October in the north is already late autumn, but Yangzhou is sunny and pleasant.
This place was formerly known as Guangling, Jiangdu, and Weiyang. It has a long history and a brilliant culture, and is also one of the first batch of national historical and cultural cities.
After getting off the plane, I dialed the number Wei Xiao had given me and soon met Shark.
The other person was a middle-aged man around forty-five years old with an average appearance, but he had a special temperament and a very standard posture, which made him look like he had served in the military.
When Shark saw me, he smiled and extended his palm: "Mr. Duan, hello! I am Sha Honggang, the manager of the Yangzhou branch of Changwei Group. You can just call me Shark."
"Hello, Shark Bro!"
I shook hands with the shark: "Please take good care of us during our trip to Yangzhou."
"It's not a matter of special treatment, but General Manager Wei told me to make sure you're well taken care of. Please!"
Shark exchanged a few polite words, then led Monkey and me out of the airport and personally drove a BMW 5 Series onto the road: "Mr. Duan, because things are urgent in Yangzhou, I won't take you sightseeing in the city. I'll treat you properly after things are settled."
I was a complete stranger in this place, so I struck up a conversation with Shark: "Hey Shark, your accent doesn't sound like a local."
Shark replied casually, "I'm a local, but I went to the north to join the army when I was eighteen. In the army, I was General Wei's soldier. Shark was my code name in the army."
Seeing that Shark was quite polite, I took the opportunity to ask, "Brother Shark, Uncle Wei told me that you would give me a detailed introduction after we arrive in Yangzhou."
"Okay, then I'll tell you about it."
Shark handed him a cigarette: "We're going to Songqiao Town in Huxi New District of Gaoyou City to find a Tang Dynasty tomb."
Upon hearing this place name, I blurted out: "Didn't Gaoyou have a Han Dynasty tomb complex, including a joint tomb of Liu Xu, the King of Guangling of the Western Han Dynasty, and his wife, which were buried in separate chambers in the same burial plot, and adopted the highest-level burial style of the Han Dynasty royal family, Huangchang Ticou?"
"The burial complex you mentioned is called the Tianshan Han Tombs, located in the Tianshan area of Songqiao Town, which used to be called Tianshan Town," Shark added. "That's where we're going."
"Big brother, you're not kidding, are you?" The monkey sat up straight. "This place is a burial site, it should be a cultural relic protection area, right? What's the difference between raiding tombs in this kind of place and stealing things from a museum?"
Shark laughed and said, "Don't be nervous. The place where you're working isn't inside the Shenjushan Scenic Area, and it's been contracted out to us, so there won't be any problems."
...
The shark chatted with us all the way to Tianshan Town.
The land contracted by Changwei Group consists of two connected hills, adjacent to the Shenjushan Scenic Area where the Han Dynasty tombs are located.
The mountainous area has been fenced off by Changwei Group with sheet metal for construction, and security guards are stationed on the roads leading up the mountain.
I glanced at the signs by the roadside; Changwei Group had contracted this place, ostensibly to build a breeding farm.
The vehicle drove halfway up the mountain and stopped in front of a tent.
Shark stood down from the car, pointed to the tent, and explained to me, "Mr. Duan, this is an undeveloped construction site, and the environment is quite harsh. I'm sorry to trouble you for a while! Please go inside and rest!"
I observed the terrain and waved my hand, saying, "No need, I'll go up the mountain and take a look first."
"The situation here is very urgent, and the higher-ups have been pressing us hard. Since you're not tired, I'll show you around."
Shark followed beside me and acted as my guide: "Of the three groups of people we hired before, two were professional tomb raiders and the other was from the provincial archaeological team. After the tomb complex was discovered at Shenjushan, the archaeological experts searched the surrounding mountains thoroughly, and the people we hired also checked the area. Everyone believed that there were no mounds here at all."
The word "dunzi" mentioned by the shark is a transliteration of the word "mound" in burial mounds, and it refers to a large tomb. This word is very popular in the tomb raiding community in Jiangsu.
I looked at the shark with a puzzled expression: "This mountain doesn't seem to be very big. So many experts and specialists haven't been able to find any trace of it, so why are you so sure?"
