After Guo Zhikun's collection "Let Qin Shihuang Lie in the Underground Palace" was published on Dongfang. com. There are two completely different views on whether Qin Shihuang's body is complete. People who hold the view that "the bones of the first emperor have rotted" believe that although the underground palace of the Qin Mausoleum has not been stolen, there are few bones left of the first Qin Emperor. The reason is that Qin Shihuang died on his way out, and it was on a hot day, so the body was not well protected; At that time, the "corpse" had not gone far before it smelled a smell of smoke. In order to prevent the smell from spreading and let the wind spread, Zhao Gao and Hu Hai immediately sent people to fish out baskets of abalone from the river and put them with the "corpse" to make it stink.

These statements don't seem to be groundless, because "Historical Records of the First Qin Emperor" says: "The coffin will be carried in a cold car, it will be hot, and the car will stink. It is an official order to bring an abalone on board and make it stink. " However, we only say "smelly" here, not the rotten smell of Qin Shihuang's body. Abalone used to "mess up the taste" must be ridiculed as another matter. According to common sense, Qin Shihuang's body will not rot to this extent, and later scholars have always held different views on this.

People who hold the view that the remains of the first emperor are well preserved believe that the remains of the first emperor were well protected after his death and even when he was buried, according to the level of anti-corrosion at that time and the supreme status of Qin Shihuang. This statement became more popular in the early 1970s. Because in 1972, the remains of Xin Zhui of the Western Han Dynasty were found in Mawangdui, Changsha, with intact body, moist body, elastic skin and movable joints. This is the first wet corpse with a long history that shocked the world.

Why can the female corpse of Xin Zhui in the Western Han Dynasty be preserved so well? There are many explanations.

Some people say that this is the sealing effect of charcoal, lime and white paste, which makes it in a desert-like dry environment and bacteria cannot reproduce.

Some say that the coffin is well sealed and completely isolated from the outside air, avoiding the erosion of the body by bacteria; Moreover, Mawangdui tomb has never been stolen. Geological conditions and human factors made Xin Zhui's body miraculously preserved.

Some people say that Xin Zhui pursued immortality before his death and had the habit of taking Dan medicine. Although she didn't live long after taking too much Dan medicine, the toxicity of Dan medicine killed bacteria and preserved her bones for a long time.

Some people say that there are a large number of Chinese herbal medicines in the funerary objects, which to some extent prepare the conditions for the preparation of antiseptic potions and become an important reason for the preservation of ancient bodies.

Some people say that it is not difficult to speculate that Mrs. Xin Zhui is a researcher of Taoist health preservation methods and has made great achievements from the Taoist health preservation map carved from the tomb wall and the two most complete Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching unearthed at present.

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Archaeologists and historians naturally think of the preservation of Qin Shihuang's remains, and think that the above conditions were all possessed by Qin Shihuang's era, and they are superior. Professor Luo, director and doctoral supervisor of Mawangdui Han Tomb Cultural Relics Protection Center of Central South University, believes that the female corpse of the Western Han Dynasty, which is less than a hundred years away from the Qin Dynasty, can be well protected, and the Qin Dynasty should also have anti-corrosion technology to protect the remains.

1980, 10 at the beginning, the author visited the archaeologist Mr. Li Xueqin on this issue (see Wen Wei Po 1980, 10.9), and his academic discussion was extensive and rigorous. He clearly said: "From the complete protection and elastic skin of Mawangdui female corpse, we can imagine Qin Shihuang's body, saying that Qin Shihuang's body is intact, and it is not impossible to see the anti-corrosion level, centralization and exclusive position of Qin Shihuang at that time."

Mr. Li said that when the female corpse of Mawangdui was unearthed, the coffin was filled with red coffin liquid. Scientists believe that this liquid is the "magic liquid" that keeps Xin Zhui from rotting for more than 2,000 years. The coffin liquid is red because cinnabar is added, and the chemical composition of cinnabar contains mercury. To be sure, this red liquid has bactericidal effect and can ensure that the body does not rot.

Lenovo will not solidify understanding. Diderot said: "Imagination is the wing to improve wisdom, which can make people get rid of the distress caused by the bondage of time and space." Linking the female corpse of the Western Han Dynasty with the remains of Qin Shihuang will sweep away some dust from my mind.

In terms of location, Qin Shihuang died in the sand dune platform (now northwest of Guangzong County, Hebei Province). The weather here in July (Bing Yin Day) is still relatively cool, not as hot as people think.

As far as riding equipment is concerned, Qin Shihuang's body was put in a cool car, that is, a car with windows, which was warm when closed and cool when opened.

