Shanxi traditional cemetery system

A luxurious tomb was found in Taiyuan, Shanxi. All kinds of funerary objects filled the interior of the tomb, and there were more than 2 100 pieces of bronzes alone!

A total of 19 chimes were unearthed in this tomb, which are no less than the famous "Zeng Houyi chimes" in Hubei in terms of shape and tone.

Whose tomb can be buried with seven cauldrons? Whose coffin contains hundreds of jade articles?

1in July, 1987, Shanxi Taiyuan Thermal Power Plant was undergoing expansion construction.

The excavator master dug and dug, and the people below quickly stopped him.

It turned out that the excavator dug up the loess first, but the deeper the digging, the darker the color. Loess gradually turned into black soil. What's going on here?

Someone joked, "We dug a coal mine and made a fortune."

This is in Shanxi, and it is not impossible to dig into a coal mine.

Everyone was discussing it noisily, but an elderly worker put forward a different opinion. He spat out a cigarette. Said slowly, "It may not be a mine, but a grave."

This sentence instantly broke everyone's dream, they no longer fantasized, and quickly informed the factory leaders.

At the invitation of the leaders of the thermal power plant, researchers from Shanxi Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology immediately rushed to the scene to investigate.

Archaeologists first confirmed that black soil was charcoal, and there was a vague guess in their hearts. Then they took out Luoyang shovel and went down to the place where black soil was found.

The results met the experts' expectation, and not only charcoal was dug up, but also green paste mud and streaky soil were dug up. This convinced experts that there is an ancient tomb hidden under it, and it is an ancient tomb made of stones and carbon!

You know, the Carboniferous tomb refers to a tomb reinforced with stones and damp-proof with charcoal. The owner of the tomb can adopt this tomb design, which shows that his position is not low.

With the approval of National Cultural Heritage Administration, Shanxi Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology dared to continue archaeological work on the tomb.

Experts have been busy for several days, and the appearance of this tomb has gradually presented a general outline.

This is a large stone-accumulated charcoal tomb, with a length of 1 1 m from east to west, 9 meters from north to south, and a depth of 14 meters.

To the experts' surprise, the tomb is well preserved and there is no trace of theft at all. They will be the first to open the grave.

After opening the tomb, the sight in front of them made the experts dizzy. All kinds of funerary objects are piled up inside the tomb, and there are more than 2 100 pieces of bronzes alone.

Experts found the largest bronze tripod in the Spring and Autumn Period in this tomb, which was named "Three-legged bronze tripod with hoof" and later became a treasure of Shanxi Provincial Museum.

The tripod is close to 1 m in height and 1.04 m in diameter. It has a deep tripod belly with a bottom shape, which is big enough to accommodate a cow. Next to the abdomen are three stout animal hooves and feet, and each hoof and foot is engraved with animal facial patterns, namely dragon pattern, phoenix pattern and plain pattern. The bronze tripod with three legs is huge, magnificent and simple in shape. This tripod was exhibited in Italy, which amazed the European audience.

In the Spring and Autumn Period, the number of ding in the tomb often indicates the identity of the owner of the tomb. According to the etiquette system of the Zhou Dynasty, the emperor was equipped with 9 ding, the vassal was equipped with 7 ding, and Doctor Qing was equipped with 5 ding.

In this tomb, there are seven Ding Yi * * * similar to the bronze Ding of a three-legged animal's hoof, which conforms to the etiquette of the seven Ding of a vassal.

Is the owner of the tomb really a vassal? If so, which vassal of which country was he?

It is not enough to determine the identity of the owner of the tomb by these seven ding. Experts must continue to search for answers from other funerary objects.

In addition to the three-legged bronze tripod, there are four "bronze square pots" and three "big bronze mirrors" that attract the attention of experts. These two things were high-level ritual vessels used by nobles to store wine in the Spring and Autumn Period.

Although these two things are common, the wine vessels unearthed from thermal power plants are exquisitely cast and well preserved, and are unique in China at present.

"Bird Zun" is another smaller and more exquisite wine vessel. Compared with the first two, it is the best of the best. Its beak can be opened and closed freely, its body lines are delicate and its feathers are clearly visible. Not only the feathers, but also the expressions of the bird statues are vividly portrayed, as if they were angry.

