The mysterious archaeological discovery of the Western Xia Imperial Tombs
This article, about the Western Xia Tombs and unearthed cultural relics.
In the historical arena, there is a mysterious kingdom that has developed, been active, and finally disappeared on the road of the Northwest Silk – this is the Western Xia in history.
Xixia is located on the Silk Road of Sino-Western cultural exchanges. The culture is deeply influenced by the Central Plains Han culture and national characteristics culture, forming a unique multi-feature. Due to the change of history, when Xixia was extinct, a large number of cultural relics and classics were destroyed devastatingly. The history and culture of Xixia was gradually annihilated in the following hundreds of years. Even though the wilderness of Ningxia is still vast and prosperous, the Yellow River still roars and flows, but it does not see the historical relics of Xia Guo.
Until the Xixia ruins, cultural relics, and literatures in the vast areas of Ningxia, western Inner Mongolia, northwestern Shaanxi, Gansu Hexi, and eastern Qinghai were discovered one after another, the mystery of the millennial dynasty was gradually solved.
On the magical land of the hometown of Xixia, a piece of cultural relics quietly tells the history of Xixia and the passage of time, highlighting the unique Xixia culture. The most amazing thing is the Western Xia Imperial Tomb, known as the "Oriental Pyramid".
In the Cultural Revolution era of 1972, a PLA unit was secretly constructed in the area of Quanqigou in Helan Mountain in western China. Some cultural relics were discovered by chance. After being identified by experts, it was a cultural relic in the Xixia period. In this regard, the experts carried out archaeological excavations, and the Xixia Dynasty emperor cemetery recorded in the history books was discovered. Subsequently, the cultural relics department carried out long-term archaeological excavations and unearthed a large number of Xixia artifacts.
The huge conical mausoleums are as spectacular as the pyramids and are therefore called the “Oriental Pyramids”. Although their shapes are now bleak and bleak, the basic shape still exists. The magnificent scale, rigorous layout, and residual mausoleum can still show the unique atmosphere and style of the Xixia Dynasty. It is not difficult to see the glory of the past.
Yuling was the grandfather of Li Yuanzhang, the founder of the Western Xia Dynasty. The leader of the party tribe of the Pingxia tribe had opposed the Song court and later condemned the festival and laid the foundation for the establishment of the Xixia Dynasty. Jialing is Li Deming, who was once the king of Xia in the Liao Dynasty, but accepted the Song Dynasty regime as the Xia Wang, and also the founder of the Xixia Dynasty.
The largest imperial tomb in the entire mausoleum is not the Tailing of Li Yuanzhang.
The record of the Western Xia Emperor's Mausoleum was first seen in the "Song History·Xia Guo Chuan", but only the nine tombs are recorded, and the specific orientation is also a mystery. The records of other Western history books about the Western Xia Imperial Tombs are also the same. They have not explained their specific location, and for various other reasons, the Western Xia Imperial Tomb has been sleeping for centuries.
The Western Xia Imperial Tomb can be preserved, and the Western Xia Kai Dynasty emperor Li Yuanzhang contributed. According to folklore, Li Yuanzhang is a ferocious and suspicious person. He is worried that his tomb will be stolen after his death. Before he died, he would be allowed to build a grave. He built a tomb every day and built 360 tombs.
Subsequently, he and Qin Shihuang's violent temper have a fight, the people involved in the construction of the grave to kill all the mouth, in order to prevent leaks. After the death of the king, he was quietly buried in one of the 360 tombs. The construction of the tomb to confuse the tomb thief is a bit of a use, the tomb thief dug all over the mountain mausoleum, that is, did not find the one buried Li Yuanzhang.
This is of course a legend, not credible, but revealed that the Western Xia Emperor should be considered in the anti-tomb robbery.
After visiting the Western Xia Imperial Tombs, the Wangling was deeply influenced by the Tang and Song cultures of the Central Plains, but it also retained the traditional customs of the party-based ethnic groups, thus forming a relatively complete and unique system of tombs. And its burial things have a strong Western Xia characteristics.
The treasure of the town hall of Ningxia Museum - the gilt bronze bull, reflects the unique Xixia culture. The copper cow was exhibited in several countries such as Japan in the past few years and was welcomed. According to the Ningxia Museum, the highest insurance premium for this cow is as high as 200 million yuan, which shows that the value of this cow's cultural relics is high.
The gilt bronze cow was placed in the special glass showcase at the entrance of the Ningxia Museum. It was unearthed in the M177 tomb unearthed in the Xixialing District of Yinchuan, Ningxia in 1977. It is the funerary of the Tomb of the Tomb. It is 120 cm long, 38 cm wide, 45 cm high and weighs 188 kg. This giant sheet metal bronze cow is currently the largest and most complete Xixia gold craft in China. It is a national treasure-level cultural relic and worth the price.