The tomb of Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu is very strange. Why was he buried by the Yellow River?
Speaking of Liu Xiu, everyone knows that he is a famous king of his generation. He worked hard and worked hard to establish the foundation of the Eastern Han Dynasty for nearly two hundred years, and his achievements far exceeded those of countless emperors in ancient times. However, few people know that Liu Xiu was very low-key when arranging his funeral. Not only did he ask for a light burial, but he also unexpectedly wanted to bury himself on the edge of the Yellow River - today's Tiexie Village, Baihe Township, Mengjin County, Henan Province. It is only 360 meters away from the Yellow River in the north.
Emperors pay great attention to their posthumous affairs. Not only should they choose a geomantic treasure place for their mausoleum, they should at least choose a high ground with "heads resting on mountains and feet stepping on rivers" to avoid being flooded by floods. . What's more, Mang Mountain in the north of Luoyang has been the first choice for mausoleums since ancient times. This is what the saying "born in Suzhou and Hangzhou, buried in Beimang" means. So why didn't Liu Xiu, whose capital was Luoyang, bury himself on Mang Mountain? Instead, why not bury yourself on the bank of the moody Yellow River, with your head on the Yellow River and your feet on Mang Mountain? This has to start with the background of Liu Xiu's time.
Folk legends
Speaking of why Liu Xiu chose his mausoleum beside the Yellow River, there is a beautiful legend in western Henan.
Although Liu Xiu was a good emperor who loved his people as his own son, his son was very useless. If you ask him to go east, he will go west; if you ask him to beat the dog, he will chase the chicken. He had to confront Liu Xiu in everything, and Liu Xiu had no way to deal with his stubborn son.
As Liu Xiu got older, he began to think about his own funeral. He also wanted to bury himself on the top of Mang Mountain, but when he thought of his son's stubbornness, Liu Xiu became depressed. However, Liu Xiu was worthy of being an emperor, so he took it into consideration with a frown. On this day, Liu Xiu called his son to the bedside and said, I am dying. After I die, you must bury me in the lowest place.
The reason why Liu Xiu said this to his son was that in his opinion, this stubborn son who was going against him would definitely do the opposite and bury him on the top of Mang Mountain. But what Liu Xiu didn't expect was that after his death, his son's conscience discovered - I have never listened to my father in my life. Now that my father is dead, I will just listen once! So Liu Xiu was buried on the low-lying Yellow River beach.
The legend is not only a beautiful story, but also reflects the confusion of later generations as to why Liu Xiu buried himself by the Yellow River. In fact, the confusion of later generations lies in Liu Xiu's brilliance. And his brilliance comes from his awareness of the cruelty of society.
Queen Lu’s Lessons
As the queen of Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Western Han Dynasty, Lu Pheasant was also a remarkable figure. Especially after Liu Bang's death, the powerful Empress Lu took full control of the government and turned the Liu family's world into the Lu family's world. Although there was a coup in the palace after the death of this powerful woman, and the Lu family members were executed, as the queen of Liu Bang, no one dared to settle accounts with her, so it was only natural that she would be buried with honor and dignity. But it was this generous burial that made her suffer physical indignity more than two hundred years after her death.
Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty and the world was in chaos, and all the forces were fighting happily. To fight a war, you have to have people, and if you have people, you have to eat, drink and spend money. But at that time, there were constant natural and man-made disasters, and the people were struggling to make ends meet. How could there be so much money? Various forces started to dig up the dead man's grave. Which tomb contains the most money and treasures is naturally the emperor's tomb! The record in the history books is, "It was the month when the red eyebrows burned the palaces in Xijing, the gardens and tombs were excavated, and the bandits plundered Guanzhong." In other words, in December of 26 AD, the Red Eyebrow Army burned the palaces in Chang'an, Xijing, excavated the emperor's gardens and tombs, and looted and plundered wantonly in Guanzhong.
