Since ancient times, the mausoleum has been regarded as the most important by the emperor, because the ancients mostly believed that there was a Yin Cao di mansion after death. Therefore, the imperial tombs are generally extremely luxurious, not only will there be a mourner, but also countless treasures will be buried underground. However, because of the temptation of treasure, the imperial tombs are often coveted by tomb robbers.
In the history of thousands of years, many mausoleums have been looted, but surprisingly, Wu Zetian's Qianling tomb can be intact, why is this?
First of all, the entrance to the tomb of Qianling is extremely hidden, and it is difficult for posterity to find the exact location.
In the last years of the Tang Dynasty, there was the Huangchao Rebellion, and the Huangchao rebel army was like a bamboo, attacking Chang'an all the way and even slaughtering the Tang Dynasty clan. In order to be able to continue the battle, they were extremely covetous of the treasure in the Qianling Tombs, and used 400,000 troops to try to find the entrance to the tomb. However, after digging more than forty meters underground, there was still no trace of the tomb entrance, and they had to give up, and this ditch still exists near Liangshan.
In the early years of the Republic of China, in order to consolidate the foundation of their experience, various warlords excavated mausoleums in a big way, and the tomb of Empress Dowager Cixi was stolen.
At that time, the Kuomintang general Sun Lianzhong was stationed near Qianling, and he excavated qianling in the name of protecting the mausoleum. Sun Lianzhong sent a division of troops to blow up the grave crossing with artillery shells everywhere, but found nothing.
The construction of ancient mausoleums is a big project, if you can't find the tomb entrance blindly excavated, it is likely to damage the treasure inside.
Therefore, the tomb robbers did not dare to act hastily, and it was precisely because of the concealment of the tomb entrance that the Qianling Tomb was well preserved for more than a thousand years.
The Qianling tomb was able to remain intact, but also thanks to the solid construction. In the "New Five Dynasties History, Wen Tao's Biography", it is recorded that "those who are in the territory of the Tang Tombs have been excavated and taken from the golden treasures hidden in them." ...... But the qianling wind and rain cannot be sent."
In the fifth dynasty, Wen Tao served as the envoy of Yaozhou Jiedushi, which was in the midst of war, and he took this opportunity to excavate almost all the imperial tombs in Guanzhong. During the seven years of Wen Tao's reign, countless cultural relics flowed out of his hands, but Qianling was spared because of its strong architecture. As recorded in the Old Book of Tang And The Biography of Yan Shansi, "Qianling Xuanque, its door is blocked by stone, its stone gap, cast iron to solidify it." In addition, the Song Dynasty Cheng Dachang once mentioned in the "Archaeological Compilation" that when Wen Tao excavated the imperial tomb, a vision fell from heaven, which caused him to dare not excavate. This can no longer be confirmed, but the solidity of Qianling is beyond doubt.
If Qianling has escaped many disasters in history by virtue of its strong buildings and hidden tomb entrances, then in modern times, it is only a paper document that protects Qianling.
After the founding of New China, some farmers had already discovered the grave crossing when they set off cannons to blow up stones. To this end, Shaanxi set up a special committee to excavate, confirmed that it was indeed the entrance to the tomb of the underground palace, and had disclosed all the masonry of the tomb. When further excavations were being prepared, Premier Zhou issued instructions to suspend excavations of imperial tombs throughout the country.
It has to be said that Premier Zhou's directive is far-sighted, because the current science and technology is far from reaching the level of excavating and preserving tombs intact. If the excavation is not well preserved, the loss is undoubtedly huge, and the tragedy of the Excavation of Dingling is a lesson for the past. It was also because of this that Qianling was once again able to be safe and sound. Among the Eighteen Tombs of the Tang Dynasty, Qianling is the only one that has not been excavated, which is the luck of Qianling and also our luck. It is hoped that in the near future, China will have enough technology to let the treasures in Qianling see the light of day without damage, and live up to the ups and downs that Qianling has escaped.