In 1986, when the archaeologists were cleaning and excavating in a tomb in Inner Mongolia, they found that the owner of the tomb was a very strange young couple, the reason why they were very peculiar, because the young couple wore gold masks, and then looked at the clothes they wore and the jewelry they wore, all of which were gold and silver, jade, agate, pearls and amber.
The excavated epitaph reveals the identity of the couple, it turns out that they are princess Chen Guo of the Liao Dynasty and Xiao Shaojie, a donkey horse. Saying this may feel strange to many people, after all, there are not many famous figures in the history of the Liao Dynasty. So here's a quick introduction to their identities.
Princess Chen Guo was the daughter of Yelü Longqing, the king of Qin and Jin, and Yelü Longqing was the second son of Emperor Jingzong of Liao and Empress Xiao, who married his niece Xiao Shi as a concubine, and Xiao Shi was the daughter of Yelü Longqing's eldest sister Yelü Guanyin and Xiao Jixian, who had no sons and only a few daughters, so Xiao Siwen's third daughter, Empress Xiao, made Xiao Jixian xiao Siwen's adopted son to inherit the heir. Xiao Jixian then married Empress Xiao's eldest daughter, Guanyin, and gave birth to Xiao.
Xiao married his uncle Yelü Longqing and then gave birth to Princess Chen Guo, and after Princess Chen Guo and Zhen, he married Xiao Shaoji. Xiao Shaojue was the son of Empress Xiao's younger brother and the elder brother of Xiao Bodhisattva, the second empress of Emperor Shengzong of Liao. Therefore, Xiao Shaojue is the uncle of Princess Chen Guo, although he is not an uncle, but all along, the Yelü royal family has always been married to the Xiao family, so the relationship between them is relatively close, whether it is from the mother's side or from the father's side can be related.
Princess Chen Guo was born in 1001, during the regency of Princess Chen Guo's grandmother Empress Xiao, although Liao Shengzong was thirty years old, but because of Empress Xiao's popularity, So Liao Shengzong did not personally govern until eight years later, when Empress Xiao returned to Liao Shengzong, and then more than two months later Empress Xiao died.
Although Emperor Shengzong of Liao was pro-government, his political skills were far inferior to those of Empress Xiao, and even his brother Yelü Longqing could not fully control it, and three years later he was crowned king of Qin and Jin, and Yelü Longqing's daughter Princess Chen Guo was also renamed from Princess Taiping to Princess of Yueguo, and the title of Princess Chen Guo was posthumously. After waiting for Princess Chen Guo and Zhen, he married his uncle Xiao Shaojue, who was supposed to be ten years and eight years older than Princess Chen Guo at that time.
We don't know how the feelings of the two people after marriage, but the marriage between the two should not last long, to know that Princess Chen Guo died in 1018, when she died at the age of 18, and Xiao Shaojie died in front of Princess Chen Guo, so the marriage between the two was only two or three years at most.
After their deaths, the two were buried together in the tomb of Princess Chen Guo, located in the current Town of Qinglongshan in Inner Mongolia, which should be the tombs of many Liao Dynasty royal families. In 1986, there was a place in Qinglongshan Town to prepare to build a reservoir, and then the princess tomb was discovered, and the cultural relics archaeologists in Inner Mongolia quickly intervened to excavate it, and were surprised to find that the tomb had not been stolen.
The reason why it is a surprise is that many imperial tombs of the Liao Dynasty began to be excavated after the fall of the Liao Dynasty, and after the Jin Dynasty attacked the Liao Dynasty, large-scale tomb robbery was carried out, and after the Jin Dynasty, the theft of the Liao Imperial Tombs was still rampant, saying that the Liao Qianling Tombs of Princess Chen Guo's grandfather and grandmother were stolen several times.
Liaoqian Tombs buried but Liao Jingzong and Empress Xiao, after several thefts, now to Liaoning to see, can only see a desolate, in the 1990s, some of the cultural relics in the Liaoqian Tombs gradually appeared, one of which is the golden life clothes on Empress Xiao's body, and its value is more on the golden jade clothes.
Unfortunately, the LiaoqianLing has been stolen several times, the underground palace has long been looted, and no treasures can be found, not only the Liaoqianling, most of the Liao Emperor's tombs have been destroyed. Fortunately, in 1986, it was found that the tomb of Princess Chen Guo was not stolen, and after the archaeologists entered, they found that the funerary products inside were quite exquisite and luxurious. There are more than 3,000 exquisite gold and silver jade, pearl agate, amber crystal, ceramic wood and so on.
Princess Chen Guo and Xiao Shaoji snuggled up here, their pillows were made of silver, their clothes were made of silver, their boots were also made of silver, both of them wore gold masks, and all kinds of other ornaments were royal exclusive ornaments, in short, showing a scene of both wealth and luxury. The frescoes in the tombs are also very precious cultural relics.
It is undeniable that the excavation of the tomb of Princess Chen Guo was quite important and had high historical value. But what is strange is, why do they wear gold masks after death? Although there are no other imperial tomb excavations for reference, it can be roughly judged that this is a custom of funerals in the Liao Dynasty, and the gold mask and the silver mesh worn on the body are tailor-made, which can maintain the original figure and appearance unchanged, and can also prevent the body from rotting to the greatest extent.
However, we can also see that such a funeral custom is only qualified and powerful for the nobles, especially the royal family, after all, it costs a lot of money, and the people of the Liao Dynasty cannot afford it, they are general tree burials, first put the body on the tree to dry naturally, and then put it into the tomb.