Should Qin Shi Huang's tomb be excavated?

[ala]

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?

By money involved, I mean this project will cost no small amount of money. There will be corruption, in various forms. Some people are going to benefit seeing this project go through. To say no money is involved because there is no short-term benefit is naive.

[39degN]

By money involved, I mean this project will cost no small amount of money. There will be corruption, in various forms. Some people are going to benefit seeing this project go through. To say no money is involved because there is no short-term benefit is naive.

you are so mature, Mr. big, being corruption on media focused project.

BTW, i woundt talk about this anymore, you guys know what i mean.

[ala]

十三。 39degN, how old are you?

[39degN]

[edited: please not again -- Quest], do you think i dont know what 13. means? you 十三点!

even though i m 11, what's the deal with you?

[shibo77]

智者何必痛骂呢?

The wise curses not, with short wise words, commands the respect of the thousands.

-Shibo

[holyman]

it was said that the tomb was like around 160m high initially, well covered with trees and had a little pavillion on top, and well guarded too. now it is only 86m if i remember correctly, cos no one took care of it and erosion did its job well. after the fall of qin dynasty, the famous/infamous general xiangyu(the general portrayed in the opera 'farewell my concubine') came and raided the tomb area. the constructions around(mainly guard houses and temple) was destroyed and pasrt of the qin swords were taken away for his own use. the qin swords were among the most superb ancient weapons. too bad xiangyu burnt the e'fang palace together with all the books and records. think he's destined to fail cos he was only out for personal revenge, not for the founding of a new country.

[shibo77]

It's a myth, but 项羽 didn't burn the 阿房宫Epanggong, he burnt down the 咸阳宫Xianyanggong.

-Shibo

[nnt]

See here:

http://www.sach.gov.cn/PublishCenter/wenbo/zlzs/wwdw/one/1951.htm

项羽攻入咸阳，放火焚烧，规模宏大的阿房宫从此灰飞烟灭，尽成灰烬

But true, another link raised doubts about Xiang Yu's deed:

http://www.chinanewsweek.com.cn/2003-12-31/1/2848.html

北京师范大学历史系教授曹大为就认为：“没有找到火烧的证据并不能说明什么，阿房宫毁于那段时期的战火是确定无疑的事情，而且被火烧的可能性很大。不过是很多人有意无意地把账记到了项羽头上。”

but myths are sometimes stronger than History or reality...

[bhchao]

One thing to consider is if Xiang Yu and his army looted the tomb, his soldiers would have been poisoned by the mercury and the mercury would have evaporated. However the mercury is still there.

[shibo77]

I read that archeologists have not found any evidence, from the exterior, of looting.

-Shibo

[holyman]

'looting' not as in 'opening up the tomb'. as i said there are constructions and guard houses around, they formed a complete '陵园'. what xiangyu did was probably looting these surrounding places and torching them up after that.

[shibo77]

I see.

-Shibo

[bhchao]

The Chinese government must have good reasons in not opening up the tomb. As mentioned by other posters, they don't have the technology yet to preserve any treasures found inside the tomb. When the tomb of the Ming emperor Wan Li was excavated, silk found in the tomb began deteriorating after coming into contact with air. They also lack the technology to safeguard against the mercury which could very well exist.

Another reason is the government does not want any foreign help in digging up the tomb of the founder of the Chinese state. So they want to do everything themselves. This is understandable because Qin Shi Huang standardized the Chinese currency, adopted weights and measures, and the structure of his bureaucracy was passed on to later generations of Chinese governments, including the present one. Also the name "China" is derived from his Qin, or Chin dynasty.

A Japanese broadcasting company, NHK, once offered technological help in surveying the tomb. The expeditions of boys and girls sent out by Qin Shi Huang to find herbal remedies supposedly gave birth to Japanese civilization, which is why the Japanese have an interest in Qin Shi Huang. The Chinese government said "No way! This is our tomb and we are going to do everything ourselves. No foreign help."

So the government would rather wait until they finally have the technology to open up the tomb safely (considering the mercury and booby-trap arrows) and preserve everything that lies inside. You only have one chance to excavate successfully the tomb of China's founder. One mess-up ruins everything. The government's thinking is "Better tread slowly and wait for the right time, than regret it forever."

