage plays, they reproduce the historical happenings during the rise and fall of the Ming empire.
