The eternal emperor's road from glory to ashes

Grand designs and great expense for a final resting place ultimately fell victim to time and upheaval

"The flesh on the three corpses has rotted completely, but the bones remain intact, and in all three cases the hair is soft and shiny." These words are from the first official report published by Chinese archaeologists on their excavation of the Dingling Mausoleum Beijing between 1956 and 1957.

The report, published in 1958, cited the discovery of "countless pieces of gold and jade jewelry and wares, and hundreds of fabric rolls" - a treasure big enough to cause a stir in the archaeological world beyond China, and to fuel the imagination of many who had long had an interest toward the owner of the burial ground, Emperor Wanli, the long-est-reigning emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).