Cao Cao was the first person in the history of China? Thin burial? The emperor.

In 2 18, Cao Cao issued the last command, which said:

? Buried in ancient times, they will live in a barren land. The rule is that the original name of Ximen Temple is Shouling. Because of its height, it is not sealed or planted. Zhou Li buried people in the cemetery. The princes are in the front and the Qing doctors are in the back. The Han system is also called the burial tomb. Ministers who have made meritorious deeds should guard the mausoleum with them and be widely used and compatible. ?

The last order clearly stated that after death, it should not be buried in barren land, and the original height should be used as a grave. There is no pile of soil and no tree planting on the mausoleum.

A year later, Cao Cao prepared four seasons clothes for himself, put them in four boxes respectively, marked spring, summer, autumn and winter, and left a will. If you are outspoken, you can always give away your jewelry. ? It means that if I die, please wear clothes that are in season. Jade, jewelry, bronzes, etc. are also not suitable for burial. In the Legacy cited in the last section, Cao Cao reiterated that after death? Thin burial? The requirements, namely? After my death, those who hold the western-style clothes as a deposit will not stay. ? And then what? Pack your clothes and bury them in Yexishan? .

Emperors of past dynasties regarded the mausoleum as a symbol of the country, and most of them ordered the construction of tombs from the day they ascended the throne, and most of these tombs cost an amazing amount of money. Why did Cao Cao do the opposite and advocate it? Thin burial? And then what? If you make a little textual research, it is nothing more than the following considerations.

The most important and heaviest part is inseparable from its lifelong advocacy of thrift.

At the end of 2 17, the weather was cold. One day, Cao Cao boarded the bronze sparrow terrace and looked around. Suddenly, a young woman appeared in his sight. This woman is gorgeous in decorations and silk. When Cao Cao saw it, he flew into a rage and immediately sent soldiers to question him. The soldier reported that this woman was the wife of Cao Zhi, the son of Cao Cao. Hearing this, Cao Cao said nothing. The next day, an imperial edict was sent to Cao Zhi's home, saying that his wife violated family rules, was not thrifty, and wanted her to commit suicide. Cao Zhi's wife had no choice but to hang herself. It turned out that Cao Cao, who had been thrifty all his life, had set a family rule that the clothes of harem concubines could not be embroidered with brocade, and the dresses of maids could not exceed the upper level. Curtains and screens in the palace should be mended after being worn out, and quilts and mattresses covered by all personnel are not allowed to weave patterns.

Cao Cao is not only very strict with his family and officials, but also very frugal in life. According to the biography of Cao Zang,? Mao is an arrogant person, good at music, and occasionally superior to others, often at night. Dressed lightly, I wear a small pot bag to hold beautiful things in my hand, or a hat to greet guests. Every time I talk to people, tease them and recite them, I have nothing to hide. I laugh happily. In the absence of cups, all the dishes and meals were cured of the sweat towel, which was very relaxed. ? At that time, there was a famine in the world, and people often ate people in the Central Plains. There was no food in the army, so we relied on picking mulberries and touching mussels to satisfy our hunger. Cao Cao gave the order to reclaim farmland, mobilized soldiers to cultivate and solved the food problem. Due to lack of resources, Cao Cao took the lead in making clothes with leather. Cao Cao suffered from head wind, and officials advised him to make a fur hat to keep out the cold. But he wore a silk hat, which didn't break the precedent. Under his influence, officials stopped wearing fur hats.

Of course, Cao Cao is Cao Cao after all, not Cao Li, Wang Cao, Zhu Cao, Cao Mao and other messy and unreliable Cao Cao. Cao Shi advocates thin burial, and another important reason is to guard against theft. Although the peak of grave robbery in the history of China began in the Spring and Autumn Period, neither Qin people, who were one step ahead, nor Xiang Yu, who was vengeful, publicly set up officials to dig graves, but took advantage of the war to plunder them. However, since Dong Zhuo's rebellion, it has been very different. The armies of all walks of life have been seriously short of funds and started to rob tombs. Cao Cao is no exception. What is the Cao Cao setting mentioned by Lu Xun in Tomb-Sweeping Day? Touch captain Kim? , specializing in grave robbery activities, first seen in For Cao Haowen. In 200, Yuan Shao sent troops to attack Xuchang and crusade against Cao Cao. Jian' an seven sons? In Yuan Shao's Talk against Cao Chen, there is a new way to accuse an old scoundrel. Touch captain Kim? In addition to such official positions, they also created the same type? Faqiu corps commander? Official position.

