Guanzhong Tomb Robbery Notes

Snapped!

Professor Zhang slapped the iron cage.

Excited as a child who had solved a difficult problem, he shouted, "Yes! It's a human sacrifice!"

"A human sacrifice!"

"Let me think about the oracle bone inscriptions related to the merchant's sacrifices."

Professor Zhang closed his eyes, muttering to himself as he thought, "Merchants love to use Qiang people's sacrificial rituals."

"The sacrificial methods include chopping off hands, cutting off legs, boiling heads, and frying bodies..."

According to the records in oracle bone inscriptions, the Shang people had a wide variety of methods for sacrificing living people.

In addition to cold processing such as chopping and cutting, there is also heat processing such as frying, boiling, cooking, and deep-frying.

At this point, I must say a few words about the Shang people's sacrificial rituals.

Merchants are very fond of offering sacrifices to their deceased ancestors.

Before the sacrifice, a shaman would consult with the ancestors about the quantity of offerings and the method of the sacrifice.

For example, how many Qiang slaves were subjected to the punishment of amputation as a form of sacrifice?

The punishment of amputation is the cutting off of the legs.

Why cut off the legs instead of killing the priest outright?

Even slaves whose legs have been cut off can still work and create value through their labor.

If you kill them, they won't create any value.

Therefore, before the sacrifice, they would consult the oracle to ask if cutting off a few slave legs was enough to offer as a sacrifice to their ancestors.

If the oracle bone inscription is negative, it means that the ancestors were not satisfied.

At this point, the practice would escalate from cutting off the legs to cutting off the hands or head, followed by divination and inquiry.

Sacrifices will only be performed after the method and quantity of offerings have been approved by the ancestors through divination.

This shows that the Shang people's sacrificial rites were not arranged according to the wishes of the living.

It was arranged according to the divination texts left by our deceased ancestors.

Let’s get back to the present.

Listening to Professor Zhang muttering words like "chop off hands," "cut off legs," and "cook heads," I felt a chill run down my spine.

This doesn't look like a sacrificial ceremony at all.

This is utterly blatant disregard for human life.

No wonder King Wu's call to arms against King Zhou was met with overwhelming support, and he defeated King Zhou of Shang with minimal effort...

No, why think about these things?

I shook my head, banishing the random thoughts from my mind.

"Cough cough!" Uncle Zheng coughed twice, interrupting Professor Zhang's rambling.

"Stop with the useless chatter."

"Escape is the most important thing."

"Professor Zhang, you just said that Yang Gou Dan gave you the ancient jade."

"Do you still have that ancient jade?"

"Yes, yes, yes." Professor Zhang nodded repeatedly.

"I hid it very well, and they didn't find it."

As Professor Zhang spoke, he turned and shrank into the corner of the cage, turning his back to us.

Then I saw him pull down his waistband and put his hand into his crotch.

A moment later, he took out the ancient jade and said with a wry smile, "The ancient jade might have a bit of a smell."

Uncle Zheng didn't seem to mind.

He took the ancient jade and examined it beside the lantern.

I went over to take a look too.

Ancient jade is pure white and lustrous, like solidified fat.

It feels like top-quality Hetian mutton fat jade.

"This looks like Hetian mutton fat jade, doesn't it?" I asked doubtfully.

In my understanding, although jade was highly valued during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, given the limited transportation conditions at the time, they probably did not have the ability to obtain high-quality jade raw materials from Hotan.

It was only after the Han Dynasty conquered the Xiongnu and sent envoys to the Western Regions that the Jade Road was opened, allowing Hetian jade to flow in.

Uncle Zheng touched the ancient jade with his thumb.

"It has a very smooth feel, and when viewed from the side, the jade is dense and delicate, making it a top-quality Hetian mutton fat jade."

He smacked his lips twice and shook his head, saying, "However, it's unlikely that Hetian jade was used in the late Shang Dynasty."

"But judging from the carving, it has the style of the late Shang and early Zhou dynasties."

"It's really a contradiction."

