Cultural relics excavated from Baling
Emperor Wen of Han's Tombs
On December 14, the Important Progress Of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage's "Archaeology in China" major project was officially disclosed, and after years of efforts by archaeologists, it was finally confirmed that the Jiangcun Tomb on the White Deer Plain in Xi'an was the mausoleum of Liu Heng, emperor of the Western Han Dynasty. For hundreds of years, Baling has been mistaken for the Area around the Phoenix Mouth in White Deer Plains, while the actual location is about 2 kilometers south of the Phoenix Mouth, and this important archaeological discovery corrects this fallacy.
The confirmation of Emperor Wen's mausoleum caused a sensation among netizens and was immediately on the hot search. A few days ago, Ma Yongyi, a researcher at the Shaanxi Provincial Archaeological Research Institute and captain of the Hanling Archaeological Team, who presided over the archaeological excavation work, was interviewed by reporters from all media of this newspaper. He said: "At present, the cultural relics excavated from Baling are mainly pottery, and there are almost no bronzes or other precious gold, silver and jade, which confirms the requirements of Emperor Wen's funeral before his death, compared with other imperial tombs in the Western Han Dynasty, Baling is also the only one that has not been sealed, which also reflects Emperor Wen's love for the people." ”
Text/Guangzhou Daily all-media reporter Wu Wei
Photo/ Courtesy of Shaanxi Archaeological Research Institute
The Western Han Dynasty was the second unified feudal dynasty in Chinese history after the Qin Dynasty, experiencing 11 generations of emperors in more than 200 years.
Ma Yongyi had previously participated in the archaeological excavation of the Hanyang Mausoleum of Emperor Jingdi and Empress Wang of Han. The reign of Wenjing was a very special historical period, when the rulers lightly gave small gifts and rested with the people, and the Han Dynasty gradually moved towards the peak of prosperity. However, for many years, the location of the Tomb of Emperor Wen of Han has been unresolved, which was once a major regret in Ma Yongyin's heart.
The Gangchon Tomb was accidentally discovered
Ma Yongyi introduced that at the beginning of this century, there was a situation of tomb robbery in the Jiangcun Tomb located on the White Deer Plain. In 2002, the black pottery figurines stolen from the Gangchon Tomb were nearly auctioned abroad, and after unremitting efforts to be recovered, the ancient tomb gradually attracted the attention of archaeologists.
Xi'an Archaeological Research Institute and other cultural relics and archaeology departments immediately carried out rescue excavations of Jiangcun Tomb, "Jiangcun Tomb has been found and rescue excavation as early as 2006 to 2009, when it was only known that according to the shape and scale of the tomb, it should be a very high-level tomb, and the tomb is near the Tomb of Empress Dou, and it is impossible for ordinary people to be buried here." However, at that time, the archaeological team members did not do enough archaeological work on the Phoenix Mouth, where the legendary Baling Tomb was located, so they did not dare to be sure that the Jiangcun Tomb was the tomb of emperor Wen of Han. ”
Regarding the location of the Han Wen Emperor's mausoleum, Li Daoyuan explicitly mentioned in the "Notes on the Water Classic" that the Han Wen Emperor's mausoleum was on the White Deer Plain. As for the phoenix mouth, the earliest is in the Yuan Dynasty a person named Luo Tianhua compiled the "Class Editor Chang'an Zhi", he wrote in detail a sentence "Emperor Wen's tomb is in the forty miles east of the Jingzhao Tonghua Gate Under the Mouth of the Northern Phoenix of Bailuyuan".
The differences between the literature and the actual archaeology led the archaeologists to decide to carry out further excavations. Since 2011, ma Yongyi's Shaanxi Provincial Archaeological Research Institute and Xi'an Archaeological Research Institute have jointly formed an archaeological team to conduct detailed exploration of the relevant area again, "We once again confirmed that the level of Jiangcun tombs is very high, in line with the shape of imperial tombs." In addition, we also conducted a comprehensive exploration of the Phoenix Mouth and confirmed that there were no mausoleums in the Phoenix Mouth. Combined with the historical data, at that time, we already had a number in our minds, and we felt that it was the tomb of Emperor Wen of Han. The reason for the delay in publication is that there has been no direct or crucial evidence in the tomb. ”
The key chain of evidence "locks" the identity of the tomb owner
After further archaeological excavations that continued in 2017 to the present, key evidence was finally presented in front of Ma Yongyi's eyes.