As the name implies, hair mound is grave robbery, but this kind of business is done by the housekeeper. This kind of public excavation is a complete official thief. In order to pay attention to this industry, Cao Cao personally directed the excavation of the tombs of ancient emperors in order to exchange the unearthed treasures for secular money to support his growing army. A conversation once said: Liang Xiaowang, the mother and brother of the late emperor, has a solemn grave, with pine, cypress and mulberry trees, which should be respectable. Cao Cao led officials to personally dig, break coffins and naked bodies, and rob treasures. Up to now, the sacred dynasty has burst into tears and the people are heartbroken. He also sent a high corps commander and touched a gold captain, and all the ruins were exposed. ? ("once"? Yuan Shaochuan) Although this incident appeared in the form of shouting and cursing by Cao Cao's enemies, it had its own exaggerated elements, but the official position of grave robbery established by Cao Shi was not groundless. It is said that Cao Cao was scared into a cold sweat when he saw this "talk", and his headache improved, so he burst out laughing. Although Chen Lin's literary career is good, what are Yuan Shaowu's shortcomings? ? Cao Cao didn't pay attention to Confucian scholar Chen Lin and ordinary Shao, but he didn't defend the matter of setting up an official to rob the tomb. In the eyes of the spectators, it seems nothing, as if it is the default. But since it is a tribute to Cao Cao, it can't be said as beautifully as a letter of commendation. Its main function is to list Cao Cao's crimes. Therefore, some researchers in later generations think that this passage is likely to have exaggerated elements. However, according to various historical records, Cao Cao did rob the tomb. Cao Cao is a hero in history, but this kind of behavior is despised by future generations. Someone commented here: Cao Cao has no idea. He sent Qiu Zhonglang and dozens of officers to touch gold and bury tombs everywhere, regardless of the old and new. When the bones were dug out, they were everywhere, and everyone was very sad. It's cruel! It's cruel! ?

I witnessed many scenes of broken bones and messy things in ancient tombs, and I didn't want to repeat the same mistakes, so Cao Cao repeatedly asked for a thin burial.

Cao Cao's idea was even passed on to his son Cao Pi. In 222, Cao Pi begged him to guard the mausoleum in the final system. Because the mountain is the body, there is no tree, no sleeping hall, garden city and Shinto. ,? There is no reed charcoal, no gold, silver, copper and iron, only one piece of pottery. But the coffin will be painted three times, and the rice does not contain pearls and jade, and there is no jade box containing pearls and jade. ? Why are you doing this? Cao Pi thinks,? From ancient times to the present, there is no immortal country, and there are no graves dug. Since the chaos, all the tombs in the Han Dynasty have been excavated, even the jade box and golden thread have been spared, and the bones have been burned, which is a punishment. Isn't it painful? The cause of the disaster is a thick burial. ?

Advocating and practicing? Thin burial? At the same time, it is said that Cao Cao also took extraordinary measures, that is, establishing a suspicious tomb.

According to the research of nosy people, the earliest suspected tombs in China appeared in Shang Dynasty. At that time, some slave owners and nobles made several fake tombs after their death, which made it difficult for future generations to distinguish the authenticity. During the Spring and Autumn Period, with the prevalence of grave robbery, the technology of suspected burial was further developed. During the Three Kingdoms period when Cao Cao lived, it reached a peak.

The main purpose of Cao Cao's setting up a suspected tomb is, of course, to prevent grave robbery. But it may also be related to his treacherous and suspicious personality.

"Taiping Guangji" once recorded such a story: when Cao Cao was young, he played a prank with his later enemy Yuan Shao. The family got married, and in the evening, the husband and wife went to the bridal chamber together. Cao Cao called Yuan Shao? Stand guard? Sneak into the master's garden and peek at the bride and groom's bed. Unexpectedly, I was in a hurry to see it, and my master found it and shouted, there is a thief! ? So the host family surrounded the garden, and Cao Cao was surrounded. But Cao Cao didn't panic at all. He drew a sharp knife from his sleeve and grabbed the bride in one hand. The master trembled and dared not move, just begging him to let him go. Then Cao Cao pointed to Yuan Shao hiding behind a tree and said:? The thief is here, why don't you go after him? ? Hearing this, Yuan Shao turned and fled. The master also hurried over with all the people. At this time, Cao Cao let go of the bride and left like no one's watching.

