Cao Cao died in Luoyang in the first month of the 25th year of Jian 'an (220), and the coffin was transported back to Yecheng and buried in Gaoling, which is what Cao Cao said in his suicide note. Judging from a large number of poems left by scholars who paid their respects to Ye before the Tang Dynasty, many poets expressed their feelings in front of the Xiling Mausoleum in Tongquetai, Yecheng, but did not raise the question of the authenticity of the tomb. In the Song Dynasty, Cao Cao gradually became a traitor in people's minds, and Cao Cao's tomb also became the material evidence of people attacking Cao Cao's treachery, and fabricated the legend of "seventy-two suspected graves" after Cao Cao's death. Influenced by the public opinion that demonized Cao Cao, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms written by Luo Guanzhong, a writer at the end of Yuan Dynasty, also shaped Cao Cao into an artistic image of a treacherous man. Later, Pu Songling's Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio in the Qing Dynasty wrote that Cao Cao's tomb was in an underwater cliff outside Xuchang, and Chu Qingren took Jianxuan and continued to write that Cao Cao's tomb was under the Zhanghe River. , are folk rumors, there is no evidence of historical research, but it can be seen that people are interested in the mysterious and strange color of Cao Cao's tomb.
Although there have been various speculations and strange legends about the specific location of Cao Cao's tomb for more than 1000 years, it is not without traces. Through the study of historical documents and on-the-spot investigation, I think that Cao Cao's tomb may be located in the west of Wujiang urban and rural areas in Cixian County, Hebei Province, and in the south-central area of Yingxiang Township in Shi Chun, with an area of about 5 square kilometers. There are several reasons for putting forward the above viewpoint. The first basis is that Cao Cao himself had clear arrangements for burial before his death. In June of the 23rd year of Jian 'an (2 18), Cao Cao wrote a letter to arrange tombs: "The ancient burial must live in a barren land, and its governance is to guard the mausoleum to the west of Ximen Bao Temple. Because the height is a tomb, it is not a tree without a seal. Zhou Li: The land where burial people hold cemeteries. The princes were in the front, and the Qing doctors were in the back. The Han system is also called the tomb buried with the grave. Those who have made meritorious deeds should be accompanied by orders and widely used. " This decree clearly stipulates the conditions and standards for choosing the tomb site, which can be said to be the first-hand direct historical data for investigating Cao Cao's tomb. The second basis is that when Cao Cao was buried, his sons Cao Pi and Cao Zhi both wrote written historical materials describing the process of the funeral. Cao Pi wrote "Essay on Emperor Wu's Mourning for the Ancestors", in which Cao Cao's coffin was said to "abandon this palace and visit other mountains". It shows that Cao Cao was buried in a mountain nest in the hilly area of Xiye. Cao Zhi wrote "Wu Yi Di", which confirmed that Cao Cao was indeed buried in Xiling, and the funeral was carried out in full accordance with Cao Cao's instructions. When Cao Cao died, he wore his usual patched clothes without a seal. He just buried the silk rope with a seal, and the funerary objects were not carved. The best funerary objects are undyed pottery. Cao Pi's "Ce Wen" and Cao Zhi's "Bi Wen" are also extremely precious historical materials for investigating and studying Cao Cao's tomb, recording the historical documents when he buried Cao Cao. Thirdly, Lu Ji and Lu Yun, writers of the Western Jin Dynasty, provided important supporting historical materials. When Lu Ji was a writer, he saw Cao Cao's posthumous work in the historical archives of the Royal Secret Pavilion, which was revealed in the preface of his book "Hanging Wei Wudi". In his will, Cao Cao ordered him to be "buried in the western hills of Ye Zhi, near the Ximen Bao Temple, with no hidden treasure". He also ordered "handmaids and concubines to be diligent and serve them well." Put a six-foot bed on the platform, put up the tent to listen, and then go to the court to make a gift. On the 15th of every month, from morning till noon, you will go to the tent to be a geisha. You always climb the bronze sparrow terrace and see the tomb of Xiling. "This sentence is of great significance to determine the location of Cao Cao's tomb. Therefore, it can be correctly judged that Cao Cao's tomb is located in the west of Tongquetai, on the Ling Gang to the west of Yecheng, near Ximen Bao Temple. Lu Yun, Lu Ji's younger brother, once worked under Sima Ying in Yecheng. Lu Yun mentioned in his letter to Luji that there are "Zhang Sui and Wang Ranch" in Yecheng No.3 Station. Lu Ji and Lu Yun provided historical materials only 70 years after Cao Cao's death, which is very true. Fourthly, the poems left by Ye Wenren after Wei and Jin Dynasties pointed out Cao Cao's tomb. Xie Yi, a poet in the Southern Dynasties, wrote in his poem: "Xiling is shaded by trees, listening to songs." Shen Quanqi wrote in a poem in the Tang Dynasty: "Looking at Xiling at dawn, looking at Xiling at dusk. I hope not, the fifteenth of the month. "In the Tang Dynasty, Liu Yuxi wrote in his poem:" The pine and cypress branches in Xiling reflect the sun and retire from homesickness. "Where is the Xiling sung by Ye poets? Wang Bo, a poet in the early Tang Dynasty, wrote in his poems: "Looking at the northwest from the high platform, I shed tears at the pine trees. Wang Wu, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote in his poem: "Climb the Tongque Terrace in the north and look at the pine trees and Guo in the west. The ears are empty and the fields are deserted. "It seems that Cao Cao's tomb is located in Xiling, slightly northwest of Yecheng. Fifthly, according to the theoretical standards of geomantic omen in the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms Period, this area is the best place to choose a tomb site. Guan Ju, a late contemporary of Cao Cao, visited the grave in Qiu Jian with four elephants, namely Qinglong, Baihu, Suzaku and Xuanwu. There are barren hills in the north, streams in the south, Zhanghe River in the south, Taihang Mountain in the west and winding fields in the east. As a powerful minister in charge of Wang Wei, Cao Cao proposed a thin burial, but he would not be buried in grass. This can be seen from the tomb selection conditions and funeral ceremony ordered by Cao Cao two years before his death. When choosing a tomb site for Cao Cao, we should not only meet the conditions put forward by Cao Cao, but also consider the custom of taking photos of the tomb at that time. Sixth, the field investigation shows that this area is an ideal place to choose the burial site. This is the best station in the cemetery on the west side of Yecheng. Ximen Bao Temple is also located in this place. The terrain here is open, which meets Cao Cao's requirements of accommodating meritorious ministers before and after the tomb. During the Northern Dynasties, the northeast area was the tomb area of Xiling in the Eastern Wei Dynasty, indicating that this area was suitable for the construction of imperial tombs.
