Guanzhong Tomb Robbery Notes

"Okay, I'll go back and translate now. You take good care of Nannan."

"Don't worry, Sister Ai, I will definitely take good care of Sister Nan."

I sent Ai Wuwu out of the hospital gate and then returned to the ward.

Seeing that I was the only one back, Zhang Nan asked curiously, "Where are the weapons?"

"Sister Ai has gone back. Sister Nan, how good is your English?"

English teaching was not popular at that time.

In the first few years after the resumption of the college entrance examination, foreign languages ​​were not included in the examination subjects. Only those who applied for foreign language majors would take the foreign language test.

It was not until 1984 that English was officially included as a main subject in the college entrance examination. The College English Test Band 4 was launched in 1987, and the College English Test Band 6 was launched in 1989.

Zhang Nan nodded. "Not bad. My English isn't very good, but I can still read pretty well."

"That's great. Can you help me see what's written in this letter?"

I handed over the yellowed letter paper.

After Zhang Nan took it, he didn't read the English content, but stared at the letter again and again.

"This paper is quite old and has a very good texture."

"what?"

I was stunned.

"Why is the quality of letter paper so important? Isn't it just paper for writing letters?"

"That's not the case. Rich people are very particular about food, clothing, and daily necessities, so their writing paper is naturally not ordinary, such as the Xue Tao paper that has been passed down through the ages."

Xue Tao was a famous prostitute and poet in the Tang Dynasty. She had exchanges of poetry with famous poets such as Bai Juyi, Liu Yuxi, and Du Mu.

According to legend, she used water from Huanhua Creek, hibiscus bark, and hibiscus flower juice to make Xue Tao paper, which was extremely popular at the time.

I don't care about the letter paper, I just want to know what's in it.

"Sister Nan, please help me check the content."

"Okay, I'll show you."

Zhang Nan read as he looked at it: "Hello, Ma, it's been a long time since I last saw you."

"It's been a while since I returned to China. I gained a lot from my trip to Dunhuang. During my research, I discovered something very interesting."

"In that mysterious and charming ancient Eastern country, there seems to be a way to achieve immortality and coexistence with heaven and earth. I guess you may not believe it, but it is really possible."

"The scriptures I exchanged from Taoist Wang in Dunhuang..."

Zhang Nan suddenly raised his head and stared at me with burning eyes.

I was frightened by her eyes and asked weakly, "Sister, why don't you read?"

"Do you know who Taoist Wang from Dunhuang is?"

"I don't know." I was even more confused.

I have never seen many Taoist priests since I was a child, let alone know them.

After Zhang Nan's explanation, I learned that the Taoist priest Wang in Dunhuang was named Wang Yuanlu. Because he was greedy for money, he sold the scriptures and paintings in the Dunhuang Caves to Stein at a very low price, resulting in a large number of precious cultural relics being lost overseas.

"Judging from the signature, this is a letter from the cultural relic thief Stein! Where did you get it from?"

“My…”

I was suddenly speechless.

This is not an easy lie to tell.

Uncle Tuo, you really know how to dig a hole for me!

Why give me such a crappy letter? How can I and Sister Nan explain it?

Forget it, I'll just make up a story that is nine true and one false.

"Sister, I went back to find a way to save Professor Zhang."

"Professor Zhang doesn't actually have an illness; it's more like a curse. That night while I was on guard duty, I heard him talking in his sleep about the Baon snake. I figured it might be related to the words on the bead, so I returned to the village that night."

"I went back to the village and found Camel Master. He's an old man in our village. He used to dig graves, so he's pretty knowledgeable. I asked him if he knew about the Baong snake."

"He didn't say anything. He just gave me this letter and the paper with the inscription. I couldn't understand either of them, so I ran back to ask you and Sister Ai for help."

"I gave the paper on which the inscription was copied to Sister Ai. She went back and translated the contents for me. The letter is the one in your hand."

After a lot of explanations and swearing, I finally made Zhang Nan believe me.

She looked at the letter and continued reading.

"Most of the scrolls are Buddhist texts, but interestingly, I found that the oldest scroll seems to have a layer."

"I tried many methods and finally peeled off the outer layer of the scroll. Inside was even more ancient paper!"

"I speculate that it's paper from at least the Western Han Dynasty. The ink on it is clearly visible, and it says 'Map of Mountains and Seas: The Great Wilderness Outer Classic'. Hahahaha, this is a great discovery!"

Zhang Nan stopped reading here, his expression more serious than ever.

"Shi Tou, do you know the 'Map of Mountains and Seas'?"

"I only know the Classic of Mountains and Seas."

Don't blame me for being narrow-minded.

Most people only know about "Classic of Mountains and Seas" but are unaware of the existence of "Map of Mountains and Seas".

The "Map of Mountains and Seas" was created even earlier.

It was constantly edited and revised from the Warring States Period to the early Western Han Dynasty, and was finally compiled into the now widely known "Classic of Mountains and Seas".

"The Shanhaitu is older, and its recorded contents are more valuable for research than the edited Shanhaijing."

"It's just that for various reasons, the 'Map of Mountains and Seas' has not been passed down. All that can be seen are unwritten fragments or a few references in ancient books."

"But Stein's letter said he had discovered a complete page of the 'Map of Mountains and Seas'. This is truly a groundbreaking discovery!"

I was scratching my head anxiously.

No matter how earth-shattering it is, it doesn't matter to me now.

What's important is the clue about the Baon snake.

"Sister, please continue reading the letter."

"This news is too shocking. If my father knew..."

Zhang Nan looked at Professor Zhang lying on the hospital bed, his eyes gradually dimming.

"Stein wrote in the letter that he had consulted with the most senior sinologists, and they all agreed that the content of that page of the Shanhaitu was the Black Tai Sui and the Baon Snake."

"The Black Tai Sui lives in the Great Desolate Land, and is immortal, living as long as the heaven and earth."

"The Baon Snake was its messenger, traveling eastward to spread the power of Black Tai Sui. Every tribe that passed through it submitted to its power and built altars and totems for worship."

"Pray to Black Tai Sui to bestow divine objects upon us, so that we may live as long as the heaven and earth, and never die."

I listened and pondered.

The place where the great wilderness falls should be where the sun sets.

So the Baon Snake came from the west and headed east, conquering many tribes along the way and making them believe in Black Tai Sui.

"I think this isn't just a myth; it should have some basis in fact. Ming Yishi also thinks so!"

Ming Yishi was a famous sinologist from the Maple Leaf Country. He came to my country in 1910 and began to purchase "dragon bones", that is, bones engraved with oracle bone inscriptions, in 1914.

In 1917, he selected 2369 fine pieces from the tens of thousands of dragon bones he had purchased, copied and published the book "Oracle Inscriptions of Yinxu", which became an important reference in the field of oracle bone research.

In 1932, Ming Yishi joined the Institute of Archaeology of Qilu University, where he taught and trained a large number of talents in oracle bone research.

"Ming Yishi also believes it to be true...Shitou, are you sure you heard my father mention the Baon Snake?"

"Make sure you listen carefully."

Zhang Nan frowned slightly and said, "It seems that there is something wrong with the cave my father went to."

"No, I want to find out what happened in the cave!"

Seeing that she was in a hurry to leave, I quickly stopped her.

"Sister Nan, don't worry."

"You saw Director Ma's attitude last time. He was just trying to smooth things over. You won't get any information from them."

"Read the letter first, and then try to find out the situation."