Is Bao Gong really incorruptible?
In 1973, during the construction of the Hefei Iron and Steel Plant in Anhui Province, the tomb of Bao Zheng was accidentally excavated, but the archaeologists who came were not happy, but fell into confusion and doubt.
You know, before that, there was already a Bao Cemetery in Gongyi, Henan, and what was going on with this Bao Cemetery in Hefei?
As the archaeological excavations progressed, archaeologists realized that the Bao Cemetery in Hefei should be real, but then they found a fine Nanmu coffin in the tomb, with 6 large iron rings on it.
As we all know, Bao Gong was the first Qing official in China, why would he be buried with such an expensive coffin?
Was the historical Bao Gong really a good official who was honest and honest?
True and false bag cemetery
In the spring of 1973, the Second Steel Mill in Feidong City, Hefei, Anhui Province, was preparing to build a lime kiln, and the workers of the construction team were very enthusiastic and active, and soon began construction at the selected position.
But unexpectedly, shortly after the construction began, the enthusiasm of these workers was quickly cooled. Because there is an ancient tomb on the site they have chosen, the locals say that this is bao cemetery. The workers were very embarrassed to build a factory and did not want to destroy the tomb, so they reported the news.
Wu Xinghan, then an archaeologist at the Anhui Provincial Museum, quickly read about it from a local evening newspaper.
Near the construction site of the second steel factory is the Bao Cemetery, which was listed as a provincial cultural relics protection unit in 1958, and Wu Xinghan, as an archaeologist, of course knows that there is also a Bao Cemetery in Gongyi, Henan.
Historically, although Bao Gong was from Hefei, he became famous in the Kaifeng area of Henan, so everyone generally felt that the Bao Cemetery in Gongyi, Henan was the real Bao Cemetery.
There are also rumors in history that on the day of Bao Gong's burial after his death, 21 coffins were transported from his home, from 7 different city gates, in different directions, so no one knows where his real coffin is buried.
However, some people think that such a statement is very unreliable, after all, Bao Gong is the first Qing official in the ancient world, how can he prepare so many doubtful coffins like Cao Cao, who is called "adulterous male"? Is it because he is afraid of seeking revenge from the enemy?
If this statement is true, then will the Bao Cemetery found in Hefei be one of the doubtful coffins of that year?
Photo: Gongyibao Cemetery, Henan
Wu Xinghan repeatedly read the contents of the newspaper, although he did not see the Bao Cemetery in person, he still decided to rush to the scene to find out.
Wu Xinghan hurriedly called a man named Chen Tingxian, and the two ran to the construction site of the lime kiln of the Second Steel Mill to determine it, and then with the support of the Anhui Provincial Government, a Bao Cemetery excavation team was soon set up, and local representatives of Bao Zheng's descendants were also invited to participate, and the whole team had more than 30 people.
One of the more special is Chen Tingxian, who came from a family of tomb robbers in Luoyang, and later became an archaeological excavation technician with excellent archaeological excavation ability, often joining some archaeological teams to help excavate ancient tombs. It is said that Chen Tingxian was able to detect the orientation, size and depth of the underground burial chamber with only a Luoyang shovel.
In addition, there was a veteran named Cheng Rufeng in the team, a provincial normal high-quality student who only took off his military uniform in 1949, with a deep foundation in ancient Literature, and provided great help in subsequent archaeological excavations.
The head of the Bao Cemetery, which had been worshipped for many generations, had been excavated, and the underground palace below had been opened, accumulating a pile of silt from many years ago, which looked very desolate, obviously having been excavated. However, although Bao Cemetery was stolen, there are many other tombs around his tomb.
As a result, Chen Tingxian began to perform his "stunts", digging holes in what he believed to be a group of tombs, and playing more than a hundred times. At this time, although Chen Tingxian did not talk much with his colleagues, the outline of the underground tomb had basically formed in his mind, and soon Chen Tingxian drew it into a sketch.
On the sketch, Chen Tingxian marked a total of more than 10 tombs, and it was initially judged that this was the Bao family's tomb group. Judging from the color of the soil on the tomb, it seems to come from different periods, and the main tomb is the Bao Cemetery, which has been excavated, and should be surrounded by the tombs of his descendants.
After taking the sketch and observing it for a few times, Wu Xinghan suddenly realized that something was not quite right, and there was a separate small tomb in the southwest direction of the main tomb that seemed a little special and could not be ignored. The owner of this small tomb does not seem to have a high status, and it is somewhat deviated from the tomb group.
Wu Xinghan decided to start with this small tomb first.
He did not know at this time that it was this decision that was about to bring about the discovery of breaking glasses for everyone.
Coffin and epitaph
The excavation of this small tomb is not difficult.
There was no rammed (hāng) soil layer above this small tomb, and there was no sealing soil, and Wu Xinghan and others easily dug out the burial chamber. As everyone expected in advance, the burial chamber of this small tomb was very simple, but after entering the tomb, Wu Xinghan and others were still shocked.
Because it was in this small simple burial chamber that they saw a fine nanmu coffin.
On the coffin, Wu Xinghan also found 6 large metal rings, which looked like they were made of iron. This discovery surprised Wu Xinghan, who knew that these 6 metal rings were used to "hold the silk" in ancient times.
The so-called "execution" refers to the fact that after the death of a state official in ancient times, his coffin would be buried by the civil and military officials of the dynasty with ribbons, which were tied to these iron rings of the coffin. In the Bao family, the first thing that people think of is Bao Zheng, the state's important ministers who can enjoy such treatment.
