In November 1975, the weather in Yunmeng County, Hubei Province, was cold and had entered winter.
On this evening, zhang Zedong, a young farmer, finished his work and walked home with his companions.
Passing by a place called Sleeping Tiger Land near the county railway station, Zhang Zedong saw a newly excavated drainage canal.
At that time, Hubei was undergoing large-scale farmland water conservancy construction, and construction was everywhere.
Zhang Zedong likes history more, and in the first two years, he also participated in the excavation of a local Han tomb and had some archaeological experience.
At this time, seeing the newly excavated soil, he subconsciously looked at it a few more times.
It didn't matter, he found that in a large pile of loess, there was a completely different color of blue-black mud.
Figure 1 Sleeping Tiger Cemetery
This should be the green paste mud used in the tomb!
Zhang Zedong got excited, ran to the side of the canal and looked down, only to see that there was a square green paste mud mark at the bottom of the canal, which was obviously not naturally formed.
It seems that there is indeed an ancient tomb here.
Zhang Zedong did not dare to delay and quickly ran to the county cultural center to report the news.
The staff of the cultural center inspected it overnight and found the ancient tomb.
So it was reported layer by layer, all the way to the province.
After the Provincial Bureau of Cultural Relics learned about the situation, it sent Experts from the Hubei Provincial Museum Chen Hengshu, Chen Zhenyu and others to form an archaeological team.
Excavations began in early December.
After the arrival of the archaeological team, after careful exploration, 12 ancient tombs were found at about 300 meters along the aqueduct.
Figure 2 The owner of the tomb and Qin Jian
And none of them were stolen.
The archaeological team numbered 12 tombs and began excavations.
With the development of archaeological work, bronze, lacquerware, wood, pottery and other cultural relics began to appear.
On December 19, when the No. 11 tomb was being cleaned, an archaeologist had just walked past the leader Chen Hengshu.
Chen Hengshu suddenly shouted:
"Don't move!"
The team member was startled, stood still, and turned back to look at Chen Hengshu doubtfully.
Chen Hengshu also did not explain, walked over and bent down, signaling the team members to lift their feet.
Then he carefully removed a small piece of bamboo from the sole of his shoe.
Chen Hengshu put the bamboo pieces into the water, and after a simple cleaning, the ink handwriting on the bamboo pieces slowly appeared——
This is a bamboo jane, the tomb is likely to be more than this one, there should be!
Figure 3 Qin Jian Research Group
The archaeologists were very excited and couldn't help but speed up the work at hand.
The exciting moment finally arrived, and as the lid of the coffin opened, the archaeologists saw a human skeleton.
There were a large number of bamboo piles around the human bones, and there were eight piles.
The archaeologists carefully sorted out the bamboo and transferred all of them to the Yunmeng County Cultural Center and notified the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.
Soon, the Cultural Relics Bureau sent a famous scholar Li Xueqin and others to study this batch of bamboo janes and determine the basic content.
This batch of bamboo janes has a total of 1155 pieces, as well as 80 fragments, nearly 40,000 words, and the era is the qin shi huang period.
The length of these bamboo strips is 23 to 28 cm, and the width is less than 1 cm.
The words are all Qin Lishu of ink books, not the small seals we know well.
Figure 4 Qin Jian
As the first discovery of the Qin Dynasty Jian Mu in China, the news of the excavation of the Sleeping Tiger Ground Qin Jian caused a great sensation in the country as soon as it was reported.
Cultural relics experts and historians say the discovery is "epoch-making."
The two place names of "Cloud Dream" and "Sleeping Tiger Land" have been famous since then.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="7" > why Qinjian has not been corrupt for two thousand years</h1>
Archaeologists analyze the contents of the bamboo jane and believe that this batch of bamboo jane was buried with the owner of the tomb in 217 BC.
At that time, the State of Qin had just unified the Six Kingdoms.
That is, they have been buried underground for more than 2200 years.
So, in such a long period of time, why have these bamboo janes not decayed and disappeared?
Archaeologists give their explanation for this.
First, after the tomb owner was buried, the coffin was coated with a rafter, and the burial chamber was sealed with delicate green paste mud, which was largely isolated from the air.