According to his own conditions, Qin Shihuang went to the seaside to find the medicine of immortality. He felt uncomfortable on the road and took a lot of "elixir of life". Although these traditional Chinese medicines can't save lives, they can sterilize and protect the remains.

There are two things that can't be ignored here: one is the place of death, and the other is the people around you when you die.

The land of death is in the sand dunes. Dunes are the places where Shang kings left their palaces in the late Shang Dynasty. This is the place where Shang Zhouwang "takes wine as a pool and hangs meat as a forest". During the Warring States period, Dune became a famous city of Zhao, and the famous Dune Palace was here, which naturally became the starting palace of Qin Shihuang. It should be said that its living facilities and even the necessary treatment drugs are available. When the first emperor was dying, the physician had to apply the prescription of Dan medicine. China ancient alchemist made an alchemist, boasting that mercury "won't die for a long time". Alchemy is one of the main ways people pursue longevity. Perhaps Qin Shihuang wanted to live a long life and even took a lot of Dan medicine. The refined Dan medicine itself contains substances that are toxic and harmful to human body, such as mercury, which people didn't realize at that time, but mercury can kill bacteria. Therefore, although the first emperor took a lot of Dan medicine before his death and at the end of his life, it was a mistake behind him, but the toxicity of Dan medicine kept his body for a long time.

Besides, Hu Hai, Li Si and Zhao Gao, the core officials of the Qin Dynasty, were present. Li Si, the prime minister, holds the power of the imperial court. Zhao Gao was the personal eunuch of the first emperor, and Hu Hai was a typical dutiful son. There is also an important person around Qin Shihuang, that is, Xia Wuqie, a physician with superb medical skills. In the face of emergencies, he will use his knowledge of sterilization and antisepsis at that time.

When the first emperor died of sudden illness, they were very worried that "future generations will change forever", so they decided to "keep their mouths shut and not send out mourning". This was the policy decided by the situation at that time.

Then, the most important thing is to do our best to preserve the remains so as to avoid filial piety. Mencius said: "The most important thing for a dutiful son is to respect his loved ones." After the death of a loved one, the remains of a loved one are regarded as living, which is also called "living by death". Therefore, preserving the remains is an important manifestation of filial piety.

This is the influence of the thought of "ghost worship" in the pre-Qin era. Before "ghost worship" happened, people abandoned corpses, just like wild animals treated the corpses of the same kind. In the Book of Changes, it is recorded that "the ancient burial was paid for by thick clothes." Buried in the middle of the field, there are no seals and no trees ... "It is precisely the description of people's handling of corpses before the worship of ghosts and gods. The original "ghost worship" is actually the activity ability produced by worshipping the natural essence of the living, thinking that the body is injured and the soul is also injured. At this time, people think that the soul of the deceased can exist alone and live like a living person, so it is necessary to properly treat the remains to make them like a living person and a real person. After death, whether it is burial, cremation or water burial, the body must be protected first, which is the first act of reburial.

A little further, when the cave was crowded with people, we began to explore the non-corruption of the human body. Archaeologists found that it was not entirely auspicious or exorcism to sprinkle hematite, a red thing, around the body after death. Maybe this will also make the body better preserved. There was a time in the Qin and Han Dynasties when I took this medicine and made myself immortal through the so-called alchemy. In fact, I showed an idea at that time, that is, I hoped that I would not die after my death, and the second was that even if I died, my body could not rot.

In fact, there are many good experiences and methods to preserve corpses in ancient society. Mr. Lu Xun also talked about the method that the corpse does not rot, that is, "fart plug". What is a "fart plug"? That is, in ancient times, after the death of the deceased, some jade and stones were often stuffed in the mouth, ears, nose and anus of the deceased. It is said that this can prevent corrosion. Also, when the ancients were at the Great-coat, they often painted mercury powder on their bodies. "When the ancients were at the Great-coat, they stuffed their farts in their assholes" (see "The Complete Works of Lu Xun Wandering"), which made them immortal for a long time;

Mawangdui Xin Zhui's immortality is amazing, and Lianyungang's "Huiping" is not bad, which makes people sigh, and so on. Although it is still confusing, many anti-corrosion measures have been known to the ancients and are being applied:

The above are the "fart plug" mentioned by Mr. Lu Xun and painting the body with water and silver powder, which are commonly used methods.

Some are coated with spirits containing alcohol and formaldehyde.

Some are wiped with honey, gravel and salt.

