#精品长文创作季#
Throughout thousands of years of Chinese history, the life and death of the emperor has always had its own mystery effect and is covered with a veil of mystery.
Probably because the emperor is the supreme centralizer and ruler, and he holds supreme power in his hands.
In order to transcend the doom of the great limit, in order to realize the eternal enjoyment of immortal blessings, they often make unbelievable arrangements before they die, revealing a strange atmosphere against humanity.
Even the protagonist we are going to talk about today, Comrade Zhu Yuanzhang, has been praised by many netizens as "no less righteous than Liu Bang".
The non-recharge civilian emperor who "started with a bowl and relied on explosion" was conscientious and diligent during his tenure, severely punished corruption, and cared about the people.
However, talking about the burial process of Comrade Chongba, this spring night that should be warm and not warm is full of chills.
Taking advantage of the gloomy clouds tonight and the jackdaws not perched, Lao Qi and I accompanied everyone to talk at night and talk about the mysterious past of this generation of emperors returning to the west.
1. Handling of the emperor's posthumous affairs
According to historical records, when Zhu Yuanzhang died, the entire court was shrouded in an atmosphere of endless sadness.
Zhu Yuanzhang was indeed worthy of an outstanding emperor, and his death marked the end of an era.
However, his funeral was not a simple farewell ceremony, but a grand ceremony that was both mysterious and terrifying.
The court used the most cutting-edge embalming technology at that time to dispose of Zhu Yuanzhang's body.
The craftsmen first soaked Zhu Yuanzhang's body with medicine, a step designed to protect the body from decay.
This special drug can not only effectively sterilize and preservative, but also preserve Zhu Yuanzhang's appearance to a certain extent.
Next, the artisan uses gold wire to wrap the body tightly, not only to better secure the body and prevent accidental situations such as accidental falls during the funeral.
Moreover, the value and rarity of the gold wire itself also reflected the great respect for the emperor.
The fine winding of the gold filaments not only requires a high level of skill, but also reflects the importance and respect that the craftsmen attach to this ritual.
This treatment was very rare at the time, and it not only showed great respect and deep mourning for an emperor.
It also reflects the complex views of the society of the time on death, honor and eternal life.
Next, let's talk about the mausoleum of Zhu Yuanzhang, that is, the structure of the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum.
The mausoleum is not only large in size, but also very ingenious in its construction, like an underground palace.
The structure inside is super complex, and there are many traps and secret passages.
Don't be embarrassed to greet other emperors just because you watched "Ghost Blowing the Lantern" and "Notes on Tomb Robbery", and you feel that the imperial tomb is not built like an underground fortress.
In that era when science and technology and productivity were not very developed, this was almost a super project that could only be built by the whole country.
The most chilling thing has to be said to be the burial process.
In the History of the Ming Dynasty, it is written that in order to allow the emperor to maintain supreme power even after his death, there were many complicated rituals at the funeral.
Especially the system of "human martyrdom", imagine that concubines, palace maids, guards, and even ministers will be executed and buried together when the emperor is buried.
The living despair of the parties can really only be described as miserable.
Also, some of the horror legends about the funeral are also terrifying.
For example, the History of the Ming Dynasty suggests that in order to protect the emperor's soul from immortality, some witchcraft or incantation may have been used around the mausoleum.
These mysterious rituals and practices, although we can't confirm whether they really exist or not, still sound chilling.
2. Thirteen gates carried the coffin
Friends in Nanjing should all know this rumor, saying that on the day of Zhu Yuanzhang's burial, coffins came out of the thirteen city gates in Nanjing at the same time.
This story has been passed down for 600 years and has become one of Nanjing's most famous legends.
There is also a folk song about Nanjing, "There are three monsters in Nanjing, the Longtan girl is like an old lady, the radish can be sold as a vegetable, and the thirteen city gates carry the coffin." ”
Some people may think that this is nonsense, but it is not unfounded.
For example, in the "Emperor Ming Dynasty" written by Zhu Guozhen in the Ming Dynasty, it was mentioned that on the day of Zhu Yuanzhang's burial, there were indeed coffins at each city gate.
This practice is actually used to confuse the public, mainly to prevent tomb robbing.
But then I thought about it and thought it was a bit mysterious.
After all, everyone knows where Zhu Yuanzhang's tomb is, so the anti-theft tomb is a bit of a cover-up and stealing the bell.
Think about it again after Zhu Yuanzhang's death, there were harem concubines who were followed by the funeral, and those coffins are likely to be the harem concubines who were buried!
The inhumane funeral system of martyrdom was mainly popular in the Qin and Han dynasties.
After the death of Qin Shi Huang, Qin II killed all the harem women who were favored by his father during his lifetime, which caused a great shock at the time.
Later, Liu Bang became emperor and resolutely abolished this cruel system.
However, when Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, the funeral system was restarted.
Zhu Yuanzhang's descendant, Ming Chengzu Zhu Di also followed suit, and after his death, more than 30 harem concubines were martyred.
This was found even in the tombs of princes and nobles.
After the theft of the tomb of Zhu Dong, the king of Yingjing, discovered in Zhongxiang City, Hubei Province, archaeological experts carried out an urgent excavation, and found six coffins on the left and right sides of the tomb.
