On September 4, the Shaanxi Provincial Archaeology Institute released a number of important archaeological results: the tomb of Sun Dingren of the Northern Wei Dynasty was unearthed in Jingyang, and 164 cultural relics (groups) reflect the style of the transition period of the regime at that time; the cemetery of Duan Wenzhen's family in the Zhou and Sui Dynasty was discovered in Hongduyuan, which emptied the history and changes of the times of the generals; the excavation of the Silla Proton Jin Yong tomb of the Tang Dynasty in Xi'an provides new clues for the study of the burial system of foreign nobles.
The tomb of Sun Dingren of the Northern Wei Dynasty was discovered in Jingyang
164 pieces (groups) of cultural relics unearthed provide physical information
"This is a tomb from the late Northern Wei Dynasty. The tomb is well preserved, with rich unearthed artifacts and detailed content. It is a famous tomb of the Northern Wei Dynasty discovered in recent years." Wang Hongying, the project leader of the Northern Wei Dynasty tomb of Majiabao, Jingyang, Shaanxi Province, said.
Recently, the Shaanxi Provincial Archaeology Institute was excavated in the north of Majiabao Village, Gaozhuang Town, Jingyang County, Xianyang City, in cooperation with the construction of the Majiabao to Jingyang Highway project of the Airport Expressway Contact Line, and excavated a tomb of Sun Dingren from the Northern Wei Dynasty.
According to excavation information, the tomb faces north and south, and is a dome-top brick chamber tomb with a long slope tomb passage. The total length is about 42 meters and consists of a tomb passage, a sealed door, a corridor and a tomb chamber. The total length of the tomb passage is about 33 meters and the deepest is about 10 meters; the sealed door is made of two brick structure; the arch of the corridor is covered with white ash on the top of the wall; the tomb chamber contains the main chamber and the east room, the main chamber is square in the plane of the main chamber, with an area of about 35 square meters, and there is a bone of a minor in the east room.
A total of 164 burial objects were unearthed from the main room of the tomb, including stone tombstones, figurine groups and pottery artifacts. According to the script, the tomb owner Sun Dingren was the governor of Binzhou, Northern Wei. He participated in the suppression of the Hebei Uprising and the Guanlong Uprising. He died in the first year of Taichang and was buried in Chang'an. He was awarded the title of General of the Cavalry.
Wang Hongying introduced that the tomb inherits the high-level tomb shape of the Northern Wei Dynasty Luoyang era. The unearthed pottery figurines present a typical style in the late Northern Wei Dynasty. They are in a critical stage of the transition from the Northern Wei Dynasty to the Western Wei Dynasty. They provide precious physical materials for studying the relationship between social changes and funeral systems and culture at that time.
The family cemetery of Duan Wenzhen, a famous general of Zhou and Sui Dynasty
Empirical life and changes in the times
Hongduyuan, Xianyang on the north side of Chang'an City in the Han and Tang Dynasties, was a concentration of high-level tombs from the Northern Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties. The cemetery of Duan Wenzhen, a famous general of the Zhou and Sui Dynasty, was located here. Seven tombs have been found in the cemetery, covering Duan Wenzhen and his wife, their children and great-grandsons. The burial period was from the eighth year of Daye in the Sui Dynasty to the first year of Jingyun in the Tang Dynasty. It was arranged in an orderly manner with "decreasing generations from south to north". They were all single-chamber earth-cave tombs with long slope tombs with patios in the north and south. At the same time, they were severely plagiarized.
Among them, Duan Wenzhen's tomb is the largest, with a 5-season earth cave tomb with a total horizontal length of nearly 60 meters, and residual tombstones, stone gates, pottery figurines, etc. The murals on both walls of the tomb passage are well preserved, and are painted with images of military figures such as infantry and cavalry, with bright colors and finely depicted. "There is a 7-pattern earth cave tomb 8 meters on the east side of it. It is probably the tomb of Mrs. Duan Wenzhen. The total horizontal length is about 50 meters. The remaining jade pendants, glass bottles, etc. are left. The murals of the tomb chamber are mainly based on the image of maids and eunuchs. A dragon-shaped monument was also found at the southern end of the tomb passage of the two tombs." Zhu Yingpei, the project leader of Duan Wenzhen's tomb in Xianyang, Shaanxi, said.
