The underground palace under the seal of Qin Shihuang's mausoleum is about 30 meters deep from the present surface. There is an approximately square underground wall around the underground palace. As for the situation in the underground palace, Sima Qian recorded it in Records of the First Qin Emperor: "At the beginning of the emperor's accession to the throne, he penetrated Mount Li and melted into the world. More than 700,000 people were sent to the world, and after three springs, they went down to Tongquetai and pulled out the shackles. The scenery of the palace is full of strange things. Let the craftsman make a crossbow, and people who wear it at close range need to shoot it. Take mercury as a hundred rivers and seas, and instill it by machine. There is astronomy above and geography below. Taking mermaid cream as a candle will last for a long time. " In other words, the underground palace of Qin Shihuang's mausoleum is like Xianyang Palace in Qin Dynasty, with hundreds of officials in it. The roof of the underground palace is built with carved stones and pearls to mark the sun, moon and stars, and the ground also marks all rivers with mercury. Moreover, in this underground palace where countless exotic animals and articles are buried, there are candles made of mermaid cream (said to be a quadruped fish that looks like a human in the East China Sea) burning endlessly, making the underground palace look like a day all year round. In order to prevent grave robbers from entering, craftsmen made a magical secret crossbow in the underground palace. When the grave robbers approached the tomb door, they were shot outside the tomb.
Because the underground palace was not excavated, Sima Qian's description could not be confirmed. However, in February of 198 1 year and May of 1982, geologists conducted two tests on the underground palace with modern instruments, which proved that there was a strong abnormal mercury reaction in the underground palace, with an area of 12000 square meters and a slightly geometric distribution. This confirms Sima Qian's record of "taking mercury as a hundred rivers and seas". After the Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses were unearthed, after more than ten years of efforts by multidisciplinary scientists, part of the mystery of the underground palace of Qin Shihuang's mausoleum was gradually solved.
According to archaeological investigation data, the upper point of the underground palace of Qin Shihuang's mausoleum is approximately square. The underground palace wall was found at a depth of 2.7-4 meters from the present surface. The palace wall is 392 meters wide from east to west and 460 meters long from north to south, with a total area of about 6,543,800 square meters. Such a tomb is unique in Chinese and foreign history. The palace wall is about 4 meters high and 4 meters wide, and is made of unfired bricks. There are doors on all sides of the palace wall, five in the east and three in the other 1. The underground palace under the seal is about 30 meters deep from the present surface. The place where the coffin is placed is called Xuan Palace, which is the core of the underground palace and undoubtedly located in the center of the palace wall.
In a word, this magical underground palace, like the palace before Qin Shihuang's death, continues to place his "eternal" wish in the underground kingdom.
Was the mausoleum of Qin Shihuang stolen?
The mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor is famous for its magnificent scale and unprecedented burial. Everyone who cares about the mausoleum of Qin Shihuang is very concerned about whether it was stolen. Judging from the whole ancient history of China, the last years of each dynasty were the most chaotic period, with the hegemony of the pack, bandits rampant and the whole society in anarchy. This is a good time for grave robbers to dig graves, and almost all tombs of past dynasties were stolen at this time.
Xiang Yu's Destruction of Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum
According to historical records, after Xiang Yu led his army into Guanzhong, he first killed Prince Ying of Qin and the nobles of Qin royal family who had surrendered to Liu Bang, then plundered Xianyang City and finally set it on fire. Then, Xiang Yu led his troops to the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, and ordered the soldiers to dig the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor and carry away everything that could be seen up and down the Mausoleum. At that time, there were 300,000 people carrying things, which have not been shipped for more than 30 days, showing the richness of treasures in the mausoleum. Finally, Xiang Yu set fire to what he couldn't walk, and it burned for many days. This may be the earliest and most destructive disaster in Qin Shihuang's mausoleum.
After Xiang Yu's eastward expedition, thieves from Kanto poured into the mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor. It is said that the bronze coffins in the mausoleum were destroyed to get copper. Later, it was said that a shepherd boy was herding sheep here. The sheep went into an underground cave dug by the rebels and could not be found. The shepherd boy took the torch and went into the grave to look for the sheep. The result was a fire, which lasted for more than 90 days. It is said that with the collapse of some burial pits and graves, the ground of dozens of miles in Fiona Fang Mausoleum Area has also sunk several meters. In this way, the ground buildings of Qin Shihuang's mausoleum disappeared, and the underground tombs were also damaged to some extent. These records are supported by today's archaeological discoveries. Almost all burial pits and graves found in Qin Shihuang's mausoleum were damaged by theft and fire.
After four years of Chu-Han War, Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu and established the Western Han Dynasty. In order to win the hearts of the people, in BC 195, Liu Bang ordered the proper protection of the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang, and arranged for 20 families to live near the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang as cemetery keepers to look after the Mausoleum. Since then, successive rulers have also ordered the protection of the imperial tombs of the Qin Dynasty. In the third year of Kaibao in Song Taizu (AD 970), Lintong County was ordered to protect and repair the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor. Bi Yuan, the governor of Shaanxi Province in the Qing Dynasty, also erected a monument for the mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor.
However, the rich tombs of Qin Shihuang's mausoleum will inevitably arouse the covet of people from all walks of life. According to records, the Red Eyebrow Uprising Army at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Schleswig, Shi Jilong, the rulers of Wei, Jin and Hou Zhao, and the Huang Chao Uprising Army at the end of the Tang Dynasty all robbed the tomb of the first emperor.
The underground palace may not have been stolen.
Two bronze chariots and horses unearthed are located in the ear room of Xiling, the underground palace under the wall of Qin Shihuang's mausoleum. According to historical records, the underground palace of Qin Shihuang's mausoleum was taken away by fire. If that's the case, the funerary objects beside the tomb should be destroyed first. However, the bronze chariots and horses were not destroyed by fire before they were unearthed, which also provided circumstantial evidence that the underground palace was not stolen and burned. For more than ten years, archaeologists have carried out detailed drilling work around the mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, drilling more than 40,000 exploration holes. According to the drilling data, there is a 4-meter-thick palace wall around the underground palace of Qin Shihuang Mausoleum, which is also made of bricks, and several tunnels leading to the underground palace have been found. There are no signs of human disturbance and destruction in the tunnels. Only two stolen caves with a diameter of 1 m and a depth of less than 9 m were found, but both caves were far away from the underground palace and had not yet entered the underground palace of Qin Shihuang's mausoleum. In addition, the fact that there is a lot of mercury in the underground palace of Qin Shihuang's mausoleum is strong evidence that it has not been stolen. Because once the underground palace is stolen, mercury will evaporate along the stolen hole. It can be inferred from the above reasons that the underground palace of Qin Shihuang's mausoleum may not have been stolen. With the application of the latest scientific and technological means, the truth of whether the underground palace was stolen or burned will be revealed to the world.