Ma Yongyi introduced that the Jiangcun Tomb and the Tomb of Empress Dou are very close, and on the outskirts of the Jiangcun Tomb and the Tomb of Empress Dou, the archaeologists found a rammed earth wall with an east-west length of about 1200 meters and a width of about 860 meters from north to south, which enclosed the Jiangcun Tomb and the Tomb of Empress Dou. The tomb of the Western Han Emperor and Empress Dowager implemented the typical burial system of the Tongmu Dixiao, and the discovery of this large wall confirmed that the owner of the Jiangcun Tomb and Empress Dou shared a large cemetery, that is, "Tongmu", and the tomb of the two people and one person was "Heterodox", "The only person who can be buried with Empress Dou is her husband Emperor Wen of Han." ”
Ma Yongyi also introduced that there are a series of outer hidden pits around the Jiangcun Tomb and the tomb of Empress Dou, which is used for the burial of the emperor and empress mausoleum, and among these outer hidden pits, there is an outer hidden pit that symbolizes the official office, "These official offices that symbolize the three dukes and nine secretaries have circled around the mausoleum, and you say that who the owner of this tomb can be, can only be the emperor." ”
Ma Yongyi introduced that the Mausoleum of Empress Dou is a typical Western Han Tomb, which has a tall fiefdom, from the Western Han Dynasty to the present more than 2,000 years, no one has questioned. In addition, according to the Book of Han, there was only one emperor buried on the White Deer Plain, that is, Emperor Wen of Han. "For the sake of prudence, we also first studied the Tomb of Empress Dou archaeologically, and found that not only did it conform to the burial system on the ground, but there were also more than a dozen outer hidden pits on the periphery, which were in line with the burial system of the Empress of the Han Dynasty, and we also excavated the Tomb of Empress Wang of Hanyang Mausoleum before, which is very similar." Therefore, there is no doubt in the history of empress Dou's mausoleum, and we have confirmed through archaeological work that it is a mausoleum of the empress level. Therefore, the tomb of Empress Dou was confirmed first and foremost. ”
"We did the work little by little, collected the evidence little by little, and finally formed a complete chain of evidence." Archaeology is a science, and it is very evidence-based. The only pity to say is that there is no direct evidence in this archaeological excavation, and the direct evidence I am talking about is the direct excavation of cultural relics with the word 'Baling'. ”
No sealing soil, accompanying burial less reflect the requirements of the festival burial
Ma Yongyi told reporters that the biggest difference between the Han Wen Emperor's tomb and other imperial tombs of the Western Han Dynasty is that it builds a mausoleum on the mountain and does not have a sealed soil, while the other Western Han imperial tombs basically have a tall sealing mound, and the baling tomb is only built according to the mountain, "For the funerary products in the mausoleum, we are not fully excavated, and the funerary products in the tombs of other Western Han Emperors have not been completely excavated, so it is not good to compare." However, a large number of funerary products unearthed are pottery products, which are similar to the cultural relics excavated from the Hanyang Mausoleum. ”
"Throughout the archaeological excavations, a large number of 'dressed' pottery figurines have been unearthed from the outer pit of the tomb, which is very similar to the clothed clay figurines excavated from the outer pit of the Hanjing Emperor Yang Mausoleum. The Western Han Dynasty had a strict funerary system, and the 'dressed' figurines belonged to the highest specifications of the funerary figurines, generally dedicated to the burial of the royal family; in addition, we also found pottery figurines wearing torture instruments in an outer pit in the southwest corner of the tomb, some wearing iron hoops around their necks, some wearing iron hoops on their ankles, combined with the bronze seals found nearby engraved with the words 'Zhongsikong Seal', we think this may be a batch of torture figurines. Ma Yongyi told reporters that these hidden pits had been stolen very badly at that time, and he originally did not hold out hope when excavating, but after digging down, a large number of pottery figurines were still in a primitive state there, and there was no tomb robbery, "Of course, I was very excited after seeing it, very excited." ”
Ma Yongyi introduced that from the current archaeological work results of the Jiangcun Tomb, the tomb reflects the requirements of Emperor Wen's life to be buried. "First of all, the tombs are indeed not sealed, and the amount of sealing soil in the Western Han Dynasty Imperial Tombs is very large. According to estimates, the amount of earth for some imperial tombs in the Western Han Dynasty can reach more than 300,000 cubic meters, and there was no construction machinery in ancient times, all of which were manual labor, which was quite time-consuming and labor-intensive. Outer treasure pit is the main form of burial of the Western Han Emperor and Empress, these outer treasure pits from our current excavations, the burial of things is indeed not much, basically in addition to the pottery figurines, is the pottery, even if there are a small amount of copper and iron products, are very small things, there is no special value of things. To start a joke, some media asked me to introduce a cultural relic that can represent the ornamental, historical and cultural value and artistic value of Baling, but I can't find it in Baling. ”
Ma Yongyi said that the outer tibetan pit was originally called the outer tibetan rafter, and most of the funerary products were in the large wooden box of the outer tibetan rafter, but the Guanzhong area was not as humid as the southern underground, and the organic matter cultural relics could be preserved, but a semi-dry and semi-wet state, so the organic cultural relics such as wood, lacquerware, and silk products had decayed after more than 2,000 years, so the original large wooden box had long been gone, and the outer tibetan rafter had become the outer hidden pit.
