The mausoleum of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty is called "Mao Ling" and is a large-scale royal mausoleum. As for why Emperor Wu of Han chose to build the Mao Mausoleum, in fact, it has an important relationship with what he saw and heard before his death. What exactly did Emperor Wudi of Han see? What will they be in real life? If you want to know, let Xiaobian reveal the secret for you:
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The Western Han Dynasty is one of the great dynasties in China's history, in addition to Liu Bang, the ancestor of Han Gao, the greatest emperor of the Western Han Dynasty was Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was a man of great talent and strategy in his lifetime, expelling the Xiongnu who had plagued the Han Dynasty for many years and leading the country to its peak. At the same time, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was also a lavish emperor, who paid attention to building amusement gardens for his own enjoyment during his lifetime, and also built a huge and magnificent mausoleum after his death.
Located in Xingping City, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province, Maoling Tomb is the largest, longest-built and most abundant funerary tomb of the Han Dynasty emperors, and is known as the "Pyramid of China". The construction of Maoling lasted a total of 53 years, and the owners of the funerary tombs were Lady Li, Wei Qing, Huo Fuyi, Huo Guang, and Jin Ilju. At this time, a question naturally arose, Maoxiang geographical location is very remote, and there is no "landscape trend" pursued by the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, why would emperor Wu of Han build a mausoleum here? The answer is simple, because he has seen the "auspicious omen" here.
Ancient emperors advocated superstition, believing that the emperor was the "son of heaven", and the so-called "heavenly boss, my second eldest" thought filled the minds of feudal emperors. Because of this, whenever a strange natural phenomenon occurred, the ancients often associated it with "auspicious murder". It is said that when Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty went out hunting, he once found a special animal near Maoxiang, which was clearly recorded in ancient books as "Qilin", and at the same time, there was a "long fruit tree" behind the "Qilin". Emperor Wu of Han was immediately overjoyed, believing that the wonders in front of him were "auspicious omens", so he ordered people to enclose this place and build a mausoleum as his own auspicious place for ten thousand years.
The unicorn is a special kind of sacred beast in Chinese mythology, which does not exist in real life, but the ancients depicted its appearance in great detail. The image of the unicorn is a fusion of the dragon's head, elk body, ox tail, and horse's hoof, which symbolizes xiangrui as the "head of the beasts". Although there are many records of the unicorn in history, it is not known what kind of creature the unicorn was embodied into. At this time, a question naturally arose, what exactly were the Qilin and Immortal Fruit found by Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty in Maoxiang? We can try to deduce:
According to the inferences of paleontologists, the unicorn may be an elk-like creature like an elk, because both have something in common in terms of appearance and shape of teeth. However, scholars have also put forward different opinions, believing that the "Qilin" seen by Emperor Wu of han is likely to be a Shanxi beast that has long been extinct.
The Shanxi beast is a prehistoric type of ancient giraffe with a shorter neck and limbs, but four large horns behind the eyes, more similar in size to the okapi in africa today. From a professional biological point of view, the skull of the Shanxi beast is small and triangular. The occipital region is the widest, the face is wide and short, the tip of the snout is curved downwards, the nostrils are anterior, with the nasal ridge and nasal bone protrusions, and the intertemporal area is extremely narrow, forming a parietal ridge. The cheekbones are flattened above and below, the scales are dilated to the sides, and the eyelets are smaller. The pineal foramen is close to the anterior edge of the parietal spine, and the anterior parietal bone is present. The spine is double concave and the shoulder spine is 5. The bones of the limbs are thinner. The proximal and distal ends of the humerus are twisted at a 60-degree angle and are a mammal. It is precisely because of the special appearance of the Shanxi beast that we will lock our eyes on its body, perhaps in the period of Emperor Wu of Han, the Beast of Shanxi has become an endangered species, so Emperor Wu of Han will think that it is a rare unicorn.
After the secret of the unicorn is revealed, we should focus on the elixir. Ancient people have a very persistent pursuit of immortality, and even regard it as the goal of eternal life, Qin Shi Huang and Tang Taizong and other emperors through the ages have also tried to use the elixir for their own survival, but they all ended in failure, so Emperor Wudi of Han would also be extremely excited after seeing the "fruit of immortality". What exactly is the "elixir"? Some experts believe that it is likely to be the peanut that modern people know.
Peanuts, formerly known as falling peanuts, are a kind of nut with rich production and wide consumption in China, also known as "long fruit", "mud bean", "tomato bean" and so on. It is mainly distributed in Brazil, China, Egypt and other places. It can be used as a raw material for cosmetics such as soap making and hair oil. The reason why peanuts are called "long fruit", in fact, is related to its rich internal nutrients, often eat peanuts can be anti-aging, coagulation and hemostasis, enhance memory, is a kind of nutrition suitable for young and old. However, the "longevity" effect of peanuts is limited to strengthening the body, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the real "immortality".
That being the case, what kind of plant is the fruit of the elixir? In fact, it is very simple, the immortal fruit that Emperor Wudi of Han saw with his own eyes is exactly the "kiwifruit" that we are familiar with. Kiwi fruit has a soft texture and a sweet and sour taste, and the taste has been described as a mixture of strawberry, banana and pineapple. In kiwifruit contains kiwi alkali, proteolytic enzymes, tannin pectin and sugars and other organic substances, but also rich in calcium, potassium, selenium, zinc, germanium and other trace elements, as well as vitamin C, grape acid, fructose, citric acid, malic acid, fat, etc., is a real "super nutritious fruit", so it is also praised as "long fruit". Kiwifruit is distributed in Henan, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shaanxi, Sichuan and other provinces, and is one of the native fruits in China, so it is reasonable for Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty to see the "kiwi tree".
The emergence of Shanxi beasts and kiwis made the legend of "Qilin" and "Immortal Fruit Tree" magical, and also changed the decision of Emperor Wu of Han. However, what is surprising is that the "great" decision made by such a great king was ultimately defeated by the tomb robbers, resulting in Maoling becoming one of the most stolen imperial tombs of the Han Dynasty, and the dream of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's "Ten Thousand Years of Auspicious Land" can only be a fragmented Spring and Autumn dream, so it is a great irony to think of it.
References: The Great Biography of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, published by Zheng Guanmin, published by Shaanxi Publishing House
Wen xiucai, editor-in-chief of Wenlan Hairun Studio, written by: Special history writer: Changshan Zhao Zi worm