Late one night in 1970, in JiulongShan, Zou County, Shandong Province, the tomb gate of Zhu Tan, the 10th son of Zhu Yuanzhang, was exposed to archaeologists. A rusty iron lock locks in a secret buried for more than 500 years. After being sawn open with a hacksaw, people were shocked by the sight in front of them, and the first thing that came into view was a large vat of 10,000-year lamps, which was full of lamp oil, but it was not known when the lamp had been extinguished early. Behind the lantern were crooked tables and chairs, and on the floor of the burial chamber, there was a thick layer of silt. The mud was littered with wooden figurines that had not yet been completely buried, and it could be judged that there was no sign of theft in the burial chamber, and the archaeologists were ecstatic.
In the darkness of the water and silt, archaeologists have cleared out more than 400 beautifully carved wooden ceremonial figurines. In addition, a large number of other small ming objects have been found, including wooden chairs, tables, carriages and horses. Surprisingly, the parts of one of the wooden cars had been scattered, but after being assembled by archaeologists, it was able to walk.
Immediately afterward, archaeologists found a gold-encrusted wooden box next to an offering table. Due to its age, the gold leaf has fallen off. After opening the wooden box, the surprise comes instantly! In the wooden box is a wooden seal: The Treasure of King Lu. This makes the identity of the owner of the tomb Zhu Tan unmistakable.
At this time, two iron keys were found behind the tomb door, and since the door of the front chamber was sawn open, it can be inferred that the other is the key to the back chamber door. Sure enough, people used this key to easily open the tomb door in the back room.
I saw that the back room was filled with water, and the water flushed the coffin to the side, which was no longer on the coffin bed. The offering tables on both sides have been crooked. On the ground on the east side of the coffin, archaeologists found a vermilion lacquered wooden box, and after opening the wooden box, they instantly stunned everyone present! On the upper floor of the wooden box is a very precious artifact: the Nine Crowns! This surprised the archaeologists, which was the only physical object of the prince's crown found in the country, and was later known as the "most cattle black hat".
On the ground on the east side of the back room, there are also jade belts, jade cups and other cultural relics scattered. Inside the mud, people found a gauze bag, opened to see, inside there are copper mirrors, bone combs, bone castors, gold ear scoops, gold toothpicks and other daily necessities. From these funerary items, it can be seen that in the early years of the Ming Dynasty, which was not rich, Zhu Tan's daily life was very luxurious.
As the cleanup continued, archaeologists found another guqin with missing seven strings on the ground, with the seal book "Heavenly Wind and Sea Waves" engraved on the back. There are two lines of ink in the belly: Saint Song Longxing Jiashen rebuilt, and Tang Lei Wei personally cut (zhuo). This turned out to be a rare leiqin. (Produced by the Famous Tang Dynasty Violin Maker Lei Family)
In addition to this leiqin, archaeologists also found a large number of pens, ink, paper and other stationery supplies on the ground, as well as Go and calligraphy and painting, which were originally placed on the table, but due to the accumulation of water, the table was crooked and scattered on the ground.
In the mud, people found 11 books and a large number of ancient paintings, including the Eight Strands of Literature, the Four Books and Five Classics, some anthologies by Du Fu and Han Yu; and the ancient paintings were badly damaged, and only two were left after restoration, namely the Southern Song Dynasty's "Sunflower Butterfly Diagram" and the Yuan Dynasty's "White Lotus Diagram".
In the closing stage, the archaeologists decided to open the coffin in the middle of the night, and after prying open the lid of the coffin, a strong and choking putrid smell came to the face. I saw that Zhu Tan's skull was well preserved, and the skin had decayed. The bones were wrapped in a quilt and robe, and he wore a small round hat on his head, and when he removed the hat, he found that his hair bun was well preserved and had a golden hairpin inserted on it.
After opening the quilt, he found that he was wearing a gold satin four-ball dragon robe on the outside, with a white jade belt tied around his waist, a ribbon on both sides of his head, and a small gold nugget between his two armpits.
While cleaning the bedding under Zhu Tan's bones, archaeologists found 19 Hongwu Tongbao gold coins, symbolizing that he only lived for 19 years. Under the mattress is a layer of bamboo board, on which are carved the Big Dipper Seven Star Round Hole, which is a typical Big Dipper Seven Star Burial System. The bottom of the coffin is covered with a thick layer of grass and wood ash, which should be used to protect against moisture.
At the end of the excavation, archaeologists did not find Zhu Tan's epitaph, which is very puzzling.
Zhu Tan was born in 1370, the 10th son of Zhu Yuanzhang, his mother was Guo Ningfei, his grandfather Guo Shanfu, his uncle Guo Da, Guo Ying, and Guo Xing were all senior members of the imperial court at that time, and they could be described as relatives of the emperor and the state. Zhu Tan was created king of Lu two months after his birth, and at the age of 15 he became a vassal of Yanzhou.
According to the "History of The Ming Dynasty" and the "Records of the State Dynasty", Zhu Tan was intelligent and studious since childhood, loved to read poetry, books and history, and was quite talented. And this tomb unearthed such a large number of qinqi calligraphy and paintings and the four treasures of the literary room, which is very consistent with the history books recorded Zhu Tan's hobbies.
Zhu Yuanzhang liked this son very much and sealed him in the land of Qilu and the hometown of Kong Meng, hoping that he would benefit one side. As a result, Zhu Tan was arrogant and lascivious and covetous. Soon he became obsessed with the art of the Golden Stone, and ordered the Taoist monks to help him refine the "elixir" and swallow it day by day in order to achieve immortality.
To this end, he even listened to the advice of the Taoist priest to castrate 100 virgin boys to refine the elixir. As a result, everyone in Yanzhou is in danger, and the phenomenon of children disappearing is not uncommon. Princess Tang (tang he's daughter) not only did not dissuade, but instead aided and abetted the abuse, and together with Zhu Tan, she searched for a virgin boy, and the people of Yanzhou complained bitterly.
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he was furious and immediately ordered Concubine Tang to be executed, and Zhu Tan was tortured (cutting off her hair).
I thought that Zhu Tan would suddenly wake up, but he still went his own way. Eventually, after taking the elixir, Zhu Tan became blind in both eyes ("Golden Stone Medicine, Poison Hurts the Eye"), and soon died in Huangquan, at the age of 19.
When the bad news came, Zhu Yuanzhang was both angry and sad, so he gave him a vicious "wilderness". Hence the title of Zhu Tanchen (朱谭谥) "King of Lu Huang".
Perhaps it is because Zhu Yuanzhang felt that his deeds in Yanzhou were too absurd and humiliating, so he did not write an epitaph for him, so it is reasonable that archaeologists could not find the epitaph.
It is worth mentioning that although Zhu Tan died young, his only son Zhu Zhaohui reigned for 64 years, and his descendants Ding Xing died. In 1640, with the rise of Manchuria, Yanzhou was captured, and the last generation of Lu king Zhu Yipai hanged himself, and King Lu finally withdrew from the stage of history.
