The joint burial tomb of Wu Zetian and Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi, is located on Liangshan in Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province. It's a treasure trove. The graves of the seventeen emperors of the Tang Dynasty were stolen by Wen Tao during the Five Dynasties period, but Qianling was spared.
There were also other warlords who wanted to fight Qianling, but it is said that at this time, they all have Heavenly Blessings, either the wind is fierce, or the lightning and thunder are thundering, and the sand and stones are flying. In this way, these tomb robbers thought that it was a natural punishment, so they were discouraged, and they had to dispel their bad thoughts.
Today, we are talking about the stone people outside the Suzaku Gate of Qianling, why do the 61 headless stone people have no heads?
The 61 Stone Men are 32 on the west side and 29 on the east side, for a total of 61. In ancient times, symmetrical beauty was emphasized, so why was the number of stone statues on the left and right sides unequal? According to later investigations by archaeologists, it was found that there were three stone statues on the east side that were not burned into shape.
So what is the reason why these three stone statues were not finally completed? Is there an emergency to stop it? Or when the stone man was fired, the workers were suddenly evacuated for some reason and could not be completed? Or for some other reason, we don't know.
These 61 stone people were made after the death of Emperor Gaozong of Tang. On the back are all engraved nationality, official position and name, and there is a word "Gu" on the front, indicating that when these stone statues were made, they died long ago. However, not all stone statues have these contents engraved on the back, and some stone statues are blank behind them, that is, the identity of some stone statues has not been determined.
If these 61 stone people are the memorial left by Wu Zetian according to the pomp and circumstances left by ethnic minority officials and envoys from neighboring countries after the death of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, the purpose is to show the national prestige of the Tang Dynasty. So why do they have a "gu" written on the back of their stone statues? So obviously the meaning of "therefore" cannot mean death? What does that mean?
So why don't the 61 stone statues have heads? There are several reasons for this.
First, the earthquake said
The appearance of the stone statue without a head has aroused the interest of experts at home and abroad, and research work has been carried out. Experts in earthquake theory estimate that in the thirty-fifth year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty, a major earthquake occurred in Huayin County, and the magnitude of the earthquake reached eight.
An earthquake starts at magnitude 5.6 to cause damage.A magnitude 6 earthquake is equivalent to the energy of a principle bullet dropped by the United States in Japan.The energy of each magnitude of the magnitude rises by about 30 times.The energy of a magnitude 8 earthquake is about 1,000 times the energy of a magnitude 6 earthquake, and a magnitude greater than or equal to 8 is also known as a huge earthquake, and the magnitude of the world's largest earthquake is currently 8.9.
As can be seen from the above, the earthquake that occurred that year was extremely strong and caused hundreds of thousands of deaths. Qianling is very close to Huayin County, only more than 100 kilometers, just in the epicenter. The neck of the stone statue's head and body is the most vulnerable part of the stone statue's body, so it is understandable that their heads have fallen due to the great impact of the earthquake.
Moreover, some villagers have also found some fallen stone heads from nearby places, and there are also a few stone people whose heads are still there, which seems to confirm the theory of earthquakes, because how can it not be destroyed so evenly, there are always exceptions.
However, there are taller stone statues nearby, and if it is really because of earthquake damage, then how can these tall stone statues be complete? Supposedly, they are taller and should be destroyed!
Second, man-made sabotage
It was said that the Xiongnu came to Qianling to see their ancestors worshiping Tang Gaozong there, so they were very angry and cut off all the heads of the stone people. So why not do one thing and two without stopping, just cut off the words behind it, or push the stone statue to it? Is it too tight to be true? Or is its foundation too strong to push it down?
There is also the sin that An Lushan did. However, after the Tang Dynasty, the famous minister of the Northern Song Dynasty, You Shixiong, went to Qianling and left a record of these Fanchen stone statues, if the stone statues did not have heads at that time, then how could they not mention anything? This can only show that during the Northern Song Dynasty, the stone statue was still intact and An Lushan was innocent.
There is also a hateful thief who deliberately cut off the head of the stone statue and then smuggled cultural relics to make money. So what is the explanation for the heads of nearby farmers found in the fields? Besides, if the stone statue is artificially cut off, it will definitely cause a lot of turmoil and will be recorded, but these have not left any traces.
Third, the common people are superstitious
Some people said that one year, many people in the vicinity were infected with the plague, so they thought that these stone statues were at work, so they cut off the heads of the stone statues. But this is only in folklore, it is a wild history, and it is not recorded in the history of the canon.
In summary, everything is speculation, and what the specific reason is, it remains to be solved by future generations. Perhaps the real reason is very simple, not as complex as we think.