Through the examination of the remains, they found that they were the remains of young women, and judging by the teeth and metal ornaments left behind, they must have been young and beautiful when they died.
Of course, these women could not have died at the same time, and the only plausible explanation is that they were buried.
Continuing with the story of Zhu Yuanzhang, when his favorite crown prince Zhu Biao died early, Zhu Yuanzhang made Zhu Biao's eldest son, the eldest grandson Zhu Yunwen, the imperial grandson.
In the process of organizing Zhu Yuanzhang's funeral, Zhu Yunwen executed all the harem concubines who had never given birth to Zhu Yuanzhang in accordance with Zhu Yuanzhang's last wishes, and many palace maids were also executed.
As for how these concubines were executed, there have been different opinions and unclear words.
According to more credible historical records, he should have been hanged alive.
The record says that when Ming Chengzu Zhu Di died, more than 30 palace people needed to be martyred.
On that day, they were all taken into the courtyard, and then together they were carried up the steps, and the cry shook the whole palace.
They stood on a small bed in turn, their necks in a rope loop, and then the eunuch suddenly dragged the bed away, and they were strangled to death.
Zhu Di's eldest son, the new emperor Zhu Gaochi, was also at the scene in person, saying goodbye to them, in fact, supervising the process.
Even two beauties selected from North Korea, Han and Choi, were executed.
Speaking of Han's, that moment was really distressing.
At the moment when she was about to be hanged, she cried and shouted, and before she could say anything, the eunuch jerked the small bed at her feet away.
This scene was so tragic that even Zhu Gaochi next to him couldn't stand it.
Fortunately, Zhu Qizhen, the later Ming Yingzong, decided to abolish the system of martyrdom.
Although he had been captured by Warat before, he felt that he was a very good emperor, but because he abolished the funeral, he added a lot of points to his fame and historical image.
The evaluation of him in the historical materials is: "The abolition of the funeral of the palace concubine is really a great thing he did, and it is worthy of emulation by future generations."
As for Zhu Yuanzhang's funeral, there is no accurate number in history.
There is a person named Mao Qiling in the late Ming Dynasty who said in "The Remains of Tong History" that Zhu Yuanzhang used forty-six concubines to accompany him to be buried in Xiaoling, and there were about a dozen palace people who were really martyred.
In order to commend the families of the concubines and palace maids who were martyred, Zhu Yunwen gave them official positions and rewards.
Like Zhang Feng and Li Heng, these people are all relatives of the people who were buried in the palace, and they were named "Thousand Households" and "Hundred Households", and this official position can still be hereditary, they are collectively called "Chaotian Female Households".
Because the people who are buried definitely need coffins to put them in and then bury them together in the filial piety tomb.
Moreover, the number of martyrs is almost close to the number "13".
Therefore, when Zhu Yuanzhang was buried, coffins were carried out at the same time at the thirteen city gates of Nanjing, which is easy to understand.
On that day, the citizens of Nanjing must have wanted to come out to see Zhu Yuanzhang's funeral ceremony, but because the imperial court cleaned up the streets, everyone could only stand far away.
Because there were too many coffins, people began to spread around, and finally came out of the saying that "the thirteen city gates carry the coffin", which later became a big strange talk in Nanjing.
However, these martyrs may not have all entered the filial piety mausoleum, but were buried outside the mausoleum, and the exact location is a mystery.
According to the Zhongshan Cemetery Administration, in March 1937, an ancient tomb of the Ming Dynasty was discovered during the construction of a dam on Zixia Lake on the east side of the Ming Tomb.
The tomb is about 3 meters high, divided into two rooms, but the strange thing is that there is nothing in the room, I wonder if this is for the martyrs?
In 1976, at the foot of the mountain about 300 meters away from the west side of the Ming Tomb, a brick tomb was discovered, and a large number of carved gold jewelry was unearthed.
There is a gold bracelet with the words "Craftsman's Bureau" printed on the inside, which is the official workshop dedicated to the production of jewelry by the royal family.
Since it was a forbidden area in the Ming Dynasty, non-imperial relatives could not be buried, so these two tombs are likely to be burial tombs.
3. The funeral ended in Kangxi
After the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Shunzhi restarted the practice of martyrdom, and as many as 30 concubines were forced to be buried with him.
Among them were some young ladies who were supposed to enjoy the glory and wealth of the harem, but ended up giving their precious lives.
Emperor Kangxi, who ascended the throne at the age of 8 and was the monarch of the Qing Dynasty who ended the funeral, felt the harm of martyrdom and wrote three petitions to finally ban this cruel system.
The existence of the funeral system has made human nature devastated under the dual pressure of power and superstition.
This barbaric custom lasted for thousands of years and reflected the dark side of feudal rule and human nature.
It is in this long river of history that we see some monarchs reflecting on and abolishing this system.
However, every reform is difficult, and it is necessary to make breakthroughs in social concepts and institutional mechanisms.
The awakening of human nature and the progress of society are the real strength, and it is a profound warning for us today.
We need to be vigilant against the resurgence of all kinds of corrupt habits caused by the abuse of power.
It is only through the awakening of each individual's heart that we can build a more civilized and harmonious future in modern society.