In the south of Cao Cao's tomb area, about 1 km south of Shangqiyuan Village in Ying Township, Shi Cun (this place belongs to the northwest of Xigaoxue Village in Anfeng Township, Anyang County, Henan Province, and is only separated from Shangqiyuan Village by a Zhanghe River), an epitaph of the post-Zhao period of Sixteen Countries was found. This epitaph is made of bluestone, with a length of 30 cm and a width of 20 cm. The epitaph is 120 characters. I have visited the place where the epitaph was unearthed three times. This is the earliest unearthed cultural relic indicating the specific location of Cao Cao's tomb. The excavation site is in the West Garden of Ximen Bao Temple in the southwest of Yecheng. However, there are still many doubts about this epitaph. First, there is no tomb in Cao Cao's tomb, which is "a tomb because of its height, and there is no artificial marker on the surface." Therefore, Cao Cao's tomb described in the epitaph is likely to come from folklore, and according to legend, it is worth considering as a definite tomb site of Cao Cao. Secondly, this epitaph was not unearthed in the tomb, but was found in the wall of a brick kiln borrow pit on a high ground on the south bank of Zhanghe River. None of the markers mentioned in the epitaph can determine the exact location. If the tomb of Cao Cao mentioned in the epitaph has been stolen and dug, it should be recorded in historical documents, but until now there is no credible historical record of digging Cao Cao's tomb. If Cao Cao's tomb with inaccurate evidence has been excavated, it is doubtful that the owner of the tomb is Cao Cao. Thirdly, the epitaph was unearthed in the shade of Zhanghe River, which was taboo for Xiangmu after Wei and Jin Dynasties. According to the tomb standards of Qinglong, Baihu, Suzaku and Xuanwu used at that time, Xuanwu is north, and the northwest area of Xigaoxue Village unearthed from tortoise elephants and hilly landforms does not have this condition. Fourth, the location where the epitaph was unearthed is not a "barren land". Cao Cao once built water conservancy projects and patio weirs here, and the irrigation conditions were good. It is a relatively rich place, which does not meet the standard of being buried in a "barren land" ordered by Cao Cao. Fifth, the epitaph was unearthed near Zhanghe River in the north, and many ministers and generals buried with him could no longer be buried, which is also inconsistent with Cao Cao's will. In my opinion, Cao Cao's tomb should be located in the west of Wujiang Town, and Lu Qian's epitaph was unearthed in the southern edge of Cao Cao's tomb area, so it is unlikely that Cao Cao's tomb will be in this area. However, the epitaph conveys a historical and cultural message to us, that is, in the post-Zhao period of the Sixteen Kingdoms, there was a folklore of Cao Cao's tomb here. The epitaph also shows that the location of Cao Cao's tomb in the West Garden of Ximen Bao Temple in Xiye is good.
Recently, with the Qin Shihuang Mausoleum using modern high-tech means to find out the location of the underground palace, people have a strong interest in the question of where Cao Cao's tomb is. Some enthusiastic friends also suggested to me to explore Cao Cao's tomb by modern high-tech means. I think there's something to explain here. There are some differences between Cao Cao's tomb and Qin Shihuang's tomb. The wall of Qin Shihuang's mausoleum is very high, and there are no landmarks on the ground, so it is more difficult to find Cao Cao's tomb. In addition, Cao Cao's tomb is located in an area where many ancient emperors and courtiers are buried underground because the terrain is very suitable as a mausoleum. During the Northern Dynasties, tombs of the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi Dynasties were located here. Therefore, among so many underground tombs, it is not easy to judge Cao Cao's tomb by modern high-tech means. How can we make Cao Cao's tomb show its true colors? In my opinion, archaeological exploration can be combined with modern high-tech means. The key parts of archaeological exploration are determined by modern high-tech means. Comparing the two, the effect may be better. It should be pointed out that Cao Cao's tomb is not an isolated tomb, but a group tomb. There are many civilian commanders under Cao Cao, and there are not a few who should accompany the mausoleum. As long as we can find one of the buried tombs, we can judge that Cao Cao's tomb has a specific reference tomb site. Exploring Cao Cao's tomb is an important and arduous task. After careful study of historical documents and on-the-spot investigation, we can still find some important clues to explore Cao Cao's tomb and provide strong evidence for uncovering the truth of Cao Cao's tomb.
At present, the middle route project of "South-to-North Water Diversion Project" has just passed through the eastern half of Cao Cao's tomb field. I wonder if the archaeological exploration will find Cao Cao's tomb.