Nowadays, there are many ways for ethnic minorities to embalm corpses, and their witchcraft traditions have added mysterious and strange colors to people out of thin air. However, through the observation of relevant people, the secret of embalming has finally been revealed:

The first method is to add a certain amount of cinnabar, especially mercury, or smear or evaporate fumigation to make the whole body have a protective film; The second method is to fumigate with herbs and put the deceased in a steaming bucket with anti-inflammatory and bactericidal herbs. After fumigation, the body can be preserved for a long time and will not rot. The third method is to dehydrate the body; The fourth method is to use salt pepper. In some remote areas, according to birthdates' calculation, the deceased will have to wait 15 days before they can go up the mountain for burial. What if it happens to be a hot day? That is, change the quilt frequently to get rid of some water in the body. The dead are getting drier and drier, unlike ordinary people who will swell up after death.

Some experts believe that after Qin Shihuang's death, he first used the method of cooling down. After discovering mercury, he "cleaned" the body, wrapped it in multi-layer silk, and then soaked it in a mercury coffin. This kind of imagination is not unreasonable. Because the first emperor died in the dune palace, after some treatment, he re-entered the coffin. After entering the coffin, as "Historical Records of the First Qin Emperor" said: "The coffin is carried by a cold car."

If Qin Shihuang's body begins to rot on the way, I'm afraid it will be unrecognizable before it can be transported back to Xianyang for treatment. Such a situation happened to the first emperor who was the only one in the world at that time, which was naturally not allowed and impossible.

In fact, mercury was also a common preservative in those days. Mercury produced by alchemy is a metallic substance, but it is liquid and volatile, which is different from ordinary substances. Weird phenomena made the ancients feel magical, so alchemists always wanted to use these substances to make "regression pills" with magical effects, also known as "magic pills". "Bao Puzi Jin Dan pian" said: "The elixir of life has been established, which can not only live forever, but also be used as gold." In other words, this "panacea" is a panacea that can make people "live forever" and "turn the stone into gold".

Since ancient times, alchemists have been closely related to medicine, and many doctors also know alchemy. For example, Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica in the Eastern Han Dynasty is the oldest extant book of materia medica, which is regarded as a medical book, but it lists cinnabar as the first top grade, and more than 40 kinds of alchemy drugs used in alchemy are listed as upper, middle and lower categories respectively, and clearly puts forward that the standard of grading is "taking medicine makes people feel safe." Xia Wuqie, a doctor who holds a medicine bag all day, should have mastered these medical skills.

The most fascinating thing is "immortality", because mercury has the function of antivirus and sterilization, so it is called "gold never dies, and Hu is the treasure of all things" (the Book of Changes can be the same contract). An alchemist believes that taking "immortal" things such as gold, silver and minerals can make human flesh and blood equally "immortal". So they should not only try to get these things, but also extract medicinal gold and silver by artificial methods. Many emperors, including Qin Shihuang, recruited alchemists to make gold for them.

It was summer, and it was an urgent and arduous task for ministers to protect the remains of the first emperor. However, there are many ways to protect relics in ancient times. At that time, the method of "mercury immersion" appeared, not to mention that the first emperor of "Supreme" was a noble tomb in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and it was not uncommon to use "mercury as a pool". It can be inferred that Qin Shihuang's body was also "soaked in mercury"; Death was buried in the coffin until the underground palace was buried, and it was soaked in mercury.

What is the basis? To sum up, it can be summarized as follows: first, the noble tombs in the Qin Shihuang era used "immortal" drugs such as mercury; Second, senior officials of the Qin Dynasty, Li Si, Zhao Gao, Hu Hai and Xia Wuqie, the physician, were present. Third, a large amount of mercury was measured in the underground palace of Qin Shihuang's mausoleum.

At the end of the 20th century, Chinese archaeologists detected a large area of strong mercury on the surface of the underground palace of Qin Mausoleum, and concluded that there was a large amount of mercury hidden in the underground palace of Qin Shihuang Mausoleum. The distribution trend of mercury is obviously a map of the territory of Daqin Empire. It is confirmed from the history books that there is such a record in Historical Records of Qin Shihuang: The mausoleum of Qin Shihuang "takes mercury as a hundred rivers and seas, and pours them into the machine." There is astronomy above and geography below. "

In 2003, the archaeological team of China once again used geophysical prospecting technology to carry out nondestructive detection on the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor. After careful analysis, Wang Xueli, a researcher at Shaanxi Institute of Archaeology, came to the conclusion that the mercury in the underground palace is indeed as Sima Qian said: based on hundreds of rivers, rivers and seas. It is conservatively estimated that there is at least 100 tons of mercury.

A hundred tons of mercury, not a hundred tons of cement! Is it possible?

It's possible.

Experts from the Institute of Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences have repeatedly sorted out historical materials, and after two field sampling tests, it is confirmed that the storage of mercury in the underground palace is well founded. Archaeological excavations have also proved many times that the records of Qin Mausoleum in Historical Records are in line with historical facts. Some experts have analyzed that the use of mercury in tombs is not only to create a magnificent atmosphere, but also to protect the remains of the first emperor, and even to use mercury sulfide, a toxic gas, to prevent the invasion of grave robbers. At that time, it was not uncommon for aristocratic tombs to use "mercury as a pool". However, in the underground palace, mercury symbolizes "all rivers run into the sea" and "camera instillation", which is unique to the first imperial tomb.