How to "excavate the garden tomb" specifically? The details recorded in the history books are even more shocking - the Red Eyebrow Army "arrived at Yangcheng and Fanxuzhong. During heavy snowfall, the pits and valleys were full, and many scholars froze to death. Then they returned, excavated the tombs, took their treasures, and then insulted Lu. After the corpse. Anyone found by thieves and buried in a jade box is as good as alive, so red eyebrows often engage in obscenity."
In other words, when the Red Eyebrow Army was desperate, they not only dug up Liu Bang's tomb to steal money, but also saw Empress Lu, who was wearing gold and jade clothes, more than 200 years after his death. The year was still lifelike, so he had evil thoughts and not only robbed money, but also raped corpses.
Of course, Empress Lu was not the only one who was raped. Judging from the record that "any thieves who found a jade box and buried them in a jade box were as good as alive, so the red eyebrows often engaged in obscenity", it will definitely be Many concubines of the Han Dynasty were humiliated because they were buried in a "jade box" like Empress Lu and their bodies did not decay.
As a descendant of Liu Bang, Liu Xiu may not necessarily have a blood relationship with these women, but these women are his elders anyway, and it is impossible for his heart not to feel pain for them. You may not reflect on the harm that a grand burial will bring to your body.
Perhaps it was Empress Lu's misfortune that not only gave Liu Xiu the idea of having a thin burial after his death, but also forced him to think about how to prevent his tomb from being robbed.
Emperor Wen’s revelation
During the great chaos in the world, not all Han tombs were robbed, but Emperor Wen’s Ba tomb was spared.
To be honest, Liu Xiu was still very concerned about the Red Eyebrow Army robbing his ancestors’ cemetery. After hearing the bad news, he would not only fight for the land with his head, but at least he would grit his teeth about it.
After defeating the Red Eyebrow Army, Liu Xiu immediately sent people to inspect the damage to all imperial mausoleums and began to repair them. During the inspection, it was discovered that the Ba Mausoleum of Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty had survived this catastrophe. "All the tombs in the ancestral temple and garden were excavated, but only Ba Mausoleum and Du Mausoleum were excavated."
Why can Ba Ling be preserved? Liu Xiu, as a cultural person who had studied at a higher education institution in Chang'an, naturally had a good understanding of the history of the early Han Dynasty. He understood that the reason why Ba Tomb was preserved was the scanty burial of Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty.
On his deathbed, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty issued a special edict, requiring that "all mausoleums should be maintained with earthenware vessels, and should not be decorated with gold, silver, copper and tin. The tombs should not be managed, but in order to save the country, do not bother the people." Translated into contemporary vernacular, Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty said when explaining his funeral before his death, gold, silver and jewelry are not allowed to be buried in the underground palace after my death. If I must be buried with him, then use pottery instead! Moreover, there should be no mounds of earth or tombs on the mausoleum, and there should be no luxurious decorations in the underground palace. Everything should be done according to the principle of saving what can be done.
Not only Liu Xiu knew about the scanty burial of Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty, but also the Red Eyebrow Army who were looking for treasures everywhere. They spent a lot of effort to open Ba Ling, but what they got was only a drop in the bucket. Tattered pottery, such stupid things would not be done by the Red Eyebrow Army who are marching to fight! As a result, Ba Ling was saved from destruction because of Emperor Wen's scanty burial.
After Liu Xiu became emperor, he went to Chang'an many times to pay homage to the imperial mausoleums of the Western Han Dynasty. Every time he paid homage, he would definitely think of the damage to these cemeteries and think about what he would do in a hundred years. Come for burial, how to prevent your tomb from being robbed. Among them, he must have thought of learning from Emperor Wen.
