Source: Xinhua Net
Xinhua News Agency, Zhengzhou, June 19 Title: From the "Amber Children Riding Sheep Charms" to see the "daughter slave" Cao Rui
Xinhua News Agency reporters Zhai Xiang and Gui Juan
In summer, Luoyang Museum Treasure Hall. Many visitors come and go just to catch a glimpse of this 3.4 cm long and 3.5 cm high amber child riding sheep charm. What is less well known is that this charm reveals the weiming emperor Cao Rui's strong affection for his beloved daughter as a father.
A little boy with a calm look and neat bangs rode on the kneeling sheep's back with his horn in both hands, looking ahead, dressed in petals and diamond-shaped ornaments, with his legs slightly bent backwards and vertical perforations on his back... This piece of jewelry is ingenious and lifelike.
In 2016, it and two other amber ornaments were unearthed in a Cao Wei tomb in Luoyang, and are the most exquisite objects found in the tomb.
Amber children riding sheep charms. On the left is the stone plaque "White Painting Riding a Sheep One" found at the western end of the back room of the tomb. White painting means plain engraving, not color. Ping ru heng courtesy of the picture
Netizen "Hulu Manufacturing Office" has been engaged in amber research for 7 years, and once rushed from Zhejiang to Henan to watch amber children riding sheep charms. In his mind, the corset carving of this raw material, which may have come from the Baltic Sea, is "breathtaking" and can be called the "top treasure in the art of high ancient amber" in China.
What is the story behind this charm? For whom did it ever belong?
The past is more than a thousand years.
"Flying like a frightening hong", "bright eyes and good eyes", "fluttering like a god", "qi like a youlan"... In "Luoshen Endowment", Cao Zhi used all his gorgeous and beautiful words to create a moving image of the goddess of Luoshui for thousands of years. Legend has it that Cao Rui's mother Zhen Mi is the prototype of Cao Zhi's Luoshen, which makes Cao Rui's body full of mysterious and romantic colors.
In the first month of 232 AD, Cao Rui's beloved daughter Cao Shu, who had not yet reached the full moon, died prematurely, and Cao Rui, who had already suffered the pain of losing his son several times, was sad.
He was not buried when his father Cao Pi died, nor was he buried when his grandmother, Lady Bian, died. When Cao Rui decided to mourn his daughter's high-standard funeral, he was opposed by the courtiers.
It has been 6 years since he took over the throne from his father Cao Pi, and this 20-year-old young Tianzi is intelligent, wise, determined, and decisive, and has been vigorous, stable and orderly under his rule, and has also shown considerable military qualities in response to the repeated attacks of Zhuge Liang and Sun Quan.
As a father, Cao Rui regarded Cao Shu as a pearl in his hand. According to historical records such as the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, Cao Rui posthumously named Cao Shu a princess of the plains, built a temple in Luoyang, and personally buried her. In addition, he not only wrote a mourning article that "felt cut through the sentences" and "pain through the heavens and the earth", but also asked his uncle Cao Zhi to write an article to commemorate his daughter, and none of Cao Rui's three young sons who died prematurely enjoyed similar treatment.
Time back to July 15, 2016, the southern suburbs of Luoyang.
The back chamber of the great tomb. There are pits in the walls and on the ground by grave robbers. Photo by Zhai Xiang, Xinhua News Agency
This cao wei period aristocratic tomb in Xizhu Village, Koudian Town, has undergone nearly a year of rescue excavations. The tomb was stolen three times. The age of the robber cave is unknown, and the second cave was produced in the Song and Yuan dynasties. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the tomb was stolen again. The "Lieutenant Touching Gold" dug three feet into the ground, dug several holes several meters deep in the wall of the back room to ensure that there was no "dark room", and carried out large-scale excavation of the tomb bricks, resulting in the collapse of the nearly 4-meter-high burial chamber, and the front chamber murals painted with figures, beasts, auspicious clouds and other patterns were also seriously damaged. By the time of excavation, the tomb was completely filled with earth.
