The ancients regarded the choice of cemetery as a great event for the benefit of future generations, especially the feudal emperor Qin Shihuang, who tried to spread it all over the world and naturally paid more attention to the location of cemetery. The reason why he was buried in Mount Li was explained by Li Daoyuan in the Northern Wei Dynasty: "Qin Shihuang built a heavy burial in Mount Li, which was Lantian, with rich yin and beautiful jade. The first emperor was greedy for his good name, so he was buried. " Li Daoyuan's view has been affirmed by most scholars in academic circles. However, some scholars have raised objections. On the one hand, those who hold negative opinions think that the selection of the mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor in Lishan depends on the ritual system at that time, while on the other hand, it is influenced by the traditional concept of "building a mausoleum on the mountain". (See No.5 of Qin Tombs and Cultural Relics Exploration, 1990. ) Now, from the perspective of geomantic omen, the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor is also an ideal geomantic omen treasure.
As early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the concept of building a mausoleum by mountains had already appeared. Later, people chose cemeteries and attached great importance to the geographical environment close to mountains and rivers. "If you build a grave, you must come to the mountains to go to the water." (See "The Secret Buried Sutra of Dahan's Original Mausoleum") Mountains and rivers were regarded as the best places of geomantic omen by the ancients. As for when this concept began, there is no way to verify it. It should be said that the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor is a model of "building a mausoleum by mountains and rivers". It is obvious to all that the mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor faces Mount Li in the south and Lishui in the north. However, on the east side of Qin Shihuang's mausoleum, there is also a artificially transformed fish pond water. According to "Notes on Water Classics", "Water flows out of the northeast of Mount Li and flows northward. Later, Qin Shihuang was buried in the north of the mountain. When the water meandered, it turned from east to north, and the first emperor built a tomb to borrow soil. The land is deep and the water accumulates into a pond. This is the so-called fish pond ... The water in the pond flows through the north of the first emperor in the northwest. " It can be seen that the fish pond water originally came from the northeast of Lishan Mountain, and the water flowed from south to north. Later, when the mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor was built, an east-west dam was built in the southwest of the mausoleum. The dam is 1000 meters long, generally 40 meters wide, 70 meters at its widest point and 2 to 8 meters high. It is what people usually call Wuling site. It is this dam that turned the fish pond water originally from Li Dongbei into a northwest flow, bypassing the northeast of Qin Shihuang's mausoleum. In addition, in the east of the cemetery, there is a hot spring water. According to the Water Classic Note, "there is hot spring water in the southwest of fish pond water, which can cure diseases all over the world". "Three" says: "There are hot springs in the northwest of Mount Li." It can be seen that the hot springs of that year corresponded to the fish pond water in the northwest. It is not difficult to find that the geomantic features of Qin Shihuang's mausoleum are that the back mountain faces south, and the east, west and north are surrounded by water on three sides. Isn't "Surrounding the mountains with water" a treasure trove of geomantic omen specially selected by Qin Shihuang's mausoleum?
The concept of "surrounding mountains and water" in Qin Dynasty had a far-reaching influence on later generations. Mausoleums in the Western Han Dynasty, such as Gaozu Changling Mausoleum, Wendi Baling Mausoleum, Jingdi Yangling Mausoleum, Wudi Mausoleum, etc., were all chosen by imitating the geomantic thought of "mountains surrounded by water" in Qin Shihuang Mausoleum. Later tombs basically inherited this idea of building tombs.
The Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor is located 5 kilometers east of Lintong County, about 37 kilometers away from Xi 'an, with Lishan Mountain in the south and Weishui in the north. Why did you choose the seat here? Some people think that this is inseparable from the ancient superstition of geomantic omen. In recent years, according to the pictures taken by satellite, geologists can see that it seems like a dragon from Jiao Shan to Huashan, and the Mausoleum of the First Qin Dynasty is at the leading eye. As we all know, there has been a saying that "make the finishing point" since ancient times. It is unclear whether the ancients had the ability to "foresee" or whether today's people are too attached to meetings.
Who presided over the construction of the mausoleum of Qin Shihuang?
