What kind of character is the Queen Mother of the West in Tomb Raider Notes?
The key point to solve all kinds of mysteries in grave robbery notes should be the mysterious country of Qaidam Basin, that is, the Queen Mother of the West.
In recent years, experts and scholars have studied the Queen Mother of the West more and more deeply, especially a large number of Kaga cultural tombs unearthed in eastern Qinghai. Experts pointed out that the Queen Mother of the West was a female leader of A Qiang who lived in Qinghai more than 3,500 years ago. As a result of this achievement, the main figure in the legend of the deification of Kunlun, the sacred Queen Mother of the West, was invited back from heaven to the beautiful Qinghai land where she and her people lived for thousands of years.
Kaga culture was named after it was first discovered in Kaga Village, Huangzhong County, Qinghai Province in 1923. "Kaga" is Tibetan, which means the flat land in front of the mountain pass. Kaga culture is the largest and most widely distributed local culture among all kinds of ancient cultural sites in Qinghai Province. It reflects the culture of the ancestors of Qiang and Rong tribes who lived and multiplied in Huangshui Valley in northeastern Qinghai more than 3,500 years ago in the Bronze Age. Some scholars who study the western motherland point out that the Qiang and Rong tribes in this period are the western motherland recorded in the history books.
In the past, many scholars and experts who studied the Queen Mother of the West also held the view that the Queen Mother of the West was from Qinghai. It is believed that the territory of the western motherland includes the vast area sandwiched between Kunlun and Qilian Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau today, and the grassland around Qinghai Lake and Qaidam Basin are its richest central areas. However, some scholars pointed out that the ancient kingdom of the Queen Mother of the West was the "national capital" at that time, just in Tianjun County, Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, west of Qinghai Lake.
These two statements are correct, because from the point of view of the Cayo cultural tombs found now, they are widely distributed from the banks of the Yellow River and Huangshui River at the junction of Gansu and Qinghai in the east, to the periphery of Qinghai Lake in the west, to the foot of Qilian Mountain in the north and to the north of Animaqing Mountain in the south, which shows that the territory of the western motherland was large at that time. However, it is debatable to say that the political center of the Western Queen Mother is in the Qaidam Basin, or that Tianjun County is the "national capital" of the Western Queen Mother.
According to archaeological statistics, since 1923, archaeologists have excavated more than 2,000 tombs of Cayo culture, but the most concentrated and densely distributed areas are Huangyuan, Huangzhong and Xining in Huangshui River Basin. It can be seen from this that this is the activity center of the Queen Mother of the West. Scholar Mr. Li also said in his book "The Hometown of Xishu and Qiang and Tibetan Culture": "The myth of the Queen Mother of the West originated from Kunlun Mountain, which is in today's Qinghai area. This area is the main residence of ancient frontier strongmen. "
According to archaeological data, among the cultural relics unearthed from the tombs of Cayo culture in various places, there are all kinds of utensils and pottery, as well as stone knives, axes, trowels, mortars, pestles and hammers, bone trowels, shovels, cones and copper knives, axes, chisels, sickles and trowels as production tools. These cultural relics only show the living conditions and production level of the people at that time. According to these cultural relics, we can do some analysis and research on the production and living conditions of people in the era of the Western Queen Mother, but we can't see any cultural relics reflecting the characteristics of the royal power of the Western Queen Mother. However, several bronzes unearthed from the tomb of Jiahe culture in Dahua Village, Huangyuan, let us clearly see the "dog playing with oxen and pigeons" symbolizing its power and the "bronze statue of the Yellow Emperor on all sides" symbolizing its authority and strength.
1983, archaeologists discovered the cemetery of Kaga culture period in Dahuazhuang Village, Huangyuan County, Qinghai Province. Therefore, the excavation team composed of Huangyuan County Museum and Qinghai Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Team cleared and excavated 1 18 tombs and two sacrificial pits, and unearthed more than 1000 pieces of cultural relics. During the excavation, archaeologists found that the cultural connotation of the funerary objects in this cemetery was quite different from that of similar tombs in other areas, and new contents appeared, so it was named "Kayue Culture Dahua Zhuang Type". However, there is no more detailed analysis and research on the cultural relics unearthed here.
The significance of the excavation in this cemetery lies in the excavation of two bronze pigeons. One of these two sticks is a lovely bird with round carved holes and decorative patterns on it, and the other one is magical: the stick pants are the neck of a pigeon, and the head of the stick is extremely long, with a beak and huge round eyes. What surprised me was not the deformed pigeon, but a group of circular carvings on the top of the pigeon: a cow was on the pigeon's head and a calf was nursing under the cow's stomach.
Looking at the pigeon's staff, the dog and cow standing on the pigeon's head immediately came to life in my mind: the naughty calf annoyed the shepherd and hid under his mother's stomach to feed. The shepherd refused to settle accounts. The cow glared at the shepherd and threatened him not to let the shepherd get close to his children ... The creator of The Dove's Staff Head combined romanticism with realism with high wisdom and rich imagination, and used his superb sculptures. A vivid picture of animal husbandry life more than 3500 years ago is displayed in front of us. These two pigeons tell us that as early as 3500 years ago, Qiang people put pigeons on the "scepter" representing the power of the king as a symbol of the power of tribal leaders. Some experts pointed out: "It is the common custom of many primitive peoples to carve the image of worshippers on totem poles, stand in the most eye-catching position in the living environment and pray for them to bless the peace of all ethnic groups. However, it is a derivative of the ancient custom of totem pole to decorate the image of admirer at the top of the pillar or the end of the scepter symbolizing its power and combine totem with daily life. "
Then, who is the owner of this "dog playing with ox and pigeon" and who has the right to hold this staff? Chen Qijun, a scholar, gave us a clear answer in the article The Queen Mother of the West, which belongs to their highest female leader-the Queen Mother of the West. At the same time, for the first time, Mr. Cheng also interpreted the bronze statue unearthed at the same time as the tomb group and named by archaeologists at that time as the four-sided bronze statue of the Yellow Emperor. I think this appraisal is of great significance, because it supports Mr. Cheng's assertion that Dahua Zhuang's tomb is the tomb of the Queen Mother of the West. If it is more precise, can it be said that it is bigger and stronger?
