Misinformation has been dissipated for nearly a thousand years - this is how the tomb of Jiangcun in Shaanxi was identified as the Tomb of Emperor Hanwen

　　As the founder of "the rule of Wenjing", the location of the tomb of Liu Heng, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, seems to have been determined in history.

However, the "Phoenix Mouth", which has been considered to be the Tomb of Emperor Han Wen for nearly a thousand years, is not the real destination of the emperor.

　　After the selection results of the "Top Ten New Archaeological Discoveries in China in 2021" were announced, the Jiangcun Tomb in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province was selected.

The confirmation of the location of the Emperor's Mausoleum of the Han Dynasty not only corrected the misrepresentation, but also filled a key link in the development and evolution of the Mausoleum of the Western Han Emperor.

Half a century of archaeological relay

　　As early as the Yuan Dynasty, there are historical records that the Mausoleum of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty was located in "Phoenix Mouth".

"Phoenix Mouth" is located on the bank of Bailuyuan in the south of Maoyaoyuan Village, Xiwang Street, Baqiao District, Xi'an City.

Under the multiple influences of the topography and the records in historical books that "because of the mountain, no tomb cannot be afforded", the "Phoenix Mouth" is full of steles, and the more important ones are the "Imperial Stele in the 27th year of Kangxi" and "the first year of Yongzheng". The "Sacrifice Stele" and "The Imperial Sacrifice Stele in the 24th Year of Jiaqing" and the "Han Wen Emperor Ba Mausoleum" inscribed by Bi Yuan, governor of Shaanxi during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, are also here.

Therefore, people have always believed that the Paling Mausoleum of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty was located at the "Phoenix Mouth".

　　"It is recorded in the literature that Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty decided to bury thinly, 'Because of the reason, the Baling Mountains and Rivers should not be changed.' This record can be said to have misled people for a long time." Ma Ma, a researcher at the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology and the leader of the Hanling Archaeological Team Yongying said, but with the archaeological discoveries, more and more evidences show that the Jiangcun Tomb is the location of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty.

　　From 2011 to 2013, Jiao Nanfeng, a researcher at the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, led a team to carry out a large-scale archaeological investigation and exploration of the Baling and Nanling tombs.

"At that time, although we had already verified that there were no tombs left in the 'Phoenix Mouth', there was still insufficient evidence to directly say that the Jiangcun Tomb was the Paling Mausoleum." Ma Yongying said, "until 2019, we were pleasantly surprised to find that On the periphery of Empress Dou's Mausoleum and Jiangcun Mausoleum, there are more remains of the cemetery garden wall, which means that Jiangcun Mausoleum and Empress Dou Mausoleum are in the same large cemetery." Because the emperor and empress of the Western Han Dynasty were buried together using the "same and different" The same large cemetery embodies the "tongling", which has become the key evidence for confirming the emperor's domination of the mausoleum.

　　So far, after more than half a century of archaeological relay, the complete chain of evidence confirming that the Jiangcun Tomb is the Mausoleum of Emperor Hanwen has been fully presented. In the Han Dynasty, it was the highest-level tomb system, and only the emperors and queens could use it; secondly, after the archaeological investigation of the "Phoenix Mouth", no tombs and related cultural relics were found, which is a powerful force for determining the Jiangcun tomb as the emperor's tomb of the Han Dynasty. Third, the discovery of the outer cemetery that encloses Empress Dou’s mausoleum and Jiangcun’s tomb shows that the relationship between Jiangcun’s tomb and Empress Dou’s mausoleum is in line with the burial system of “same tombs and different caves” after the tombs of the Western Han emperors; Fourth, Ming organ seals such as "Zhong Sikong Seal" and "Bei Bao Sikong" were found in the outer pit of the Jiangcun Tomb, which shows that the outer pit symbolizes the underground government agency. The owner of the tomb is none other than the emperor.

