The wisdom of the ancients cannot be underestimated. The craftsmen who built the tombs for the emperors were able to design ingenious mechanisms so that the last craftsman could leave the tomb safely, but outsiders could no longer enter.
Death has been a major event since ancient times, and its importance is no less important than a person's birth. Ordinary people are like this, let alone the rulers of feudal society. The emperor's mausoleum is located in a geomantic treasure land. Not only is it magnificent and spectacular in scale, but even the anti-theft measures are perfect. It is almost difficult for others to enter the mausoleum. sky.
The Emperor's Tomb embodies the wisdom and hard work of countless craftsmen. It is not said to be miraculous, but at least it is breathtaking. However, sometimes we cannot help but think about this question: After the emperor was buried, how did the last craftsman who sealed the underground palace come out?
There are generally only three endings for the craftsmen who built the tomb for the emperor.
The first ending: becoming the emperor's burial object
One of the most basic requirements for an emperor to build a mausoleum is to ensure that the tomb is not stolen by tomb robbers, and only those who are familiar with all the internal mechanisms of the mausoleum Craftsmen, so some emperors adhered to the concept that "only the dead can keep secrets" and let the craftsmen who built the tombs be buried with them.
For example, when Hu Hai, the second emperor of Qin, was organizing a funeral for his father, because he was worried about the craftsmen leaking secrets, he locked these craftsmen in the mausoleum and buried him with him after Qin Shihuang was buried. This is recorded in "Historical Records" : Now that the burial has been carried out, or the craftsmen are the reason, everyone knows about it, and Zang Zhong will be released. After the major event is over, Zang has been shut down, Zhongxian is closed, and the outer Xian gate is lowered. Those who have closed the craftsman Zang will never come back. ?
Although it is not clearly stated how many craftsmen were killed in Huhaikeng, the number of craftsmen used to build such a magnificent mausoleum as Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum was at least hundreds or thousands, and one sentence: "No comeback?" It is also implied that none of these craftsmen survived.
Another example is Cixi’s Ding Dong Tomb. After the construction of the mausoleum was completed, the minister in charge of the project told the craftsmen to seal the main road to the mausoleum and then exit through a tunnel on one side. These craftsmen obeyed the minister's request and blocked the main road. When they were about to come out of the tunnel, what awaited them was not the welcome and congratulations on their success, but the cold butcher's knives of the officers and soldiers.
Of course, it is rare in history for craftsmen to be buried for the emperor. Except for Hu Hai, Genghis Khan, and Cixi, who held political power, it is almost rare for us to see records of craftsmen being killed.
The second ending: alive but lost freedom
For the craftsmen who built the tomb, some emperors were relatively kind and did not choose to eradicate them, but in order to prevent the secrets from being leaked, they would restrict these people. free.
For example, in the Liao Dynasty, when a mausoleum was built, the court would move these people to a certain location to live together and send special personnel to take care of it. From then on, the living scope of the craftsmen was restricted to this area until they all died.
If there is a war, these craftsmen will be assigned to guard the border, and they will be the first cannon fodder every time. In this way, the court intended to further squeeze their surplus value while preventing them from leaking secrets. Although they are alive in this ending, their life will not be very good.
The third ending: successfully leave the mausoleum according to the original design
The third ending is also the best ending. After the construction of the mausoleum is completed, the emperor will not kill them or restrict them, but allows them Live freely, but only if others can't easily come in after the mausoleum is closed.
So smart craftsmen designed an "automatic door". The upper and lower ends of the door shaft of the automatic door are made into spherical shapes. A protruding groove is cut out in the same part of the two stone doors at the same level as the door seam. There is also a groove on the stone floor not far from the door.
Before the last craftsman comes out, he will place a white marble strip on the slot in the ground and let it tilt slowly. When the stone door is closed, the white marble strip will roll along the spherical axis to the slot. At this time, trying to push the stone door open with brute force from the outside is tantamount to wishful thinking. In this way, the safety problem of the mausoleum is solved. And that piece of white marble is also called "tapstone".
Of course, it doesn’t mean that no one can get in after the stone door is closed. If you want to reopen it, you have to use a "turning nail key". The so-called turning nail key refers to a key that bends like a turning Put the nail key through the stone door to cover the stone bar, and then slowly push it in until the stone bar remains upright and you can easily open the stone door. Being able to come up with such exquisite designs as "automatic door" and "turning nail key" shows how intelligent these craftsmen are.
In short, craftsmen who built tombs for emperors in ancient times had three endings: one was trapped in the tomb and died, the other was lucky enough to survive but lost their freedom, and the last one was to use automatic doors. ?This exquisite device can save lives and keep secrets at the same time. This shows that a smart brain is really important sometimes. Readers, what do you think?