Mawangdui Han Tomb Exploration

Author: Zhou Shirong
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-10-01
Features: Such a grand tomb chamber, with so many luxurious burial artifacts, what kind of person was the occupant? A member of the imperial family, or the spouse of a meritorious official? People became deeply interested in the identity of the female corpse. A strong desire for knowledge drove people to gather various materials. Some, based on certain findings from the autopsy, let their imagination take flight and fabricated strained or even baseless stories. The listeners only sought and vivid plots, without considering its historical authenticity. Among these, the most widely circulated story is that of "Cai E, a palace maid." It is said that the deceased was originally a palace maid in the Han Dynasty imperial palace. Although the emperor had many concubines, none could bear a male heir, and the imperial succession was in jeopardy. The empress dowager was anxious and troubled. A minister proposed a plan: let Cai E become pregnant, and if she bore a son, he would be declared the legitimate heir and impersonate the crown prince. After the goal was achieved, the ruthless empress dowager attempted to silence Cai E and had her killed. Fortunately, the same minister devised a plan to help Cai E escape. During her flight, she endured hardships and twists of fate, eventually arriving in Changsha. In a situation where survival was uncertain and suicide was unthinkable, Cai E was saved by an old tofu seller and became his wife. Later, Cai E's son ascended the throne, and the mother and son were reunited. The tofu seller was enfeoffed as the King of Changsha, and Cai E was provided for by her son. Local officials, following the emperor's edict, annually presented various items to the empress dowager Cai E as tribute, which is why she was so wealthy. It is also said that the sweet melon seeds found in the female corpse's abdomen were remnants of sweet melons she had eaten, which were tribute from Jiangsu and Zhejiang. This story of joy and sorrow is full of and dramatic turns, highly captivating. However, it is entirely a fabricated tale. To clarify the occupant's identity, evidence must be sought from the tomb itself. Among the textual materials unearthed from Tomb No. 1, there is a private seal inscribed with the characters "Qin Zhui." This reveals that the occupant was named "Qin Zhui." "Qie" was a humble term used by women in ancient times, and the occupant was no exception. On a large number of unearthed lacquerware, the characters "Ru family" are inscribed, while on bamboo chests and jars, there are sealing stamps resembling modern fire seals, reading "Ru family steward." The sealing stamps of "Ru family steward" indicate that the burial artifacts were inspected by him before being buried. Therefore, we can conclude that the female corpse was the wife of the Ru. According to historical records, the Ru had four generations: The first generation was Li Li Cang (also known as Li Zhu Cang in the Book of Han), who was enfeoffed in the second year of Emperor Hui of Han (193 BCE) and died in the eighth year of Empress Dowager reign (180 BCE). The second generation was Li Xi (pronounced XI), who ruled from the third year of Empress Dowager to the fifteenth year of Emperor Wen (185–165 BCE). The third generation was Peng Zu, who ascended the throne in the sixteenth year of Emperor Wen and died in the third year of the later period of Emperor Jing. The fourth generation was Fu, who ruled from the first year of Emperor Wu's Jianyuan era to the first year of the Yuanfeng era, for 30 years. Which generation of Ru was the wife of the female corpse? We must determine the exact burial date of Tomb No. 1. Based on the tomb's form, it is later than Chu tombs but exhibits characteristics of Western Han tombs. A large number of clay "Banliang" and clay "Ying Cheng" coins were unearthed. According to past research on Western Han tombs in Changsha, early Han periods often yielded clay "Ying Cheng" coins. Later periods of the Wen and Jing emperors frequently produced clay