Figure 5 Burial with the owner of the tomb
The decay of the corpse has basically exhausted the oxygen in the burial chamber.
It is difficult for Bamboo Jane to react with air anymore.
Second, the tomb was soaked in water for a long time.
When it comes to Yunmeng, everyone will think of the famous lake group of the Jianghan Plain in the pre-Qin period - Yunmengze.
Yes, Yunmeng County is in this area, and although the lake has later receded, the water table in this area is still very high.
Tomb No. 11 is about 3 meters below the ground, soaked in water for a long time, and the cultural relics in the tomb are also well isolated from the air and delay the oxidation rate.
There is a saying in archaeology called "dry for a thousand years, wet for ten thousand years, not dry and not wet for half a year", which is the truth.
In 2002, more than 30,000 Qin Jian were discovered in Longshan County, Hunan Province.
Juyan, Dunhuang, and Wuwei in Gansu in the Great Northwest have unearthed Han Jian.
Figure 6 Area map of the Yunmengze River Basin
However, in the Guanzhong region of Shaanxi, the ruling center of the Qin Dynasty and Han Dynasty, there was never any Qin Jian or Han Jian unearthed.
This is also due to the semi-humid climate in this area.
After the excavation of Qin Jian, how to overcome the problem of the instant disappearance of lotus pieces like the mawangdui lotus soup that was excavated not long ago, and the terracotta army paintings fell off in the air, became a major problem that plagued cultural relics workers.
Because the local cultural protection technology in Hubei cannot meet the requirements.
In March 1976, the bamboo was shipped to Beijing, where experts from the State Administration of Cultural Heritage studied conservation methods.
After many experiments, the experts decided to dehydrate the bamboo, which is mainly divided into two steps:
The first step is to first soak the bamboo in anhydrous alcohol, and the alcohol will slowly replace the water of the bamboo;
Figure 7 The appearance of the Mawangdui lotus soup just unearthed
The second step is to soak the bamboo into the ether again, the ether will replace the alcohol, and after the ether volatilizes, the dehydration process of the bamboo is basically completed.
It can then be stored in a glass test tube for further study.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="14" what did Qin Jian say about sleeping tiger di qinjian >? Who is the owner of the tomb? </h1>
The main contents of this batch of Qin Jian are the laws of the Qin Dynasty, official documents, divination, etc., which can be roughly divided into 10 contents after being sorted and classified:
Eighteen Kinds of Qin Laws, Miscellaneous Copies of Qin Laws, Answers to Questions of Law, Law Enforcement, Sealing Style, The Way of Officials, Book of Languages, Chronicles, and Books of the Day (A and B).
Among them, "The Way of the Official" is about the code of conduct of officials.
The Book of Languages is a government proclamation issued by the Sheriff of Nangun in 227 BC.
Figure 8 Records the birth of Qin Jian
The Chronicle records the history of King Qin Zhao from the time of King Qin Zhao to the time of Qin Shi Huang for about 90 years.
Both types of The Book of The Day are divination books, somewhat like the Yellow Calendar, and the remaining five are about the laws of the Qin Dynasty.
Judging from the contents of the Chronicle, the name of the tomb owner is "Xi".
Before his death, he was an official in charge of justice in the county, and he participated in the war of the Qin state against the Zhao state.
He died a few years after the unification of the Six Kingdoms of Qin, at the age of about 45.
His family conditions should be good, because in addition to a large number of bamboo janes, more than 70 cultural relics such as pottery, lacquerware, and bronzeware have been unearthed in the tomb.
Among them is a copper sword and a copper ding, which shows that the social status is not low.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="17" > Qin Shi Huang was not a tyrant? </h1>
Speaking of Qin Shi Huang, the first thing that comes to mind is the word "tyranny".
Figure 9 The Chronicle is partly bamboo
Whether it is the folklore meng jiang female weeping on the Great Wall, or Du Mu said in the "A Fang Gong Fu" to spend a huge amount of people's efforts to build a luxurious palace.
They all reflect the views of later generations on Qin Shi Huang's cruelty and ruthlessness and enslavement of the people.
However, the Eighteen Kinds of Qin Laws in the Sleeping Tiger Di Qin Jian.
