Xixia was a feudal regime established by the Tangut. From 1038 to 1227 190, it confronted the Northern Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty successively. According to the cultural relics obtained by archaeologists from the excavation of No.8 Mausoleum of the Imperial Tomb from 1927 to 1975, combined with the records in relevant historical books, we can know that Xixia Kingdom is a relatively strong feudal dynasty in northwest China, with strict political system, relatively complete laws and unique Xixia characters.
The scope of Xixia Mausoleum is about 4 kilometers wide from east to west and about 10 kilometers long from north to south. In this cemetery with an area of about 40 square kilometers, eight tombs and more than 70 attached tombs are arranged in chronological order from south to north according to the mountain situation, forming a neat tomb group. Each tomb covers an area of about10,000 square meters, and all the stones in Helan Mountain are abandoned and built with rammed earth. Initially, they all had their own ancillary buildings, such as Quemen, Monument Pavilion, Moon City, Inner City, Sacrifice Hall, Inner and Outer God Walls and Turret. Because of the age, the ancillary buildings of each mausoleum have been destroyed, and the unique main body of the mausoleum still stands tall, showing people the historical features of the Xixia Kingdom, so it is called "the pyramid of China".
Visitors who have visited the Western Xia Mausoleum will not only fully appreciate the features of the Western Xia, but also think carefully and find that many questions remain in their minds like mysteries, which are difficult to solve.
One of the questions is why the eight Western Xia Tombs have not been destroyed. The annex of the tomb has been destroyed, but the main body of the tomb built of rammed earth stands tall. According to chronological calculation, the earliest tombs are about 900 years ago, and the latest tombs are more than 700 years ago. In such a long time, many masonry buildings collapsed due to wind and rain erosion, not to mention rammed earth buildings. Some people think that the original ancillary buildings around the mausoleum protected the main body of the mausoleum from wind and rain. And those ancillary buildings, some long gone, it is difficult to talk about the role of protecting the main body of the tomb. Some people think that the mausoleum is at the eastern foot of Helan Mountain, and Helan Mountain in the west is the natural barrier of the mausoleum, which blocks the invasion of northwest wind. However, the main body and ancillary buildings of the tomb are also blocked by Helan Mountain. Why is the annex destroyed and the main body of the tomb safe and sound?
The second question is, why doesn't grass grow on the grave? The eastern foot of Helan Mountain is rich in pasture, and there are many good places for herders to graze their cattle and sheep around the tomb of Xixia, but nothing grows on the tomb. Some people say that the mausoleum is made of rammed earth, hard and smooth, and will not grow grass. But stones are harder than soil. As long as there is a slight crack, grass seeds fall and grass can grow. Isn't there even a crack in the mausoleum? Some people say that when the mausoleum was built, all the soil was fumigated and lost the nutrients that allowed weeds to grow, so the grass could not grow. But can fumigation last for nearly a thousand years? There will inevitably be floating soil with grass seeds blown by the wind on the mausoleum. These eluvial soils are not fumigated. Why can't grass grow?
The third question is why there are no birds on the tomb. Northwest China is vast and sparsely populated, and there are more birds and animals than densely populated places, especially crows and sparrows with strong fertility, which can be seen everywhere. Crows landed on the backs of cattle and sheep, trees and various buildings. Sparrows land in all places where they can rest. But they just don't fall on the grave. Some people think that the tomb is bare and there is nothing to eat, so there are no birds. But there is nothing to eat on some bare stones or dead branches. Why do a large group of crows and sparrows often fall down? Birds also know that feudal emperors have authority and dare not offend them casually?
The fourth problem is that the layout of Xixia tomb is somewhat puzzling. The tombs are arranged from south to north according to chronological order or imperial generation, but the arrangement of the specific location of each tomb seems to reflect some pre-designed plans. If you look down from the sky, it seems to be a figure. Some people say it may be based on gossip, while others say it is arranged according to geomantic omen. However, the time difference between the death of the earliest king and the death of the last king is nearly 200 years. How can I determine my position according to gossip? Who could have predicted in advance that Xixia Congress would pass on the throne for eight generations? Besides, Xixia was founded by the Tangut, a branch of the ancient Qiang people. They also worship gossip. Do they believe in Feng Shui?