Xinhua News Agency reporters Gao Bo and Du Fang
Here are two complete sets of "couple's" golden jade clothes found for the first time; here are the Changxin Palace lamps that reflect the wisdom and advanced environmental awareness of the ancients, and here are the complete sets of wine utensils in the Han Dynasty............ These are from the tombs of Liu Sheng, the King of Zhongshan Jing in the Western Han Dynasty, and his wife Dou Xi more than 2100 years ago.
As a large cliff cave tomb of the princes of the Han Dynasty and the latter level, the excavation of the Mancheng Han Tomb has created several archaeological masterpieces, fully reflecting the magnificent style of the Western Han Dynasty. Since archaeological excavations more than 50 years ago, experts and scholars have studied the Mancheng Han Tomb and its excavated cultural relics without interruption.
Accidental construction awakens a history that has been sleeping for more than 2,000 years
In May 1968, when officers and men of a certain unit of the PLA engineering corps were working on Mancheng Lingshan in Baoding City, Hebei Province, they stumbled upon an ancient tomb that had been sleeping for more than 2,000 years.
Lu Zhaoyin, then 41 years old, as a researcher at the Institute of Archaeology, heard the news of the discovery of ancient tombs in the city for the first time, which was simply a "groundbreaking" surprise. Later, Lu Zhaoyin and other central and Hebei archaeologists formed a joint archaeological team, and after more than two months, the archaeological excavation of the ancient tomb was finally completed.
The Mancheng Han Tomb, excavated from the mountain, belongs to the horizontal cave type "cliff tomb", which is composed of six parts: the tomb passage, the Yongdao, the north ear chamber, the south ear chamber, the middle chamber and the rear chamber. The layout of the mausoleum imitates the above-ground palace, with the ear chamber symbolizing the carriage and horse house and the storeroom, the middle room simulating the banquet hall, the back room symbolizing the bedroom and the side room with a symbolic bathroom, and the tomb also has a well-conceived anti-theft and drainage system.
More than 10,000 pieces of copper, iron, gold, silver, pottery, jade and other artifacts have been unearthed from the two tombs. Although a large number of cultural relics have been excavated, the name of the owner of the tomb is not mentioned in the cultural relics. How was this mysterious tomb owner identified?
Fan Dewei, a research librarian at the Hebei Museum, introduced that experts based on the tomb shape system, excavated cultural relics, and inscriptions on the golden jade robe and bronze ware, such as the words "Zhongshan Inner Province Copper 钫一, 34 years", the owner of the tomb was Liu Sheng, the first generation of jing kings in the Western Han Dynasty.
"Because although the Warring States and the Han Dynasty both had 'Zhongshan Kingdom', a large number of five baht coins only existed in the Han Dynasty were unearthed in the tomb, so this tomb belongs to the Zhongshan Kingdom of the Han Dynasty, and liu Sheng is the only one who reigned for more than 30 years in the Han Dynasty." Van Der Wae said.
Changxin Palace lamp excavated from the Han tomb in Mancheng
The "exquisite" life of Liu Sheng, king of Han Zhongshan, and Queen Dou Xuan
Liu Sheng was the son of Liu Qi, the Han Jing Emperor who founded the "Rule of Wenjing", and the brother-in-law of Emperor Liu Che of the Han Dynasty. When he was a teenager, he was named the first King of Zhongshan in the Western Han Dynasty, and reigned for 42 years, during the heyday of the Western Han Dynasty.
The "Chronicle of History" records: "Victory is good for people to enjoy wine and good inside.". Fan Dewei introduced that under the prosperous scene of the Western Han Dynasty, there is a contradiction between centralized power and local forces. After Emperor Wu of Han succeeded to the throne, he issued the "Tui En Order", and the intention of cutting the domain was obvious. Liu Sheng, who saw through the current situation, chose a way of survival that did not care about political affairs and enjoyed peace and happiness alone.
Dou Qiu's golden jade coat
A large number of wine vessels have been excavated from the tombs of Mancheng Han, such as dice and money for liquor orders. The most representative of the wrong gold and silver inlaid copper dice, a total of 18 sides, of which 16 sides are marked with the numbers "one" to "sixteen", the other two sides are "wine" and "proud", and the surface of the dice is inlaid with gold wire, turquoise and red agate.
