Why hasn’t anyone dared to dig up Zhu Yuanzhang’s tomb for more than 600 years?
There are 13 emperors buried in the Ming Tombs, and there were 16 emperors in the Ming Dynasty. Who are the three emperors who are not buried in the Ming Tombs? Zhu Yuanzhang is one of these three emperors one of them.
The tombs of Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang and Queen Ma are in Nanjing, called Ming Xiaoling, and have a history of more than 600 years.
The location of the mausoleum chosen by Zhu Yuanzhang during his lifetime is Dulongfu at the southern foot of Purple Mountain in Xuanwumen. This is a geomantic treasure place. It is said that only one person can prosper here.
(Stone Statue of Xiaoling Mausoleum of Ming Dynasty)
There is also a little story. A famous monk in the Liang Dynasty of the Southern Dynasties was called Zen Master Baozhi. Bury yourself here.
Zhu Yuanzhang discovered this geomantic treasure land and heard that only one person could prosper in this treasure land, so he moved the Zen master's tomb.
In the 14th year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered migrant workers to start building his own Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum. Queen Ma passed away in the second year after the construction started, so Queen Ma was buried in the Ming Xiaoling Tomb in advance.
Empress Ma was famous for her "kindness and filial piety" throughout her life. She pursued "ruling the world with filial piety" and was titled "Queen of Filial Piety, Kindness and Gao". Therefore, this mausoleum was named "Xiaoling".
More than 100,000 people were involved in the construction of Xiaoling Mausoleum in the Ming Dynasty. It was officially completed in the third year of Yongle, which took a full 25 years.
The Xiaoling Mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty covers an area of 1.7 million square meters and is also one of the largest mausoleums. The design of the underground palaces of the emperors of the Tang and Song Dynasties was referenced, and the entire building is magnificent.
The Xiaoling Mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty is equipped with all kinds of pavilions and pavilions. The whole mausoleum is surrounded by pines and cypresses, which are evergreen all year round. The cemetery as a whole is surrounded by mountains and rivers, and the environment is beautiful.
(Stone Statue of Xiaoling Mausoleum in the Ming Dynasty)
When the cemetery was first built, thousands of sika deer were kept free, and there were silver medal signs on every road, with the words "Those who steal will be punished with death" printed on them. of words. In order to protect the cemetery after its completion, more than 10,000 people were arranged to take care of the cemetery.
Ten years later, the Taiping Rebellion reached Nanjing, and the Xiaoling Tomb of the Ming Dynasty was almost destroyed. During the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, Zeng Guofan was ordered to repair the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum, so that the tomb of the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty could be restored.
To this day, the Xiaoling Tomb of the Ming Dynasty has gone through 600 years of wars. Except for some peeling of the wall paint, slight collapse of parts of the wall, and small cracks in some places, it has been well preserved without any damage. Of course, the treasures in the underground palace are also intact. So why was the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum able to survive these 600 years peacefully?
1. Special anti-theft measures
The Ming Xiaoling Tomb itself was transformed from a solid stone mountain, which is the Dulongfu mentioned above. The previous stone imperial mausoleums were built It is dug from top to bottom until a deep cave is opened, and then a mausoleum is built in this deep cave, and then the top is sealed after the construction is completed.
However, when the Xiaoling Tomb of the Ming Dynasty was built, it was cut horizontally into the mountain, hollowing out the interior to build a hanging palace, and then sealing the horizontal tomb passage. Such a building is extremely strong, and it would be impossible for grave robbers to rob the tomb from the top without explosives.
With such a horizontal cave design, the horizontal tomb passage is the only passage leading to the tomb. The position of this horizontal tomb passage has also been fully considered and repeatedly scrutinized. The entrance of the tomb passage is tilted to one side instead of on the other side. In the middle, after entering the tomb passage, the tomb passage is like a maze, winding and irregular, which also increases the difficulty for tomb robbers.
The most important thing is where the entrance to the underground palace is and how it was sealed. These are all a mystery. Tomb robbers can't find the entrance at all, let alone rob the tomb.
(Ming Xiaoling Tomb Guide)
Furthermore, the designer adopted the ancient quicksand anti-theft method, which is to artificially fill the top of the tomb with a layer of cobblestones. Once it is shaken, the cobblestones will It will roll down, and the pebbles rolling down may bury the thief alive. This is also one of the measures to increase theft prevention.
It can be seen that the design of Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum is perfect!
In order to prevent tomb robberies, there is another confusing thing: after Zhu Yuanzhang died, 13 funeral teams set off at the same time on the day of the funeral. These 13 teams have the same carriages, horses, number of people, and specifications. Except for a few people who know the inside story, no one knows which one has Zhu Yuanzhang in the coffin.