Wang Xianqiu, an associate researcher at the Luoyang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, said that archaeologists cleaned up bit by bit, and at this time, the cleaning was close to the bottom of the tomb, except for the stone tablets with fine carvings and similar to Cao Cao's gaoling, there has been no particularly exquisite cultural relics in the tomb.
In the summer of 2016, Wang Xianqiu was excavated at the northeast end of the back room of Cao Wei's tomb. Photo courtesy of Luoyang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
On this morning, Wang Xianqiu found this amber child riding sheep charm in the northeast corner of the front room. Gently whisk away the dust with a brush, its lines are clearly visible, in the sun, crystal clear.
Wang Xianqiu still remembers July 19, 2015, on Sunday, when he received an urgent task in the evening. Xizhu Village stumbled upon a large amount of rammed earth during the relocation of the tomb, which is the symbol of ancient tombs. The villagers immediately reported to the Luoyang Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Wang Xianqiu rushed to the scene to investigate, according to the rammed earth steps exposed at the site, it was determined that this was a large-scale ancient tomb, and then mobilized archaeologists to guard the scene at night.
The next day, the excavation found that the tomb was 50 meters long and oriented from east to west. The large tombs of Cao Wei, such as Cao Cao's tomb, Cao Zhi's tomb, and Cao Xiu's tomb, which have been discovered before, have all changed the north-south orientation that prevailed during the Eastern Han Dynasty, pointing directly to the east and west. According to the Notes on the Water Classics, Cao Rui's Gaoping Mausoleum is in this area.
Subsequently, the Luoyang Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology reported to the State Administration of Cultural Relics for approval to carry out rescue archaeological excavations.
Cao Wei Tomb Road. Photo by Zhai Xiang, Xinhua News Agency
Flat photo of cao wei tomb. Photo courtesy of Luoyang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
Due to the disturbance of the tomb robbers in the past, the objects directly indicating the identity of the tomb owner could not be unearthed in the tomb. Some have proposed that the owner of the tomb was Cao Rui or Cao Cao's third son, Cao Zhang. However, after careful examination, Wang Xianqiu deduced that it was the place where Cao Rui's beloved daughter rested for a long time.
The bones of the owner of the tomb are completely decayed, but the decaying wood and four rows of iron cushions found in the northeast corner of the back room indicate that the tomb once had two coffins. More than 300 inscription stone tablets unearthed record the names of funerary items, covering toiletries, clothing, food, weapons, stationery, etc., among which the words "Silver Dove Car One" and the jewelry symbolizing the princess level "Seven Tungsten Knots" appeared at that time.
"According to historical records, Cao Rui buried Cao Shu and Zhen Mi's early deceased cousin Zhen Huang, and the shape of the tomb and the excavated artifacts conformed to the identities of Cao Shu and Zhen Huang." Wang Xianqiu said.
Tomb location map. Tomb No. 1 is speculated to be Cao Shu's tomb, and Tomb No. 2 is speculated to be Cao Rui's tomb. Photo courtesy of Luoyang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
Wang Xianqiu found that the tomb corresponded precisely to the east-west circular mound of the Cao Wei dynasty, and the circular mound was on the same north-south axis as the gap between the central axis of Luoyang city and the two main peaks of Wan'an Mountain in Han Wei.
Wang Xianqiu has presided over the excavation of Cao Xiu's tomb and the survey of the Eastern Han Emperor's Mausoleum, and has repeatedly searched for the address of Cao Rui's Gaoping Mausoleum. After the discovery of the Cao Wei tomb, he led archaeologists to conduct large-scale drilling in the surrounding area, and found another large tomb at the top of a small hill more than 400 meters to the east, speculating that it was cao rui's tomb.
"This is probably the ultimate a father can do." Wang Xianqiu sighed.
Seven years after Cao Shu's death, Cao Rui died. The Gaoping Tomb where he was buried was also slowly annihilated in the eyes of the world. He may be with his daughter for only a few days, but behind him is his thousand-year-long watch and companionship.