Ming Dynasty Tombs

This guide to the Ming Dynasty Tombs outside Beijing follows the 1956 excavation of Dingling, tomb of the Wanli Emperor, conceived by scholars Guo Moruo and Wu Han as a rehearsal before opening the far grander Changling. It traces the debate that made archaeologists choose this smaller tomb instead, and what the team found when they broke through a sealed door untouched for over three centuries. Listen for how Premier Zhou Enlai's approval set the whole dig in motion.