Liu Sheng and Queen Dou Xian liked to dance and ink. Liu Sheng is good at literary endowment, and his representative works "Wen Le Pair" and "Wen Mu Fu" have been praised by posterity. Dou Xuan's tomb also unearthed study utensils such as research stones and book knives, as well as musical instruments such as Guser.
Because the Mancheng Han tombs have not been stolen, there are many cultural relics unearthed, especially the proportion of first-class cultural relics is very high, representing the aesthetics and craftsmanship of the Han Dynasty at its peak. Judging from the excavated cultural relics, the funerary items are exquisite, showing the aesthetic level of Liu Sheng and his wife, in modern terms, that is, luxurious but not earthy.
The golden jade robe and the Changxin Palace lamp are the most eye-catching "national treasures" among many tomb cultural relics. Jade clothes are the tombs of emperors and high-ranking nobles of the Han Dynasty used in the burial of clothing, Liu Sheng and Dou Xuan excavated two sets of golden jade clothes look the same as the shape of the human body, jade clothes are divided into head, top, sleeves, pants, gloves and shoes 6 parts, are composed of jade pieces, jade pieces are embellished with gold wire.
Liu Sheng's golden jade clothes
Fan Dewei introduced that these two sets of jade clothes are the first well-preserved jade clothes found in the mainland in archaeological excavations. Before the Tomb of mancheng Han, only some pieces of jade clothes were unearthed, and people could only imagine the appearance of golden jade clothes based on historical records.
The Changxin Palace lamp excavated from Dou Xuan's tomb is the pinnacle of Bronze Craftsmanship in the Han Dynasty. The shape is like the palace maid who holds the lamp and dance, the palace maid shows the posture of kneeling and serving, and the atmosphere of life is strong, which is the realism of the daily clothing and instantaneous manners of women in the Han Dynasty.
Liang Yandong, director of the Mancheng District Cultural Protection Institute, said that the lamp plate of the Changxin Palace lamp can be rotated, the lampshade can be opened and closed, and the brightness and illumination direction can be adjusted according to needs. The smoke of the candle fire can enter the body through the right arm of the palace maid, so that the smoke is attached to the inner wall to keep the interior clean, reflecting the advanced environmental awareness of the ancients.
Knock on the door of the Han Dynasty
Lu Zhaoyin mainly studied the history of the Tang Dynasty and gold and silverware before the archaeological excavation of the Mancheng Han Tomb, and because of this shocking discovery, his research direction shifted to the study of the jade system used in the Han Dynasty. "Tens of thousands of precious cultural relics unearthed from the Mancheng Han Tombs have knocked on the door of the Han Dynasty and provided physical examples for the study of the history and culture of the Han Dynasty."
Since the excavation, various departments have continuously deepened the protection, research and display of the Mancheng Han tombs and excavated cultural relics. Since 1992, the Mancheng Han Tomb has been scientifically and orderly developed and exhibited on the original tomb site, attracting a large number of tourists to visit.
Liang Yandong introduced that in 2014, the local government carried out environmental remediation in the Mancheng Han Tomb Park and built a cultural relics exhibition room. The open scenic spot allows visitors to "travel" through the millennium and touch the temperature of history.
Although the exhibition system of Hebei Museum has been adjusted several times, the "Mancheng Han Tomb" has always been an important part of it. "It is necessary to show the spiritual outlook, customs and fashion of the Han Dynasty through display, so that the audience can experience history and gain inspiration in a unique environment." Fan Dewei said that in recent years, the Hebei Museum has designed and developed more than 200 kinds of cultural and creative products with the cultural relics of the Mancheng Han Tomb as the element, which are constantly being updated and are widely welcomed.
Experts and scholars have never stopped studying the Mancheng Han tombs and their excavated cultural relics. According to the "Archaeological Work Plan for the Tomb of King Jing of Zhongshan" formulated by the Cultural Relics Department, from 2013 to 2020, Hebei will accelerate the study of the unsolved mysteries of the Mancheng Han Tombs, including the tombs of Liu Sheng and Dou Qi on the main peak of Lingshan Mountain, as well as 18 prince tombs at the contiguous between the main peak and the south peak, and 2 auxiliary burial tombs at the foot of the mountain.