Xunyang, this city is extraordinary. Xunyang County has become a famous "Taiji City" in history because the Hanshui River and Xunhe River meet here, forming a natural Taiji map. Nature's uncanny workmanship endows Xunyang County with magical natural landscapes and rich mineral resources. It is the largest mercury and antimony mine base in China.
In the mine near Guangong Town, Xunyang County, archaeologists found a large number of ancient mine caves, with the size of 100, the deepest being several hundred meters and the shallowest being more than ten meters. The place with the largest shape has a lot of space, and the small place can only accommodate one person.
These mines are so flat that people can climb in. The reason why it is flat is that experts believe that it is because the ancient materials are not good, and one can barely get in by playing along the vein. In addition, there is an inch thick ancient rust outside the mine, which can also be judged to be very, very long.
The existence of the old mine hole proves the long history of mercury mining in Xunyang County, and the cultural relics unearthed in the Qin and Han exhibition halls of Xunyang County Museum provide people with new clues.
In ancient times, an important use of mercury was to make gold-plated bronzes, and these cultural relics of the Warring States period undoubtedly proved that mercury had been used as early as that time. At the same time, many cultural relics in the museum also conveyed such a message to us that Xunyang was already an important town long before the Qin Dynasty.
During the Warring States Period, the vassal regime was divided, and Xunyang was at the junction of Qin Chu. Although it is located in the mountainous area, the land transportation is very inconvenient, but the dangerous geographical situation and convenient waterway transportation make it a battleground for Qin and Chu.
In 22 1 BC, the state of Qin destroyed the state of Chu, and finally occupied the famous Xunyang, and also occupied the mercury storage area. So today people can think of Qin people more than two thousand years ago. It is on this vast surface of the Han River that many ships hang sails and transport a large amount of mercury ore from Xunyang to the mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor.
However, according to the ability of the Qin dynasty at that time, mining these mercury should be a very huge project. Experts believe that, except Xunyang County, Shaanxi Province, this mercury was most likely shipped from the southeast of Chongqing, the largest mercury mine at that time. The owner of the largest local mercury mine is a widow named Qing. She is not an ordinary woman, because she is inextricably linked with the mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, leaving behind various legends throughout the ages.
Mi mi yi Hao
Mercury comes from Chongqing.
In Biography of Historical Records of Huo Zhi, there is a chapter devoted to the economic events in Historical Records, in which Qing, a special woman, is especially mentioned. She is a widow living in Sichuan, because her family has mastered the place of Danxue Mountain and made a lot of money from generation to generation. Among them, Dan Snow Mountain refers to Yinling Mountain in Youyang County, Chongqing, which is famous for its rich cinnabar since ancient times.
In ancient times, cinnabar was used as a pigment for writing, painting and makeup, and another main use was to extract mercury. It is more clearly recorded in Hanshu Shihuozhi that the Ba widow Qing family monopolized the operation of Dansha for generations and became very rich.
Although it is recorded in historical materials that the Qing family managed cinnabar in Bashu generation, and the Qing family was also the largest cinnabar operator in Qin Dynasty at that time, there was no mention of her relationship with the Mausoleum of the First Qin Dynasty. So how do you know whether the mercury in the underground palace of Qin mausoleum comes from Qing or Ba county?
It turns out that Xu Shen, a scholar of the Eastern Han Dynasty, recorded in Shuo Wen Jie Zi that in ancient times, the main producing areas of red ore cinnabar were few, mainly concentrated in Ba County and South Vietnam, which is now Chongqing and Guangxi.
According to the pre-Qin ancient book Yizhoushu, in the Western Zhou Dynasty, people from Bashu area paid tribute to the King of Zhou. In other words, as early as before the Qin Dynasty, emperors knew and obtained the rich cinnabar here. These historical records made experts quickly conclude that most of the mercury in Qin Shihuang's underground palace came from Ba County.
Archaeologists believe that during the Qin and Han dynasties, the main mining areas of mercury mines should be in today's Chongqing, western Hubei, southeastern Chongqing and northeastern Guizhou, that is, Wuling Mountain.
Many years ago, Chongqing Geological Exploration Brigade discovered dozens of old mines of different sizes on Yinling Mountain.
The discovery of the old mine proves the accuracy of the historical records: the development of mercury mines in Bashan area did begin on a large scale in the Qin Dynasty.
So how did the Qin Dynasty, 2000 years ago, cross mountains and mountains to transport the minerals mined in the deep mountains to the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor hundreds of kilometers away?
The Jialing River in history is a very smooth shipping channel, starting from Chongqing, going up the Jialing River and passing through Langzhong. Go north to Guangyuan, then cross the Qinling Mountains and enter Shaanxi via Jialing River. This is a waterway. This is a traffic artery between Sichuan and Shaanxi from pre-Qin to modern times.
Secret 2
Legend of Ba Nv Qing
Abundant mercury mine resources, convenient water transportation and various conditions can prove that the mercury in the underground palace of Qin Mausoleum comes from the southeast of Sichuan. But who had such a huge amount of mercury at that time? It is Bashu Nvqing who has such strength.
Qing was not only the largest cinnabar operator at that time, archaeologists and historians found that this woman had an unusual life experience, and Qin Shihuang treated her with too many abnormal behaviors.