There's a famous saying in the antique trade: "Don't buy if you have doubts."

It means that if there are any doubts about an antique, you should never buy it.

Because if there is even the slightest doubt, there is a high probability that the item is fake.

The ancient jade piece before us is a perfect example.

Although the craftsmanship and relief design look correct, the origin of the raw materials is not quite right.

I agreed, saying, "Geographically speaking..."

"The Western Zhou dynasty vassal states in Baoji should have used Lantian jade or Maxianshan jade from Gansu Province, which were nearby."

"It does seem a bit illogical for Hetian mutton fat jade to appear here."

Professor Zhang shook his head vigorously.

“You haven’t had access to this kind of information, so you don’t know.”

"I have seen the internal documents. The Yin Ruins archaeological team has unearthed a large number of jade artifacts, mainly made of Hetian jade."

"Secondly, there is tremolite jade from Gansu Province and Qinghai Province."

"Next are Nanyang jade, Xiuyan jade, and other types of jade."

"This shows that the Shang Dynasty's sphere of influence was not small."

"At the very least, we have trade relations with tribes in Xinjiang province."

"Therefore, there is absolutely no problem with the material of this ancient jade."

Professor Zhang's statement is reasonable and well-founded.

Come to think of it, the Zhou, which was a western border state during the Shang Dynasty, migrated from the Gansu region to Baoji.

At that time, the Zhou state's sphere of influence covered at least most of what is now Gansu Province.

It is quite possible that further west, trade could take place with tribes in the ancient Xinjiang province.

It's possible that the Hetian jade used by the Shang Dynasty was obtained through tribute from the Zhou state or as a transit point in trade.

Uncle Zheng nodded and said, "If that's the case, then there's no problem with this ancient jade."

"Professor Zhang, do you have any insights into the bow and fishbone patterns engraved on this?"

Professor Zhang said softly, "I've thought about it for a long time, and I don't think this relief looks like a totem."

"More like text."

"But I haven't seen any such characters in any of the oracle bone inscriptions I've ever read."

"So I started to have some self-doubt again..."

Professor Zhang became increasingly uncertain as he spoke, and his voice grew softer and softer.

It is indeed difficult to make a definitive judgment when faced with a pictographic script that has never been seen before.

Uncle Zheng handed me the ancient jade: "Keep it."

I carefully put the ancient jade away, and suddenly a question came to mind: "Professor Zhang, how many days have you and Lao Yu been locked up here?"

Professor Zhang and Lao Yu exchanged a glance.

Both of them shook their heads blankly.

"do not know."

"This room doesn't even have windows, it's so dark you can't tell the time at all."

I continued, "So how do you eat?"

Old Yu said with a wry smile, "When we were locked up, they threw us four dry cornbread buns and a pot of water."

"We don't know how long we'll be locked up."

When I was hungry, I only dared to eat a little bit of cornbread and drink a little water.

"Now there's only half a cornbread left, and there's no water left at all."

"Before you guys showed up, we were even discussing whether we should collect all the urine..."

Professor Zhang took out the last half of a black cornbread and placed it in front of us along with an empty kettle.

This proves that I wasn't lying.

"These beasts!"

While cursing, I took out a water bottle and a flatbread and handed them over: "Have something to eat first."

"I'll find a way to open the cage and let you out."

Professor Zhang and Lao Yu took the guokui and began to wolf it down.

It's clear they were really hungry.

Uncle Zheng quickly advised, "Eat slowly, don't choke."

"Neither of you should eat too much."

"Eat until you're about 50% full, and drink plenty of water."

Prolonged starvation weakens the gastrointestinal tract.

Eating too much suddenly can easily lead to gastrointestinal problems.

Eat less and eat slowly to recover gradually.

I started circling the cage, trying to figure out how to open it.

At that moment, Han Bin, who was blocking the door, suddenly shouted, "Ouch!"

"This...this is terrible! Ma Dong and the others who were at the entrance have disappeared!"

“It just disappeared suddenly!”