The tomb of Wu Zetian's favorite and the first female official in Tang Dynasty, Shangguan Waner, was found in Xianyang.
Recently, Weibo, the official Sina official of Shaanxi Archaeological Research Institute, who is conducting archaeological research on this issue, released a set of photos and epitaphs inside the tomb to confirm the identity of the tomb owner. The reporter contacted the project leader Li Ming again and found that behind more information, there were more and more mysteries and interesting topics about Shangguan Waner, a legendary figure.
The tomb of Shangguan Waner was seriously damaged. Who did this? Who is the remains in the grave? What exactly does the epitaph say?
Luxury tomb system
Even bigger than the tomb of Prince Zhang Huai.
The panoramic view of the tomb, the niche being cleaned and the three photos published in the epitaph unearthed yesterday make Shangguan Waner's tomb gradually clear.
This ancient tomb of the Tang Dynasty with five courtyards was actually discovered as early as June this year. At that time, Shaanxi Institute of Archaeology was conducting archaeological exploration on the construction land of the South Avenue project of Airport Xincheng Park in Xixian New District.
It is about 25 kilometers away from the ruins of Chang 'an City in Tang Dynasty. This area is an important burial area near Chang 'an, the capital from the late Northern Dynasty to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, which is very close to the Tang Shunling of Yang's mother, Tang Wu Zetian.
At the beginning of August, the archaeological team officially began to excavate the tomb. It was not until recently that the epitaph was unearthed that the owner of the tomb was Shangguan Shi, namely Shangguan Waner, a female official and poet in the Tang Dynasty.
According to the information disclosed at present, Shangguanshi Tomb faces south, with a total length of 36. 5 meters, depth 10. 1 meter.
Li Ming told the reporter: As a female official, the specifications of these five patios are already among the highest grade.
There are only four wells in the tomb of Prince Huai, the second son of Wu Zetian.
Mystery 1:
What is the official destruction of the tomb?
However, such a high-grade tomb was destroyed in a large area, which was not caused by ordinary grave robbery. It should be a large-scale organized destruction, and it is likely that the official destruction of the ancient tomb.
The official destruction of the mausoleum is the most surprising point in this disclosure.
How to judge that it is not a personal grave robbery? Li Ming's reply is: there is no hole stealing.
In order to avoid landslides and hide their secrets, ordinary grave robbers often only dig a 5060 cm stolen hole, but only a pit much larger than the ordinary stolen hole was found in Shangguan Waner's tomb area, which has seriously damaged two back beam patios, together with tunnels and graves.
Such a blatant act of destroying a tomb is not like what a grave robber would do, so we speculate that it may be an official act.
Li Ming said that as for what happened, it is not easy to judge at present. Anyway, it doesn't look like a private impromptu grave robbery.
In this regard, Yu Gengzhe, a professor at the School of History and Culture of Shaanxi Normal University, speculated that it should be the result of deliberate destruction after burial, perhaps the intention of witchcraft or the inspiration of Li Longji. Li Longji's attitude towards Wan'er is very subtle. He killed her first, and then organized people to compile the collected works of Guan Waner. How to evaluate this talented woman in Xuanzong period is estimated to have an answer in the epitaph.
However, Chen Zhijian, a professor of history at Zhejiang University, gave another possibility: the official destruction of the tomb may be a large-scale theft of the royal tombs of the Tang Dynasty by the military valve at the end of the Tang Dynasty. But since I haven't seen the scene, it's just my guess.
Mystery 2:
What does the thousand-word epitaph say?
In the photo, a celadon epitaph placed in the tomb looks quite complete and refreshing.
What is an epitaph? Epitaph refers to the stone carvings engraved with the life stories of the deceased in the tomb. Generally divided into two layers, the upper layer is called the cover, the lower layer is called the back cover, the back cover is engraved with the chronicle, and the cover is engraved with the title.
Judging from the photos, there are nine words on the epitaph, which clearly shows the identity of Zhao Rong Shangguan Shi, the deceased in the Tang Dynasty. Below the epitaph, there is an inscription in regular script with nearly a thousand words, which records more specific information such as Shangguan Waner's lineage, life, year of death and burial place.
Is an epitaph of 1000 words long? Not the most, but not a few.
Li Ming told reporters.
The life recorded in the epitaph is relatively simple, and the cause of death is consistent with the literature.
However, for the more specific epitaph content, Li Ming said that it is still being sorted out and studied, and a more detailed epitaph will be published by Shaanxi Institute of Archaeology in the near future.
Professor Chen Zhijian, who studies Tang Shi, described this strange girl in the prosperous Tang Dynasty as Little Wu Zetian. He said: In the Tang Dynasty, Shangguan Waner was the secretary of Wu Zetian.
Her life experience is very special. After her father Shangguan Yi was killed, she entered the palace as a maid, but she became the confidant of Wu Zetian, the enemy who killed her father. In some note novels, Shangguan Waner often appears as a talented woman, and her ability to appreciate poetry is superb.
However, the evaluation of her in history is not too high, unlike what is presented in many TV dramas now.
Chen Zhijian added.
Professor Chen Zhijian also said that he has been paying close attention to the progress of excavation, and I, like others, look forward to the further publication of the epitaph. Generally speaking, the discovery of the epitaph is relatively reliable, which may be a supplement to Shangguan Waner's records in history.
Mystery 3:
Are there any remains in the grave?
In addition, archaeologists said yesterday that no coffins were found during the excavation.
But just the day before, Professor Yu Gengzhe took the lead in publishing photos of the archaeological site, and wrote excitedly: Standing in the grave staring at the bones of Shangguan Waner, I was trembling and excited. I want to squat down and touch it, so I just forget about it.
As soon as this statement came out, many netizens were very excited, and even imagined whether Wan'er's appearance and figure could be restored by using modern 3D technology based on the remains. Netizens who have always been able to imagine in film and television dramas have said: I really want to see the true face of women!
However, this Weibo was quietly deleted yesterday, and our reporter also asked Li Ming for verification. He said: No body of Shangguan Waner was found. There's no sign of a coffin.
Two completely different versions make the mystery of the remains more and more confusing, and also arouse the curiosity of netizens.
In fact, the archaeological team only found bones smaller than human palms. Due to the long time and serious injury, it is impossible to see which part of the body bone it is. We can't jump to the conclusion that this is the skeleton of Shangguan Waner, and it may not even be a human bone.
Li Ming said that the whereabouts of Shangguan Waner's bones may become a permanent mystery.
At present, the archaeological excavation is still in progress, and experts are studying and demonstrating the relevant issues of the tomb.
In addition to further research by researchers, these mysteries we mentioned will be published in detail by Shaanxi Institute of Archaeology in the near future, and this newspaper will also send special reporters to report the follow-up progress on the spot.