The ruins of jinduan wang cemetery are located in the northeast of Dongfeng Village, Huangling Street, Xiaodian District, Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, and within the land area of The New Campus of Shanxi University of Finance and Economics, located in the gentle slope area at the southern end of Taiyuan Dongshan. From May 2019 to April 2021, archaeological excavations were conducted led by the Shanxi Provincial Archaeological Research Institute and coordinated by the urban area.
Early satellite imagery shows the ming dynasty clan king mausoleum in the Dongshan area
I. The first systematic archaeological work on the tombs of the ming dynasty kings in Shanxi
In the Ming Dynasty, the feudal system was implemented, with Zhu Yuanzhang, the ming emperor, making his eldest son crown prince, and the remaining sons as princes. There were three feudal lords in Shanxi: the third son Zhu Tang was made the King of Jin; the thirteenth son Zhu Gui was made the Acting King; and the twenty-first son Zhu Mo was made the King of Shen. Nationwide, excavations in recent years include the tombs of King Liangzhuang and King Yingjing in Zhongxiang City, Hubei Province, and the Tomb of King Zhou Yi in Xingyang City, Henan Province. This excavation is the first systematic archaeological work on the tombs and cemeteries of Ming Dynasty kings in Shanxi.
Panoramic view of the excavation area
Second, expose the largest tomb of the king of the middle and late Ming Dynasty in China
The tomb of King Duan of Jinduan is in the shape of a "gong" glyph, with a length of 24 meters from north to south and 8 meters wide from east to west, ranking first in the tomb of the king of the clan in the middle and late Ming Dynasty. It is worth noting that the tomb structure of the Lady Tomb (M3) is also three rooms in the front, middle and back, and the rank is transgressive, which is the only example found so far. The owner of the M3 tomb is the DuanWang pet concubine Yuanshi, the Yuan clan has a low status, but it is very favored, and it died two years before the Duanwang, and its tomb decorations and funeral rites are equivalent to or more than the stepfathers and even the princesses. The M3 tomb is filled with soil and stone, and has as many as four floors, which is also the first time to be found in the tomb of the Ming Dynasty king. The M3 burial chamber is made of strip stone masonry, and the interior has been modified twice, and the door nails depict gold, etc., which are more elaborate than M1 and M2.
Three tombs look down
M3 Tomb Door
3. Discover a relatively complete mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty
The ming dynasty divided the princes, and the cemetery area was the largest in the first generation of jin kings Zhu Tang, totaling 800 acres. Emperor Ming Yingzong was orthodox for thirteen years, and changed the prince's land to fifty acres and fifteen rooms. The king of the county has thirty acres of land and nine rooms. The county prince has 20 acres of land and three rooms, and the county lord and the county lord have 10 acres of land and three rooms. The Duanwang Cemetery is 294 meters long from north to south and 158 meters wide from east to west, far exceeding the regulation of 50 acres of the Prince's Mausoleum.
The scope of the Duanwang Cemetery is clear, and the overall layout and structure are basically complete. The north wall of the mausoleum, the southern section of the western wall and the central axis are poorly preserved, and the east and west mausoleum walls of the mausoleum are bounded by the east and west roads of the excavation area of the mausoleum respectively, and the north and south are rectangular; the tombs of duanwang and princesses, step-concubines and wives (M1-M3) are located in the middle of the cemetery, sitting north and south, side by side and lined up in a row; the mausoleum hall (F1), located in the south of the duanwang tomb road, is a building with five openings and three outer corridors. There is also a building on the central axis south of the mausoleum, which should be the middle gate, and further south is the ancient cypress on both sides of the Shinto, and to the south there is the archway, that is, the Lingxing Gate.
Duanwang Cemetery actual measurement and restoration map
4. Unearthed exquisite painted lacquered wooden figurines and silk fabrics
Although the three tombs were stolen and disturbed, the types of burials unearthed are still diverse, and the most rare thing is that more painted lacquered wooden figurines and textiles have been preserved.
M1 and M3 middle rooms unearthed 90 pieces of painted lacquered wooden figurines, including civilian officials, bodyguards, travel honor guards and so on. The wooden figurines in M3 are well preserved, and they are located on both sides of the middle chamber when they are excavated, and the position and arrangement order remain as they are.
M1 and M3 unearthed 40 pieces of various textiles, of which the most precious is that M3 retains 4 pieces of basically complete silk fabrics, which is an important object for studying the crown clothing system of the Ming Dynasty.
M3 unearthed silk fabric
Silk fabrics unearthed in the back room of M3
M3 back room found money
Paint jar inside the east niche of the M3 rear chamber
5. Corroborate and improve the relevant records of the Ming Dynasty
The determination of the JinduanWang Mausoleum confirms the location of Gangtou Village and Duanwang Cemetery recorded in the "Taiyuan County Chronicle", "Yangqu County Chronicle" and "Yuci County Chronicle", and provides accurate geographical coordinates for the determination of the location of other Jin Dynasty King Mausoleums.