[holyman]

When the tomb of the Ming emperor Wan Li was excavated, silk found in the tomb began deteriorating after coming into contact with air. They also lack the technology to safeguard against the mercury which could very well exist.

most treasures found inside that ming tomb were torched during the cultural revolution, including the 3 coffins, the remains of the emperor and his 2 queens... therefore for 30yrs there's no proper archaeology reports regarding that excavation. what u see now in the tomb of emperor wanli are all replicas. this is also one thing the chinese govt feared, dunno whether the qin tomb will be destroyed in some future political movements...

[ananda]

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most treasures found inside that ming tomb were torched during the cultural revolution, including the 3 coffins, the remains of the emperor and his 2 queens... therefore for 30yrs there's no proper archaeology reports regarding that excavation. what u see now in the tomb of emperor wanli are all replicas. this is also one thing the chinese govt feared, dunno whether the qin tomb will be destroyed in some future political movements...

===========================================

To give me a more democratical face, sure it will be that

such political movements must will happen, not only once, the

treasures are nothing 'cause there would be 10 billion people who

would die in the most terriblest way.

[bhchao]

therefore for 30yrs there's no proper archaeology reports regarding that excavation.

Only 3 of the 13 Ming tombs are open to the public; Dingling, Changling, and Zhaoling. Dingling, Wanli's tomb, is the only one excavated so far. It was excavated in the summer of 1956 and ended in 1958. Ironically, Wanli was a useless emperor who ruled for 48 years leaving state affairs in the hands of corrupt officials, and ignored the declining conditions in the country.

[f'yor-fei]

I believe the Japanese government has a similar no-open policy towards some of its earliest royal tombs. (although the difference is there is still a royal family in Japan). Some say one reason is also they fear what they might find in the tombs ie evidence that the early Japanese came from Korea or something.

[bhchao]

Some say one reason is also they fear what they might find in the tombs ie evidence that the early Japanese came from Korea or something.

Yes that is a valid concern because during the fourth century, a member of the Paekche royal family named Homuda launched an expeditionary force to the Yamato plain, and hence named it Yamato. Many of these settlers from Paekche were possibly direct descendants of the Japanese royal family.

Here is an interesting link from 2002: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20020312b6.htm

" A surprise remark by Emperor Akihito in December shed light on deep historical and ethnic ties that bind Japan and the Korean Peninsula, but contrasting media reactions highlighted a difference in historical perception across the Sea of Japan.

During a news conference to mark his 68th birthday, the Emperor drew the public's attention to a historical document that shows one of his eighth-century ancestors was born to a descendant of immigrants from the Korean Peninsula. In doing so, he said he felt a close "kinship" with Korea.

His remark received a warm welcome in Seoul, marking as it did the first time a member of the Imperial family publicly noted the family's blood ties with Korea. In his first public address this year, South Korean President Kim Dae Jung accordingly praised the Emperor for his "correct understanding of history."

During a meeting with members of the Imperial Household Agency press club prior to his birthday on Dec. 23, the Emperor, quoting from the "Shoku Nihongi" ("Chronicles of Japan"), compiled in 797, said the mother of Emperor Kanmu (737-806) had come from the royal family of Paekche, an ancient kingdom of Korea...."

[cui ruide]

A bit random, but has anyone played the old computer game 'Qin: Tomb of the Middle Kingdom'? It's sort of a puzzle, explorer game following in the steps of Myst, but not quite as successful. In the game, you're a researcher I think at the tombs and you find a secret entrance into a giant underground palace complex and must find clues around the place and discover how to get to the emperor's tomb within. Along the way you learn things about the ancient ruler and read articles on Chinese culture to help solve the riddles. At the very end, you have by some event managed to obtain an elixir of immortality and must decide between giving it to Qin's spirit, take it yourself, or poor it into his map of the world--each choice giving you a separate ending.

But is his tomb actually believed to be that big? An underground city?

[bhchao]

But is his tomb actually believed to be that big? An underground city?

No one knows. It is a mystery. Imagine being the first to enter the dark tomb with a torch in your hand, and everyone is following your lead. Then suddenly you get hit by a crossbow arrow.

Although seeking foreign help in excavating the tomb might sound practical, for symbolic purposes, the first person to lead the excavation team into the tomb should not be a foreigner like Howard Carter excavating King Tut's tomb.