Is it possible that because of deep love and reluctance, Tang Xuanzong secretly buried Yang Guifei in this tomb after her death and carried out a grand burial? This speculation, while bold, has some basis. According to historical records, a year after Yang Guifei's death, someone tried to relocate her body, but only a sachet was found, but no bones were found. Why is this happening? One legend is that Yang Guifei did not really die, but faked her death, and the bones did not actually exist, and she herself went to Japan. However, it is also possible that Yang Guifei really died, but Tang Xuanzong may have secretly taken her body away and carried out a secret burial.
However, experts generally agree that this assumption is almost impossible to hold. First of all, the scale of this tomb is very large, and it is obviously not a place where you can secretly bury it. Secondly, after the Ma Weipo incident, Li Heng ascended the throne as Tang Suzong, and Li Longji became the emperor, and he no longer had the right. And the mastermind behind the Ma Weipo incident is Li Heng, how could he bury Yang Guifei in this situation?
Therefore, Yang Guifei can almost be ruled out of the possibility of the owner of the tomb. So, who exactly is the owner of this huge tomb? This mystery will require more research and investigation to unravel.
To fully unravel the mysterious identity of the tomb's owner, more evidence needs to be found. In 2008, a team jointly formed by the Shaanxi History Museum and the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology carried out a rescue excavation of the Pang Liutang tomb unearthed from the stone coffin.
However, to everyone's surprise, it wasn't long before a shocking scene took place at the scene.
In the royal tombs of the Tang Dynasty, there was a rectangular earthen pit called "patio". A total of seven "patios" appear in this tomb. What does this mean? If we believe that the appearance of the stone coffin indicates that it was a royal tomb, then these seven "patios" indicate that it was a standard imperial tomb. According to the importance of the social status of the Tang Dynasty, especially the hierarchy of the mausoleum, it can be determined by the number of "patios". For example, the tomb of Princess Yongtai, which has been excavated, has six "patios", and the imperial concubine of Shangguan Wan'er's tomb has five "patios", which are in line with the regulations. However, the tomb has seven "patios", and it is only the queen who is buried with a woman.
According to common sense, the time background of the tomb is in the Kaiyuan and Tianbao years, and the answer should be quickly found by consulting the list of queens of Tang Xuanzong. But the appearance of the seven "patios" has made the identity of the tomb's owner a mystery.
According to historical records, Tang Xuanzong did have a queen surnamed Wang, and she was recorded as a courageous and knowledgeable woman in the "Zizhi Tongjian". She assisted Tang Xuanzong in retaking the country, including the rebellious Empress Wei. However, once Tang Xuanzong stabilized the state power, the relationship between husband and wife, who had fought side by side, also had major problems.
At that time, there was a concubine Wu Hui in the harem, she was deeply favored by Tang Xuanzong, and Queen Wang began to be jealous. She often slandered Concubine Wu Hui in the court, and Tang Xuanzong tolerated it for a while, but after a long time, he began to feel that the queen was narrow-minded and unsuitable to be a mother. However, it happened that at this time, Queen Wang made a serious mistake.
For a long time, the queen has not been able to have children. She longs to win back her husband's heart, and especially hopes to give birth to a prince. In order to ensure the birth of a prince, she was forced to resort to witchcraft, but this was a taboo because the use of witchcraft was forbidden in the royal palaces of all generations. What's even more unfortunate is that someone whistleblower caused Li Longji to be extremely angry and issued a decree to depose the queen. Therefore, it can be determined that the owner of the tomb could never have been the queen Wang.
Tang Xuanzong was a merry emperor who did not hesitate to take away his daughter-in-law to marry him, but since he deposed Empress Wang, no new empress has been ordained. So, who exactly is buried in this tomb?