Guanzhong Tomb Robbery Notes

I walked over to the carriage.

Look closely at the coffin.

The coffin is also called longevity material, longevity square, four and a half pieces, etc.

The reason why the coffin is also called four and a half pieces is because a coffin made of four pieces of boards is a family-destroying board, and using it will lead to the destruction of a family.

Therefore, to make a coffin, at least four and a half pieces of wood are needed.

If you insist on using four boards, you must saw notches in the wood on both sides to indicate that you are not using a whole board.

The quality of a coffin is often determined by its thickness; the thicker the coffin board, the better.

For example, in the Beijing-Shandong region, thin coffins with coffin boards less than four inches thick are not even qualified to be called coffins and are called "boxes".

In the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, boards with a thickness of more than four inches are considered high-quality coffins and are called Dunhuang wood.

Boards with a thickness of more than two inches are called retirement houses, and boards with a thickness of one inch are called dog head handles, cedar board soup, etc.

In northern Jiangsu, the specifications are determined by the number of panels, such as twelve panels, twenty panels, twenty-eight panels, etc.

Dou means combination of words in the local dialect.

A twelve-piece coffin is one in which the lid, bottom, left and right sides are each made up of three wooden boards.

No matter how many coffins there are, the number of bottom covers must be the same and must be odd.

Coffins are usually made of wood, mostly pine, cypress, willow, and paulownia. Rich people will choose nanmu to make coffins.

For example, the golden nanmu that was very popular in the cultural relics circle a few years ago.

Because of its good anti-corrosion and anti-insect effects, it has become the top coffin material sought after by emperors and nobles.

In addition, there are coffins made of stone coffins, copper coffins and other materials.

Lao Li is good at making coffins.

The coffin's paint was shiny and emitted a cold glow under the moonlight.

There are Eight Immortals patterns carved on both sides of the coffin.

The term "An Ba Xian" refers to the magical instruments used by the Eight Immortals and was popular during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

The word "Fu" is written in vermilion on the large end of the coffin, while the word "Shou" is written on the small end, implying both good fortune and longevity.

The coffin lid and the coffin body fit together tightly, and there is not a single nail to be seen.

It is obviously put together with mortise and tenon structure.

"The coffin is well made." I couldn't help but admire it.

Old Li raised his head proudly and said, "I have learned carpentry from a master, but it's a pity that I can't make money from it."

In those days, it was difficult to make money with many crafts.

It was not until more than 20 years later, when the real estate boom took off, that carpentry skills became valuable.

"Don't just praise my craftsmanship, open the coffin quickly. If you don't dare to open this coffin, don't blame me for not teaching you the craft."

"But before you open it, I have to warn you, this coffin is no ordinary one. There are unclean things inside."

"If something unexpected happens when we really open the coffin, don't blame me for not warning you, hehe."

Lao Li's last laugh was very eerie.

It sounded like a night owl laughing.

He was deliberately provoking me.

This is a revenge mentality.

It was revenge for me not falling into his trap and instead outmaneuvering him.

Now he is making hints through words and laughter, trying to scare me and make me back down.

It's a pity that he doesn't know what I've been through.

Even if there were big rice dumplings in the coffin, I wouldn't be afraid at all.

"Thanks for the reminder, brother."

"Haha, you're welcome. If you're scared... uh!"

Lao Li thought I was frightened.

Just when he was about to persuade me to tell him the address directly, I opened the coffin lid.

crunch.

There was a sharp sound when the coffin lid was opened.

One side of the coffin lid was tilted upward at a forty-five-degree angle.

I leaned over and looked inside the coffin.

There's nothing scary there, just some tools.

There are woodworking tools such as Lu Ban ruler, ink fountain, axe, chisel, and several nearly round tubular things.

It looks like a shovel, but it is very different from a shovel.

In fact, those semicircular things are the famous Luoyang shovels.

The Luoyang shovel is said to have been invented by Li Yazi, a native of Luoyang.

