The mausoleum of the feudal emperor should be the most mysterious placeBecause apart from the members of the royal family and the construction staff, no one else will know what treasures are stored in the imperial tomb.
Although there are many treasures in the imperial tombs, it seems that the rulers of later dynasties do not covet the treasures in the imperial tombs of the previous dynasties. This is manifested in the fact that not only do they not dig up the graves of the previous dynasty, but also send special people to protect them.
In 195 B.C., Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, issued an edict"He and Qin Shi Huang guarded the tomb of 20 families, Chu, Wei, and Qi each 10 families, and Zhao and Wei Gongzi died 5 families each, so that their tombs were viewed".The meaning of this text is that Liu Bang wanted to "guard the tomb" for Qin Shi Huang and other monarchs of previous dynasties.
It was also from this year that the tradition of protecting the tombs of the previous emperors appeared in later dynasties. But here the question arises, why is it necessary to protect the tombs of the former dynasties? What was the purpose of Han Gaozu's doing?
First, it is based on political considerations. In ancient times, people had the idea that "death is like life". It is believed that after death, people still live the same life in the underworld as in the human world.
Therefore, the feudal kings believed that they would still rule after death, and the underworld they ruled at this time was their "imperial tomb". Therefore, they will build the imperial tomb extremely splendid and huge, and will also bring all the things they loved in life into it.
And for the people of later generations,The Imperial Tomb is a symbol of the political symbol of a dynasty, and the existence of the Imperial Tomb is to show the legitimacy of the rule of this dynasty, and "orthodoxy" was especially important for every king of ancient society.
Without legitimacy, the emperor's rule would cease to exist. Therefore, in the eyes of later rulers, once the imperial tombs of the previous dynasty are excavated, this is a denial of the rule of the previous dynasty, but it is also a denial of the rationality of inheriting the foundation of the previous dynasty.
In this way, the dynasty in his own hands will become an unorthodox existence. As a simple example, the Manchu nobles issued a statement after establishing power in Beijing, saying that the rule of the Ming Dynasty was overthrown by the traitor Li Zicheng, and that the Qing Dynasty entered the customs in time to drive out the traitors and stabilize the world.
Therefore, on the basis of inheriting the foundation of the Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty recovered the world through military exploits, so as to obtain legitimacy. To this end,The rulers of the Qing Dynasty also gave favor to the Ming Dynasty clans, using this means to win the hearts of the people in the world.
It can be seen that if the rulers of later generations do not show respect for the previous dynasty, it will arouse the resentment of the subjects, which will endanger the stability of the country's rule.
Second, it is based on feng shui considerations. In ancient times, most emperors would find a feng shui master before their death to find a place for themselves to rest after death.
Therefore, the feng shui sorcerer will calculate the specific location of the dragon vein for the emperor, and then will choose a site on the dragon vein to build an imperial tomb for the emperor.
Feng Shui believes that the dragon vein is a treasure of feng shui where water gathers qi and has excellent luckIf the emperor can be buried in such a place, he will be able to protect his descendants and protect the dynasty.
Once the imperial tomb that has already been built is excavated, it will definitely destroy the feng shui here. Therefore, if the dragon vein is artificially damaged, it will affect the balance of yin and yang between heaven and earth, which may also bring bad luck to one's own country.
Therefore, the rulers of later generations will abide by the feng shui pattern and will not offend the imperial tombs of the previous dynasties at will. According to historical records, in order to consolidate the rule of the country, Zhu Yuanzhang once ordered Liu Bowen to cut off other dragon veins outside the Zhu family.
In addition to this reason,The ancients also believed that the soul of a person is immortal after death, and this dead soul can affect the luck of the living. This is why the ancients would hold rituals to show respect for ghosts. Therefore, if the tomb of the former emperor is excavated, it will definitely offend the sleeping of the emperor of the previous dynasty, and in the eyes of the ancients, it will inevitably cause the revenge of these undead.
Therefore, the rulers of later generations will not touch the tombs of the emperors of the previous dynasties. Moreover, they will also arrange special guards to protect the safety of these imperial tombs, in case people with thieves destroy the imperial tombs of the previous dynasty and endanger the stability of their royal power.
In addition, the purpose of sending people to guard is to highlight the tolerance and generosity of the current rulers, so that they can capture the hearts of the people and maintain the long-term peace and stability of the country.
Third, it is out of consideration of human and financial resources. It is not a secret that the first emperor of the ages, Qin Shi Huang, is buried at the foot of Li Mountain, from ancient times to the present, so why has the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang not been opened after thousands of years? It's not that they don't want to open it, it's that they can't do it with the excavation technology they have.
In addition, when the emperor of the previous dynasty set up the imperial tomb, he would also install a lot of poisonous miasma hidden weapons in it, which was to prevent future generations of thieves from robbing the tomb here.
Using the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang as an example, a large amount of mercury was poured into this mausoleum. Mercury is a toxic metal and volatilizes easily in the air. The human body is poisoned when inhaling large amounts of mercury gas, which can affect the organs and central nervous system. Therefore, this will cause great difficulties in the excavation work.
In addition, in ancient times, there were no large excavators and explosives and other tools that are used today, and if they wanted to enter the tomb gate, they had to rely on manpower to dig the tomb door bit by bit. However, the tomb doors of ancient emperors were all huge stones, and it was very difficult to move them artificially.
In addition, the ancients would also follow different feng shui layouts when building imperial tombs. If you can't find the real tomb, you may not be able to find the main burial chamber where the treasures are stored, even if you dig the tomb from top to bottom. Moreover, it takes a lot of manpower and financial resources to dig through the imperial tombs buried deep in the ground.
Therefore, the rulers of later generations will not dig up the tombs of the former emperors. Of course, there is also the most critical point, that is, these later rulers do not want to see their descendants dig their tombs, so they also "lead by example" and do not move the tombs of the previous dynasties.