In front of Wu Zetian's tombThe mystery of the headless stone man was solved by the peasants
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In November 705, the only empress in history, Wu Zetian, died of illness in Shangyang Palace, and Tang Zhongzong buried it in Qianling in accordance with Wu Zetian's will, and was buried with Tang Gaozong Li Zhi.
Qianling is the only mausoleum in the 18 tombs of the Tang Dynasty that has not been stolen, but there are 61 headless stone figures outside its mausoleum, which have plagued people for thousands of years. It wasn't until 1971 that the mystery was revealed by the two farmers.
In the Qianling Mausoleum, the most eye-catching of the many burial goods is the more than 120 giant stone carvings. These stone carvings come in a variety of forms, including animal and human figures, of which there are 61 human figures, which are arranged on both sides of the Shinto outside the Suzaku Gate.
Initially, archaeologists were puzzled about the identity of the statues. Later, people were pleasantly surprised to find that there were inscriptions on the back of a very small number of stone carvings, which roughly recorded the name, official position and country of the stone statue.
Although the handwriting has been blurred after thousands of years of wind and rain, it is still legible"The Tocharian prince holds the Kadhargand"、"King Stole of Mujuhan"and so on.
Experts confirmed that the prototypes of these stone figures were actually vassals of the Tang Dynasty, and the ethnic minority costumes on their bodies also confirmed this. During the reign of Tang Gaozong and Wu Zetian, there were frequent exchanges between the Tang Dynasty and ethnic minorities, so the existence of such stone statues is expected.
Surprisingly, however, these statues do not have heads, only bodies. Did these statues have no heads when they were erected? Or did it fall off the stone man's head for various reasons later?
After in-depth research, archaeologists confirmed that the time of destruction of the stone statue should be after the Song Dynasty. First of all, the fracture of the neck of the stone statue is uneven and has different shapes, which is obviously caused by the impact of external forces.
Secondly, there are records of the Song Dynasty's visit to this place, and the head of the stone statue was still there at that time, which further confirms that the time of destruction of the stone statue should be after the Song Dynasty. There are different opinions about the reason for the destruction of the stone statue.
Some people believe that it was destroyed during the invasion of China by the Eight-Nation Alliance, because foreigners were angry when they found that there were foreign envoys inside the stone statue, and they impulsively destroyed it.
Some people say that these stone statues were destroyed by the local people because of the plague incident during the Ming Dynasty. At that time, many people died of illness, and it was believed that it was a disaster caused by stone statues, so it was decided to smash their heads.
There is also a theory that these stone statues were destroyed by foreign envoys and local people in the late Ming Dynasty. Some foreign envoys came to visit Qianling and found that there were stone statues of his ancestors here, and they felt very ashamed.
He tries to hatch a ploy to put the blame on the stone statue. So, he sent his men to destroy the grain in the nearby fields at night, and instigated **, claiming that the stone statues were the cause of the trouble.
In the end, the plan succeeded, and the head of the stone statue was smashed off by the local people. We still don't have a definitive answer to these different claims.
There are two possible reasons for the decapitation of the stone statue, the first of which is a long-standing rumor. In fact, the Ming Dynasty poet Li Mengyang once mentioned in the poem that the Qianling stone statue had broken hands and broken branches, which shows that as early as the Ming Dynasty, the stone statue had been damaged.
At that time, the Shaanxi region was ruled by the Jin and Yuan dynasties, and these two generations of regimes were established by ethnic minorities, so it is more likely that they damaged the stone statues. However, this argument is also untenable, because if ethnic minorities wanted to destroy the statues, they would have destroyed the entire statues, especially those with their own styles, rather than just cutting off their heads.
Therefore, the research of experts on the cause of the decapitation of the stone statue is in a difficult situation.
After discovering clues in the literature, they confirmed the possibility that there was a strong ** in the area of Huaxian County, Shaanxi Province in 1555. **It may cause damage to the stone statue, the stone statue has a thin neck and special materials, which may be the reason for the stone statue head to fall.
Although the documents and the fracture of the neck of the statue cannot be absolute evidence that the statue ever had a head, in order to prove it, the head of the statue must be found. For this reason, the experts searched for a long time, but did not find it.
Surprisingly, however, it was the two farmers who finally solved the problem. In 1971, while working in the fields, they accidentally dug up a beautiful stone human head.
Shaanxi is a well-known province of ancient cultural relics, and many precious treasures are excavated from the ground. When a farmer finds a suspected antique, his first instinct is to hand it over to the county cultural management committee.
The staff of the Cultural Management Committee quickly thought of the stone statue in Qianling and tried to match the stone head with the stone statue. Amazingly, this idea was successfully realized on a stone statue at the back.
As a result, the mystery of the "61 headless stone statues in front of the Qianling" was finally solved. One might think that such coincidences are very rare, after all, even ** cannot accurately make the head of the stone figure fall off.
But in fact, when the stone statue is shaking, the stress is concentrated in the more obvious neck area, which eventually leads to the fracture of the stone statue's neck, which is a very normal phenomenon. This is not only the case with portraits, but also with animal portraits.
The more than 60 animal statues we mentioned earlier also had some slender parts cracked, some were claws, some were heads, but in comparison, the stone figures were more densely fractured.
In addition to the stone statue, there is also a very famous thing in Wu Zetian's mausoleum, that is, the "wordless tablet". It is said that Wu Zetian has already said, "The merits and demerits are left to future generations to comment", so she deliberately set up a wordless monument to show her indifferent attitude.
So, what are the merits and demerits of this famous "Empress of the Ages" in history? Is she really as indifferent as she appears?
