Tomb robbing is an ancient industry, and imperial tombs have naturally become its important targets. , the tombs of emperors of all dynasties in our country, except for the tombs of the Yuan Dynasty emperors that cannot be found, the Qianling Tombs of Wu Zetian and the Ming Tombs, which are still relatively intact, the emperors' tombs have basically been visited by tomb robbers.
The Ming Dynasty Ming Tombs are located at the southern foot of Tianshou Mountain in Changping County, Beijing. They are the burial places of thirteen emperors after Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, moved his capital to Beijing. These thirteen mausoleums are all built on mountains and are large in scale. For more than three hundred years after the fall of the Ming Dynasty, these tombs have been well preserved. It was not until the mid-1950s that several cultural figures, including Guo Moruo and Wu Han, jointly signed an archaeological plan to excavate the tombs of the Ming Dynasty emperors, and they were approved.
At first, the Changling Tomb of Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, was the first choice. However, due to the unsatisfactory progress in the investigation, he turned his attention to the Dingling Tomb of Emperor Wanli. The Wanli Emperor Zhu Yijun was the longest-reigning emperor in the Ming Dynasty. During his 48 years on the throne, he spent 28 years in seclusion in the palace and never went to court. All government orders were issued and implemented through the Supervisor of Ceremonies and the Cabinet. communicate.
In May 1956, the excavation work of Dingling officially began. In May of the following year, the archaeological team finally penetrated the thick soil and found the entrance where Emperor Wanli was buried. After opening the diamond wall, the underground palace gate was completely exposed to the archaeological team. An archaeologist later recalled, "It was so quiet inside the underground palace that it made people feel panicked. An indescribable feeling of terror and desolation penetrated into the bone marrow..."
Wanli's mausoleum palace starts from the front hall. , nave and apse. In the nave is a seat carved from stone with a dragon pattern carved on it. In front of the seat is a large porcelain jar filled with yellow wax. This is the ten thousand year lamp mentioned in folklore, but it has been extinguished for some time.
After careful preparation, the archaeologists opened Wanli's coffin. After opening the coffin, we saw that it was uneven and covered with a gold quilt, which was also partially rotten. The archaeologists began to clean the cultural relics in the coffin layer by layer, and only after cleaning up to the 11th layer did they find the remains of Emperor Wanli.
The bones of Wanli Emperor Zhu Yijun were placed on a brocade quilt. His body was lying on his back with his head west and his feet east. His muscles had rotted away, leaving only his skeleton. He is facing upward, with the top of his head tilted slightly to the right, his right arm bent upward, and his hand placed on the right side of his head. His left arm droops, slightly bent inward, with his hand placed on his abdomen, and a string of rosary beads in his hand. Bend your right leg slightly, straighten your left leg, and spread your feet outward.
According to the skeletal measurement, the length from the top of the head to the left foot is 1.64 meters. His feet are of different lengths, and the right leg is obviously shorter than the left leg. The "Records of Ming Shenzong" records an edict from Emperor Wanli: "From summer to autumn, I have been feeling damp and hot fumigation, which has caused dampness and poison in my vagina and feet. His heart ached, he felt dizzy from time to time, and his steps were very difficult. "According to the Ming Dynasty notebook novel "Wanli Yehuobian", Emperor Wanli once had his foot bitten by a tiger. As the saying goes, what you think about every day is what you dream about at night, which also proves that he suffers from foot disease.
It can be seen that Emperor Wanli has not been in court for many years. The struggle for the country is only one aspect. His foot illness and inconvenience in movement also play a big role. Imagine the emperor limping up to the Golden Palace. This is such a shameless thing. But the ministers of the Ming Dynasty were also quite noisy. Wanli was accused of being addicted to wine and sex when he did not go to court. It was really a huge injustice. This secret was unexpected when it was first discovered. It not only solved the doubts that had troubled the world for more than 300 years, but also cleared away the injustice of Emperor Wanli.
However, in the late 1960s, an unprecedented movement began. The three corpses of Emperor Wanli and two queens were first smashed and then set on fire. After a heavy rain, they were missing. What a shame!