Guanzhong Tomb Robbery Notes

Ganhe Town is adjacent to Zuan Town.

Legend has it that Wang Chongyang met an immortal in Ganhe Town who enlightened him and taught him the method of inner alchemy practice.

Therefore, a eulogy was written: "Only when you are forty-eight years old can you encounter it. Once you have learned the secret formula, you will achieve success. The color of each grain of cinnabar becomes better and better, and the Jade Capital Mountain becomes a deep red."

After meeting an immortal in Ganhe Town and receiving guidance, Wang Chongyang changed his name to Wang Zhe and his Taoist name to Chongyangzi. Only then did Wang Chongyang truly enter Taoism.

It was already noon when we arrived at Ganhe Town.

I was so sleepy and tired that I just wanted to find a place to fall asleep.

While buying cigarettes in the store, I casually asked where I could find accommodation in town.

The boss was a business man and immediately took over the conversation: "We are a small place and don't have a guesthouse."

"If you need a place to stay, you can come to my house. It's fifty cents a night for two people, and meals are provided."

That's exactly what I think.

Staying at the shop owner's house, you can get some information by chatting with him.

"That's great! I'll stay at your house today. I didn't sleep all night last night because of the long journey, so I'll catch up on some sleep."

"Okay, I'll take you to rest."

The shop is the front room of the boss's house.

He took us straight to the backyard and settled us in the room.

"You guys live in this room, so just let me know if you need anything. Do you need me to call you for lunch later?"

"Come and call us for dinner."

After sending the boss away, we both fell asleep.

When I opened my eyes again, it was already dusk.

The boss knocked on the door and called us to eat.

Cui Hao and I really didn’t want to get up, but our stomachs were growling with hunger.

I could only resist the sleepiness and get up.

"I'm coming."

I rubbed my sleepy eyes and opened the door.

The boss smiled and said, "The food is ready, come and eat."

"By the way, I forgot to ask where you are from and what are you doing in Ganhe Town?"

In those days, going out was quite inconvenient.

Especially when seeking accommodation, a letter of introduction from your employer is usually required.

Some people who do business privately and don't have a letter of introduction will stay at the homes of their fellow villagers.

But most of the villagers are afraid of being reported.

Even if you are paid, we will not accept anyone without a letter of introduction.

I took out my student ID and handed it over: "We are students from Northwestern University, and we are here to do a field survey of cultural relics."

"Oh, a college student."

"Don't blame me for being suspicious. The neighbor just came over and asked about you, so I asked what you were doing here."

The boss explained.

Obviously, he was afraid that the neighbors would report him, so he came to check on us in advance.

If we didn't have something to prove our identity, we would probably be kicked out.

"It's only natural to ask. By the way, I haven't asked for your name yet."

"My name is Tian Liben."

"Hello, Uncle Tian. We have to go to the villages down there for the next couple of days. I wanted to ask you about the situation in each village and whether there are any famous places of interest."

I casually asked about the local situation.

Most people have a sense of local attachment and feel a sense of pride when talking about their hometown.

Tian Liben is no exception.

When he heard me asking about the local situation, he immediately started to introduce it enthusiastically.

"Ganhe Town has a long history. The county seat of Zhouzhi County used to be in Ganhe, but it was later relocated."

"Speaking of scenic spots and historical sites, the most famous one is the Chongyang Yuxian Bridge."

"It is said that Chongyang Patriarch met two immortals, Zhongli Quan and Lü Dongbin, on a bridge, and was enlightened and became an immortal himself."

"The Dongyue Temple in Ganhe is also a historical site. There are many stone tablets in the temple. There are stone sheep, stone horses, and stone lions in Weiqi Village..."

Tian Liben counted on his fingers and listed a lot of historical sites that he knew about.

I am quite interested in stone sheep, stone horses and stone lions.

Those stone sculptures should be stone statues.

Stone statues, also known as Weng Zhong, originated in the Qin and Han Dynasties.