In the section "Sikong", it is mentioned that those who have committed crimes and are fined, or who owe money to the government, can serve as a servant to pay off their debts if they cannot come up with money.
Work a day to pay eight dollars in debt, if the government provides food, then six dollars a day.
In other words, the people who served in the Qin Dynasty were likely to be paid for their work.
Of course, some people will say that this may be a symbolic meaning, who knows what eight dollars are enough.
Judging from the section of the "Golden Cloth Law" in the "Eighteen Kinds of Qin Laws", 1 yuan of the Qin Dynasty can buy about 2 catties of grain.
Figure 10 The Eighteen Laws of Qin
According to the relatively backward agricultural production conditions at that time, eight dollars may not be able to talk about how generous the treatment is, but there is no problem in solving the problem of food and clothing.
One of the "Eighteen Laws of Qin" is the most noticeable law.
The gist is that when the imperial court conscripted the people to serve in the army, if they were three to five days late, they reprimanded;
For six to ten days, a penalty of one shield;
For more than 10 days, the penalty is 1 A;
If you miss something and can't go, you will be punished second-class.
If it rains heavily and you can't work, you can be exempted from servitude.
I believe that seeing this legal provision, it is very right for everyone to think of the Chen Sheng Wu Guang uprising caused by "heavy rain, the road is not clear, and the degree has been lost".
The reason given by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang during the uprising was that "if the time is lost, the law will be cut."
Many people believe that Chen Sheng Wu Guang deceived everyone according to the content of Qin Jian's "Law of the Sleeping Tiger".
Figure 11 Qin Shi Huang
The heavy rain in the sky has caused the loss of time, and the sin does not lead to death, so why do you have to carry your head to rebel?
However, this is not the case.
First of all, Chen Sheng, Wu Guang, and his party did not serve in military service, but in military service.
"Nine hundred people in Yuyang"
It has been made very clear in the "History of the Chen Shi family".
Servitude can be understood as manual work in national infrastructure projects.
Military service is military service, and the two are not the same.
Regarding the shu law, there is a little bit in the Qin Law Miscellaneous Copy.
It can be seen that the law of discipline and the law of discipline are different.
Although there is no mention of how to deal with the wrong period of service, according to the content of the "Law", it is undoubtedly a bit arbitrary to say that Chen Sheng and Wu Guang deceived everyone.
Second, the laws of the Qin Dynasty may have been changed during the Qin II period.
Figure 12 Chen Sheng Wu Guang uprising
In the "History of Qin Shi Huang Benji", it is said that after Qin II ascended the throne, "the use of law is deeply engraved".
It shows that the punishment is more severe, and it is not impossible to be beheaded in the wrong time.
Of course, Qin Shi Huang's payment of wages to laborers does not mean that he is a benevolent person.
In fact, judging from the legal content of Qin Jian in sleeping tiger land, the Qin Dynasty's control over the people involved all aspects.
The penal system has various forms of death penalties, such as waist chopping, wok cooking, etc.;
Corporal punishment includes tattoos, cutting off the nose, chopping off the feet, etc.;
Insults include shaving one's hair, cutting one's beard, etc.
There are also prison sentences and fines, and so on.
Misdemeanors are severely punished, and felonies are heavier, which is the main penal ideology of the Qin Law, and it is also one of the important reasons for the death of Qin Dynasty II.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="23" > the Qin Dynasty's "guide to exorcism"</h1>
Figure 13 Distribution of tomb owners and bamboo janes
The "Book of the Day" in the Sleeping Tiger Di Qin Jian is a divination book that infers the content of auspicious and evil blessings, and is full of absurd content, and many of them are very boring to read.
But there are also some very interesting, such as the section of the "Confession" of the first type of the "Book of The Day", which records the names of various ghosts and monsters, as well as various methods of exorcism.
People have to admire the brain holes of the ancients.
There are 22 types of ghosts introduced in "Blame".
There are thorn ghosts, hill ghosts, you ghosts, thorn ghosts and so on.
There are 2 kinds of gods - big gods and god-like gods.
21 kinds of monsters - mother, god dog, wind breath, cold wind, beast, object, insect and so on.
Here are a few.