The tombs of children are located north of Duan Wenzhen and his wife. The tombs of great-grandson Duan Xiaoyi and his wife are further north. They are both robbed and burial objects such as tombstones and terracotta figurines are left.
According to historical records, Duan Wenzhen served in the Zhou and Sui Dynasty, and was a famous general at that time. He participated in important battles such as the Northern Zhou Dynasty's attack on Northern Qi, the Sui Dynasty's destruction of Chen, and the northern expulsion of Turks. This excavation not only provides evidence for the study of his life and family history, but also provides important physical information for exploring the ritual system, official positions, and social changes during the Zhou and Sui Dynasty.
The Jin Yong Tomb of Silla Protons of the Tang Dynasty was discovered in Xi'an
Providing new clues for studying the funeral system of foreign nobles
From April to June 2022, the Shaanxi Provincial Archaeology Institute excavated 38 ancient ruins in Dongjiang Village, Yanta District, Xi'an City (near Xi'an Ring Expressway in the north and Dongyi Road in the east), of which M15 is the Jinyong Tomb of Silla Proton in the Tang Dynasty. "This tomb is about 2,000 meters north of the Tang Dynasty Chang'an City. Although it was robbed, many relics were unearthed. In particular, the epitaph clearly stated the identity of the tomb owner. It is the first Tang Silla Proton tomb excavated by archaeology, and it has great academic value." Xia Peichao, the project leader of the Tang Silla Proton Jin Yong Tomb in Xi'an, Shaanxi, introduced.
According to epitaphs, the tomb owner Jin Yong was born in Tianbao for six years and died in Taipingli Hall in Chang'an in the tenth year of Zhenyuan, at the age of 48. His grandfather Jin Yirang was the cousin of King Silla. In the early Kaiyuan period, he joined the Tang Dynasty and became the official of Jin Zi Guanglu Dafu and Taichangqing; his father was a guard Tang Ting, and served as Zhongsan Dafu and Guanglu Shaoqing; Jin Yong inherited his proton status as a guard Tang Ting, and served as a deputy envoy, and served twice as an envoy to Silla. Later, he was appointed as the chief of the wife until his old age. Mrs. Jin Yong was the daughter of Wang family in Taiyuan (the daughter of Wang Qianling, the magistrate of Yanshi County), which shows that most of the Silla protons at that time intermarried with the Tang people.
Jin Yong's funeral was presided over by the Chang'an County Magistrate and the fee was paid by the official. His tomb "was north of Biyuan in the south of the city", and is probably the family burial place. 15 meters east of the tomb is the tomb of Su Dawei in the eighth year of Dazhong, Tang Dynasty. The epitaph shows that the burial place is Biyuan, Yongshou Township, Chang'an. It can be seen that Biyuan belongs to Yongshou Township. According to the epitaph of Kim Il-sung from Silla, "the decree was buried in the ancient land of Yongshou in Chang'an", it is speculated that his tomb is also near the Jin Yong's tomb.
This discovery shows that the Silla protons buried in Chang'an may be concentrated in Biyuan, the south of the city, and the funerals are mostly hosted by the magistrate of Jing County and paid for the official fee, reflecting the Tang court's attention to them and providing important new clues for exploring the planning of the burial sites of foreign nobles in the Tang Dynasty.
The excavation of these three tombs reflects the political, military, diplomatic and cultural landscapes of ancient society from different angles, providing fresh and vivid objects for restoring historical details and sorting out the context of the times, and has irreplaceable value for in-depth study of the changes in ancient China's social changes.
Reporter Wang Jiaoli Intern Reporter Song Keqing Zhang Zhenlu (This group of pictures is provided by Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology)
Source: Sanqin Metropolis Daily
