How many untold stories are covered in today's bustling street market? Most of the dust of history has dissipated, but the distant memories sealed under the thick loess seem to have some clues, which make people have many reverie.
In ancient times, people believed that the departed people would live in another world, hoping to bring the scene of the tomb owner's life to the tomb through tomb structure, murals, funerals, etc., which was extremely valuable for historical and artistic research, and could restore the social life of that time to a certain extent.
On the banks of the Yellow River in Inner Mongolia's Qingshui River, a total of 3 ancient tombs have been found so far, all of which are civilian tombs, and porcelain, pottery and other funerary items have been unearthed. In the past thousand years, the ancient tomb has slept quietly underground, and even the body of the owner of the tomb has quietly turned into mud. It was not until the development of human civilization that the original wilderness and mountains were all turned into mining operation areas, which caused the ancient tombs to be exposed to the surface. Most of the burial chambers are brick carved imitation wood structures, interior brick carvings and murals, although the tomb is not spectacular, but after the fusion of agricultural civilization and nomadic civilization, it also has its own unique beauty.
The Qingshui River in Inner Mongolia has a long history, with a history of about 2,000 years since the establishment of zhenling and tongguo counties during the Qin and Han dynasties. During the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang, the Turkic Jieli Khan invaded the Tang Dynasty from the south, and the tooth tent was set up here, and in the later period, it was the central city area of the Tang Dynasty that accepted the Turks, ushering in the peak of population development, and only then was it possible to unearth more tombs.
The most impressive are the two Liao tombs with frescoes, both of which are brick circular imitation wood structure single-chamber tombs, decorated with brick carvings and painted murals, brick carvings with doors, windows, lamps, polo sticks and daily life utensils. The murals have four gods, funerals, farming, caravans, feasts, entertainment, travel, and filial piety. The brick frame is outlined with dark red lines and painted in red color. The background color of the mural is lime white, and the top is painted with dark red, light red, yellow, black and light ink colors, drawing various patterns, with red as the main color. The plump hostess, looking at the fine wine in the glass, seemed very comfortable and leisurely, which was a true portrayal of the life of the tomb owner at that time, reflecting the life of the ancients more than a thousand years ago.
The tomb is decorated with imitation wooden structures such as brick arches, doors and windows, and furniture, as if the owner's living room was generally exquisite. Judging from the shape of the tomb, it is basically similar to the tomb of the five dynasties at the end of the Tang Dynasty, and there is also a brick imitation wood structure in the tomb. At present, there are very few Liao tombs with murals excavated in the Hohhot city area, and the discovery of these two five-generation Liao tombs naturally has a very valuable historical research value.
Nearly a thousand years have passed, and now we are entering the tomb chamber, and the painted murals on the walls condense the scene of the life of the tomb owner, and time and space have been frozen here. The themes of funerals, feasts, farming, travel, rice pounding, polo, and fuqin in the murals are the more popular murals in the Tang to Liaojin periods, reflecting the daily life scenes of the owners.
The tomb door is curved triangular and sealed with rectangular gray bricks. The corridor is arched, and the upper part of the top of the ticket has collapsed. The burial chamber is paved with square bricks. The tomb wall is divided into 6 walls by 6 columns. The brick carved round rafters and single-layer ridge tiles are evenly distributed, and there are brick carved semicircular tiles at the intersection of the ridge tiles. The protruding brick carvings are painted red, the rest are painted white ash, and the top is a dome.
In the middle of the south wall is the Yongdaokou, flanked by symmetrical square brick carved windows, and a Suzaku is painted directly above the Yongdaokou. Portraits of two gatekeepers under the brick carved windows, the man standing facing the Yongdao crossing, with the yellow sacred deer lying in the mountains behind him, a peaceful and happy scene.
Suzaku and the Green Dragon floated quietly on the dome of the burial chamber, indifferent to the changes of dynasties and clouds outside, guarding the traces of time and space of a thousand years ago. Of all the frescoes, the most delicate depiction is the feasting and drinking drawing on the northwest wall of the burial chamber.
On the northeast wall, below the left side of the wall is a set of brick carving tools, such as sickles, irons and scissors, etc., with diamond-shaped brick carved windows, perhaps to add to the atmosphere of human fireworks, and a rooster is painted in the middle layer, standing with its head held high, red chicken crown, yellow feathers, and red color.
At the lower right of the northwest wall is a picture of the host's feast, with a grand picture of the male and female hosts sitting on either side of the table, the hostess holding a flower-shaped bun, plump, wearing a dark red robe. The man wears a black head, a small beard, a dark red robe with a round neck, and raises a glass with both hands. Behind the hostess stood two maids; behind the man stood the maid, holding a black long-necked wine bottle in both hands.
A square table with a red edge and yellow face is placed between the two people, and there are bottles, cups and cups on the table and other food utensils and wine utensils. Behind the table are three drummers, one on the left is playing a clapping instrument; one in the middle is playing a flute; and the right person is wearing a black round-necked robe, and the lower part of his body is obscured by the man. The shape of the character's clothes and hats and musical instruments are basically consistent with the character shapes and musical instruments on the entertainment pictures on the golden box excavated from the Tomb of Turki Mountain in Tongliao City, reflecting the strong Legacy of the Tang Dynasty.
According to the owner's pre-life preferences, there is a picture of fuqin in the mural of the tomb, the man is dressed in yellow robes, sitting on the ground, playing the guqin on his lap, probably worried that the ground is too lonely, and the careful craftsman also drew a tiger-shaped spirit beast on the right side, with a slender body, a small head, and two pointed ears standing up to listen to the sound of the piano.
Xiao Xingtu also found in the tomb, such as "Wang Xiang Lying Ice Seeking Carp" and "Guo Ju Buried", which reflect the close connection between Saiwai and the Han etiquette in the Central Plains, but the woman in the painting is naked and exposed, which is impossible to appear in the Central Plains region where the etiquette is strict, and it also reflects the strong color of the border plug. The hunting scenes and the brick carvings of quivers, bows and feathers all show the influence of the northern nomadic people's riding and hunting habits on the Han nationality.
When the life of the owner of the tomb came to an end, he brought all the experiences of his life into the tomb through painting. Show yourself differently through all the details as much as possible. Probably even the owner of the tomb did not expect that after his death, there would be a broader living space and spiritual space. Here the soul has the same belonging as before it was born, and life is still interesting.
Although the Liao Dynasty is far away from us, in front of the murals, we seem to be experiencing a crossing, seeing the owner of the tomb living in the song and swallow dance, enjoying the fun of life. It tells the funeral rites of that dynasty that "died as if they were alive in the world".
Each city has a unique story, but I prefer this slow-paced, sparsely populated mountain wilderness.
Author: Bai Wenyu