Some people may ask, why do you want to describe the expression of this bird as glaring and big eyes?

It turned out that the handle of the bird statue was carved into a tiger. The tiger lay on the back of the bird statue and bit hard with his mouth open. It is not difficult to see that the two are experiencing a fierce fight, so it is no wonder that the expression of Bird Zun looks like an enemy.

This bird statue has no words on it, but a story can be read from the picture. It is not so much a practical wine vessel as a very pleasant work of art. ..

The bird image unearthed from the thermal power plant is very similar to the "child teasing bird" image collected by Freer Art Museum in the United States. It's said that there are also opera birds unearthed in Taiyuan, whose modelling technique and overall style tend to be consistent, but this one in China is more exquisite. Some scholars believe that two bird statues may be made by the same craftsman, but the production time is different.

Coincidentally, the bird-shaped ritual vessels not only have bird images, but also "wine vessels and pots". Like the former, this wine container also has a beak that can be opened and closed freely and an angry expression. The difference is that the bird in the hip flask was not bitten by a tiger, but took the initiative to catch a snake with its claws. The fierce expression means that it tries its best not to let its prey escape.

From these two exquisite wine vessels, experts speculated that the tomb owner liked elegance, and the unearthed musical instruments confirmed the expert's guess.

A large number of musical instruments have been unearthed in the thermal power plant, among which a set of 19 chimes is the most precious. This set of chimes is no less than the famous "Zeng Houyi chimes" in Hubei, both in shape and timbre.

According to historical records, chimes with such large size and rich patterns generally only appear in the court, which can be collectively called "chimes".

Together with these 19 chimes, there is also a set of 13 stone chimes. Together, the two are simply symphony orchestras in the Spring and Autumn Period. In ancient times, people who belonged to the imperial level could enjoy these.

This compilation not only verified the aristocratic status of the tomb owner again, but also convinced experts that the tomb owner was in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

Generally speaking, the nobles in this period should be literate and know martial arts. The cultural relics in front prove that the owner of the tomb has a certain cultural accomplishment. Are there any other cultural relics that can prove that the tomb owner is skilled in martial arts?

Soon, a cultural relic related to war appeared in front of the experts.

"Tiger stove" is a portable cooker often used by pre-Qin troops when they went out to fight. There is a tiger with a big mouth at the bottom, and firewood can be put into the tiger's mouth to burn, and the smoke generated will be discharged along the hollow pipe at the tail of the tiger. There is a jar on the tiger's head. This pot is called "axe", which means the same as the "axe" that burns one's bridges.

Compared with other cultural relics, the tiger stove may not be so exquisite, but it also has important archaeological value. For example, you may already know the meaning of cross the rubicon, but only after you really see this item can you really imagine the picture described by this idiom in your mind.

Not only the tiger stove, but also the giant war horse pit found in the thermal power plant proves that the tomb owner is a figure who can lead troops to fight. The pit covers an area of 1 10 square meters, and the bones of 16 chariots and 44 war horses are arranged neatly.

This war horse pit surprised the experts. The specifications of 16 war horse are very rare, and experts have never seen several cases.

In addition to the 16 chariot used for marching and fighting, experts also found a "chariot" used by the tomb owner every day.

The vehicle is well preserved, and even the traces of the wheels tied by rattan are very clear. Judging from the restoration results, the vehicle is a round carriage. Before this kind of vehicle, experts have never found this kind of round carriage, which has extremely important archaeological value.

A chariot needs five horses to drive. Zhou Li once said, "The emperor drives six horses, the princes drive five horses, and the Qing dynasty drives four horses." This seems to show once again that the owner of the tomb must be a vassal in the Spring and Autumn Period, and he may be a dominant vassal, so that he has the financial resources and power to enjoy all this.

Since the owner of the tomb is basically determined to be a vassal, the remaining problem is to guess which vassal of which country he is.

I believe many friends know that Shanxi belonged to the territory of the State of Jin in the Spring and Autumn Period. According to this, experts speculate that the owner of the tomb should be a monarch of the State of Jin.

However, historical data and previous archaeological work prove that the tombs of Jin Hou in previous dynasties were published in Quwo County, which is more than 300 kilometers away from Taiyuan.

Quwo County is the family cemetery of the monarch of the State of Jin, so who is the owner of this vassal tomb in Taiyuan?