It is speculated that Shaofu is responsible for the construction and the National Mausoleum should be managed by it. Of course, the highest management level is true, but true nature is busy, and it is handled by Shaofu. However, there is still a problem here, that is, there is an office in Shaofu named after the reunification of Qin Dynasty. It is impossible to verify whether this office existed before reunification, but whether it exists or not, there must be an institution specializing in civil engineering of the imperial court. As for the name of this institution, further research is needed.
How deep is the mausoleum of Qin Shihuang? The Historical Records of the First Qin Emperor says that it "wears three springs". The description of Qin Shihuang's mausoleum in the old books of Han Dynasty is "extremely deep" and "extremely deep". Some people think that the underground palace of Qin Mausoleum is neither shallow nor deep, and the "three springs" mentioned in the book are nothing more than what people often say "under the nine springs". According to Lu Chunqiu, "Shallow is the rise of the fox, deep is the spring", that is, the deepest is the spring. In ancient times, due to technical limitations, it was not easy to construct under springs. Moreover, if the underground palace is located below the groundwater level, long-term infiltration of groundwater will definitely cause the underground palace to be "soaked". Qin Shihuang and the designers of his mausoleum could not have failed to take this into account. Of course, these are just speculations, and the specific situation is unknown.
What is the structure of the underground tomb of Qin Shihuang Mausoleum?
Judging from the remains excavated from the mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, it seems that Qin Shihuang wanted to bring his palaces, mountains and other things to the underground world, and it was difficult to achieve this without building a huge mausoleum. According to "Historical Records of the First Qin Emperor", "When the great event is finished, it has been hidden, closed in envy, and the craftsmen are hidden outside the door, and they cannot return." Here, when it comes to appreciating the middle door and the outer door, there must be an inner door. This seems to indicate that there is a passage leading to the main tomb in the underground palace, and craftsmen can only close it outside the Zhongxian Gate. Neixian Gate is the place where Qin Shihuang's coffin and camphor are placed. As for the length of the pyramid-shaped mound, it is conceivable that if there is a 300-foot cave, it is no wonder that some people think that the cave in the underground palace of Qin Shihuang's mausoleum is directly below Wangfeng, the main peak in the center of Riding Mountain.
According to archaeological exploration and judging the position of Terracotta Warriors in the tomb, experts believe that the direction of the tomb is to sit west to east. This is a strange layout. As we all know, in ancient China, the position facing south was respected, and the tombs of emperors in past dynasties basically sat in the pattern facing south. Why did Qin Shihuang, who unified the world, sit west to east?
Some people think that before his death, Qin Shihuang sent Xu Fudong across the Yellow Sea to find Penglai and Yingzhou Wonderland, and made many personal expeditions. There were Jieshi in the east and Huiji in the south, and he stayed in Langya and Zhifu, all of which showed his urgent yearning for Wonderland. Unfortunately, there was no news when Xu Fu went, and Qin Shihuang's wish to visit fairyland finally fell through. If you don't get the elixir of life before you die, you must face the east after you die, so that you can extradite the immortal and reach the kingdom of heaven. Perhaps this is the greatest wish of Qin Shihuang in his later years. Based on this, the mausoleum of Qin Shihuang can only sit west to east.
Some people think that Qin is located in the west, and Zhao Zhengchu, the king of Qin, built a Dongling to show his determination to conquer the six eastern countries. After the annexation of the six countries, the first emperor was determined not to change the original intention of designing and building the mausoleum in order to keep an eye on the six eastern countries after his death, so the mausoleum we saw could only face east and west.
Some people think that the mausoleum of Qin Shihuang faces east from the west, which is related to the customs of Qin and Han Dynasties. According to relevant documents, at that time, from emperors, governors to generals, and even ordinary scholar-bureaucrat families, all the masters sat in the west and sat in the east. There is only one Qin Shihuang in the world. In order to maintain "respect", the direction of the mausoleum can be imagined.
