Northern Dynasty Tomb Group Imperial Mausoleum Terracotta Figurines

Author: Zhao Xuefeng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: The "Northern Dynasties Tombs" are a group of tombs for the imperial and noble families of the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi dynasties during the Northern Dynasties period in Chinese history. They are also known as the Northern Dynasties Imperial Tombs. Historically, they were once mistakenly referred to as the "Seventy-two Suspected Tombs of Cao Cao." During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao dominated the city of Ye and ruled for decades. He even built the "Xiwén" Academy and the "Jiangwu" Fortress in the west of Ye. However, Cao's family was cunning and deeply calculating, to the point that after his death, people did not know where he was buried, leaving it as an eternal mystery. As a result, later generations mistook the numerous large mounds of tombs left in the open fields west of Ye as the "seventy-two suspected tombs" that Cao Cao had deliberately set up to prevent his tomb from being robbed. The legend of the "suspected tombs" spread through misinterpretation and was passed down for seven or eight hundred years, during which time scholars and literati greatly embellished and exaggerated the story. The Song Dynasty poet Wang Anshi once wrote a poem titled "Poem on Suspected Tombs," saying: "Green mountains like waves enter Zhourong, Eight miles west of Tongcui Terrace, Mounds where ants come and go in vain, The Kirin buried, through many springs and autumns."