The idea of ​​a thin burial of "reduced rituals but not reduced restrictions"

　　"The confirmation of the true location of Baling has provided a clear target for the protection of field cultural relics and archaeological research, and also gave people a new understanding of the thin burial and frugality of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty." Researcher of the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, Hanling Archaeology Cao Long, vice-captain of the team, said.

　　Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, Liu Heng, was the third-generation emperor of the Western Han Dynasty and the founder of the "rule of Wenjing".

His mausoleum, Ba Ling, was not sealed because of "not treating the tomb, wanting to save the province, and not bothering the people". Although its location is in Bailuyuan, its specific location is gradually blurred in the historical evolution.

"The discovery of the Jiangcun tomb has made it clear that Baling is no longer a special case of the Western Han emperor's mausoleum because of the mountain as a mausoleum. It is necessary to re-examine its position in the development and evolution of the Western Han emperor's mausoleum." Cao Cao Long said.

　　The shape of the tomb in Jiangcun is the shape of "Asia", with no earth on the ground. The side of the tomb is about 73 meters long. It is surrounded by 115 outer pits.

Empress Dou's mausoleum has a "covered bucket" seal, and the tomb is in the shape of "Asia". There are more than 10 outer pits on the side of the mausoleum, surrounded by rammed earth garden walls and gate sites.

The ruins of the rammed wall around the tomb of Jiangcun and Empress Dou are more than 1,200 meters long from east to west, more than 860 meters from north to south, and about 3.5 meters wide.

Inside and outside the Great Cemetery, different types of relics such as outer Tibetan pits, ruins of buildings (including pottery kilns), and accompanying tombs were also found.

　　"The main manifestation of the thin burial of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty is 'reduced rituals but not reduced system'. First, the Baling Mausoleum "cannot afford to seal the soil", and the terrain is slightly raised, which is good for drainage; the second is that the Baling Mausoleum is bounded by stones, and no tall buildings are built. The cemetery walls of the cemetery. However, Emperor Wen of the Han is the monarch of a country after all. Although he can 'reduce rituals', the regulations of the emperor must be fully reflected." Cao Long introduced that although many ancient books such as "Historical Records" and "Han Shu" have been The thin burial of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty was recorded, but the confirmation of the Ba Ling this time gave people a more intuitive understanding of the "thin burial" of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty.

Make up for the key link in the evolution of the Western Han Emperor's Mausoleum

　　"In an academic sense, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty initiated the 'rule of Wenjing'. At that time, it was the transition period of the transformation of the Western Han Dynasty. The country's governance system and political thinking were changing, and these changes would inevitably be reflected in the imperial mausoleum system." Ma Yongying said that the determination of the location of the Paling Mausoleum and the mastery of the shape of the cemetery have filled a key link in the development and evolution of the tombs of the Western Han emperors, and are of great significance to the archaeological research on the imperial mausoleum system of the Western Han Dynasty.

　　For the research on the development and evolution of the political system in the Western Han Dynasty, the double cemetery of Ba Ling, the emperor’s mausoleum in the middle, and the layout of the outer Tibetan pit, which symbolizes the official offices around the emperor’s mausoleum, are the earliest ones in the tombs of the Western Han emperors. The initial establishment of the political concept of the centralized Western Han Empire.

The shape and layout of Ba Mausoleum inherits the basic elements of Chang Mausoleum and An Mausoleum, and lowers the regulations of Qiyang Mausoleum and Mao Mausoleum. important physical data.

At the same time, it also reflects the development and changes of the political thought and ideology of the Western Han Empire.

　　In addition, many gold and silver artifacts with animal images, including bears, wolves, and leopards, were unearthed in the outer Tibetan pit of Nanling.

These gold and silver utensils have a typical style of grassland culture, reflecting the exchange and integration of Central Plains culture and grassland culture in the pre-Qin and Han dynasties, and also witnessed the historical development trend of Chinese civilization from "diversity" to "integration".

　　(Reporter Li Jie Zhang Zhehao)