To tell the truth, hundreds of tons of mercury, not to mention ancient times, is a staggering number even today.

Where does this mercury come from? It may be multi-channel. Because alchemy is an ancient alchemy of refining Dan medicine for "immortality", this alchemy originated very early, "Dan is produced in many places." According to Xiang Zhuan, Liu An, the king of Huainan, said in his book The Secret Garden of Hongbao in Pillow that during the Warring States Period, Zou Yan (about 305- 240 BC) had the ambition of "pursuing life again". The Warring States Policy contains the fact that the alchemist told Jing Wang Xian that he was an elixir of life. "Zhou Li" even recorded that Ba people offered Dan to Zhou Chengwang in the Western Zhou Dynasty.

Besides sporadic refining, there are also large-scale mining areas, which is confirmed by Historical Records and Biography of Huo Zhi. According to Records of Historical Records and Biography of Huo Zhi, there was a widow named Qing in Qinba County who monopolized the cinnabar mining business for generations. Qin Shihuang once built a luxurious monument for her-"Huaiqingtai" in recognition of her "chastity". Historical Records also said: "Jiangnan" produces cinnabar. Dansha is the main raw material for extracting mercury. Wang Zijin, vice president of Qin and Han History Research Association and professor of Beijing Normal University, put forward the concept of "Jiangnan cinnabar". He thinks that mercury mines in China are most concentrated in southern Chongqing, northeastern Guizhou and western Hunan, that is, near Wujiang River, such as Youyang, Xiushan, Wuchuan, Tongren, Wanshan, Xinhuang and Fenghuang. Southeast Sichuan is the main producing area of mercury mines during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

"Hanshu Shihuozhi" also said that Ba widow was Qing, and her family monopolized the operation of Dansha for generations and became a very rich person. Qin Shihuang regarded her as a distinguished guest and built a "Huaiqing Terrace" for her. Since then, all the history books involving cinnabar have mentioned Ba Widow Qing. In ancient times, cinnabar with mercury sulfide as the main component was used as a pigment for writing, painting and makeup, and another main use was medicine or extraction of mercury. Because natural mercury is very scarce, the main way to obtain mercury at that time was to extract it with cinnabar.

It is recorded in the history books that the widow of Ba County managed to clean up cinnabar and mercury. Although there was no mention of her relationship with the first imperial mausoleum, Qin Shihuang built a "Huaiqing Terrace" for her, which led to a certain relationship between Qin Shihuang's mausoleum and Ba widow Qing. If it weren't for the large amount of mercury provided in the underground palace of the Qin Mausoleum, how could Qin Shihuang build a "Huaiqing Terrace" for her and commend her as a "virgin"?

People naturally form the view that the mercury in the underground palace of Qin Mausoleum comes from the widow Qing of Ba County. Professor Zhao Hua Cheng, an expert on the study of the Qin Mausoleum in Peking University Institute of Archaeology and the leader of the research group "Study on the Mausoleum System in Han and Tang Dynasties", made a special study on the source of mercury in the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang. He said: Xu Shen, a scholar in the Eastern Han Dynasty, explained the red mines in Dansha, Ba (Ba County) and Nanyue (now Guangdong and Guangxi) in Shuo Wen Jie Zi. From this point of view, the origin of ancient cinnabar is mainly concentrated in Ba County and South Vietnam. Eight Records of Huayang Country says that tea and cinnabar are produced in Fuling County. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Liu Lin quoted the annotation recorded in The Continuation of Hanshu: cinnabar was produced by water heating. Fuling County in Wei and Jin Dynasties was the territory of Ba County in Qin Dynasty.

Deng, chief engineer of Southeastern Sichuan Geological Team, gave a more detailed explanation. He said that the cinnabar mine in Guizhou occupies an important position in the whole country, and the cinnabar mine in southeast Chongqing belongs to the extension of Guizhou mercury vein and has development value.

Ba county should be the largest supplier of cinnabar in ancient times, and at the same time, Ba county is the closest producer of cinnabar to Xianyang, so experts infer that the mercury in the underground palace of Qin Mausoleum is probably provided by Ba widow Qing. For example, Gui Youguang, an essayist in the Ming Dynasty, said, "The widow of Pakistan has owned cinnabar mine and made it the biggest business in the world.

The widow of Ba County took charge of cinnabar and mercury, which proved that Qin Shihuang's body was well protected.