Since ancient times, whether Qin Shi Huang's body is still safe has been the focus of attention. Legend has it that the body of Qin Shi Huang was lying in a coffin made of pure gold, floating in a river of mercury, his body intact and his soul still in control. However, although archaeologists discovered the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang in 1974, the state has been slow to open the mausoleum, citing the excessive mercury content in the mausoleum. Could it be that in the face of today's technology, ancient burial techniques still seem so mysterious? Has someone unearthed the astonishing secret of Qin Shi Huang, or has someone deliberately concealed the truth?
[Mystery 1: Is Qin Shi Huang's body still safe?]
In the mid-70s of the 20th century, the discovery of the "female corpse" in the Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha shocked the world. The well-preserved bones are breathtaking. Therefore, some speculate that Qin Shi Huang's body may also have been well preserved. However, Qin Shi Huang died on his way out in the sweltering heat, and his body began to decompose during the long bumps, raising doubts about the state of preservation of his remains. Based on contemporary experience in the protection of human remains, even the most advanced technology may not be able to do anything if there is a slight delay. Therefore, it seems unlikely that Qin Shi Huang's body was well preserved.
【谜团二：地宫中水银之谜】
As for the question of whether mercury was buried in the Mausoleum of the First Emperor, historical documents such as the "Records of the Historians" and the "Book of Han" have recorded it. However, this fact has not been confirmed. It was not until the development of modern science and technology that geologists found that there was indeed a "mercury anomaly" in the soil samples of the Mausoleum of the First Emperor through sampling tests, while the soil samples in other places almost did not contain mercury. This discovery provides strong evidence for the record of a large amount of mercury buried in the Mausoleum of the First Emperor. As for why a large amount of mercury was buried in the underground palace, the Northern Wei scholar Li Daoyuan explained that this was to symbolize the geography of mountains and rivers with mercury, which corresponded to "Shanggu astronomy".
[Mystery 3: What is the depth of the dungeon?]
According to the latest archaeological exploration data, the scale of the Qinling underground palace is quite large, with a total area equivalent to 5 international football fields. However, there has been controversy throughout history regarding the depth of the dungeon. Sima Qian mentioned in the "Historical Records" that "wearing three springs" means that the underground palace was dug very deep. However, the depth range speculated by modern scientists seems to be exaggerated, and may even lead to the danger of water from the Wei River backing up into the Qinling underground palace. Although there is a great discrepancy in this inference, it has opened a precedent for the use of modern technology to explore the mysteries of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang. In fact, according to the latest drilling data, the depth of the Qinling underground palace is not as deep as people think, but similar to the depth of the tomb of the Qingong Cemetery in Zhiyang No. 1.
[Mystery 4: How many doors are there in the dungeon?]
In the process of exploring the interior space of the pyramid, archaeologists discovered that there may be more than two doors inside the pyramid. So, how many tomb gates were built in the Qinling Underground Palace? In fact, there is a clear answer to this question in the "Historical Records". It is recorded that after the construction of the mausoleum was completed, the craftsmen were locked up in the Zhongxian Gate and could not come out again. This shows that there are at least two gates in the Qinling underground palace: the middle and the outer gate. It is worth noting that Sima Qian used the word "closed" in his description of the Zhongxian Gate, while the Outer Xian Gate used the word "Xia", implying that the Zhongxian Gate was a movable door that could be opened and closed, while the Outer Xian Gate was placed from top to bottom. These clues seem to indicate that there are indeed multiple gates in the Qinling Underground Palace, and their structure and layout are still full of mysteries and unsolved mysteries.
[Mystery 5: What is the explanation of "Shanggu Astronomy"?]
The description of the Qinling Underground Palace mentioned in the "Historical Records" is "astronomical at the top and geography at the bottom", so what does this mean? Mr. Xia Nai, a famous archaeologist, once put forward this view: "'Astronomy on the top, geography on the bottom' may refer to the drawing or carving of the sun, moon, and astrological maps on the top of the tomb, and these patterns may still be preserved in the Mausoleum of the First Emperor in Lintong." ”
In recent years, murals related to "astronomy" and "geography" have been found in the Han Tomb of Xi'an Jiaotong University, which depicts the sun, moon and stars symbolizing the sky, while the lower part depicts murals depicting mountains and rivers. From this, we can speculate that a more detailed map of the 28 constellations may have been drawn above the underground palace of the Qinling Tomb, and the lower part is a simulated geography of mountains and rivers with mercury.