The surprise of finding the coffin had not yet dissipated, and Wu Xinghan and they found two stone slabs inscribed with epitaphs in the tomb, one of which was missing a corner, and the yin was engraved with "The Epitaph of Lady Dong of Yongkang County of the Song Dynasty", and the other was engraved with the "Epitaph of Shangshu Xiaosu Bao of the Deputy Envoy of the Song Privy Council".
It turned out to be the epitaphs of Bao Gong and his wife!
According to the ancient habit of the epitaph following the bones, Wu Xinghan was very sure that the person buried in this small burial chamber must be Bao Gong. But this also shows that in the past, the main tomb that everyone put incense on the ground and was later excavated was not a Bao Cemetery, which made the descendants of Bao Gong who participated in the excavation a little unbelievable.
The fine nanmu coffin is also very puzzling. You know, such wood was very precious in ancient times, and Bao Gong's incorruptibility has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people since ancient times, how can he afford to use such a good coffin?
With a hint of doubt, Wu Xinghan and others opened the Nanmu coffin, and surprisingly, the bones in the coffin were scattered, a total of 35 pieces, and after scientific identification, it was finally confirmed that these bones belonged to a male elderly person over the age of 50.
In history, When Bao Gong died at the age of 60, it is basically certain that it was Bao Gong who slept in the coffin.
The archaeological team soon carried out archaeological excavations of all the tombs, including the main tomb, and after clearing the water and silt from the main tomb, they found a stone underground palace with an area of about 20 square meters, which left various indications that the underground palace had been excavated many times.
But what they didn't expect was that they actually found the missing corner of Dong's epitaph on the tomb passage of the main tomb. Wu Xinghan judged that the main tomb actually belonged to the Dong clan, and she was later transferred out, but because of many excavations, her bones could not be preserved.
Wu Xinghan remembered the rumors he had heard before about Bao Gong's funeral. Today, it seems that the loess mound on the ground that was originally enshrined by people may be a "tomb of doubt" where the coffin is stored, that is, the rumors at that time are most likely true.
As of this point, the excavation of Bao Cemetery has been almost completed, and it is regrettable that some mysteries have not been revealed, but Wu Xinghan is still very satisfied.
However, just as they were about to finish the work, an old man who claimed to be a tomb keeper suddenly appeared, which brought a huge reversal to the excavation work.
The old man said, "You're looking for the wrong one, the real Bao Cemetery isn't here." ”
The clouds of doubt dissipated
Wu Xinghan did not know the old man, but he was very familiar with him.
Although the excavation work was blocked, many people in the local area heard the news and came to watch the excavations by the archaeological team. This old man named Xia Guanghong was one of them, and he would come over every day.
Wu Xinghan did not stop the old man from watching, if the old man and other onlookers were curious to ask questions, they would also inform the results of the discovery according to the situation. After a period of time, the archaeological team and the onlookers still have a very good relationship.
Perhaps because of the harmonious relationship, the elderly Xia Guanghong realized that Wu Xinghan and others were good people, so they came to them after the excavation and told them that they were the identities of the tomb keepers.
Originally, after bao gong died that year, according to the custom of returning to the roots after death, his tomb was moved from Henan to his hometown in Hefei, and the tomb of Gongyi in Henan was not the real Bao cemetery.
The Emperor of the Song Dynasty has always taken good care of the descendants of the Bao family, and also rewarded a "Ensheng" who was specifically responsible for taking care of the Bao Gong Ancestral Hall, the Bao Cemetery and the custody of genealogical materials. Ensheng can be hereditary, the last generation of "Ensheng" named Bao Xianhai, died in the early days of liberation, many secrets did not have time to tell his daughter.
However, in addition to Ensheng, there are other tomb keepers in Bao Cemetery who make a living from farming, and pass on the secrets of Bao Cemetery from generation to generation until the elderly Xia Guanghong.
Elder Xia Guanghong said: "You are looking for the wrong one, the real Bao Cemetery is not here, but in the corner of the rape field." ”
According to the elder Xia Guanghong, Wu Xinghan went over and carried out some excavations, and indeed found a tomb of higher specifications below, and it was larger than the main tomb. From the overall orientation, the tomb is located directly north of the discovered tomb group and has the most prestigious status.
However, after excavation, the only cultural relics found by the archaeological team in the underground palace of the tomb is a 35-centimeter-tall wooden figurine with both hands on the chest, which has been identified as one of the twelve gods, and the Bao family only has the qualification to bury the twelve gods with the official residence Erpin Bao Zheng.
This is enough to prove that the tomb is the real Original Burial Tomb of Bao Zheng.
However, the archaeological team later found that the underground palace had suffered "big unveiling" damage, and the buildings inside were seriously damaged. This kind of behavior is time-consuming and laborious, not like the average tomb robber can do, but it looks like an enemy seeking revenge.
Wu Xinghan somewhat understood.
During the Song Dynasty, more than 60 years after Bao Zheng's death, Jin soldiers invaded the south, not only burning and looting everywhere, but even the tombs of nobles, which may include Bao Zheng's tomb.
Later, after the descendants of the Bao family who fled the family returned, they did not prepare funerary items, but re-prepared a good coffin for the bones of Bao Gong, quietly moved to the southwest of Dong's tomb, and also moved Dong's epitaph over, representing the joint burial of husband and wife.
Then there were suspicious mounds piled up on the ground, diverting people's attention, and it was like this for more than 800 years.
Now that the doubts have dissipated, the real Bao Gong has appeared in front of everyone's eyes.
His tomb is still in line with the specifications of the Northern Song Dynasty officials, and there is no super qualification, and the burial chamber is simple, and there is only one figurine in the funeral products, even in the tomb of his descendants, the archaeological team has not found any valuable funerary products, which can be seen by Bao Gongren and his upright and honest family style.