The excavation of the tomb of Kayo culture in Zhongzhuang, Huangyuan provides us with the golden key to solve the mystery of the political center of the Queen Mother of the West. From the precious cultural relics unearthed from this tomb group, we can draw a clear conclusion: the political center of the Western Queen Mother is not in the Qaidam Basin or Tianjun County in the west of Qinghai Lake more than 3,000 years ago, but in Huangyuan County under the Sun Moon Mountain.
Dahua, located in Huangyuan, is the widest area in Huangyuan and the richest pasture at that time. The fact that the king of a country was buried here after his death also shows that this is a rare land of geomantic omen.
There is another evidence, that is, we know from the data that 34 bronze mirrors were unearthed in Huangyuan Zhongzhuang Tomb Group at one time, and the number is amazing. The book was written in Huangdi Neijing during the Warring States Period. It is recorded that "the emperor and the Queen Mother of the West will meet in the palace, but they will cast twelve mirrors every month". In other words, the Yellow Emperor will cast twelve mirrors for the Queen Mother in his residence, so that the Queen Mother can use one mirror every month. However, there are so many bronze mirrors buried in Dahua Zhuang tombs that they far exceed the daily needs of the deceased. Obviously, it is not simple to be buried face to face as a bronze mirror. We know that the ancient Qiang people believed in primitive Shamanism at that time, and the bronze mirror was the most important prop in Shamanism. They can communicate with the gods with bronze mirrors, guide people into the sacred world, and eliminate evil souls to avoid hurting and treating human beings. Combined with the bronze statue of the "Four-faced Yellow Emperor" unearthed in the same place, did Huang Di really come to Huangyuan in the era of the Western Queen Mother and taught the craftsmen of the Western Queen Mother the craft of casting bronze mirrors?
As we know, the mother country of the west is a nomadic people who live on aquatic plants. They have a nest in winter and a nest in summer, and their characteristics still remain in the lives of Tibetan compatriots in Qinghai.
It is certain that there were houses in Kaga's home country during the cultural period. However, in the early days before Kaga culture, the mother country of the West was still in the cave stage, and its people looked for caves to hide their cattle and sheep. Erlang Cave in Tianjun County has been recognized as the stone chamber of the Queen Mother of the West since the Han Dynasty. There is not much controversy in academic circles, but the problem is that there is a cave in Erlang Cave near Erlang Cave, which is also occupied by the Queen Mother of the West. Where do her other officials and people live? Where are the other bedrooms of the Queen Mother, the Jade Palace and the Qionghua Palace? Where are the Queen Mother's "Alexandrine Room" and "Hanging Garden Palace"? Obviously, this Erlang Cave can't meet the needs of the Western Empress Dowager, officials and people. Therefore, if Tianjun area is the summer nest of the western people, then Erlang Cave is the temporary residence where the western mother lives during summer activities or inspections, or in today's words, it is a villa.
Since there are summer nests, there should be winter nests. So, where should their winter nest be? I thought it was in Huangyuan, the political center of the Western Queen Mother, east of Sun Moon Mountain. Recently, experts believe that Zongjiagou, located at the foot of Sun Moon Mountain, should be the best place for them to spend the winter and get together.
This is not only because of the beautiful scenery and many caves, but also very suitable for human habitation. Until now, these caves have been provided with the Eight Immortals of Taoism, or the "Chacha" of Tibetan Buddhism has been discovered, or they have been used as shelters by local people, and even become the best places for herding sheep. One hole can hold three or five hundred sheep. For this reason, it should be the best place for the queen mother, ministers and people to live. More interestingly, there are many legends about the Queen Mother of the West. Locals call the mountains in their territory "Suoge Day", which is said to be translated into Chinese, and "Suoge Day" means "everyone's grandmother". There used to be a Wang Yu Temple in Hacheng at the foot of Sun Moon Mountain. According to local legend, Dayu was here to control water. They couldn't stop the water, so they went to the "Suoge Day" mountain to find "everyone's grandmother" to borrow "possessions" to stop the water.
The local Tibetans fear this mountain and hold large-scale sacrifices every year. In Zongjiagou, there are more than 100 caves such as Wangmu Cave, Taoer Cave, Bodhisattva Cave and Shenxian Cave, and many caves are very large and spacious, which can accommodate more than 100 people, far exceeding the majestic Erlang Cave. The walls of these caves have been smoked by fireworks, and at first glance, there are traces of people living inside. Many caves can meet the needs of his ministers and people. Among them, the front of the Queen Mother Cave is large and spacious enough to accommodate thousands of people. In the spacious area in front of the cave a few hundred meters away from the entrance of the cave, there are several large stones lined up in a straight line, which gives people the impression that they are not naturally formed, and the traces of manual movement and placement are very heavy. Looking from here to the Queen Mother Cave, the Queen Mother Cave is high above, with an open entrance, a terrace in front and a big square below, which can't help but remind people of the scene when the Queen Mother met her people and held large-scale sacrificial activities here.