Cao Cao's suspicious character is not only the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but many historical materials can prove that Cao Cao had a fellow countryman named Shao Heng, and he had a personal vendetta against him in the past. After Cao Cao succeeded, Shao Heng confessed to him and knelt before the court. Cao Cao said:? Kneeling to die? ? I finally killed him. Shu Wei? Zhang Xiu Biography records that a nephew of Cao Cao was killed by Zhang Xiu. Later, in order to defeat Yuan Shao and get rid of the military disadvantage and passive position, Cao Cao had to release his grievances to attract him, so that he sealed Hou and ate 2,000 households. However, when Yuan Shao was destroyed and his territory was consolidated, Cao Cao's son Cao Pi stepped forward and forced Zhang Xiu to commit suicide. Before he died, Cao Cao killed Richard cheung kuen, the son of Zhang Xiu, in order to avoid future trouble. Cao Cao is suspicious of all people who have feuds, and he is not at ease. He will not let go until he dies, so the biography of Cao Zang says, Old grievances? Most of them were killed by Cao Cao's revenge.

Cao Cao's suspicious character was also reflected after his death. Legend has it that on the day of Cao Cao's burial, all the gates of Yecheng were opened, and 72 coffins were carried out from all directions at the same time. Since then, an eternal mystery has been unresolved: which of the 72 suspected tombs is true?

Yu, a poet in the Song Dynasty, despised Cao Cao's behavior. In his poem "Seventy-two Suspected Tombs", he wrote in disgust:

He deceives the world and rejects the Han dynasty before his death, and deceives the world and establishes a suspicious tomb after his death.

If you die with your wisdom, you will rest. Why go to the mountains?

I don't doubt what people say. I have a way to tell you.

Your body will be buried as soon as the funeral is over.

This clever Yu poet still doesn't know much about Cao Cao's character and strategy. How do you know that Cao Cao's body is buried in these 72 suspected graves? How do you know it won't be buried outside the seventy-two graves? In this regard, Lu Xun wrote in Lace Literature? Tomb-Sweeping Day once said: According to legend, after Cao Cao's death, he was afraid of being dug up and built 72 suspected graves, which made it impossible to start. So later poets said:? Dig 72 suspected graves, and there will be a grave to bury the body. ? So later theorists said:? Aunt is a crafty old scoundrel and knows that her body is not within 72 years. I really can't think about it. ? Say it again: Although Ashan is a crafty old scoundrel, I don't think the stream of suspected tombs may be arranged, but most ancient tombs are excavated, and the names of people in the tombs are few. There were many grave robbers in Mangshan, Luoyang in the late Qing Dynasty. Although in the tomb of a famous public official, the income is probably a stone and pottery. It's not that there is no valuable sacrifice, but that someone has already reported it. In short, it is between the second day of burial and the first day of excavation in the late Qing Dynasty. ? After Cao Cao was buried, he didn't kill the grave robbers. Thin burial? Confused by this ostentation, but not discouraged by the number of suspected graves. However, despite their painstaking efforts and a lot of labor, they didn't even see a hair of Cao Cao. So, where is Cao Cao's bones buried?

According to the last order left by Cao Cao, Cao Cao's tomb should be in the west of Ximenbao Temple in Guye City, which is equivalent to the west of Santai Village in Linzhang County, Hebei Province today, until Zhanghe River in Cixian County. This is an ancient tomb, which is dotted with hills and ridges, with the highest like a mountain and the lowest like a mountain. The legendary seventy-two suspected graves in history are here. As a poem says:? The Zhanghe River is full of water heads, reaching 72 hills. Zhengping is only three feet away from the grave and sleeps in Nautilus Island forever. ?

The legend of the seventy-two suspected graves has left future generations at a loss. According to historical records, Fan Chengda, a poet of the Southern Song Dynasty, dismounted here in 1 170 to pay tribute to Cao Cao's tomb. However, because he couldn't figure out which was the real tomb of Cao Cao, he had to visit the first suspected tomb on the west side of Wucheng under the guidance of the local people, but he was not sure whether to visit the real tomb. Facing the graves scattered all over the place, he can only sigh: coffins are like forests, and complex is like sharing this heart. ?

