Shadow of the Tomb Raider: A Complete Record of the History of Tomb Raiders in China

Chapter 2 Talking about the Origin of Tomb Raiders (1)
I don't know when the wind of tomb robbery prevailed.But what is certain is that the origin of tomb robbery is because there are tombs to rob, and huge benefits can be obtained from them.In other words, tomb robbery is due to the rise of thick burials.The thicker the trend of thick burials, the more rampant the activities of tomb robbery.Tomb robbery is not simply digging people's ancestral graves and prying open coffins. It also has considerable rules and technical requirements.For example, how to choose a large cemetery and how to ensure that there are rich funerary objects in the tomb all require certain knowledge.

Under normal circumstances, tomb robbers dig mausoleums mainly to obtain the funerary objects in the tombs. There are also some tomb robbers to steal the tomb materials in the tombs, and some to carry out political strikes, oppression, etc., and so on.Although the tomb robbers have been severely cracked down and sanctioned in the past dynasties, the tomb robbery activities are still repeatedly banned. What is the reason? Perhaps this sentence passed on by word of mouth can better answer this question: To get rich, go to the tomb.Tomb robbery can gain huge benefits, and the funerary objects in the tombs lure groups of people to rush to the cemetery...

The emergence of tomb robbery is because there are tombs: Chinese tomb culture

When will the tomb come to the world

Tombs are commonly known as mountain tombs, and ancient tombs are tombs before the Qing Dynasty.Ancient burial customs vary with time and place, including burial, cremation, and water burial.The most common is burial.

The interpretation of the word "tomb" in ancient literature is the same as that of the word "no", that is, if buried underground, there will be nothing.In ancient times, when people died, they just dug a random hole in the ground to bury them, and some even did not bury them. At that time, there was no concept of burial.As Engels said: "In ancient times, people were completely ignorant of the structure of the body, and were influenced by the scenes in their dreams, so they had the idea that their thinking and feeling were not the activities of their bodies, but a unique The activity of the soul that resides in the body and leaves the body when the person dies." Thus came the concept of "the soul is immortal", and the ancients believed that people's bodies left the world, but their souls were still alive. It has gone to another world, and will return to the world to bring blessings and misfortunes.

As a fixed facility for placing corpses, "tomb" occurred with the progress of human culture, and is constantly changing with the development of the times.At first, the handling of the corpse was very simple. "Book of Changes: Next to the Book of Changes" says: "The ancient burials were paid with thick clothes, and they were buried in the middle of the field. There were no seals or trees, and there were countless mourning periods."That is to say, wrap the corpse in thatch and leave it in the wilderness without digging the grave.With the development of human society and the worship and belief of the dead by later generations, people not only have emotional nostalgia for the dead, but also hope that they can go to another world to live a good life, and pay attention to their own family and family. The descendants of the dead should be protected and sheltered. Although the dead have left the world, their souls should also have a place to live. The production tools, daily necessities and decorations he liked should also be taken to another world to enjoy , Clan members, wives and children will also go to another world to reunite with him after death.This place where the soul of the deceased lives and where relatives reunite with him after death develops into a tomb or a group of tombs.

In the Paleolithic Age, since humans often used natural caves as residences, they also often used natural caves or rock sheds as cemeteries to place corpses. For example, the tombs of cavemen were in the same cave as their residences.But this is only to dig a larger grave of the deceased, more objects to be buried with, and a more solemn way of burying the dead, because at that time there was no intention to use the grave of the deceased as a permanent sacrifice, so there was no place on the ground. There is no special mark left.

After entering the Neolithic Age, due to the improvement of productivity and living standards, people began to consciously build various forms of tombs. Tombs and burial customs became more popular and varied, and they were obviously institutionalized.

This method of digging pits to bury the dead has been confirmed in the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties discovered so far.For example, the Yin Ruins in Anyang, Henan Province, where the Shang Dynasty established its capital for 300 years, has now unearthed eleven tombs of Shang kings, but no special signs have been found on the ground of the tombs.This way of burying the dead lasted for thousands of years through the Xia Dynasty, Shang Dynasty, and the Spring and Autumn Period of the Zhou Dynasty.

