Ying capital refers to Jinan city. After the conquest of Tian Lei, it was burned, killed and plundered, which quickly made it a ruin, which has not been restored for more than two thousand years. The place of Qin and Han Dynasties, Phoenix Mountain in the southeast corner of Jinan City became the graveyard of nobles. In the 1970s, archaeologists excavated here and achieved a lot of research results.
Especially in 168 Western Han tombs, experts found many funerary objects. They include pens, ink, lacquerware, bronzes, pottery, bamboo, wooden figurines and so on. , the number exceeds 500 pieces. These precious cultural relics have important reference value for studying the history of the Western Han Dynasty. In addition, it is very surprising that the remains of the tomb owner are still relatively complete.
According to the bamboo slips in the tomb, the owner's name is Sui, and he enjoyed the title of "Five Doctors" in the Western Han Dynasty before his death. The titles of the Western Han Dynasty were divided into twenty grades, and the five husbands belonged to the ninth grade, which was also considered a middle-class aristocrat. No wonder there are so many funerary objects. Sui died in the 13th year of Emperor Wen, namely 167 BC. He was 2 142 years old when he was unearthed. The body is 1.66 meters long and weighs 52.5 kilograms. Skin and muscles are elastic and internal organs are intact, which is simply a miracle in the field of antisepsis.
Therefore, the study of ancient corpses has always been the focus of archaeologists. However, around Sui, there was a letter that made people laugh and saved their lives. The letter is written like this:
In May of 13th year, Cheng Gan, a native of Jiangling, told Underground Cheng: Who are the Five Heroes of Shiyang? Shao Yan, Da Nuliang and other 28 people, Da Deng 18 people, two chariots, one or two ox carts and four horses. Two horses and four horses can make officials engage in it and dare to sue the Lord.
Because there are two words on bamboo slips that are too old to be recognized, it does not affect their main meaning. It turns out that this is a letter written by the tomb owner to Yan. The letter told Yan that she had brought 28 guards, 18 maids, an ox cart, four stallions, two mares and four horses she rode. He also hopes that Yan can be merciful and let him find a part-time job underground.
No wonder the official standard thought has been immersed in China for thousands of years. The nobles who dominate the world, with some gifts, also hope to bargain with the underworld and still enjoy a ghostly life in that world. Archaeologists at that time couldn't help laughing when they saw this letter.
Actually, this letter is very particular. It is actually a "book about the earth". This is a common funeral appliance of Chu State in Qin and Han Dynasties. It is an instrument used to imitate real life and move the deceased when handling the funeral for the deceased. Simply put, it is equivalent to a tip-off to the dead and a tip-off to Yan.
According to modern people's point of view, this is of course absurd, but in China's long feudal society, due to the underdevelopment of science and technology and the fear of death, people inevitably need to look for spiritual sustenance, which is the hospice care for the dead and the comfort for the living. The publication of this book has played a very important role in the study of funeral culture and ancient etiquette.