In fact, it's not just the orientation of the mausoleum of Qin Shihuang that puzzles people. According to the investigation, 9 17 Qin tombs have been excavated in Shaanxi, mostly in the east-west direction. The 32 tombs of Qin Gongling also face east. This feature of Qin people's burial style was more obvious in the early days. What caused the Qin people to adopt this eastern burial method? Scholars who insist that Qin people originated in the East believe that because the East was the place where Qin ancestors used to work and live, they have special feelings for the East. But things are separated, and the road is long, during which there are many strong enemies. The hope of "returning to the roots" is very slim, so they adopt the burial style facing east to show that they will not forget their roots. On the contrary, scholars who insist that Qin people originated from the west believe that Qin people adopt the burial custom of "facing the west" to show that they are from the west of China. However, if the burial ceremony means that Qin people are from the west, does the popular custom of burying their heads in the north mean that they are from the north? Researchers of modern cultural chemistry and folklore put forward a new viewpoint, that is, the popular custom of burying one's head in the west of Qin people, like their popular "limb-bending burial", is related to the ancient culture of Gansu or some primitive religious belief. For example, the popular explanation of the first funeral in the west, "White Horse Tibetans", is that when the sun goes down, people follow the sun. Perhaps, the Qin people also have their own unique explanations for their own burial style. Everything is unknown.
Why did Qin Shihuang bury so many clay figurines?
Some people think that the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor was designed in essence according to the ancient etiquette requirements of "death is like life". Because after Qin Shihuang ascended the throne, most of his energy and time were spent on the war to unify the whole country. At that time, he led thousands of troops to fight in the north, thus annexing six countries and unifying the world. In order to show his achievements before his death, it seems inevitable to be buried with him in the form of an army.
Most scholars believe that the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Dynasty are part of the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang, reflecting the military situation of Qin Shihuang before his death, but they have different views on specific issues.
One view is that the large-scale group sculptures of Qin Jun unearthed in Qintong pit are the symbol of Qin Shihuang's creation and strengthening of centralization; The military lineup of a large number of terracotta warriors and horses in Qintongkeng is an image record of the powerful military strength under the rule of Qin Shihuang. In a sense, it can also be said to be the symbol of Qin Shihuang's eastern patrol escort.
One view is that the pit of Qin terracotta warriors and horses symbolizes the troops stationed outside the capital, which can be called the Suwei Army. Take the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Array No.1 with chariots and infantry alternating as the right army; The No.2 Terracotta Warriors pit, which is dominated by chariots and cavalry, is Zuo Jun; The unfinished abandoned pit should be No.4 pit, which is the proposed Zhong Jun; No.3 Terracotta Warriors Pit is the right, left and middle armed forces commanded by the shogunate. The pit itself symbolizes the barrier of the garrison. Defending the capital by the three armed forces is the embodiment of Qin Shihuang's desire to strengthen centralized maintenance and unify the whole country.
One view is that there is no pit 4, and the terracotta warriors and horses are composed of regular soldiers, strange soldiers and headquarters, thus denying the theory of the three armies.
One view is that the terracotta warriors and horses array of the Qin Shihuang Mausoleum is an unfinished project, all of which must have 50,000 pits. This huge array, equipped with troops in front, back, left, right and middle, is actually the most basic array method in the eight arrays played by the Qin Dynasty. One of the characteristics of square formation is "thin in the middle and thick in the square". China's army, Serenade, received more soldiers from four peripheral teams. The military array of Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses is configured according to the square matrix method of "thin with medium and thick with square".
One view is that the three pits of terracotta warriors and horses are not symbols of the left, middle and right armed forces, but reflect the three components of the Qin army. The third pit is by no means what people usually call the headquarters, but should be the palace guard Lang Wei who symbolizes the command of the doctor. Pit No.1 is a reflection of the Miyagi Guards under the jurisdiction of Wei Wei, or the Confederate Army. The second pit reflects the capital garrison commanded by the lieutenant, which can be called the North Army.
As for the No.3 pit, some people think that it belongs to the clan of soldiers and is used for military sacrifices. It is the place where the master and master who are the objects of ancestor worship in the army and the two masters who have been placed are located.
For the No.2 pit, it was suggested that it is a four-beast array, that is, the curved array is Zhu Bird array, the mixed array of chariots, infantry and cavalry is Xuanwu array, the array composed of cavalry chariots is Qinglong array, and the chariot array is White Tiger array.
Some scholars believe that the Terracotta Warriors and Horses are the "positive array" described in Wei Manzi.
Some scholars believe that the terracotta warriors and horses are a group of figurines buried for Qin Shihuang.
The purpose of building the Terracotta Warriors cannot be confirmed. A great man, Qin Shihuang, was hidden in many mysterious graves.