It is said in "Blame" that ghosts change after death and like to harm people.
They sleep bent over and are usually independent on one foot.
Figure 14 Hungry ghost
"Stinging ghosts" will attack and harass people for no reason.
Exorcism method: you can shoot it with a peach bow and a thorn arrow;
"Hill ghosts" will run to people's homes and not leave.
Exorcism method: can be made into a dummy, fake dog, placed on the wall, when the mound ghost comes, it will be sprinkled with dust;
"Old Hill Ghost", love to scare people.
Exorcism method: shoot it with an arrow;
"Ghost", love to tease people.
Exorcism method: beat hard with a mulberry stick;
The "thorn ghost" infects the people in the house with the plague.
Exorcism method: dig the thorn ghost out of the house;
"Yang ghost", making people cook uncooked rice, making women crazy.
Exorcism method: burn pig droppings indoors and feed flower petals to women;
Figure 15 House ghost
"A ghost", cursing someone else to die on a certain day in a certain month.
Exorcism method: rub the into a pill and throw it;
"Hungry ghost", carrying cooking utensils to people's homes to ask for food.
Exorcism method: Throw shoes.
There are two methods of god's exorcism:
"Great god", harmful.
God, let a room full of people lose their breath, can not move.
Exorcism method: All are rubbed into pills and thrown over.
There are several ways to exorcise monsters:
"Mother-in-law", causing everyone in the house to drool.
Exorcism method: dig it out and eat it;
The "windy breath" causes animals to talk to people.
Expulsion method: hit with a peach branch, and then throw it with grass shoes;
Fig. 15 Unearthed wooden family letters
"Worms", causing everyone in the house to cramp.
Exorcism method: smash the head of the insect with a hammer;
"Ghost drum", there was a sudden sound of drums beating in the room.
Expulsion method: beat the drum to scare it;
"Thunder", burning people, attacking people.
Exorcism method: Light a fire to scare it, hit it with a wooden stick.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="29" > the Qin Dynasty had already used peach wood to ward off evil spirits</h1>
These contents of the Book of The Day seem very absurd today.
However, it reflects the people's understanding of natural things and simple beliefs during the Qin Dynasty.
Among the various items that exorcise ghosts, we can see that as early as the Qin Dynasty, peach wood was regarded as the most ideal holy relics to drive away ghosts and ward off evil spirits.
Whether it is a peach bow, a peach handle or a peach staff, they all play a role in the process of exorcising ghosts.
Figure 16 Peach bow willow arrow
So, what is the reason for this worship of peaches in Chinese?
Some people believe that the ancient people's worship of the peach tree actually originated from the primitive supernatural force worship.
In the early days of mankind, the ancestors were unable to give scientific explanations for many phenomena of nature and themselves.
Therefore, it will be believed that there is an invisible and untouchable mysterious force that dominates everything in the universe, and with it the belief in "spiritual power".
Peach in the early days of human society, has been widely distributed, and is eaten by humans, is an easy to obtain, delicious food.
Due to its wide distribution and many fruits, the vitality is tenacious.
Therefore, in the minds of primitive people, it gradually became a representative of supernatural forces.
Figure 16 Peach wood products
With the development of the times, the ancients gradually developed the concept of ghosts and gods, and believed that powerful ghosts would do evil in the human world.
This supernatural power of the peach naturally became the force that man could rely on to drive out evil spirits.
The peach has also been endowed with the function of warding off evil spirits and exorcising ghosts, and has continued to this day.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="33" > conclusion</h1>
The owner of the Sleeping Tiger Land Qin Jian, "Xi", is a lonely and nameless ordinary person in history.
He worked diligently all his life during the qin shi huang era.
Fig. 16 Sculpture of the owner of the tomb
Although he was only a grassroots official, Qin's strength was inseparable from the thousands of small people like "Xi" in the state institutions.
Qin's concept of governing the country according to law was implemented to the most basic level by relying on these talents.
After "Xi" died, his family put the documents that had been with him for many years into the grave.
By chance, these documents were preserved.
Through these legal texts, we have a more detailed understanding of how the great empire of two thousand years ago rose and how it worked.
I also felt the ups and downs of that era from between the lines.