The Ming Dingling (Chinese: 明定陵; pinyin: Míng Dìng Líng) is a mausoleum in China where the Wanli Emperor, together with his two empresses Wang Xijie and Dowager Xiaojing, was buried.

The excavation of Dingling began in 1956, which revealed an intact 1,195 square meters (12,862.9 sq ft) tomb, more than 3,000 artifacts; thousands of items of silk, textiles, wood, and porcelain, and the skeletons of the Wanli Emperor and his two empresses.

After several disastrous experiments, the large amount of silk and other textiles were simply piled into a drafty storage room that was wet from water leaks.

[1][2][3] A far more severe problem soon befell the project when a series of political mass movements that soon escalated into the Cultural Revolution of 1966 swept the country with all archeological work was stopped for the next ten years.

It was not until 1976, after the death of Mao Zedong, that archaeological work recommenced in earnest and an excavation report was finally prepared by archaeologists who had survived the turmoil.