Later generations pursued it continuously, but it was fruitless all the time, which cast a mysterious color on the 72 suspected tombs. The legend of the local people about the suspected tombs makes it even more mysterious. According to local people, suspected graves in Wujiang town often glow purple during thunderstorms. It is also said that in the modern era when warlords are fighting, an antique dealer named Husaimi of the East India Company hired a group of migrant workers from Zhengzhou to dig suspected ancient tombs by the Linzhang River in an attempt to find the real tomb of Cao Cao and dig up treasures. As a result, migrant workers dug more than a dozen tombs and found nothing but earthenware and clay pots. When they tried to continue digging, the news about foreigners robbing the tomb spread. Angry locals armed with knives and axes drove Husaimi and the migrant workers he hired out of Zhanghe River.

There is another legend, which is very strange.

During the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, there was an orphan named Zhu Yaer, whose parents died at an early age. Being helpless, he had to live by herding sheep for the landlord's family. One day, Zhu Yaer was collecting firewood in Pengcun, southeast of Wujiang Town. This Pengcun, also called Pengcheng Village, was an artificial lake in ancient times. During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao named it Xuanwu Pool, where sailors were trained. Later, due to years of non-dredging, coupled with years of drought in the Central Plains, the pool dried up, and the Xuanwu pool gradually silted up, covered with reeds and turned into land. Zhu Yaer was firewood here when she suddenly found a big grave in the tall Artemisia grass, and a stone tablet stood on the front side. Zhu Yaer was illiterate and curious, so he invited a private school teacher to identify him. When Mr. Private School saw the inscription, it turned out that this was the tomb of Cao Cao, Emperor Wu of Wei. So, they informed the magnetic state county government. When the county magistrate was informed, he immediately rushed to Pengcun in a sedan chair, but strangely, when he led people to clear weeds, the big mound had disappeared. The magistrate was very angry, thinking that Mr. Xue had cheated him and ordered the foot soldiers to beat him with 300 sticks, but the young Yazi never disappeared.

As mentioned earlier, Yu Zeng, a poet in the Song Dynasty, came up with a solution to Cao Cao's seventy-two suspected graves. Your body will be buried as soon as the funeral is over. ? Unfortunately, this method has been proved to be ineffective in practice. Since Yuan and Ming Dynasties, these tombs have been stolen one after another, but Cao Cao's body has never been found. This is what Lu Xun said:? Ann knows that her body has not been here for seventy-two years. I really can't think about it. ?

On March 8th, 1988, the first edition of People's Daily published an article entitled "? Cao Cao's seventy-two suspected graves? The answer is revealed, and the article says, 72 suspected graves? In fact, it is a large group of ancient tombs in the Northern Dynasty. The exact number of tombs is not 72, but 134. The full text of this article is as follows:

The famous ancient tombs in Cixian County of Hebei Province were recently listed as the third batch of national key cultural relics protection units by the State Council. Used to be considered in folklore? Cao Cao's seventy-two suspected graves? This ancient tomb has been discovered, but it is actually a large group of ancient tombs in the Northern Dynasties. The exact number is not 72, but 134.

Cixian County is located in the south of Hebei Province, and there are many graves on more than 30 kilometers of land around Fiona Fang. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is recorded in the fourth time, Cao Cao? It was ordered to set up 72 suspected graves outside the city of Wujiang, Zhang De, so as not to let future generations know their burial places for fear of being discovered. ? In recent years, archaeologists are interested in these? Cao Cao suspected burial? Many investigations have been carried out. According to numerous cultural relics such as epitaphs, tomb-shaped architectural structures, murals, pottery figurines and ancient coins, from 424 to 578, the Eastern Wei Dynasty and the Northern Qi Dynasty successively established their capitals in Cixian County and Linzhangye Town, during which the emperor and courtiers were buried here, gradually forming a large ancient tomb group. Judging from the epitaph unearthed in Cixian County, the tomb owners were all from the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Eastern Wei Dynasty and the Northern Qi Dynasty, so the records in Cixian County were written like this:? Since the Republic of China, there have been many epitaphs of grave robbers, all of which were broken by the theory that the princes of the northern dynasties were rich and suspicious of graves. ?

