Are there ancient tombs in Chongqing?

Yes

In Chongqing’s more than 3,000 years of civilized history, not much was left by the ancients. After countless changes in the city’s capital, the king’s flag was destroyed and burned. , coupled with the city expansion storm that has prevailed in recent years, the few remaining cultural relics on the ground have been blown away. Only the ancient tombs, buried deep underground, survived.

Banan District: The largest number of ancient tombs

The latest survey found that there are more than 1,400 in the main urban area of ​​our city. As early as 1987, in the census of the cultural relics department, it was found that the original tombs were There are 1,067 ancient tombs in Ba County, Chongqing, accounting for more than 80% of the entire main city. Later, the zoning was adjusted and Ba County became Banan District. The area was greatly reduced, and the number of ancient tombs was also reduced. There were only more than 500, but in terms of number, it still ranked first in the main city.

Most of the ancient tombs in Banan are on rocks. During the Eastern Han Dynasty 2,000 years ago, the ancients took a fancy to Tiaoshi Town, Shilong, Shengdeng Mountain and other geomantic treasures. Drill holes in the rock to create burial chambers. Maybe most of the people living in this area are poor, and the tombs are generally small, usually only 2 meters long, 1 meter wide, and 1 meter high. There are not many things buried in the tomb. Only simple patterns such as lotus and peony are carved on the stones, or some pottery is buried with them. But gold, silver, copper, jade and other things are rarely found.

This kind of ancient tombs on rocks are called cliff tombs by experts, and they account for more than half of the ancient tombs in Chongqing. In some places, everyone thinks that Feng Shui is good, and people crowd here after death. There are often dozens of tombs on a cliff, forming a group of cliff tombs. There are more than 120 ancient tombs in the cliff tombs in Baishi Village, Banan District. Unfortunately, most of these tombs have been disturbed, "It is estimated that 80% of them were done by tomb robbers!"

There is a lack of ancient tombs of famous people in Banan District. The only celebrity tomb was built in modern times. The tomb of Mr. Yang Cangbai, the former Chairman of Sichuan Province (Republic of China), is located in Mudong. It was destroyed during the "Cultural Revolution" and rebuilt in 1984.

Jiangbei District: The only emperor’s tomb

There are currently 31 ancient tombs discovered in Jiangbei District. But the tomb of Emperor Mingyu of the Great Xia Kingdom elevated the status of the ancient tombs in Jiangbei. This is the only emperor's tomb in Chongqing.

Mingyu’s tomb is located in Jiangbei City, inside the former Chongqing Weaving Factory, only about 500 meters away from the Chongqing Opera House under construction. When Jiangbei City implemented the overall development two years ago, all units were demolished and only three cultural relics were preserved. Mingyu Zhen's Tomb was one of them.

In 1982, the Chongqing Weaving Factory was renovating a house and dug out a coffin - more than 3 meters high, divided into an inner coffin and an outer coffin, which was relatively majestic. Everyone was so excited that they accidentally smashed the top coffin board and tore the dragon robe. Later, the coffin was opened and treasures such as gold cups and silver ingots were found inside. There is also a "Xuan Palace Stele" with 1,004 characters engraved on it, recording the emperor's great achievements. This stele corrects and makes up for some errors and deficiencies in historical records. The stone tablet is currently kept in the Three Gorges Museum, and the coffin is still in Jiangbei City. Later generations rebuilt the house with red walls and blue tiles and became the "Mausoleum of Emperor Ming Yuzhen".

Ming Yuzhen was originally from Hubei. She rose up in an uprising at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. She was once a subordinate of Xu Shouhui. She later established the Daxia Kingdom in Chongqing. She died of illness soon after and her country was weak. In addition, the Ming Dynasty believed in frugality and was reluctant to bring out more good things for burial, so there were fewer cultural relics in the tomb.

Yubei District: Stupa Tombs

There are 202 ancient tombs in Yubei District. They are all ordinary, mostly cliff tombs on rocks, and the burials are mostly ordinary people from the Eastern Han Dynasty or the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Only the stupa tombs in Shizikou Village, Shuitu Town, and the Prince Consort Tomb in Yuanyang Town are more famous.

The base of the tomb of the stupa is beautifully carved with lotus flowers. Unfortunately, it has been damaged and no longer exists. Among the four ancient tombs under the tower, one has been destroyed, but the others are in good condition.

The Prince Consort Tomb in Yuanyang Town was built in the Ming Dynasty. The son of a heavenly official got engaged to the princess and became the Prince Consort. But he died before he could get married. Later, they were buried together and built this ancient tomb.

Twenty-eight ancient tombs were discovered in Jiulongpo District, concentrated on the cliff near Huayan. On Shangxin Street in Nan'an District, there used to be five ancient stone tombs in the former telecommunications bureau dormitory. In addition to carving lotus flowers and peonies on the stone wall, the owner of the tomb also left two copper coins.

Chongqing was historically a peripheral area, far away from the center of Chinese civilization. The quantity and quality of ancient tombs are definitely not as good as those in Luoyang, Henan, or the ancient capital of Xi'an. But there are also a lot of ancient tombs in Chongqing, with at least 10,000 in the city.