Legend has it that there was a general named Ruan Wengzhong in the Qin Dynasty.

Because of his contribution in defending against the Huns, Qin Shihuang built a statue for him outside the Sima Gate of Xianyang Palace to commemorate him after his death.

Later generations therefore collectively referred to the tall stone statues as Weng Zhong.

The earliest existing stone statue is the stone sculpture of a horse trampling the Huns in front of Huo Qubing's mausoleum.

This shows that the use of stone statues in the Han Dynasty had not yet been standardized.

By the Tang Dynasty, the stone statues of Qianling Mausoleum were formed into pairs and placed on both sides of the sacred path.

Starting from the Huabiao, there are celestial horses, ostriches, horses with staffs and horse riders, stone figures of General Zhige, General Zhonglang, stone figures of foreign officials, stone lions, etc. arranged all the way to the front of the mausoleum.

It can be seen that there were strict regulations when using stone statues in imperial tombs during the Tang Dynasty.

Later, the Song and Ming dynasties inherited the Tang Dynasty's regulations for the use of stone statues.

In the Ming Dynasty, it was stipulated that only officials of the fifth rank and above could use them, and the number of stone statues used by officials of different ranks also varied.

It can be said that where there are stone statues, there must be tombs of dignitaries.

But it is also because the stone statues are the guiding lights of the noble tombs.

Therefore, almost all tombs containing stone statues have been robbed.

While eating, I changed the topic to Yu Zhenren.

"I heard that Wang Chongyang has a disciple named Yu Shanqing, who seems to be quite famous among you."

"Yu Shanqing? I've never heard of him."

"I've only heard that Wang Chongyang's disciple was called Qiu Chuji or something, and that he met the Yuan Dynasty emperor."

The most famous people in the Quanzhen lineage are Wang Chongyang and Qiu Chuji.

There are really few other people who can be remembered by ordinary people.

After the third generation of disciples, no one knew about him anymore.

Seeing that I couldn't get any new information out of him, I put down my bowl and chopsticks and stretched.

"We've eaten a bit too much, let's go out and move around."

"Go, don't come back too late. If someone asks you anything, just say he is my cousin." Tian Liben reminded.

"okay."

Cui Hao and I went back to our room to put our things in order.

He hid the bag containing the Bagua Alchemy Furnace under the bed before leaving Tian Liben's house.

The setting sun illuminates the clouds in the sky.

There were few entertainment activities in the villages and towns at that time.

At sunset, old men, women and idle men would gather together to chat or read newspapers for entertainment.

Ganhe Town is no exception.

A group of elderly women were gathered under the big locust tree in the town, talking animatedly about family matters.

We walked over and squatted on the periphery to listen.

Soon the women began questioning us.

"You two young men look very unfamiliar to each other."

"Aunt, we are Tian Liben's cousins. We haven't visited Uncle Tian for many years. Now that we have some free time, we decided to stop by and see him."

"You're a relative of the old Tian family. You look pretty good. Do you have a boyfriend?"

As soon as I asked this question, several women next to me also asked me if I had a partner.

It seems like they all want to introduce someone to me.

"I have someone."

I was thinking of Zhang Nan in my mind and blurted out involuntarily.

"Why are you talking about your partner so early? Sigh!"

"I'd also like to introduce you to my niece, she's a beauty that's known throughout the surrounding villages."

"Come on, your niece is so shameless, how can she be called a beauty? Don't cheat the young man of the Tian family."

That's how it is in the countryside.

Whenever someone boasts, someone will soon come to tear him down.

The woman rolled her eyes and changed the subject.

Speaking of the new coffin seller who came to town recently.

"As soon as the coffin maker arrived the day before yesterday, my dad started clamoring to order funeral supplies. No matter how much I tried to persuade him, he wouldn't listen."

"Your father is right. The funeral supplies should be prepared in advance."

"If you have an elderly person at home, you need to prepare funeral supplies. It will be too late to buy them on the day they die."