More than 3000 matrilineal clan commune tombs excavated in China show that prehistoric burial customs have different characteristics in terms of tomb shape, burial style, and burial utensils due to differences in age, region, and culture.Nevertheless, all cultural communities in prehistoric times were generally based on the clan system, so there were often some common principles in line with the clan system in the burial system.During the Neolithic period, digging pits and burying corpses became the most common burial method in the Yellow River Basin. Clan public cemeteries appeared, and there were single burials, multiple burials, and secondary burials.With the development of society, separate burials and hierarchical burial systems for adults and infants also emerged.At the end of the primitive society, the pit-style burials developed from the Yellow River Basin to the Yangtze River Basin, the southeast coast, and the Northeast. Joint burials of men and women appeared. Men face up straight and women bend sideways, indicating the social structure of patriarchal clans, and the tombs are more regular. The difference in status is more obvious through the size of the tomb, the presence or quality of burial utensils, and the number of burial objects.For example, in the Longshan era, with the further development of social economy and technology, while the principle of clan public cemeteries prevailed, the phenomenon of separate burials of different levels due to differences in levels became more prominent, and even different specifications appeared due to differences in levels of settlements. The cemetery of the nobles, among which the Liangzhu culture is the clearest.Fanshan and Yaoshan sites are both Liangzhu aristocratic cemeteries, but the specification of Fanshan cemetery is obviously higher than that of Yaoshan cemetery; in addition, there are many Liangzhu aristocratic cemeteries whose specifications are lower than Yaoshan.The Taosi cemetery in the Central Plains also has different levels of burials, and the tomb specifications can be divided into three categories and seven or eight levels.

There are various forms of ancient tombs, which represent different identities and statuses, and are symbols of rights and status. The "Ya"-shaped tomb is the highest level, and it is the tomb of the ancient emperor and emperor; the "Jia"-shaped tomb is the tomb of the minister.

In the early primitive society, the form of the tomb was very simple, only a pit was dug underground. The tomb was generally small and could only accommodate the corpse. There was no coffin, and the corpse was not wrapped in special things.In the late Neolithic period, in the late period of the Dawenkou Culture, a small number of tomb pits were very large, and the inside of the pit was built with natural wood along the four walls, and the upper part was covered with natural wood.With the development of social history, the structure of the tomb has also undergone great changes.There are three main types:

The first type: wooden coffin underground palace.After entering the class society, there are strict class and class differences in the burial system, and the mausoleum of the ruling class has a very grand scale.A Shang Dynasty sub-shaped tomb in Houjiazhuang, Anyang, Henan Province, the tomb area is about 330 square meters, including the tomb passage, the total area is 1800 square meters.The tombs of kings and nobles at all levels are made of wood.The outer coffin is the "palace room" where the coffin is placed, that is, the coffin outside the coffin. The neatly cut large wooden squares or thick boards are used to form a flat large box with a chassis and a large cover. Divide it into several grids, place the coffin in the middle, and surround several grids on both sides and up and down, which are called chambers, and place funerary objects respectively. fall into this category.The female corpse in the coffin is intact, and the funerary objects in the chamber include more than 1972 pieces of lacquerware, silk scripts, cotton embroidery, musical instruments, bamboo slips, wooden figurines, agricultural and livestock products, Chinese herbal medicines, and printed documents.

In the Western Han Dynasty, the materials and specifications of the coffins were brought to the extreme.This is the emergence of yellow intestines.

The so-called "yellow sausage" refers to the yellow-heart cypress wooden squares piled up outside the coffin, and "tiga" means that the heads of the wooden squares are all arranged inward. "Huangchang Ticou" refers to the frame-shaped structure made of cypress beams piled up around the outer and outer chambers of the imperial mausoleums of the Western Han Dynasty. The name "Huang Chang Ti Cou" was first seen in "Han Shu Huo Guang Biography". According to the etiquette system of the Han Dynasty, Huang Chang Ti Cou is an important part of the emperor's tomb together with jade clothes, catalpa palaces, toilets, and outer coffins.However, with the special gift of the imperial court, some noble officials and relatives can also use it.

