Protagonist of the incident: County Governor X
Biography: Birth and death unknown, in the early years of the Republic of China, he was the county magistrate of Linxi County (now part of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region) in Rehe Province.
Tomb robbery deeds: In 1923 (the twelfth year of the Republic of China), the Tomb of The Liao Shengzong Yelü Longxu Yongqing, which was buried in the 11th century, was excavated.
During the Republic of China, tomb robbery was frequent, the identity of tomb robbers was quite complicated, anyone could become a tomb robber, and everyone wanted to find an opportunity to send some "dead people's wealth". In the territory of present-day Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia, in the early years of the Republic of China, there was an incident of "county magistrate tomb robbery". This was the county magistrate who was in service at the time, and because of his sensitivity, the information left at that time was only called "county magistrate". This is also the only use of "county magistrate" in this book in place of the real name of the tomb robber.
Pictured: A deep cave left by modern tomb robbers near the Liaoyong Qing mausoleum
"County Governor Mou" excavated the Tomb of Emperor Yongqing of Liao shengzong in the county under his jurisdiction, and this time the tomb robbery also discovered an amazing secret.
⊙ the grass-roots investigation and accidentally found the tomb of the Liao Emperor
Yongqing Mausoleum, in the northeast of Linxi County, Shirehe Province, in the remnants of the Daxing'an Mountains, 20 or 30 miles north of the present-day Bahrain Right Banner sobozhigaSumu in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is the specific location of The valley of Warimangha (Mongolian for "rubble beach").
On September 1, 2011, the author made a special trip to investigate. The locals in this area used to be known as "Wang Tomb Ditch", and at that time, no one, including "County Governor Mou", did not know that there was an imperial tomb here.
Picture: Wang Tomb Ditch, where the Liaoqing Tomb is located, has beautiful scenery and pleasant environment in late autumn, and is indeed a "treasure land of feng shui"
So how did the local official find out? This has to start with the county magistrate's grassroots investigation. According to Liu Zhenlu's "Sketch of the Excavation of the Qingling Tombs of the Liao Dynasty" (published in the "Yilin Monthly" published in August 21, 2016 of the Republic of China), in 1923 (the twelfth year of the Republic of China), when "County Governor X" went to The Lindong area to investigate the reclamation land (so to speak, the county magistrate is still a very pragmatic official), passing by this place, there is an inscription everywhere, this county magistrate is also a person who is full of poetry, on a whim, he read the inscription carefully, and found that it was the Yongqing Mausoleum of Liao Shengzong.
Liao Shengzong, the sixth emperor of the Liao Dynasty, named Yelü Longxu, his mother was one of the famous strong women in Chinese history, Empress Xiao. The "Liao Shi Shengzong Benji" records that in 982 AD (the fourth year of Liao Qianheng), "Autumn and September, Jingzong Collapsed." 癸 ugly, that is, the emperor is located in front of the coffin, when he was twelve years old. This record in the history books shows that When Liao Shengzong was emperor, he was a child and declared his succession in front of his father's coffin.
Pictured: There is only a dirt road leading to the mausoleum area, which is often flooded during the rainy season, and the river is crystal clear and quite clean.
Pictured: Mountain trail leading to the mausoleum area
Due to her young age, Empress Xiao was regent by her will. For a long time, the major affairs of the government were controlled by Empress Xiao, and when the little emperor grew up, Empress Xiao was just as domineering, did not return the government in love with power, and even reprimanded the emperor in public, and sometimes beat the emperor. Although he grew up under empress Xiao's obedience, Emperor Shengzong of Liao did not become mediocre because of this, but was an emperor with considerable military talent, and an emperor with achievements: he fought zhao and song in the south and went on a crusade against Goryeo in the east. Emperor Shengzong of Liao repeatedly marched in person and defeated the Song army. In terms of military talent, the Great Song Emperor Zhenzong and the Liao Shengzong were not a level at all. In 1004 (the twenty-second year of the Liao dynasty, the first year of the Song Dynasty), the Liao army attacked the south to Liaoyuan, and the Liao and Song dynasties established the famous "Alliance of Liaoyuan".