In this underground "kingdom", which symbolizes heaven and earth, the soul of Qin Shi Huang can still "look up at astronomy and look down on geography" and continue to rule everything here.
[Mystery 6: How many treasures are treasured in the dungeon?]
Sima Qian once left a description of "strange artifacts and strange treasures", and Liu Xiang, a scholar who preceded him, also exclaimed: "From ancient times to the present, there is no mausoleum as luxurious as the Mausoleum of the First Emperor." So, what are the remarkable treasures that this mysterious dungeon treasures?
The "Historical Records" clearly recorded the treasures such as "Golden Goose", "Pearl Jade" and "Jade". But beyond that, we don't know what other treasures there are. However, at the end of the 80s, archaeologists excavated a group of large painted bronze chariots and horses on the west side of the underground palace, which are rare in the world for their precise shape and exquisite decoration.
Prior to this, archaeologists also excavated a group of wooden chariots and horses, except for the chariots and horses and the imperial figurines are made of wood, the rest of the chariot and horse ornaments are carefully cast from gold, silver and copper. There are such exquisite burial goods hidden outside the underground palace, so the richness of the burial goods in the underground palace and the delicacy of the collection can naturally be imagined.
[Mystery 7: Was Qin Shi Huang's coffin made of copper or wood?]
Regarding the material of Qin Shi Huang's coffin, the "Historical Records" and the "Book of Han" do not give a clear record. Sima Qian's only vague mention of "descending copper and causing coffins" has led some scholars to speculate that Qin Shi Huang used a bronze coffin. However, judging from the literature, Qin Shi Huang did not necessarily use a bronze coffin.
It is clearly recorded in the "Historical Records" and "Book of Han": "The copper is smelted inside, and the paint is painted outside." "Clothed with pearls and jade, decorated with jade", "The beauty of the coffin is invincible." The descriptions of "lacquered exterior" and "decorated with jadeite" here seem to be more in line with the characteristics of wooden coffins.
In the case of a copper coffin or sarcophagus, it is obviously not necessary to paint the exterior with earth paint, and only wooden coffins can use earth paint. Judging from the coffin system of the pre-Qin and Western Han dynasties, the use of large wooden coffins with "yellow intestine inscriptions" was the privilege of the Son of Heaven at that time. Qin Shi Huang, who claimed to surpass the Three Emperors and Five Emperors, probably did not give up the wooden coffin of the "yellow intestine inscription" and switched to a coffin made of other materials.
[Mystery 8: Is there space in the dungeon?]
The current archaeological exploration shows that the underground palace of Qinling is a vertical pit type. The tomb may have a large wooden coffin with a "yellow intestine inscription". If it is a pit wooden coffin tomb, the tomb road and the upper part of the wooden coffin will be sealed with rammed earth. In this way, the inside and outside of the tomb will be quite tight, and it seems that there is no longer space.
However, Li Si, one of the directors of the mausoleum project, once described: "It is not chiseled, it is not burned, it is empty, and there is no form as follows." "If Lis's description is accurate, then the dungeon clearly has a shell. Considering that Li Si was personally in charge of the mausoleum project as Prime Minister Zuo, and he knew the structure of the underground palace well, this passage should be true and credible.
In addition, this passage was reported by Li Si to the emperor in person, so it is unlikely that it is adulterated. If we infer from Li Si's description, Qinling should be a sealed, vacuum-style large dungeon. Otherwise, how can it be "knocked empty"? How can it be "burned without combustion"? Although the literature shows that the interior of the underground palace should be empty and there is a large space, the specific situation inside the underground palace is still a mystery because the archaeological exploration has not yet penetrated into the main parts of the underground palace.
[Mystery 9: Does an automatic launcher exist?]
Qin Shi Huang took great pains to prevent tomb robbery. According to the "Historical Records", there is a mechanism in the underground palace of Qinling that "makes the craftsman make a machine crossbow arrow, and those who penetrate it shoot it", which means that a set of automatic firing dark crossbows is installed in the underground palace.
If this account is true, then this would be the earliest automatic anti-theft device in ancient China. The Qin Dynasty had produced crossbows capable of firing three arrows in bursts, but the dark crossbows installed in the dungeon were supposed to be a more advanced set of self-firing crossbows. The device may have been mechanically designed to fire automatically when an external object touches the bow. However, how the Qin Dynasty, more than 2,200 years ago, created such an advanced automatic launcher remains a puzzling mystery.