In order to further confirm the identity of the tomb owner, the expert decided to open the coffin of the tomb owner, because there are usually objects showing the identity of the tomb owner in his personal funerary objects.

Unfortunately, however, a lot of cinnabar was placed at the bottom of the tomb. After a long time, coffins and bodies have been seriously corrupted, leaving only a trace.

According to only a few pieces of metal and broken paint, experts speculate that the owner's coffin has at least three layers, and the whole body is covered with gold paint, and the overall style is as luxurious as a tomb.

In addition to the fragments of the coffin, experts also found hundreds of jade articles carried by the tomb owner, such as jade in his mouth, a necklace around his neck, Yu Pei hanging on both sides of his body and jade tubes worn on his fingers. Every exquisite ornament was a rare luxury at that time.

Archaeologists also found a corroded bronze sword at the waist of the tomb owner. Its body is slender and its handle is inlaid with exquisite jade carvings.

Unfortunately, although jade ornaments and bronze swords are very precious, nothing can prove the exact identity of the tomb owner, which makes experts very disappointed.

In a blink of an eye, the experts have basically completed the excavation of the whole tomb, but they still can't confirm the specific identity of the tomb owner.

At this time, the experts chose the simplest and most difficult method, and they wanted to clean up all the unearthed things. This method is simple and clear, and evidence can be found as long as it is completed, but there are more than 2 100 pieces of bronzes alone, which is difficult to clean up.

Many things happen. After counting again and again, the expert finally found the words on a bronze medal.

On the top of this bronze statue stands a tiger with an eagle under its claws. A tiger should hold its head high and whistle to show off its victory. Tiger Eagle and Ge are integrated and as imaginative as Bird Zun.

According to the expert's appraisal, the children's song is engraved with five words, namely "Zhao Mengzhi Yu Ge".

How to understand these five words?

So according to, we know that the owner of this tomb is Zhao's eldest son.

Experts read the historical materials and found that this Zhao family is probably the Zhao family in the film and television drama "The Orphan of Zhao", and this is the family cemetery of Zhao family.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, the Zhao family was one of the largest families in the State of Jin. Together with the other two families, they carved up the power of the state of Jin, which is called "the three families divide Jin" in history. At that time, there was a "six Qing disputes" in the state of Jin. Zhao destroyed Fan, Zhi and Bank of China by himself, and finally ruled the State of Jin together with the Han and Wei Dynasties.

According to textual research, there were five "Zhao Meng" in the State of Jin at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, namely, the general, his son Zhao Shuo, Zhao Zhigu, Zhao Zhao's grandson Zhao Yang, and Zhao Zhao's son T-shirt.

Which of the five "Boss Zhao" is the owner of the tomb?

Experts didn't know this problem until a worker found a vague inscription on the bronze bean cover.

Experts agree that the inscription on the bean cover is a "No" word, which probably represents the surname like "Zhao" in "Zhao Mengzhi".

Looking up the history books, experts found that the state of Jin did have a noble family named Xian. They and the Zhao family are both hereditary doctors, and they have an indissoluble hatred with the Zhao family.

In order to fight for power and profit, ancestors and Zhao's heirs have been fighting in the dark. Both sides have won and lost, but Zhao laughs at the end.

On behalf of Zhao Yang, the boss of Zhao, the first family destroyed by the Zhao family, only he can put the things of the first family as trophies in the coffin.

Since then, experts have determined that the owner of this luxurious tomb in Taiyuan is Zhao Yang.

Zhao Yang, also known as Liezi Fu Shuo, once recorded that he loved birds very much. Many bird-shaped bronzes unearthed in this tomb also seem to verify this matter, indicating that Liezi was written according to the facts.

Of course, someone will ask again. Although Zhao Yang is a big official, he is not a vassal. Why did you bury him with such specifications?

Experts gave a reasonable explanation. At the end of the Zhou Dynasty, the imperial power fell by the side, and the princes fought for power, which had caused a situation of "the ceremony collapsed and the music was bad".

Although Zhao Yang was not the King of Jin, he was actually in control of the relieving. If he wants to be treated as a vassal, the king can't manage it, and the emperor Zhou can't manage it, then he can enjoy the tomb of the vassal level.