Should Qin Shi Huang's tomb be excavated?

[bhchao]

Many people say Qin Shi Huang's tomb should never be opened, while others say it should be opened to reveal the secrets inside. Still some say the real tomb lies elsewhere and the current excavation site is a dummy used to prevent people from knowing the real whereabouts of the tomb.

The Chinese government has not yet given its approval to open the tomb, and this decision is not likely to be made anytime soon, probably not in our lifetime.

If the government gives the green light to excavate the tomb, it should be interesting to see what secrets lie inside. The treasures described by Sima Qian in his description of the mausoleum may not exist, because Xiang Yu supposedly looted it. It looks like Xiang Yu and his army missed the outlying parts of the burial site that contained the terracotta warriors, which could explain why the warriors exist today. However an analysis of the tomb reveals that it is untampered and secure.

In a geological survey done a couple years ago, traces of mercury levels were found in the soil. So Sima Qian's description of the tomb may turn out to be true; rivers of flowing mercury and booby-trap arrows.

[kentsuarez]

Doesn't the fact that they haven't opened it seem suspicious to anyone? How many times in history has the location of a tomb potentially greater than King Tut's been known, only to have those in charge decide to postpone opening it indefinitely?

I suspect that the government has already secretly tunneled into it and discovered that it is empty or just an earthen mound, and they think they can play up the mystery of what lies inside to maximize their take of tourist dollars!

After all, since when has this communist government ever proven itself to be worthy of anyone's trust?

[Quest]

I suspect that the government has already secretly tunneled into it and discovered that it is empty or just an earthen mound, and they think they can play up the mystery of what lies inside to maximize their take of tourist dollars!

After all, since when has this communist government ever proven itself to be worthy of anyone's trust?

good imagination.

[holyman]

After all, since when has this communist government ever proven itself to be worthy of anyone's trust?

i dont think mainland china has done anything unworthy of anyone's trust regarding international affairs. internally how it rule its country, that's another qns.

[TSkillet]

I find it odd that the technology doesn't exist to get into Qin Shi Huangdi's tomb safely.

But I don't happen to believe in many conspiracies, so I think the cost of doing a full excavation might be a factor.

[39degN]

After all, since when has this communist government ever proven itself to be worthy of anyone's trust?

ok, baby, then pls tell us which government ever proven itself to be worthy of anyone's trust!

personally i dont trust in any government, but I will defend to death your right to trust in any.

[39degN]

I suspect that the government has already secretly tunneled into it and discovered that it is empty or just an earthen mound, and they think they can play up the mystery of what lies inside to maximize their take of tourist dollars!

in china, 掘人家祖坟是一件丧尽天良的事, 何况这是皇帝的坟(to plunder graves is kind of villainies, even worse as if that was emperor's grave) , even though ppl curious about what the secret in it. or archaeologists wanna do it, the official wouldnt authorize, because of the officer himself would fear of 遭到报应. (comeuppance, the day of retribution)meanwhile he couldnt benefit from it, why bother to do?

dont doubt about this though they state themselves antitheists.

[pazu]

[pazu]

丧尽天良

Oh I don't know the Communist care anything about this.

They just don't care these traditional values.

[39degN]

Oh I don't know the Communist care anything about this.

They just don't care these traditional values.

呵呵，stereotype. though i dont agree with them either.

the cultural revolution lost control of common sense. during that time, the events reflect every one's dark side, not only of the communists.

calamity is always like a mirror, no matter if it caused by nature or human being themseves.

[pazu]

Obviously this is not a stereotype. This is a fact.

And what I wanted to say was that the Communists wouldn't refrain themselves from digging out the Qin's Tomb because of the fear of blaming by the heaven (天譴).

Your point in the previous post (Tue May 25, 2004 1:43 am) seemed to be very much non-related.

ps: 寫錯字... 中文真難!

[shibo77]

sigh....

I don't think the governement of the People's Republic has done any secret excavations with the mausoleum. If that is how people in Hong Kong and Taiwan think about the mainland, then why shouldn't the mainlanders think of Taiwaneses and Hong Kongners as capitalist pigs??

One big happy family now.

