With the announcement of the online meeting held by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage in Beijing on December 14, 2021, announcing the news that the Bailuyuan Jiangcun Tomb in Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, is the tomb of the Han Wen Emperor, people have a strong interest in the Han Wen Emperor's Mausoleum, and the major archaeological results come from the on-site exploration and careful analysis of the archaeological staff, and its analysis process can be called a reasoning novel with clear ideas.
The excavations have brought the Gangchon Tomb to the forefront of attention
■ For a long time, the location of the Han Wen Emperor's tomb was in the northeast of Bailuyuan "Phoenix Mouth"
■ Baling Scenic Area
Prior to this, for thousands of years, people had regarded the "Phoenix Mouth" in the northeast of Bailuyuan in Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, as the mausoleum of Emperor Wen of Han, and the words "Emperor Of Han Wen", were also engraved on local large and small stone tablets. However, since 2001, some cultural relics illegally excavated from the Jiangcun Tomb have flowed into the market, allowing people to gradually turn their attention to the humble Jiangcun Tomb 2 kilometers south of the "Phoenix Mouth", because the Identity of the Owner of the Jiangcun Tomb has not been confirmed.
In 2002, the United States Sosby Auction House auctioned 6 pieces of Western Han black pottery figurines, and after the Chinese government learned about it, it negotiated through diplomatic channels, and the auction house withdrew the auction. In 2003, six black pottery figurines returned from the United States to Xi'an, China, and after investigation, these black clay figurines were all excavated from the jiangcun tomb >
■ Archaeological exploration
In 2016, the outer pit of the Jiangcun Tomb was disturbed, and with the approval of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, archaeologists conducted systematic archaeological investigation and exploration of the Jiangcun Tomb, as well as the nearby Tomb of Empress Dou (Empress Wen of Han), the Nanling Tomb of Empress Bo (Emperor Wen of Han), and the "Phoenix Mouth" that is said to be the Tomb of Emperor Wen of Han, and carried out archaeological excavations of the hidden pit outside the mausoleum. The relevant archaeological results have formed a chain of evidence, pointing out that the Jiangcun Tomb is the real Han Wudi Mausoleum.
So how is the chain of evidence formed?
Step 1: Confirm the Gangchon Tomb as an imperial tomb
The plane of the Jiangcun Tomb is "Ya" glyph, the surface is not sealed, the side length of the tomb is about 72 meters, the depth is more than 30 meters, more than 110 outer pits (that is, funerary pits) have been found around the tomb, and the remains of the cemetery wall found on the outskirts of the Jiangcun Tomb and the Mausoleum of Empress Dou are presumed to be in the same mausoleum, which is about 1200 meters long from east to west and about 863 meters wide from north to south.
The plan of the Emura Tomb is in the shape of a "Ya" character, and there is no sealing on the surface, which is very consistent with the situation recorded in the "History of Filial Piety". The tomb of the "Ya" shape was the top configuration in the Han Dynasty, generally only the tombs of emperors and empresses, and even the tombs of the princes would not exceed this specification.
Obviously, the specifications of the Jiangcun Tomb are of the imperial level.
■ The specifications of The Great Tomb of Gangchon and the Mausoleum of Empress Dou are both top-notch
Step 2: Unearth the official seal to prove the status of the owner of the tomb
In some of the outer pits of the Jiangcun Tomb, a large number of Han Dynasty cultural relics have been excavated, including more than 1,500 pieces of pottery figurines, copper seals, copper carriages and horse ware, ironware, pottery, etc. Among them, the inscriptions of the copper seals are "Chefu", "Instrument House", "Riding Thousand People in China", "Fuyin", "Cangyin", "ZhongsikongYin", etc., all of which are official seals, indicating that the outer hidden pits around the Jiangcun Tomb should be imitation of the realistic version of the official office and the treasury. If you think about it, more than 100 official offices are distributed around the tomb, what should be the identity of the owner of the tomb?