The M1 unearthed both epitaphs and epitaphs, which are extremely rare. The epitaph records the cause of Duan Wang's death and the political events that occurred in the Jin Dynasty palace after his death because he had no heirs, which is consistent with the contents of Xia Yan's "Nangong Song Draft, Prince Ding's Succession to the Seal and Simultaneous Investigation and Investigation of Neglect", and "Nangong Song Draft: Asking the Imperial Officials to Investigate the Secret Affairs of the Emperor's Office to Correct Deception and Neglect".
M2 Duan Wang's Records record that Duan Wang's concubine Jiang Shi was born into the lord of KuiCheng County, supplementing the gap in the Zhengshi record of Chiang Kai-shek. The tomb was excavated twice, and the birth and death time recorded by Princess Yin and Duan Wang Yuanzhi indicates that Yin was buried after his death, and queen Duan died and then buried together. It is confirmed that after the second year of Tianshun recorded in the Ming History, the prince and the princess died first, and the tomb was built first. For those who die later, the local department is responsible for the funeral system of separate burial.
The epitaph of M3 was written by Hu Maozong, a member of the dynasty at the request of The DuanWang, and the tomb table was written by the university scholar Lu Shen, and was included in the full text of the "Siku Quanshu", and the content was completely consistent with the excavated epitaph. In addition, the two sides of the M3 middle room retain four sides of the curtain and two columns of painted ceremonial warrior wooden figurines, which is an empirical evidence of the funeral rites of the prince of the Ming Dynasty.
Sixth, the protection of cultural relics and the deep integration of science and technology archaeology
The concept of cultural relics protection and scientific and technological archaeology runs through the whole process of archaeological work, innovates the working mode, realizes the deep integration of archaeological excavation, cultural relics protection and scientific and technological archaeology, and ensures the scientific and high level of archaeological work.
Adhering to the first principle of cultural relics protection, we have invited top archaeology and cultural protection experts from domestic universities and institutions such as the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the National Museum of China, the China Silk Museum, the Shaanxi Provincial Archaeological Research Institute, the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, the Shanxi Provincial Institute of Ancient Building Protection, the Shanxi Museum, Peking University, Nankai University, Shanghai University, the University of Science and Technology of China, Tongji University, Shandong University, Shanxi University, Taiyuan University of Technology, etc., to hold expert demonstration meetings and consultation meetings more than a dozen times, improve the excavation plan, and guide archaeological work , meticulous protection of excavated cultural relics.
According to the on-site excavation situation and innovative model, it takes the lead in building a cultural relics protection site laboratory in China, and carries out systematic indoor environmental monitoring, sampling, information extraction and other basic work of cultural relics protection. With the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shandong University, Shanxi University, the National Museum of China, the China Silk Museum, the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and other domestic universities and scientific research institutions, in-depth cooperation, to carry out textiles, lacquered wood, excavated grain isotopes, oil and other residues of scientific and technological testing and analysis.
Microstructure analysis of fragments of silk fabrics
Silk fabric extraction
Accessories on silk fabrics
Extraction of grain samples from lacquered coffins
M3 Chamber Excavated Sander With Residues
Human bone identification
Scientific and technological archaeology assists the whole process of excavation and protection, and makes full use of digital technologies such as three-dimensional scanning, aerial photography, and holographic recording to scientifically record all aspects of investigation, drilling, excavation and protection, and carry out three-dimensional restoration of the structure and layout of tombs and cemeteries, so as to dynamically restore the entire cemetery to the greatest extent.
Exterior view of the laboratory
Environmental monitoring of the burial chamber
3D scanning of the burial chamber
Three-dimensional scanning of the interior of the burial chamber
Three-dimensional orthophoto image of the closed door
The archaeological work of the tombs and cemeteries of King Jinduan has actively explored and practiced in order to enhance the excavation concept of Shanxi archaeology in the new era, improve the level of digitalization and science and technology, and achieve the high-quality development of archaeological work. In view of the importance of tombs and cemeteries, the original site will be protected and used after the archaeological work is completed.
Participants in the excavation: Zhao Hui, Feng Gang, Nan Puheng, Gao Zhenhua, Zhou Yang, Cui Xinzhan, Sang Dengfei, Hao Lijun, Liu Wenjie, Cheng Huwei, Bai Shuzhang, Ji Ruibao, Liu Yang, Bai Caixia, Wang Xin, Hao Jingyun, Wu Zhenhuan, Yang Yang, Gong Ruixia, Li Quangui, Xue Yali, Feng Genwu, Zhang Hongwei, etc.
Author: Zhao Hui
Edited | Zhang Xiaozhu
Guo Xiaorong, | for review
Final Judge | Li Zheng