"Huang Chang Ti Pu" is the development of the wooden outer palace, and its scale and complexity are at the peak of the wooden outer palace.Huangchang refers to the yellow core of cypress wood, that is, the cypress core used for the tenon; the title couch refers to the construction form of the coffin chamber. "Title" and "Collection" are the construction forms.By the time of the Han Dynasty, the mortise and tenon had been separated from the coffin wood, and they were piled up around the coffin chamber, which became "Tiga". If you look from the inside, you can only see the ends of the square wood on the four walls.According to literature records, this kind of burial system appeared at the latest in the Warring States Period. The earliest known Huangchangti was unearthed from the No. 1 tomb of Qin Jinggong in Yongcheng, Fengxiang. In addition, Huangchangyu was found in the early, middle and late Western Han Dynasties. make up.Among them, Tomb No. 1 of the Dabaotai Han Tomb in Beijing in the middle of the Western Han Dynasty is a grand inscription made of 15880 yellow-core cypress rafters. It is 3 meters high and reaches the top of the tomb. There are corridors and front and rear rooms inside. The mature form of the title.

The second type of masonry underground palace: From the Han Dynasty, masonry tombs were generally used to build tombs, and wooden coffin tombs were gradually replaced.This is an epoch-making change in the ancient Chinese burial system.This change mainly began in the middle of the Western Han Dynasty, and then spread to various places.In the middle of the Western Han Dynasty, hollow brick tombs were popular in the Central Plains; in the late Western Han Dynasty, stone chamber tombs began to appear, and the tombs were carved with portraits, so they were called "portrait stone tombs".The structure and layout of the tomb is also modeled on real-life residences.From the Han Dynasty to the Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, masonry tombs and underground palaces have been continuously developed.

The third type of earth cave underground palace: In the area rich in loess in the north, using the characteristics of thick soil layer, strong viscosity, uniform texture and less precipitation, an earth cave palace is dug into an earth cave with exquisite carvings and murals on the wall.For example, the accompanying tombs of the Qianling Mausoleum in Xi'an, the tombs of Princess Yongqin, Prince Zhanghuai and Prince Yide, and the underground palace of Emperor Xizong's Jingling Mausoleum.

We know that in ancient tombs, not only the body of the owner, but also some funerary objects were buried with the owner of the tomb.

In the early primitive society, the burial objects in the tomb were mainly objects that the deceased liked and used during his lifetime, including pottery vessels, stone and bone tools, decorations, etc.In the same cemetery, there is often little difference in the number and thickness of the burial objects in each tomb.Tombs reached the late primitive society, and there was a phenomenon of polarization between the rich and the poor.For example, in Tomb No. 10 of the late Wenkou culture, there are burial utensils with complex structures. The deceased wore exquisite jade ornaments, and buried jade shovels, ivory vessels and nearly a hundred pieces of exquisite pottery.

After entering the class society, the disparity between the rich and the poor became even greater. The burial objects in the tombs of kings and nobles were extremely rich and exquisite, including bronze wares, jade wares, lacquered wood wares, and bone and horn wares.The system of human sacrifice was also popular in the Shang Dynasty; human sacrifice is to use living people to bury the dead clan leaders, parents, slave owners or feudal lords.In the mausoleums of Shang kings and great nobles, there were dozens of victims and as many as one or two hundred people, including the tomb owner's attendants, maidservants, guards and various miscellaneous personnel.Human sacrifice was still very common in the early Western Zhou Dynasty, and decreased slightly after the middle period.Since the Warring States period, the custom of burial with wooden and pottery figurines has flourished, which can be regarded as a substitute for human sacrifice.

From the mid-Western Han Dynasty onwards, a variety of pottery Ming vessels specially made for burial were added to the burial objects, including models of warehouses, stoves, wells, mills, and pavilions, as well as models of pigs, dogs, and chickens.In the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were more types and quantities of artifacts.This is a great change in the burial objects of ancient Chinese tombs.During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the funerary objects were mainly ceramics, utensils, pottery models, pottery figurines, and tomb animals.During the Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties, the funerary objects were mainly a large number of pottery figurines.The terracotta figurines are divided into two categories: the ranks of ceremonial guards when traveling and the retainers and waiters when they are at home.From the Song to Ming Dynasties, the funerary objects were mainly practical objects and treasures, including ceramics, gold and silver wares, and jade wares.

The prototype of the tomb is sealed

Around the end of the Yin Dynasty and the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, earthen tombs began to appear on the tombs.After the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the mounds became larger and larger, shaped like hills.In particular, the sealing of the emperor's mausoleum is a large project with obvious development and changes.

Sealing soil, commonly known as the head of the tomb, "Book of Rites Tan Gong" said: "The one with the highest soil is called a tomb, and burial without a tomb is called a tomb." Building soil on top of the tomb and planting trees is about from the Zhou Dynasty. It began around the Spring and Autumn Period. According to records such as "Historical Records", "Han Shu", "Shui Jing Zhu" and other documents, the tombs before the Eastern Zhou Dynasty were not sealed.

