"Wait a minute, isn't this the architectural ruins of the ancient Shanshan Kingdom found by Stein Hein? Why does it seem to be a water tomb in your mouth?" Yue Guanchao asked doubtfully as he heard clearly that it was an architectural ruin a few days ago.
Song Siyuan pointed to the photo of Steinhein and his group: "It can be said to be a water tomb, or it can be said to be a building site. The two do not conflict. They seem to be mixed together."
Having said that, she motioned for everyone to look at the photo. The image shown in the photo was indeed limited, but they could still see many broken hills from the salt tidal flats behind Steinhein. There were unnatural formations on the hills. Geometric lines.
This means that most of the tombs are built on hills, and among the hills, there are many desert cities that have weathered into ruins.
Yue Guanchao shook his head: "People and tombs live together, and they are not afraid of bad luck? This thing is a corpse."
Song Siyuan quickly stopped him: "Stop, stop, don't look at foreign funeral customs from a self-righteous point of view. It is China's funeral custom to regard death as alive and to be buried in peace. Maybe people in other parts of the world don't understand it this way..."
For example, the Egyptians believe that after death, people will be reborn under the intervention of certain forces. Before that, the organs of the deceased must be preserved for future resurrection. In order to preserve the corpse in the desert environment, they The body was mummified.
The so-called mummies are actually human bodies that have been dried and hardened in the desert environment. Because the desert environment is hot and dry, if they want to preserve the corpse for a long time, they must do something with the corpse.
After a person dies, their relatives will invite a wizard to pray for them. Then, under the witness of the wizard, the internal organs will be taken out, smeared with antiseptic liquid made from a variety of herbs, dried and put into four jars.
At the same time, after removing the internal organs, only the bones and a piece of skin are left. The body is coated with antiseptic on the inside and outside. It is wrapped in layers of cloth tape and put into the coffin. The jars containing the internal organs are placed in the four directions of southeast, northwest and northwest. direction.
According to the understanding of the ancients, the Egyptians' method of handling corpses was extremely undignified, even to the extent of insulting the corpse.
First of all, people are not buried after death, but are wrapped up as mummies and stored, which already means that the corpse cannot be put into the ground. Furthermore, the corpse must be intact, and the whole body must be complete. The method of making a mummy is basically equivalent to cutting open the belly. Take out the internal organs, this is a dead body without a whole body.
Not being able to be buried in peace and dying without a complete body, these two situations alone were considered an insult to the corpse and contrary to human ethics in the eyes of the ancient Chinese. However, in the eyes of the ancient Egyptians, it was indeed the best way to preserve the bodies of their loved ones. method.
In addition to mythological factors, the reason why the Egyptians preserved corpses in this way was also due to the influence of the natural environment.
Most of the Egyptians lived near desert oases. This hot and dry environment was extremely suitable for preserving corpses. Even if they were not mummified, the corpses could maintain their physical appearance in the dry climate for several years and would not rot. .
On the contrary, if the body is buried in the desert, the body will be quickly eaten away by the insects in the desert under the erosion of wind and sand over the years. At the same time, the quicksand in the desert is changing all the time, even if it is marked in advance, A few years later, it is very likely that the body will move with the quicksand and have long been moved to other places.
In order to commemorate their ancestors and immobilize the corpses at the same time, they must not bury the corpses in the desert. Under the influence of the myth of rebirth, the state of mummies to preserve corpses naturally appeared.
This is the adaptation of human funeral culture to the natural environment.
Having said this, Song Siyuan continued: "Let's not mention people in other parts of the world for the moment. Different regions within China have different attitudes towards funerals."
She paused and her face became mysterious: "For example, the southwest region has many mountains and little land. It is difficult to find land for burial after a living person dies. Over time, they developed the hanging coffin burial method, where the body is directly placed in the coffin. , and hang them on the cliff at the same time. When they want to worship, they bring sacrifices and incense to worship their ancestors."