"The reason Mr. Wei deduced that there was a Tang Dynasty tomb here is because a stone, or rather half a stone carving, was found in the village at the foot of the mountain! Because of its age, it had been weathered beyond recognition. The village elders said that the stone was washed down by a flash flood during a rainstorm more than ten years ago. Mr. Wei analyzed that the stone carving was something from the tomb."
As I walked along the mountain path, I asked, "It is true that there was a custom of placing stone carvings in tombs during the Tang Dynasty, but isn't it too arbitrary to make a judgment based on just one stone?"
Shark didn't care about the matter and shrugged, saying, "Mr. Duan, my job is just to receive the people sent by the head office. Your question is not within my scope of consideration."
The mountain we are on is called Twin Peaks by the locals. The two peaks are not connected, but rather face each other like camel humps.
In feng shui, this type of terrain, where the main peak is indistinguishable, is called "sympathy between host and guest" and is not suitable for burial.
Individually, these two low hills have rather ordinary feng shui, but if they are classified as part of the Shenju Mountain Range, then it's a different story.
Looking down into the valley towards Shenju Mountain, the entire terrain resembles a reclining maiden, and the location of Shuangfeng Mountain is truly remarkable.
The two mountains are connected to Shenju Mountain, surrounded by mountains and water, and have a commanding view. They even have some similarities in terrain to the Qianling Mausoleum, where Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu Zetian are buried together.
In the early Tang Dynasty, feng shui and geomancy were mainly based on the burial classics.
The Book of Burial states that in the art of feng shui, obtaining water is paramount, followed by concealing the wind.
To explain this sentence, we must first understand the concept of "vital energy". This word refers to the yin and yang energies, which are also the two yin and yang in Taiji. Once the two energies compete, they will exhale and become wind.
According to the book, the presence of water is the key to whether a burial site is auspicious or not; the presence of water indicates abundant vital energy, while the absence of water indicates weak vital energy.
The so-called "wind-retaining" does not refer to the wind that blows through the air, but rather to the terrain that prevents the conflict between the two elements (yin and yang) and thus carries away the vital energy of the cemetery.
This mountain, which borrows energy from the Qianling Mausoleum, doesn't have the same auspicious energy as the Qianling Mausoleum. It's not high enough to bury royalty and nobility, but it would be sufficient to bury an official or merchant.
Once I was certain that the terrain here was indeed suitable for burial, I took a compass and began to search for the direction of the dragon vein here.
The "dragon" in "dragon vein" does not refer to the tomb owner, but rather to the dragon vein where the tomb is located, also known as the earth vein or mountain range.
There are countless dragon veins in the world, but not all of them are suitable for burial. Throughout history, the best feng shui locations have all been occupied by kings, nobles, and generals. Later generations of tomb raiders who understand feng shui can find these places and thus find the tombs.
In simple terms, Feng Shui is about assessing the terrain and eliminating negative influences while attracting positive ones.
The Book of Burial also contains a passage that reads: "In the method of burying a mountain, the terrain is the most difficult, followed by the shape, and then the orientation."
What is meant by "momentum"? For example, the earth's veins may resemble surging waves, galloping horses, or the spirit of a soaring dragon. This kind of manifestation is called momentum, and it is also the essence and spirit of a dragon vein.
The posture must match the form. For example, if the shape is a horse but the posture is a reclining posture, or the shape is a dragon but the posture is a sleeping posture, this is considered a clash between the posture and the form.
Conversely, terrain features such as tiger leaping, dragon soaring, and galloping horse are considered excellent feng shui locations.
Although such a geomantically auspicious location is rare, it is not suitable for just anyone to be buried there. My grandfather had a friend who studied feng shui on his own and buried his father's grave on a prominent mountain after returning to his hometown.
Not long after, he began to have nightmares in which his father said he had been captured and enslaved and was bullied every day.
The man, not understanding the situation, went to my grandfather. My grandfather went there, only glanced at the grave at the foot of the mountain, and then had the man move the grave to the cemetery.
Six months later, a major flood occurred there, which washed away a Qing Dynasty royal tomb.
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