But ancient tomb robbers had already used similar tools.

Li Yazi's greater role is improvement.

Wang Shixing of the Ming Dynasty once recorded in his notes: Thieves can still break in with an iron spike.

This means that tomb robbers can use iron spikes to explore deep underground.

What is that iron cone?

It was originally a tool used in ancient times to dig salt wells.

The use of iron awl was recorded in detail in "The Exploitation of the Works of Nature" written by Song Yingxing.

"The tool is an iron awl shaped like a pestle, with its tip made extremely hard and sharp. It is used to pound holes into the rock... After each pounding, it penetrates several feet deep, and then it is connected to the body with bamboo..."

This record can be said to be consistent with the actions of tomb robbers using Luoyang shovels, iron picks, etc. to drill holes.

Especially "using bamboo to connect the body" is the core of drilling deep holes.

In the past, the holes dug for salt were called salt wells, and the holes dug by tomb robbers were also called digging wells.

Perhaps this can confirm the connection between the two.

If anyone has read "The Exploitation of the Works of Nature", they may recall the illustration "Well Digging Diagram" which describes the digging of well salt.

The movements of using the iron spike in the picture are almost identical to those of using the Luoyang shovel.

During the Republic of China, Yuan Tongli, a member of the Central Cultural Relics Preservation Committee, went to Luoyang to investigate tomb robbery.

In the records, the Luoyang shovel used by tomb robbers was called iron cone.

So what improvements did Li Yazi make to the iron spike?

I'm kind of guessing.

I guess the biggest improvement is that the Luoyang shovel is easier to bring out the soil.

The reason I say this is that after I learned how to use the Luoyang shovel from Lao Li, I went to a blacksmith to imitate the Luoyang shovel.

The blacksmith looked at my drawing and said confidently, "It's just an iron awl. It's absolutely perfect. I can make it for you in one day."

You see, the blacksmith also thought that thing was an iron cone.

A day later I came to pick up the things, and the newly made iron spike looked exactly like the Luoyang shovel.

I tried it out in the field, but I discovered a big problem.

It is difficult to bring up soil with an iron spike!

Unless you tilt it hard when lifting it up, you may be able to bring up a little soil.

This is far from Lao Li's Luoyang shovel.

The straight handle of the Luoyang shovel is always covered with dirt when it is lifted up!

I looked at the iron spike carefully, recalling the Luoyang shovel in my mind.

Finally found the difference between the two.

The inner wall of the iron cone made by the blacksmith is straight.

However, the Luoyang shovel has a small arc from the sharp steel mouth upwards, making the inner cavity large and the opening slightly smaller.

In this way, after the soil is beaten into the cavity and compacted, it will get stuck inside and cannot fall out.

This makes it very convenient to bring soil.

Let’s go back to me opening the coffin.

Out of curiosity, I picked up the Luoyang shovel and weighed it in my hand. When I saw the dirt that had not been cleaned off, I instantly thought it was a tomb-robbing tool.

"Old Li, this is what you want to teach me, right?"

Old Li looked at me in amazement.

Unexpectedly, not only was I not scared, but I was able to pick out the Luoyang shovel at a glance and hold it in my hand.

"You, you know the Luoyang shovel?"

“That’s impossible!”

It is normal for Lao Li to be surprised.

Although the Luoyang shovel appeared during the Republic of China, due to human selfishness, it has always been kept a secret in small circles and has not been widely circulated.

It was not until the mid-to-late 1980s that the Luoyang shovel became widely circulated in the tomb-robbing circle, establishing its status as a tomb-robbing artifact.

Old Li calmed himself down and asked curiously, "Is the camel man who gave you the notes from Luoyang?"

"That's not true. The family notes passed down by Tuoye record how to use the iron chisel."

Old Li shook his head and said, "That thing is not as useful as the Luoyang shovel."

"Tonight I'll teach you how to use the Luoyang shovel!"