"For another example, cave burials were once popular in the Lingnan area. After the death of a loved one, the local people would find a Feng Shui treasure cave, place their loved ones' bones there, and go into the cave to worship every year. After a few years, they would pick up the bodies. Go back and make offerings."
"As for the burial method on the snowy plateau, it is very different from that in the Han Dynasty, and it is completely different from the concept of the Han Dynasty."
When Song Siyuan said this, her eyes lit up: "Funeral forms are closely related to tomb culture, geographical environment, humanistic thoughts, and craftsmanship. They definitely do not arise out of thin air. The concept of Han Dynasty is only applicable to Han Dynasty. The method can be applied to other areas.”
After that, she tapped the clue board: "Let's go back to the desert of the Western Regions. I guess this kind of mixing of people and tombs is related to the living environment of the Shanshan people!"
The ancient Shanshan Kingdom was born in 200 BC and fell in the early Tang Dynasty. It lasted for about 600 to 800 years.
Before the Han Dynasty, the ancients did not know much about the Western Regions, and there were not many records about the countries in the Western Regions. It was only from the time of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty that the names of the countries in the Western Regions appeared in Han historical records for the first time.
The ancient Shanshan Kingdom was also called Loulan at that time, and was not very famous. They were frequently recorded in history because of trade exchanges between the East and the West. After the trade became smooth, in the following thousand years, Shanshan or Loulan began to be used by various dynasties, and it has been continues to this day.
The original Shanshan people lived in the valley area where the Tarim River and the Kongque River intersected. They were a small country with only tens of thousands of people. In the early Han Dynasty, they were conquered by the Huns and became a tribe of the Huns. If nothing else, such a small country would be completely assimilated and integrated into the Huns tribe after being ruled by the Huns for a hundred years.
However, history never lacks surprises!
During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty experienced nearly three or four generations of recuperation and recuperation. The country reached its strongest point, the population multiplied, and the society was rich in millions. The food in the barn was so rotten that it became moldy, and there was no time to eat it. As for In the government's treasury, there were still tens of millions of copper coins accumulated. Since no one had used them for a long time, the ropes that tied them together were broken.
Under this situation, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty decided not to tolerate the provocation and embarrassment of the Xiongnu anymore, and sent Wei Qing and Huo Qubing to drive the Xiongnu away thousands of miles away. This directly caused the Huns' vitality to be severely damaged, and even the Xiongnu tribe was divided into two. Restore its former glory.
At this point, the Han Dynasty finally solved the serious problems that had plagued them for nearly a hundred years. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty began to send envoys to the Western Regions to open up the Silk Road in the Western Regions and open up trade between the Celestial Empire.
In the war between the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu, many tribes and small countries were wiped out because of the wrong team. At the same time, there were also many small countries that were on the right side and got out of trouble as the Han Dynasty defeated the Huns.
A grain of ashes from a big country is indeed like a mountain when it falls on a small country. If we understand it in the opposite direction, a drop of water from a big country when it falls on a small country is destined to become a gushing river. These opportunities will eventually make some small countries rely on The Han Dynasty opened up the Western Regions and soared to great heights with the help of trade convenience.
Among these small and prosperous countries was the ancient Shanshan Kingdom.
The Shanshan Kingdom originally had only one city-state, Loulan. After the Han Dynasty opened up the Silk Road trade, they continued to expand their territories westward along the Kongque River, and eventually annexed the cities of Milan, Qiemo, and Ruoqiang on the south bank of the desert within a few decades. , Niya, grew into a powerful dynasty near the desert.
At its most prosperous, the ancient Shanshan Kingdom stretched from Guyangguan in the east, to the ancient city of Niya in the west, to the Altyn Mountains in the south, and to Hami in the north. It ruled almost one-half of the Western Desert. Only the Tianshan Country on the north coast of the desert could compete with it. .
Even because Loulan City is located at the hub of the Hexi Corridor, it has become a circulation area for east-west trade routes. Relying on east-west trade, Shanshan has also developed into the richest country on the southern bank of the desert.