"The top priority is to do a good job in the protection of the Tombs"
Ma Yongyi said that the academic significance of this archaeological discovery is very great, first of all, the "rule of Wenjing" is a key historical period for the transformation of the Western Han Dynasty from the early to the middle of the Han Dynasty. The management system of the whole country, including the concept of governing the country, political ideology, ideology, etc., has changed, and accordingly, the system of the Western Han Dynasty's imperial tombs has also begun to develop. The Han Wen Emperor's Mausoleum is an important link in the development and evolution of the Western Han Emperor's Mausoleum system, "Before we could not figure out where the Tomb was, we still thought that it was in the Phoenix Mouth, including the shape of the mausoleum, which is a shortcoming for academic research; through this archaeological work, we have clarified the shape of the mausoleum, the mausoleum, and the outer tibetan pit, making up for the key link in the development and evolution of the Western Han Imperial Mausoleum system." ”
The archaeological excavations of the Gangchon Tombs are not over. Ma Yongyi said: "In the future, we still have to continue to excavate the outer hidden pit, in addition, since the Announcement of the Baling Tomb, that is, the Jiangcun Tomb, the next very important task is to do a good job in the protection of the Baling Tomb, and can no longer let it be damaged and disturbed, which is the most important work at present." ”
According to the Shaanxi Provincial Archaeological Research Institute, the Jiangcun Tomb is located at the western end of Bailuyuan in the eastern suburbs of Xi'an, about 2100 meters north of the "Han Wen Emperor's Baling Tomb" (that is, the Phoenix Mouth) and 800 meters from the Dou Empress Mausoleum in the east, which is an important tomb remain within the Baling Mausoleum area. Since 2017, through archaeological exploration, the "stone boundary" of Jiangcun Tomb, the wall and architectural site of Baling Outer Cemetery, the pottery kiln, etc., the excavation of Jiangcun North Pottery Kiln Site, Jiangcun Great Tomb Outer Hidden Pit, Nanling Outer Hidden Pit, Lijia Village Han Tomb, etc., more than 1,000 pieces of various types of pottery figurines have been excavated, and more than 3,000 pieces of gold, silver, copper, iron and pottery cultural relics have been excavated, achieving fruitful results.
This archaeological work negates the traditional understanding that Fenghuangzui is the "Tomb of the Han Emperor", determines the accurate location of the Tomb of the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, and solves the problem of the name of the Eleventh Tomb of the Western Han Dynasty. The basic grasp of the scale, shape, layout and connotation of the Western Han Emperor's mausoleum, including the Han Dynasty Emperor's Mausoleum, provides detailed archaeological data for the study of the formation and development and evolution of the Western Han Emperor's Mausoleum system, and lays the foundation for the in-depth study of the ancient Chinese imperial tomb system.
According to reports, the double mausoleum of Baling, the center of the imperial tomb, and the layout of the outer hidden pits of the symbolic official offices around the imperial tombs are the earliest appearances in the Western Han Imperial Mausoleum, indicating the initial establishment of the political concept of the Western Han Empire in which the emperor is exclusive and centralized; the "rule by doing nothing" of inheriting the Changling and Anling in the plane pattern of the Baling Tombs, and the "Confucianism of The Sole Respect" of the Lower Qiyang Tombs, Maoling Tombs, Pingling Tombs, and Duling Tombs are the key links in the development and evolution of the Western Han Imperial Tomb system, and also reflect the development and changes of the national political ideology and ideology of the Western Han Empire.
Among the large number of precious cultural relics unearthed from Baling, the seals, sealed muds and other cultural relics with characters confirm the construction concept of "Mausoleum Ruoduyi" and Imperial Tomb "imitating the real Western Han Empire". Many gold and silverware with grassland style are direct evidence of the cultural exchange and integration of agriculture and animal husbandry in the pre-Qin and Han dynasties, witnessing the historical development trend of Chinese civilization from "pluralism" to "integration".
Source: Guangzhou Daily