Master Archaeologist

Chapter 244 The Other Side of the Faint King

If we say that only relying on the thousands of bamboo slips in the document storage room, it can be concluded that Liu He, the owner of the tomb, is a person who loves reading.

It seems that there is still a little bit of "hard evidence" feeling lacking.

However, in the process of cleaning up the documents and archives, the staff of the Jingzhou Cultural Protection Center soon discovered something again.

If it is said that the owner of the tomb likes to read books, then he absolutely cannot do without the use of inkstones.

But no, in this document archive room, a round inkstone and a rectangular inkstone were unearthed.

Inkstones are not uncommon among unearthed objects from the Western Han Dynasty.

Inkstones were unearthed earlier than the time Liu He lived.

Not to mention far away, Mr. Sui, who lived in the period of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, did not also find stone inkstones in his tomb.

However, as a lieutenant, Liu He's inkstone is obviously much higher than that used by the five doctors.

These two inkstones are not only well preserved, but also exquisite in workmanship, and the rectangular inkstones are engraved with animal patterns.

According to historical records, inkstones evolved from grinders in primitive society.

The early inkstones were primitive in shape, using a small grinding stone to press ink pellets on a stone tool that was ground flat to make ink.

Its original form is relatively flat river light stone, so "Shuowen" interprets inkstone as "stone slippery".

In the Han Dynasty, carvings appeared on the inkstone, with a stone cover and feet underneath.

And because the early ink was in granular or flake shape, it was not made into ink sticks, so it was inconvenient to hold.

Therefore, the ancient inkstones of the Qin and Han Dynasties often have a grinder (sampling, grinder), which is used to press the ink grains for grinding.

The unearthed inkstone has once again confirmed the records of these historical materials.

At present, it can be speculated that these two inkstones were used by Haihunhou during his lifetime.

Inkstones have been unearthed from Han tombs excavated before, but such well-preserved and exquisitely made inkstones are rare.

As for what kind of inkstone it is, further research is needed.

However, the excavation of the inkstone shows that the owner of the tomb liked calligraphy during his lifetime, which is undoubtedly affirmative.

At present, these unearthed objects have been packed and extracted and sent to the laboratory, and the existence of ink may be found later.

The most important significance of the unearthing of these two inkstones is not the inkstones themselves.

It's the meaning behind it.

Since there is an inkstone, it means that Haihunhou should love calligraphy.

It is different from the later Ming and Qing Dynasties, when a scholar would have an inkstone.

In the Western Han Dynasty, it was generally the bureaucratic class that had inkstones.

It's a very simple truth. Except for officials, no one else in the Western Han Dynasty needed to write for ordinary things.

Including those scholars, before they became bureaucrats, they were more often holding bamboo slips to study knowledge instead of writing.

Only bureaucrats and a small number of great scholars who love literature and calligraphy will always have inkstones.

As for Haihunhou, although he is a lieutenant, he is not an official. Except for being emperor for a short period of time, he actually didn't have many opportunities to get in touch with government affairs after that.

In the case where he can write memorials and documents in person, it is only possible to write something for the central court.

Then, Haihunhou always had two inkstones, and both of them were buried in the tomb.

This shows that Haihunhou should have been a diligent writer during his lifetime. If he only wrote a few memorials to Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty a year, then the two inkstones would not be used in rotation.

Then, here comes the problem.

Will a foolish person study calligraphy when he has nothing to do?
Many tombs of the princes and even the princes and kings of the Han Dynasty have been excavated.

But the unearthed inkstone is definitely a minority.

In fact, most of the princes, kings and lieutenants do not usually write in person. Most of them are dictated and then written by a special scribe.

The fact that he would really use the inkstone indicates that he often wrote articles himself during his lifetime.

It is definitely impossible for a fatuous nobleman who knows how to eat, drink, and have fun when he has nothing to do.

After hearing that the inkstone was unearthed in the document archive room, Kong Jianwen murmured to Chen Han with a strange expression: "This tomb of Marquis Haihun has refreshed the public's perception of Marquis Haihun more and more."

"Although Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty is a successful man, and his throne came from Huo Guang's abolished monarch, if he wants to maintain the legitimacy of his own throne, he must maintain Huo Guang's correctness."

"So after the Huo family was settled by Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, Huo Guang's achievements were not erased, and even Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty fully affirmed it."

"From a political point of view, since Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty affirmed Huo Guang's achievements, no matter what kind of Liu He he abolished, he must be a fatuous and unreasonable emperor to have a reason to be abolished. The rationality of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty's supremacy."

"However, from the tomb of Haihunhou, Liu He, who is completely different from the historical records, is found. It is still very embarrassing."

"Archaeology is really a thing, full of meaning."

Facing Kong Jianwen's emotion, Chen Han nodded in agreement: "Yes!"

If there are no archaeologists, if there is no excavation of Haihunhou's tomb.

Although there have long been rumors in the academic world that Liu He may have been discredited, after all, he did more than 27 bad things in 1000 days, and no one with normal logic can believe it.

But what the real history is, has been sealed in the years.

Even if modern people have all kinds of doubts about the records in "Hanshu", they can only stay in doubts and tacit understanding.

Whether it is in teaching history or in public discussion, Liu He can only be the "unreasonable and stupid king" recorded in the history books!
It's like, everyone knows that Liu He is not necessarily a fool, and the people who wrote the history books almost said it clearly, I just exaggerated, Liu He can't be so bad.

But because there is no actual evidence, everyone has no ability to overthrow this period of history.

However, the appearance of Haihunhou's tomb changed this situation.

Although, for the time being, there is still no way to whitewash the image of Haihunhou as a "ruthless emperor".

And he won't go to the point of "washing white". As a political loser, even if Haihunhou is not fatuous, he won't be able to be called a virtuous king or a wise king.

but!

These cultural relics unearthed from Haihunhou's tomb can give modern people an image of Haihunhou that is completely different from the history books and closer to the real history.

He may not be that outstanding, but he is definitely not a Dahunjun, at least he is a qualified, even upper-middle-class wise nobleman who values ​​farming and agricultural production.

It's not that he doesn't have much culture in his belly, he knows how to fight cocks and walk dogs every day, enjoys a lot of fun, and has no ambitions.

At least he loves reading, loves learning and culture, and has a huge collection of books at home. He can't be said to be a great talent at the time, but at least he is a cultural person who understands things, understands culture, and knows shame!
Such an image of Haihunhou gave the world a whole new perspective!
It turns out that the "faint king" who has been abandoned for thousands of years in the history books also has another side like this!
(End of this chapter)