■ Official seals, carriages and horses, iron, bronzes, pottery figurines, etc. excavated from archaeological excavations in the outer pits around the Jiangcun Tomb
Experts from the Shaanxi Provincial Archaeological Research Institute believe that the outer tibetan pits around the Jiangcun Tomb are highly consistent with the Hanjing Emperor's Mausoleum in terms of their number, distribution form, scale and size, shape structure, cultural relics connotation and many other aspects, especially there are also a number of official seals unearthed, so these outer hidden pits should also be simulated official offices. Since this large number of outer pits set up around the main burial chamber have such symbolic significance, in the Qin and Han Dynasties, when the centralization of power was gradually strengthened, the owner of the tomb should be the emperor.
Step Three: Who dares to "live" next to the Queen?
Since the Gangchon Tomb is sure to contain an emperor, who would this emperor be? Archaeologists set their sights on the mausoleum of Empress Dou, 800 meters east of the Jiangcun Tomb, where Empress Dou was the wife of Emperor Wen of Han and also a "Ya" glyph-shaped tomb. According to historical records, Empress Dou and Emperor Wen of Han's daughter Dou Tai were buried with Baling, so could the Jiangcun Tomb not be the tomb of Emperor Wen of Han's daughter Dou Tai lord?
But a circle of rammed earth walls discovered by archaeological exploration has given people another answer.
■ The rammed earth wall of the Emura Tomb
This circle of rammed earth walls is rectangular, about 1200 meters long from east to west, and about 863 meters wide from north to south, enclosing the Jiangcun Tomb and the Tomb of Empress Dou in a large cemetery.
The two large tombs are enclosed in a cemetery called "Tongmu", and one tomb for one person is called "Different Cave", which is in line with the characteristics of the "Tongmu Different Cave" of the Han Dynasty Emperor and Empress.
Experts believe that this is completely consistent with other imperial tombs of the Han Dynasty that we know, such as Changling, Yangling, and Anling. About 2 kilometers southwest of the Jiangcun Tomb is the southern mausoleum of Empress Bo, the mother of Emperor Wen of Han.
At this point, all the evidence points to the fact that the tomb of Jiangcun should be Buried by Emperor Wen of Han.
Step 4: Who is buried under the "Phoenix Mouth"?
But wait, there is one more thing that must be confirmed, because since ancient times, people have used the "Phoenix Mouth" as the tomb of the Han Emperor, if the Han Wen Emperor is buried in the Jiangcun Tomb, then who is buried under the "Phoenix Mouth"?
According to archaeological exploration, it has been confirmed that there are no Han Dynasty tombs at the location of the "Phoenix Mouth", so the possibility of Baling has been ruled out. At this point, the saying that there is a tomb of the Han Wen Emperor under the "phoenix mouth" has officially withdrawn from the stage of history.
The reasoning and analysis of one positive and one negative aspect confirms that the Jiangcun Tomb should be the real Han Wen Emperor's mausoleum.
Let's get to know Emperor Wen of Han
Since major archaeological discoveries have pushed Emperor Wen of Han into the field of vision of today's people, let's simply know Liu Heng, the Emperor of Han Wen, after all, he was an emperor who cherished the people's strength and was very frugal in history.
According to legend, during the 24 years of The reign of Emperor Wen of Han, only a plain mosquito net was used, and the broken places had to be sewn up and continued to be used, and the saddle he rode was also used by his father Liu Bang.
He ordered officials to be frugal throughout the country, "live with the people's livelihood", develop production, and relayed with his son Liu Qi, the Emperor of Han Jing, to open up the far-reaching "rule of Wenjing", which also led to the rise of the Han Dynasty from then on.
■ Emperor Wen of Han
He never called himself "Degenerate", and he wrote in his will that he regretted that he had not done more for the people in 24 years. He regarded death very indifferently, believing that life and death were irresistible laws of nature, and there was no need to mourn death. Some people are greedy for life and afraid of death, and they are buried thick and ruined, and he does not want to do this.
In his will, he also wrote that the mountains and rivers in this place (Baling) are still the same, and there are no graves, but buried on the spot. After his death, the people could eat meat, drink wine, and sing for entertainment as usual. The filial piety cloth worn by the family should not exceed three inches, and the minister should not be allowed to cry. After death, the shrine can be buried in only one day, and there is no funerary object in the tomb.
According to legend, both the Green Forest Army and the Huang Chao Army later opened his tomb to search for treasure, but found nothing.