Since the ancients were superstitious about the soul, they had to pray to their ancestors first in everything. It is better to pray directly in front of the tomb than to pray in the temple. In order to identify the location of the ancestor's tomb more conveniently, they built graves or planted trees on top of the tomb as a symbol. "Book of Rites" has a story about Confucius looking for the tomb of his parents, which illustrates the role of building graves and planting trees.Confucius was born in the Spring and Autumn Period, and his father died when he was three years old.When Confucius became an adult, when he wanted to sacrifice to his father, he couldn't find the cemetery. Later, after many old people's memories, he found it with great effort.Confucius is a person who "emphasizes etiquette". He believes that it is a necessary etiquette for descendants to offer sacrifices to their ancestors.In order to come here often and conveniently to worship and mourn his ancestors, he built a grave on his father's tomb as a symbol.Confucius said: "The ancient tombs are not the tombs of today's mounds. People from east, west, north, south, and north cannot be known. So they were sealed and worshiped four feet." The tomb on the top of the tomb may have existed before Confucius, but It is quite reasonable to quote this story as the origin of Fengtu.

Planting trees on the surface of the tomb was originally to identify the location of the tomb and facilitate sacrifices, but later it became a symbol showing the status of the tomb owner. "Zhou Li" records: "The degree of the title is determined by the number of trees." That is to say, the size and height of the grave mound and the type and number of trees planted are determined according to the rank of the official position. "Baihutong·Bengxu (hōng)" clearly explained the height of the seal and the type of tree planting: "The tomb of the Son of Heaven is three ren high (a ren is eight feet in the Zhou Dynasty; seven feet in the Western Han Dynasty; five feet and six inches in the Eastern Han Dynasty). For the princes and half, the tree is cypress; for the official, the tree is eight feet long, and the tree is eucalyptus (a kind of deciduous tree, also called lantern tree); In this way, there are also many people who dare to extravagance and exceed the system. For example, during the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Sang Min Zongyanghou was sentenced to "kūn" (shaving his head) for "excessive system" in the tomb.

With the popularization and development of burial mounds, the mounds of mounds have gradually become taller and shaped like hills, so the names of tombs have also undergone obvious changes.In the past, all kinds of tombs were collectively called "tombs". In the Warring States period, various names such as "ling", "mound", "grave" and "mound" appeared. The original meaning of "ling" is a tall earth mountain. At this time, it was used as a special word for the emperor's tomb. "Zhong" and "qiu" also refer to mounds as high as mountains. "Zhou Ji Zhong Zai" said: "The top of the mountain is called the tomb." Those who use "Qiu" as the name of the tomb are like the Huqiu of Wu Guojun Helu in the Spring and Autumn Period, the Lingqiu of Zhao Wuling King in the Warring States Period, and the Zhaowang of Chu Zhaowang. mound.The earliest person in history to call a tomb a "ling" was Zhao Yu (xiè), one of the Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period (349-326 BC). "Historical Records Zhao Family" records: "Shouling started in the 15th year of Suhou (Zhao Yu) (339 BC)."

There are three main types of soil seals for imperial mausoleums:

The earth is built as a mausoleum.It is a kind of soil for the early emperor's tomb, called Fangshang, which is to ram the emperor's tomb with layers, making it a square cone with a small top and a big bottom, like an upside-down bucket, because its The upper part has a square flat top and no tip, so it is called "Fang Shang", also known as "Fang Dou".For example, Qinshihuang Mausoleum in Lintong, Shaanxi Province is the largest earth-built mausoleum so far. It is 115 meters high, 350 meters long from north to south, 345 meters wide from east to west, and the top is 24 meters long from east to west, and 10 meters long from north to south. It looks like a hill. Its form is square.The seals of the tombs of the emperors of the Han Dynasty are also in the form of Fangshang, and many such tombs of Fangshen emperors can still be seen near Xi'an, Shaanxi.The rank of the seals in the Han Dynasty is not only reflected in the height and size of the seals, but also in the shape of the seals.The emperor's mausoleum is sealed with square or rectangular overturned buckets.Most of the lands of high-ranking nobles and great bureaucrats are square.The most expensive seal is square.

(End of this chapter)