Right, the tomb is not excavated because of moral values, traditional and contemporary. You may think the communist may not care for these values, but even the staunchiest communist still has a strong root in Chinese morals. Ok sorry, I just really can't believe that Chinese can't live with each other even online!!! ai...

Also, should the Sphinx be excavated? I think it is said that 10 millenia of knowleadge is stored there. Radio detection have proven that there are perhaps 2 or more chambers inside/underground. But the Egyptian government says that they will wait until technology allows an proper excavation without any damage to the chambers.

The same reply is given to the issue of excavating the Ying Zheng Mausoleum.

pazu, where do you find all these coole gif's? Do you make them yourself?

世界人民大团结萬嵗!

-Shibo

[pazu]

But the Egyptian government says that they will wait until technology allows an proper excavation without any damage to the chambers.

我用中文吧, 我怕你不明白。

秦皇陵沒被開掘, 並非如你所說的, 並不是因為甚麼中國傳統的思想。當中國政府有足夠的技術, 他們不會顧慮甚麼「起人墳是喪盡天良」的事就立刻去起人家的墳。你前前後後的觀點, 好像是說中共發展出足夠技術後, 就會喪盡天良地去起人家始皇帝的墳?

胡扯得太遠了, 從陝西拉到去香港, 香港又到台灣, 中國又到埃及, 更要到全世界。

[Quest]

I don't think morals would stop the government either, they've digged up many graves to make land for high rises.

but, I do think there's a lot more to Qin Shihuang's tomb, and I do think there are technical difficulties that cannot be solved easily (i.e. requires a lot of $$, time and effort).

I find it odd that the technology doesn't exist to get into Qin Shi Huangdi's tomb safely.

There is no easy way to do it. You cannot just dig a hole in the ground, if there's no stone tunnels inside, or if the original structure was made of wood, it would not be an easy task to recover what was originally there.

[holyman]

pazu is right, the real problem is with technology. dont think the chinese govt will miss the chance to show off if they can do it...

from site research they discovered that there is a high possibility the tomb is filled with mercury. mecury content in the soil around the tomb is abt 28 times higher than that of other areas. this fit the description in various history records, like sima qian's 'shi ji', that the late emperor made a huge 3d map of his empire in his tomb, and filled the rivers, lakes and ocean squares with mercury, so that they'll never dry up. estimated to be 100tons in total, so far archaeologists are not sure where in the tomb the mercury is located, so once the evacuation starts they are uncertain that their equipment is able to prevent the mercury from spreading to other places, causing mass poisoning. the second thing is that they dont have the technology to safe keep or maintain those relics once they are dug out. look at the terra cotta warriors, so far they only dig out part of it.

[39degN]

Obviously this is not a stereotype. This is a fact.

And what I wanted to say was that the Communists wouldn't refrain themselves from digging out the Qin's Tomb because of the fear of blaming by the heaven (天遣).

Your point in the previous post (Tue May 25, 2004 1:43 am) seemed to be very much non-related.

hehe, still is stereotype, do you really know an individual communist? they are human-being, i dont mean the communist party wouldnt do it, but the official himself wouldnt, will the digging benefit himself some valuable stuff? if it will, he would certainly do it. otherwise, no!

no matter what the party has done before, in today's china, all the officials are believing in "practicalism". no money(and have to take the risk of blaming of heaven), why bother? 难道是为了"为人民服务"?

[pazu]

39degN was trying to be witty, and he thought he was. Better get some training of thinking for him.

[39degN]

39degN was trying to be witty, and he thought he was. Better get some training of thinking for him.

come on, man!

you are just a bit rebellious. i m extreme.

[ala]

no matter what the party has done before' date=' in today's china, all the officials are believing in "practicalism". no money(and have to take the risk of blaming of heaven), why bother? 难道是为了"为人民服务"?

[/quote']

Are you that naive? Who said there's no money?

[holyman]

no money in return in short term i think, unless they make it into a tourists spot. but that requires time and initial investments too. most chinese officials stay at their positions for a few yrs, then promote to other higher positions if they make no grave mistakes. by the time the museum or the tourists spot is ready, they will probably be away and people taking over will get the 'benefits'. so why they bother?