First of all, this is actually a buried tomb. Next to princess Chen's body, there is another body. Both bodies were dressed in silver mesh clothes, and the overall costumes were still gorgeous. Strangely, the body still wears a gold mask, which is rare in a buried tomb.
Next, in the process of excavation, we found a large number of cultural relics in the tomb, including more than 3,000 precious cultural relics such as gold, silver and jade, surrounded by exquisite murals, which also described the previous scene well. Such a tomb has never been visited by grave robbers, which is really rare. Of course, the location of this tomb is somewhat remote, and it is not easy for grave robbers to come here, and there is no good excavation condition.
According to textual research, Princess Chen was the granddaughter of Liao country, and the strength of Liao country was also very strong at that time, so there were so many funerary objects in this tomb.
So who is this person next to Princess Chen? Why are they buried together in Jin Mianju?
This man, Xiao Shaoju, is the elder brother of the Emperor Shengzong of Liao Dynasty. At that time, he still held an important position in North Korea. Being favored by the emperor, the emperor married Princess Chen, who was 16 years old. The couple loved each other very much, but unexpectedly, Princess Chen died just over a year after her marriage, at the age of 18, which was definitely an early death.
After the princess died, Xiao Shaoju was also very sad and soon died with the princess. He is much older than the princess, but they have a good relationship. After death, the couple can be buried together and continue their love story underground.
The epitaph of Princess Chen unearthed in the tomb briefly introduces the deeds of the couple. Princess Chen's body in the tomb, dressed in gold and silver, shows her former dignity. This tomb is of great archaeological value, because after the demise of Liao, the Khitans also mysteriously disappeared in history, and most of the written classics about the Khitans have disappeared.
Tombs can reflect a nation's culture, but tombs in Liao country are very rare. Liao people pay little attention to the design of tombs, and the overall structure is relatively simple. Many of their tombs are on desert grasslands, and it is not easy to keep them. After so many years, most tombs in Liao country have been destroyed, and many of them have been visited by grave robbers. There are too few complete tombs like Princess Chen.
Interestingly, Princess Chen happened to be her husband's niece, which was considered incest in the Central Plains, but Liao was a political power established by ethnic minorities, and they didn't pay much attention to these details. So what does the golden mask of the princess and others mean? In fact, when the Khitan nobles were buried, they often wore masks, but people of different identities wore different masks.
This is a custom of burial, and wearing a mask can also ensure that the head is not damaged by wild animals, which helps to preserve the body. The Qidan nobles paid great attention to the integrity of the body, and they tried their best to protect their bodies before they died. As for the habit of wearing masks, these are gradually hidden in history with the demise of Liao State.
The cause of death of Princess Chen is not very clear. They are close relatives, but this kind of marriage only affects their next generation and will not have much influence on themselves. During the Liao Dynasty and the Song Shengzong period, the power of the Xiao family reached its peak. This is Liao Xu-ma's nephew. Their family has a long tradition of marriage with the royal family, which is also a strategy for Liao to consolidate the power of the royal family.
Unfortunately, he hasn't enjoyed the warmth of his family for a long time. The early death of his wife hit him hard and he gradually died. As an important dynasty in history, Liao country still has many doubts that have not been clearly explained, and there are some few documents about Liao country, which is also a pity. We don't know enough about Qidan culture.