Text/Shi Xiao Erji
People do not come back from the dead, but in the ancient concept, death is regarded as life. Therefore, before the emperor died, they would build a large and tall mausoleum. In the tomb, the decoration is gorgeous and splendid, and various treasures are placed.
In order to keep the light bright, a lamp is often placed, and once it is burned, it continues to project a faint and faint light, which lasts until the oil runs out.
The lamp is a long light!
The principle of the Changming Lantern has always been mysterious and no one knows. But that doesn't stop it from being famous. It is not in the jianghu, but the jianghu has its various legends.
In 1400 AD, the lamp in the tomb of the son of the ancient Roman king Peles burned for more than two thousand years, and the only way to extinguish it was to extract the burned oil from the bowl;
In 1534, Henry VIII rushed into the church to excavate the tomb of the father of the Roman Emperor Constantine, when he was surprised by the long lamp. The lamp has been burning for about twelve hundred years;
More intuitive feeling
genus
At the mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, Sima Qian said in his "Records of History":
Take mermaid paste as a candle, and the degree of immortality will last a long time
Mermaid paste is a candle, which burns slowly, and can burn for a long time, even for a long time. The Taiping Imperial Dictionary elaborates on the so-called mermaid paste, saying:
In the tomb of the First Emperor, whale paste is burned as a lamp
Whale oil as fuel, made into candles, can it really grow bright?
Someone on the Internet has calculated that a ton of whale oil can burn for 14 years. I don't know how it was calculated. At the very least, there are three necessary conditions for combustion, namely combustibles, ignition sources, and oxidants.
According to Sima Qian's records, the machine phase is instilled. That if the combustible reserves are sufficient. What about oxidants, where does oxygen come from? After the oxygen in the tomb is consumed, even if there are more combustible materials, it will not reach the "long light".
It should be known that sealing is the most basic condition of the mausoleum, so it is naturally impossible to instill fresh air. Otherwise, the purpose of anti-corrosion for a long time cannot be achieved.
The real solution to the mystery of the changming lamp is the Wanli Dingling Tomb, which began excavation in 1956.
The excavators slowly groped forward in the underground palace, and finally saw the confession of three white jade thrones. The spirit seat of the Wanli Emperor was placed on a larger throne in the middle. In front of the central throne is a blue and white dragon cylinder with a height of about 0.7 meters (a rare work in blue and white porcelain). The oil is stored in the cylinder, and the oil surface has solidified. Above the oil surface is a copper round scoop with a wick in it. There are burn marks on the core end.
This is the mysterious long lamp. Obviously, this lamp in the Dingling Tomb was lit. But only at the time of burial. Due to the closure of the underground palace and the lack of oxygen, the lights gradually went out. After identification, the lamp oil is sesame sesame oil...
It can be seen that the long light is just a wishful thinking fantasy. It's just a blessing.
To sum up, the role of this lamp is as follows:
First, for the purpose of sacrifice during burial;
Second, the consumption of oxygen in the tomb;
Third, when a tomb robber enters an ancient tomb, the lamp will spontaneously combust, so as to intimidate the tomb robber and prevent him from disturbing the peace.
Of course, there is also a symbolic "changming", which will never be extinguished.
References: "History", "Dingling Underground Xuangong Cave Opening", "Dingling Excavation Personal Experience".