Wise choice
Liu Xiu thought this way and did the same when arranging his own funeral. "Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Chronicles of Emperor Guangwu" records this -
The first Shouling was built. The great craftsman Dou Rong said that the garden and mausoleum were vast and there was no need to worry about their use. The emperor said: "In ancient times, the burials of emperors were all made of pottery, earthenware, wooden chariots and thatched horses, so that future generations would not know their whereabouts. Emperor Taizong knew the meaning of the end and the beginning, and Emperor Jing was able to describe obedience to filial piety. He was repeated all over the world, and Ba Ling was the only one in the world. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be fully blessed? The land we have now is only two or three hectares, and there are no mountains and mausoleums. The person in charge of building the cemetery for Liu Xiu at that time was named Dou Rong. He had no idea how big the cemetery would be and how much it would cost, so he went to ask Liu Xiu for instructions. Liu Xiu told him that when ancient emperors were buried, they used pottery figurines, earthenware vessels, wooden carts and straw horses, so that future generations would not know the burial location of the tomb, thus avoiding the destruction of future generations of lawless people.
Emperor Taizong (also known as Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty) understood the true meaning of this and demanded that he should be handled in accordance with the ancient system after his death. However, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty could follow filial piety and fulfilled his father's wish. Therefore, when the world is in chaos, only Ba Ling can remain intact and enjoy the benefits of a thin burial. Isn't this wisdom worth learning? The area of my cemetery should not exceed two or three hectares, and the earth should not be piled into a mountain. The slope of the piled earth should only be able to prevent rainwater.
Although the history books do not directly tell us where Liu Xiu will bury himself a hundred years later, we can deeply feel from the lines that Liu Xiu was worried about the tomb being stolen behind him. . In his opinion, the so-called Feng Shui treasure land does not lie in its size or location on a high mountain, but in its ability to prevent tomb robbers. In this way, the Yellow River Beach, which was not favored by others, became Liu Xiu's first choice because of its natural function of preventing tomb robberies.
Perhaps Liu Xiu was afraid that his son would not be able to implement his ideas like Emperor Jing, so before his death, he issued an edict to reiterate his wishes: "I will not benefit the people. They will all follow the system of Emperor Xiaowen." About the province.
"I have not done anything useful for the people during my lifetime. After my death, I will not spend any more money to increase the burden on the people. I will follow the burial regulations of Emperor Xiaowen. Everything must be simple. Remember! Remember!
< p>Of course, Liu Xiu's words "I am of no use to the people" were just his humble words. Just by not overhauling the cemetery, I don't know how much people were saved! And his request for a thin burial came from the bottom of his heart, and his son was not the legendary one! Being stubborn, he honestly fulfilled his father's last wish and buried Liu Xiu on the bank of the Yellow River.So, did Liu Xiu's arrangements for his funeral play a role in preventing tomb robbers? ? Let’s first take a look at the natural function of the Yellow River beach to prevent tomb robbers. The underground water in the Yellow River beach is shallow, and water can be found when digging three or four feet down. In addition, it is easy to get buried by the sand of the Yellow River, making it difficult to dig deep, and even tomb robbers may be tempted. He was buried alive in the quicksand and became Liu Xiu's martyr. Therefore, although countless tomb robbers have coveted Liu Xiu's cemetery for thousands of years, they have never succeeded.
Let's take a look at what the thin burial brought. Benefits. The reason why the tomb robbers visited Liu Xiu's cemetery was because everyone knew that Liu Xiu was buried sparingly, but they didn't believe that there were even any good things in the tomb. They wanted to get some gold and silver jewelry from Liu Xiu's tomb by chance. Come.
But these tomb robbers faced the natural anti-grave robbery function of the Yellow River beach, and their little illusions were extinguished by this natural difficulty - even if they took a few lives, they might not be able to escape. No matter how many things were obtained in this thin tomb, it was better to give up and let it go! This ensured that Liu Xiu could lie quietly underground without being disturbed for thousands of years.
Liu Xiu buried himself. Being on the edge of the Yellow River not only shows that he is a sage, but also a wise man.