At this point, the story about Cao Cao setting up 72 suspected graves can be put to an end. But the story about where Cao Cao's bones are buried is not over.

As the mystery of 72 suspected tombs gradually fades, another mysterious story around Zhanghe River will begin again. At the same time, it was suggested that the real tomb of Cao Cao was not built on the ground, but at the bottom of the Zhanghe River.

The evidence of those who hold this view is that Cao Pi, the son of Cao Cao, wrote an imperial edict entitled "Zi Hou Zhi Shu Sacrifices the First King" after he abolished Han as emperor, saying: I want to sacrifice to the king, to the river, to look up and down the province and feel sad. ?

Many people in later generations agree with this statement. For example, Liu Tingqi, a poet in A Qing, once wrote a poem "Copper Bird Prostitute", which said: Copper Bird Palace Committee Dust, Zhu Wei Garden Zhang Ling Waterfront. Even if you look at the west, you can still think about it. The situation is nobody! ?

In the Qing Dynasty, Song Shen quoted the sequel of Jianxuan in the Manuscript of the Golden Mirror and described an anecdote that happened at the bottom of the Zhanghe River to prove this statement. The story goes like this:

During the reign of Shunzhi in Qing Dynasty, there was a drought in Zhanghe River, and the river dried up, resulting in sand beds. One day, a fisherman was fishing in a puddle on the river bed. Suddenly, he found a big slate exposed on the riverbed, and there was a crack next to the slate, which barely allowed one person to enter. The fisherman looked into the cave, which was very long and unfathomable. He thought, maybe there are fish in it. So, he first put his foot into the hole, then tightened his body and got out of the car. After entering, he walked about dozens of steps and was blocked by a big stone door in front. He pushed the door hard, but the door wouldn't budge. In desperation, he returned to the ground. This strange thing made the fisherman very excited. When he came back, he told his neighbors. After hearing this, everyone decided that this was an opportunity to make a fortune, so they agreed to go and see it together the next day.

The next day, they came to the gate of Dashimen in turn. After some efforts, the Dashimen was finally pushed open. Everyone rushed to the door to have a look. They were immediately stunned by what they saw: the stone house was full of beautiful women, all of whom were absolutely beautiful and charming. Some of them are sitting, some are leaning, some are lying, and they are arranged in two rows, one by one lifelike. But this beauty didn't last long. In a blink of an eye, these female corpses turned to dust and fell to the ground. This stone house is very big. Go to the back room and see a stone bed in the middle. On the bed lay an old man, wearing an official hat and royal clothes, like a prince. In front of the prince's stone bed, stands a stone tablet. Among the fishermen, a literate man came forward and saw that the dead body wearing an official hat and royal clothes was Cao Cao, Emperor Wu of Wei. In their view, Cao Cao is a white-faced traitor. So the fisherman picked up the harpoon and stick and poked it at the body to vent his anger.

At the end of the narrative, Song Shen analyzed this phenomenon. He believes that in the tombs at the bottom of the Zhanghe River, those beautiful women were suffocated and buried alive. Because the atmosphere in the tomb was condensed, they looked like people who had just died when they opened the stone gate, but the fisherman entered the room and leaked the atmosphere, so he turned to dust as soon as he entered. Only Cao Cao buried the body with mercury, so the skin didn't rot.

Just before people can verify the authenticity of Song Shen's narrative, another Man Qing Pu Songling wrote a story about the discovery of Cao Cao's tomb at the bottom of the river in his book Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio, but the difference this time is that he wrote it in Xuchang, not Linzhang. The article writes:

There is a water surge outside Xuchang, and the cliff is deep and dark. In midsummer, someone takes a bath, and suddenly it will be a big surprise if it is cut off by a knife and axe. When the massacre heard about it, it sent someone to cut off its upstream and drain its water. He saw a cave under the cliff with a wheel in the middle and a sharp blade on it, like frost. Attack around, there is a monument, the word is Han Li, you look at it, so will Cao Mengde. Break the coffin and scatter the bones, and take all the treasures you sacrificed.

?

What Shen Song said, although it has eyes and nose, can't stand scrutiny, so it can only be a legend; Pu Songling is good at fiction, and his location does not match, so the authenticity of his story will undoubtedly be greatly reduced. For the above reasons, it is still difficult to determine whether Cao Cao's mausoleum must be near Zhanghe River.