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The Sacred Landscape of the “Pyramids” of the Han Emperors: A Cognitive Approach to Sustainability

Author

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  • Giulio Magli

    (School of Architecture, Urban Planning and Construction Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, 32, 20133 Milano MI, Italy)

Abstract

The so-called “Chinese pyramids” are huge burial mounds covering the tombs of the Emperors of the Western Han dynasty. If we include also the mounds of the members of the royal families, these monuments sum up to more than 40, scattered throughout the western and the southern outskirts of modern Xi’an. They are mostly unexcavated and poorly known, although taken together, they form a fascinating sacred landscape, which was conceived as a perennial witness of one of the most magnificent Chinese dynasties. This sacred landscape is today encroached by the frenetic urban development of the Xi’an urban area. We discuss and elaborate here some of the results of a recent, new satellite-imagery survey of these monuments, highlighting the aspects which may contribute to solutions for sustainable and compatible development within this important ancient landscape.

Suggested Citation

  • Giulio Magli, 2019. "The Sacred Landscape of the “Pyramids” of the Han Emperors: A Cognitive Approach to Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-11, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:3:p:789-:d:203131
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    Cited by:

    1. Lei Luo & Xinyuan Wang & Jie Liu & Wenwu Zheng & Jing Zhen & Lanwei Zhu & Chuansheng Liu & Hong Wan, 2019. "Low-Cost Archaeological Investigation and Rapid Mapping of Ancient Stone Tidal Weirs in the Penghu Archipelago Using Google Earth," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-12, August.

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