In 221 BC, King Yingzheng of Qin annexed the Six Kingdoms and unified the world. Since then, "emperor" has become the honorific title of the supreme ruler. Whether it is the "Son of Heaven" or the "Emperor", behind it is a symbol of supreme power. In thousands of years of feudal history, imperial power could not be challenged. As the "Son of Heaven", it is natural to hope to live with the heavens, and many emperors have spent a lot of effort to seek the elixir of immortality, but the end has ended in failure.
Tianzi avoided talking about "death", but during the emperor's reign, the construction of the mausoleum was still a major event, and construction began decades in advance. From the layout and scale of the emperor's mausoleum, it can also be inferred that the emperor's preferences.
He was afraid of death but was happy to repair the mausoleum, and it took a lot of effort to work hard to hurt the people and money
According to the "Records of History", the first emperor took the throne at the beginning of his reign, wore the Li Mountain, and joined the world, and the disciples under the world sent more than 700,000 people, wore three springs, went down to the copper and made a coffin, and the palace viewed the hundred officials and strange instruments and rare and strange migration to Zang Manzhi. Let the craftsman make a crossbow arrow, and shoot it at those who are close. Mercury is used as a hundred rivers and seas, and the organic phase is instilled, with astronomy on the top and geography on the bottom. Take mermaid paste as a candle, and the degree of immortality will last a long time.
The first emperor in history built a mausoleum in such a way, and the later atmosphere can be seen. The construction of the mausoleum was huge, and at that time, countless prime-age men were exhausted, and it also caused countless grievances. While seeking the elixir of immortality, Qin Shi Huang was busy building luxurious mausoleums, which can be said to have made all his own plans.
Since the Qin and Han dynasties, the funeral system stipulates that the emperor, regardless of age, must begin to build a mausoleum after one year of reign, which is to prepare for death as soon as he becomes emperor.
At that time, the emperor divided the offerings given to him by the whole country into three parts, one for the sacrifice of the temple, one for entertaining guests, and the remaining one was dedicated to the construction of the imperial tomb and the purchase of funerary goods.
Since then, successive dynasties have continued this rule, making the repair of the imperial tomb a major event. As for the extent to which the people are hurting their wealth, it depends on the thinking of the reigning emperor. Due to the limited technology and the high requirements of the emperor, it took a staggering amount of time and could take decades. By the time the mausoleum was completed, the emperor was dying of old age.
The tomb is most afraid of encountering the "stone mother", and it is likely to fall short
According to the Records of Emperor Xuanzong of the Qing Dynasty, the mausoleum built by the Daoguang Emperor for many years was excavated to the stone mother, which eventually led to the unusable mausoleum and had to find other places to build.
What is a "stone mother"? When ancient emperors built mausoleums, why were they afraid of digging up "stone mothers"? Mother stone is actually a type of limestone, commonly found in areas where there is water underground.
In other words, once the stone mother is dug out of the ground, it is close to the groundwater area. In history, there were indeed emperors who encountered such things, and the Daoguang Emperor went to great lengths to repair the mausoleum and sent many ministers to supervise the work.
However, even though the stone mother had been excavated at the beginning of the construction, the minister who supervised it still did not pay any attention to it and directly built it as usual. As a result, by the time the emperor went to inspect, the water leakage of the mausoleum was already very serious. After punishing the overseer's minister, he had no choice but to find another place to build it.
The mausoleum is full of mechanisms, but it is impossible to block the water
In ancient times, many emperors began to choose the auspicious land of ten thousand years before they died, used to build a mausoleum for themselves, and when they died, they could also enter the comfortable underground palace and continue their rich life underground.
However, tomb robbers often do not intend to let them go, so in the chaotic world, the luxurious imperial tomb has become a treasure trove, and the emperor must be prepared to prevent these tomb robbers from excavating his auspicious land.
For example, the Mausoleum of The First Emperor of Qin, which has not yet been fully surveyed, has many internal organs. For thousands of years, with the help of terrible mechanisms, countless tomb robbers have been intercepted. The Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum project is huge, and the internal funerary items are innumerable and mouth-watering.
Unfortunately, no matter how many organs can only intercept tomb robbers and archaeologists, they cannot resist the erosion of water. Once the mausoleum enters the water, then the emperor's elaborate design will not be used. Not only could the funerary goods not be preserved, but even the emperor's coffin would be soaked in water.
In this way, the emperor's years of planning have no meaning.
The stone mother is the evidence to verify whether there is any proximity to the groundwater. Once the stone mother is dug, the place where the mausoleum was built must be replaced immediately, otherwise it will be "flooded" and the emperor will not be able to rest in peace after a hundred years. With such a lethality, you can understand why when the emperors of the past built their tombs, they avoided the stone mother like a flood beast.
brief summary
Since ancient times, people have considered not only the state of life on earth, but also the desire to have a resting place after death. For the emperor with a noble status, the place of belonging after a hundred years should be carefully arranged by himself.
Because of this, in feudal dynasties that avoided talking about death, the emperor would start building mausoleums at a young age. The of a thousand miles collapsed in the ant nest.
For the entire mausoleum, the stone mother is that ant nest. Once encountered, you have to avoid it in time, so as not to cause more trouble.
References: Records of Emperor Xuanzong of the Qing Dynasty, Records of History