Wu Zetian, the first empress of the ages, has mixed reviews. Those who admire her call her the "Ancient Lai Mingjun" who can be compared to Tang Taizong. During her reign, she implemented a series of reforms, actively cracked down on the gate valves, liberated the slaves and maids, reused the children of the poor family, cracked down on the powerful landlords, eliminated the Guanlong gate valve and the subordinate tenant system of the meritorious group, eradicated the century-old family in one fell swoop, liberated the labor force, promoted the development of productive forces, protected the personal rights and interests of slaves and maids, limited the number of slaves and maids, strengthened the centralization of power, selected a large number of poor and poor, promoted the rise of the imperial examination bureaucracy, regularly sent the imperial history to inspect the localities, supervised the prefectures and counties, and recommended talents. These measures have effectively supplemented the imperial examination system.
During Wu Zetian's reign, he set up a system of inspection and actively listened to the voices of the people, regardless of the official position, he could directly write books, including suggestions for the government, self-recommendation for careers, and even reports**.
While the move has been lauded, it has also sparked some skepticism and criticism. Some people believe that Wu Zetian suppressed dissidents and imposed evil governance, such as killing Liu Yizhi who opposed her system in the Tang Dynasty; Some people believe that her slaughter of famous generals led to the Tang Dynasty's ineffectiveness in foreign wars, such as denigrating or killing Heizhi Changzhi, Wang Fangyi and others, and eventually led to the Turkic restoration of Mobei, the great victory of Tubo over the Tang army and the Khitan cholera camp and other events; It is also believed that she has been average in governing the country.
However, in any case, as the only female emperor in Chinese history, Wu Zetian's courage and determination, as well as her political, cultural and economic contributions, are worthy of our respect and learning.
When she was young, she supported the poor, suppressed the strong, and achieved many talents. However, as we get older, our insight and foresight seem to be gradually diminishing, resulting in the loss of many talents and the destruction of the country's political atmosphere.
In addition, the problem of bad money circulation that began in the Wu Zetian period continued to the Tang Xuanzong period, and even the famous minister Song Jing resigned because of it, which shows its drawbacks. Since all Wu Zetian's actions were based on the title of emperor, the selfishness of being a power strategist gradually replaced the public heart of a politician, which led to the emergence of various evil policies.
In general, the evaluation of Wu Zetian is mixed, praising her vision and intelligence, but also criticizing her selfishness and bad governance. To describe her in a poem, that is, "Heaven and earth are all working together, and heroes are not free."
For such a monarch, a nonchalant description does not seem appropriate, because her letting the stone statues of foreign envoys stand in the mausoleum is itself a sign of grandeur, showing her extreme thirst for power.
In the history of our country, like Wu Zetian, who else has a stone statue in the mausoleum?
1.Although there are only more than ten pairs of stone statues in the Song Dynasty, each pair is finely made and beautifully carved. 2.Although there are 18 pairs of stone statues in the Ming Ming Tombs, the Eastern Tombs of the Qing Dynasty and the Western Tombs, the number is relatively large, but due to the incomplete preservation, the integrity of the stone statues has been affected to a certain extent.
3.The number of stone statues in the mausoleum of Zhu Yuanzhang's parents is the largest, surpassing other mausoleums, which is amazing. 4.Some people may ask, isn't it said that there are more than 100 stone statues in the Qianling Tomb?
But in reality, the integrity of these statues may not be as good as other mausoleums.
In ancient history, stone statues were not only a symbol of imperial authority, but also played a role in fixing feng shui. It can be said that the stone statues are a microcosm of a period of history, and their existence allows us to get a glimpse of the past and witness the continuous development of the art of carving.
For example, those princes and ministers in ancient times were also keen to erect stone statues, but they did not dare to cross them due to the restrictions of etiquette. As for why the stone statues were neutral in the mausoleum, this is closely related to the art of carving and Feng Shui.
In fact, the stone statue is the embodiment of the majesty of the rulers of the feudal dynasty, and when the ceremony is held, the civil and military officials and honor guards must stand on both sides to show their majesty.
These powerful people paid attention to glory in life and also wanted to maintain their majesty after death, and stone statues were one of the ways they expressed their majesty. At the same time, the stone statue also has the function of fixing feng shui, so there are strict regulations in terms of regulation.
Generally speaking, they are all stone lions, stone elephants, stone horses, stone carvings, ministers and generals. The burial stone statues left over from history, although the craftsmanship may not be high, but they have extremely high historical research value, which can give us a glimpse of the style of the past era and witness the continuous progress of the carving process.
Just like Emperor Qianlong, in order to prove his filial piety, he built five pairs of stone elephants despite opposition, which also reflects people's love for stone statues at that time. In addition, the stone statue and the "terracotta warriors" accompanying the burial of Qin Shi Huang also have certain similarities, except that one is carved in stone and the other is made of clay.
Overall, stone statues are an important part of ancient Chinese history, and their presence not only represents the majesty of the feudal dynasty, but also bears witness to the development of the art of carving and Feng Shui.
Just like the headless stone statues of Qianling, although many of them are incomplete, they contain deep historical significance. In the process of studying these stone statues, we are actually also exploring Wu Zetian's time, and the two complement each other.
Without such physical evidence, our historical research can only remain theoretical, and such research may be uninteresting. Therefore, when archaeologists found the remnants of these headless stone statues, they were extremely happy.
Today, these headless stone statues still stand in the Qianling Tomb, after thousands of years of baptism, quietly guarding the relics of history. If you are interested in history, you might as well go to Qianling to see it in person, feel the weight of time up close, and appreciate the charm of the old times.