In Historical Records, Sima Qian used eight meaningful words to evaluate the Qing Dynasty, that is, "courtesy resisted the world and made the world famous." It means that she can compete with the emperor and become famous all over the world. A businesswoman living in the hinterland can match the ostentation and extravagance of the king, which was unimaginable to anyone during the hegemonic period of Qin Shihuang's administration. There is also a passage describing Qing in Historical Records, that is, "self-defense with money is inviolable", which means that Qing used his wealth to raise a private armed force to protect his cinnabar business. In Longevity County Records, thousands of servants and tens of thousands of private bodyguards of the Qing family are recorded in detail.
Twenty years ago, in Yushan Town, Pengshui County, archaeologists found many mysterious caves where some rivers flowed. They are naturally formed and artificially excavated. Archaeologists identified these caves as caves where weapons were stored in the past. It is conceivable that there will be a large number of weapons in these caves, and the army behind these weapons is undoubtedly huge.
The caves where weapons were collected in the Qing Dynasty further verified the fact that there were private armed forces in the Qing Dynasty mentioned in the history books, which shocked historians.
In the Qin Dynasty, when people were forbidden to own weapons, it was a miracle that Qing dared to take the world by storm. Instead of being punished, he was highly valued by the emperor.
Just when the experts were puzzled, they found a more abnormal record in the history books, saying: She lost her husband early in the morning and never remarried, so Qin Shihuang was named a "virgin girl" and ordered someone to build a "Huaiqingtai" in recognition of her.
The high-profile recognition of "chastity women" appeared after the rise of Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasties. Before the Qin and Han Dynasties, the remarriage of widows was not bound by ethical codes. For example, Cai Wenji, a famous woman in the Eastern Han Dynasty, has been married several times in her life, and she has never been rejected.
So why did Qin Shihuang praise the chastity of a "businesswoman"? Is his admiration for her really out of appreciation of "chastity"?
From resisting everything with courtesy, to self-defense with wealth, and then to chastity archway, Qing is really an extraordinary woman. Just because she has money? Or does she have a beautiful face? Is there a bigger secret hidden in this?
Secret three
She is the "goddess" of Wushan.
The governing county and Ba county where Qingjia is located are the southeast of Chongqing now. A few years ago, archaeologists discovered this Qing Dynasty tomb in Longshanzhai, Jiangnan Town, Changshou District, Chongqing. Due to the age, the above-ground buildings of the mausoleum have been unrecognizable. But it is this discovery that brings the mystery closer.
It turned out that experts circled the Changshou area where the Qing Tomb was located, Pengshui County where the armory was located, and Youyang County where the mercury mine was located, and found that the sphere of influence controlled by the Qing Dynasty was just within the scope of Wushan, the birthplace of witchcraft culture in China.
Wushan is the sacred mountain and Lingshan in ancient mythology, the birthplace of witchcraft culture in China, and more importantly, it is also the main producer of "fairy medicine". At that time, cinnabar and mercury were synonymous with "fairy medicine".
In fact, Ba wizard, known as the ancient wise man, knew the characteristics of cinnabar long ago and began a long and mysterious road of alchemy, which gave him indisputable power to communicate with the gods in Xiajiang River Basin.
In the process of witchcraft consciousness, there is a process of communication between man and nature, but this process of communication cannot be the same as normal communication between people. It needs some external signs. Taking cinnabar or cinnabar fine powder, or even taking a small amount of mercury, will lead to body stiffness and whole body trembling, which is an important aspect of witchcraft rituals.
Now let's think about it. Qing lives in a place where wizards gather. The wizard's power is inseparable from cinnabar, and she is the number one master of cinnabar. What identity should she be?
If you are the highest military leader or military chief and chief executive, it is impossible not to master witchcraft under the prevailing witchcraft culture at that time. Only those who unify political power, military power and theocracy can truly control the financial power of a powerful empire, and she can control it.
Because there are indications that Qing is probably a descendant of a famous Bawu family, and she may be the most authoritative wizard in the wizard group.
In Qin Shihuang's view, Qing was not a simple wizard. She must be the most professional Wushan goddess. Qin Shihuang can completely control her cinnabar mercury, but she can't get her idea of "Immortal Technique". Therefore, in order to realize the dream of eternal life, Qin Shihuang has every reason to provide all necessary conditions and shelter for Baqing's cinnabar action, and in return, Baqing can provide a large amount of mercury and Immortal Technique for the underground palace of Qin Shihuang's mausoleum.
Therefore, Bashu women can be extremely favored by Qin Shihuang and naturally have supreme privileges.
In the questioning of archaeologists, the veil of the Qing Dynasty was gradually unveiled.
We finally understand that all kinds of anomalies originated from an underground transaction more than 2000 years ago. That is, Baqing provided Qin Shihuang with high-quality cinnabar mercury and alchemy technology, and at the same time presided over a huge court alchemy institution for him, while Qin Shihuang provided Baqing with behind-the-scenes rights support.
Or we can understand that the controller of the huge cinnabar industry of the Qing family is no longer Baqing, but actually Qin Shihuang. The trickle of mercury flowing in the depths of the Qin Shihuang Mausoleum not only records the distant legend of a woman, but also records the eternal dream given to a generation of feudal emperors by the ancient witch culture in China.
Personally, I think the biggest use of mercury is to generate electricity as power! Because the bronze coffin of Qin Shihuang was filled with mercury, if necessary measures were taken, mercury gas would be produced in the tomb, and circulating electricity would be used as an anti-theft measure.