In the history of the Liao Kingdom, there is a very famous figure, that is, the Ming Dynasty Empress Xiao Empress Xiao, the historical evaluation of Empress Xiao is also mixed, the main reason here is nothing more than Empress Xiao's iron fist and her female identity, check the historical data can also see the evaluation of Empress Xiao "MuJi Si Chen" These four words appear very much.
preface
Regardless of the evaluation of Empress Xiao, Empress Xiao's contribution to the Liao State was very large, and because Empress Xiao was in power, the Liao State also entered its heyday, after Empress Xiao's death, the Liao State also changed the tradition of simple burial, and buried Empress Xiao in a big way, because the Liao State was relatively rich at that time, and The status of Empress Xiao was also noble, so the burial items of Empress Xiao's mausoleum were also quite numerous, but in the later period, the Liao State was destroyed by the Jin State, and Empress Xiao's mausoleum was also targeted by tomb robbers.
There were six tomb robberies before and after
Empress Xiao's mausoleum is located in a small village under the present-day city of Jinzhou, Liaoning Province, and because the birthplace of the Khitan people is in Liaoning, Empress Xiao's mausoleum was also selected here. In the last years of the Liao Dynasty, because of the rise of the surrounding Jin Kingdom, so the Liao State has gradually declined, at this time many people set their sights on the tomb of Empress Xiao, and after Empress Xiao was buried that year, there were rumors about the burial goods.
In 1119 AD, that is, the time when the Liao state was destroyed by the Jin state, Empress Xiao's mausoleum was looted by the Jin people, and most of the treasures in the tomb were looted, and then the Jin soldiers went south to the Song Dynasty at the same time, giving many tomb robbers the opportunity, and many people wandered to the tomb of Empress Xiao to steal. After this, Empress Xiao's mausoleum was looted four more times, and it can be said that almost all of the burial goods inside were looted.
Why the four phoenix gold pattern shou clothes left behind
According to the reason, Empress Xiao's four-phoenix gold-patterned shou robe is also a burial product, why no one has taken the shou robe away from the six tomb robberies, the main reason is nothing more than these, first of all, when the Jin people robbed the tomb, there were a lot of gold and silver treasures in the mausoleum, these people wanted treasure, the clothes did not look very valuable, and the shou clothes were not auspicious things, so they stayed in the tomb.
Later tomb robbers, some are afraid that this kind of thing shows the identity of the owner of the tomb, will cause trouble for themselves, so they will not steal things like the four phoenix gold pattern shou clothes, and at that time there was a group of tomb robbers who took the four phoenix gold strip shou clothes down and threw them on the ground, and then the tomb robbers saw that the clothes were torn and thrown on the ground, and did not pay much attention, so after six times of tomb robbery, this four phoenix gold strip shou robe was still intact in the tomb.
The re-emergence is valued at 3.4 billion
Because of the war, Empress Xiao's Liaoqian Mausoleum was forgotten for a long time, and in 1971, when the local air raid shelter was dug, a Liao Dynasty tomb was found, which was identified by archaeologists as Empress Xiao's Liaoqian Mausoleum. It was not until 1995, when the archaeological community began to clean up the Liaoqian Tombs, that Empress Xiao's four-phoenix golden-patterned shou robe was discovered.
This four-phoenix gold pattern shou coat is woven with gold thread, and the neckline and cuffs of the dress are also inlaid with gold beads, this dress is the highest level of the Liao state at that time in terms of materials and workmanship, this dress also has a very important role in the study of Liao culture, and its value is also very high, even more than the price of the golden jade coat, about 3.4 billion.
summary
This four-phoenix gold pattern shou robe is unique in the Burial Goods found in the Liao Dynasty so far, the whole dress used 10730 grams of gold, in addition to gold, there are hundreds of large and small gems on the clothes, and the clothes are also embroidered with phoenix and flower patterns, and the production process is quite exquisite under the conditions at that time. It was only those tomb robbers, for various reasons, who did not steal Empress Xiao's birthday clothes, that this priceless birthday coat could be preserved.
【Reference】History of Liao