Pictured: Rectangular pits left by modern tomb robbers near Yongqing Mausoleum
Emperor Shengzong of Liao reigned for 49 years, and died in June 1031 (the eleventh year of Liao Taiping) at the age of 61 in the palace north of the Dafu River. The title of Shangzun was "Emperor Wenwu Daxiaoxuan" and the temple title of "Holy Sect", which was still very appropriate.
Speaking of this, readers should note that the Liao Kingdom entered its heyday during the time of the Holy Emperor, so the mausoleum of the Liao Saint Sect was built more magnificently than other emperors of the Liao State. After "County Governor X" read the inscription, his mind was active at that time, and he had the idea of robbing the tomb. The original words of the article "The Liao Dynasty Qingling Tomb was Excavated" is like this, "The intention will be rich in treasure", which means that there must be a large amount of gold and silver treasure in the mausoleum.
⊙ smashing the stone stele "in an attempt to extinguish the traces"
"County Chief" is not an archaeologist, naturally not interested in what he sees in front of him, he is only interested in the burial items in the mausoleum. Although the county magistrate robbed the tomb, it was rich in treasure. It is said that "county magistrate" has obtained a lot of treasures: "Those who have obtained the ancient sword one and the treasures of gold and jade have not known whether they are true or not." ”
Pictured: A sword with a sky-high ancient golden handle, now in the National Museum of China
Many treasures have flowed to the people. After Liu Zhenlu heard about it, he inquired and collected from many sources. "False dust (Liu Zhenlu character, self-proclaimed) heard afterwards, hated not to see it in person, entrusted to friends, and the sons of the door, searched for the objects in the Liaoling Tombs, and tried their best for more than ten years, only to copy the inscriptions in front of the mausoleum in the early years, empress Renyi's mourning book seal Tuoben two paper, Gu Ding one, Jue One, Fang Yao one, large and small round Yao two, great Kang Tong Bao silver big money one, large and small ancient mirror six, but among the instruments, there is no money knowledge, which is regrettable. As for the Khitan script that dreams of never being forgotten, it has never been seen. ”
Photo: Liao Shengzong Lamentation Book
Pictured: The Queen's Book of Lamentations
Liu Zhenlu was also able to collect a lot of treasures afterwards, which showed that the number of treasures stolen from the mausoleum by "County Governor Mou" was quite large. Liu Zhenlu also speculated at the time that the county magistrate "entered Baoshan mountain and returned empty-handed." What is hateful is that the "county magistrate" was afraid that people would find out, and afterwards he also destroyed cultural relics and smashed the stone stele outside the mausoleum in an "attempt to extinguish the traces."
After the "county magistrate" discovered and stole the Yongqing Tomb, it became a place frequented by all kinds of tomb robbers, large and small. In 1922 (the eleventh year of the Republic of China), French priest Min Xuanhua and Belgian priest Kelven came here to excavate, in 1930 (the nineteenth year of the Republic of China) there was a warlord Tang Yulin who came here to excavate, and from 1931 (the twentieth year of the Republic of China) to 1939 (the twenty-eighth year of the Republic of China), the Japanese torii Ryuzo, Kuroda Genji, Takeshima Takuichi, Shizo Tamura, and Yuo Kobayashi successively excavated the Tombs of the Liao Emperor, including the Yongqing Tombs (for details, see other chapters of the "History of Tomb Robbery in the Republic of China").
Pictured: The shattered building components of the Yongqing Tomb are scattered among the grass
In addition, as to who the "county magistrate" is, interested readers can "human flesh": in March 1908 (the thirty-fourth year of Guangxu), the Rehe Du Tong Ting Jie song asked the Qing court to approve it, and the "Linxi" system was established. The county was located at the mouth of the Wuliang Suji River (present-day Linxi Town), because it was in the west of the Bahrain Grassland, so it was named "Linxi", which was under the jurisdiction of Chifeng Prefecture in Chengde Province. From 1912 (the first year of the Republic of China) to 1933 (the 22nd year of the Republic of China), Linxi County was subordinate to Rehe Province.
Based on this information, it is easy to find out who the "county magistrate" is.