The main hall we were in was covered with dense murals on all four walls.
The wall in front of us alone depicts the evolution of an ancient tribe from eating raw meat and drinking blood to slash-and-burn agriculture, and gradually to farming with plows and hoes, and the enlightenment and education of the people.
This mural records the fusion of two matrilineal tribes and their flourishing development.
I don’t know if the rise of this tribe was directly related to those inbreeding creatures, based on the murals, but it is undeniable that they always held the highest position in the tribe, to the point that they were gradually deified, and their ugly faces, made by inbreeding, became the totem of the tribe.
By the time of the second mural, this primitive tribe had already built its own city and had a huge palace. An ugly-faced royal, surrounded by people, lived in a high position like a monarch.
It is worth noting that the person sitting in the high position has changed from a woman to a man.
Jiang Man was quite surprised to see this: "This tribe has actually developed into a kingdom, this is truly astonishing!"
"It may not be a kingdom, but just a small town. Look at this hall, there are only murals and no written records. This means that they may not have invented writing. Even if they had established a country, it would have been no bigger than the small countries of Dayuan, Anxi, Dayuezhi, Kangju, and Kokand among the 72 kingdoms of the Western Regions. It wouldn't even be comparable to a county town today. But it is surprising that they were able to develop to this extent."
While I was making my comments, I continued reading downwards.
Upon arriving here, the scene abruptly changes, transforming into a battle scene between two armies.
In the battle scenes, the weapons used by both sides have changed dramatically. The opposing side not only has long spears and short swords, but also horse-drawn chariots and archer formations.
In contrast, the tribe's weapons were much less advanced, still mainly consisting of spears.
"It looks like the army of the Xia Dynasty."
Jiang Man looked at the enemy side in the mural and said, "According to the 'Gan Shi' in the Book of Documents, the Xia king controlled the army and had 'six people in charge' under him, which shows that the Xia king had personnel with different roles. At that time, there were already chariots, and the members on the chariots were divided into three positions: left, right, and driver, which is consistent with the record in this mural."
"I also think this is from the Xia Dynasty!"
I nodded and said, "Before the Xia Dynasty, the wars between tribes and tribal alliances were carried out by the able-bodied men within the tribes. After the establishment of the Xia Dynasty, a unified tribal community was formed in the Central Plains, and state institutions emerged. Therefore, the establishment of a dedicated fighting force was essential. The Xia Dynasty's army was a dedicated tool for warfare developed to maintain its rule, and it also opened the curtain on war."
Some of the more famous battles of the Xia Dynasty include Yu's conquest of the Sanmiao and Qi's conquest of the Youhu clan. By the time the Xia Dynasty was established, it already had a powerful army and began to conquer various tribes and bring them under its control.
According to legend, the force that built the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace was an early Miao tribe, so this war was very likely a war during the time of Yu's conquest of the Sanmiao! However, judging from this mural, this tribe was more powerful than other early Miao tribes!
The Xia Dynasty was the first hereditary dynasty recorded in Chinese history books. It was a new dynasty established on the ruins of primitive social systems, which led to the gradual disintegration of primitive tribal systems.
From the time Yu passed the throne to his son Qi, it marked the beginning of a dynastic system of hereditary rule. Among the artifacts from the Xia Dynasty are a considerable number of bronze and jade ritual objects, dating from the late Neolithic period to the early Bronze Age. This era already possessed the rudiments of a feudal society, with rapid advancements in culture, military, and technology. The technological capabilities of this era were sufficient to construct the Miao Kingdom's celestial palace, but that alone was not enough.
To confirm my guess, I started looking down.
In the following murals, several large surrounding tribes were suppressed and conquered by the Xia Dynasty. Only the tribe in the murals repelled the Xia Dynasty's army. However, faced with the overwhelming force, they burned down the city and migrated to the mountains.
As this tribe migrated, the Xia Dynasty tribes pursued them, and the two sides clashed many times. However, there are many exaggerated scenes in the footage. The tribespeople were utterly defeated by the Xia Dynasty's slave army, while those ugly-faced creatures were able to fight against hundreds of enemies, causing the Xia Dynasty army to retreat in defeat.
This scene is clearly fabricated to showcase the might of the ruling class. If they were truly so powerful, how could they have been driven around like this?
At the end of the scene, the tribe escaped the pursuit of the Xia Dynasty army, hid in a mountain with a large river, and re-established the tribe. The content of the mural on the second wall ends here.
After Jiang Man finished looking at the content of the second mural, she shone her flashlight on the corner between the second and third walls: "Duan Shenxing, look at the marks on this wall. It seems to have been repainted, and the materials used are different. There is a clear color difference between the two walls."
"It is indeed different. In addition to the change in background color, the painting style has also changed."
I turned my gaze to the third wall and noticed that, in addition to the more delicate lines, the materials used in the murals were also different.
The mural begins with the tribe that fled to this place, having rebuilt their palace, which is still ruled by the former royal family.
In the second act of the mural, an ugly royal lies naked in the hall, surrounded by scantily clad, beautiful women with alluring figures, enjoying fine wine, delicacies, and a veritable carnivorous forest for his debauchery.
The next scene shows him having sex with a young girl, and the next scene shows the girl being killed.
In addition, the ruler invented many cruel tortures and forced people to fight wild beasts, all for his amusement.
This mural depicts two extremes: the rulers indulging in extravagance and debauchery in their palaces, while the tribesmen suffer widespread misery and their bodies lie scattered across the land, creating a stark contrast.
Jiang Man shone her flashlight on the next scene, which depicted a small mountain of corpses, and a group of ugly-faced royals surrounded by a group of naked beauties, revealing unrestrained smiles: "This mural must have used an exaggerated technique. The mountain of corpses and sea of blood below represent the oppressed people! You can tell that the person who painted this mural already hates these rulers to the bone!"
"Actually, this is normal. Look at this scene. All the women who have sex with the royal family are killed. The purpose is to maintain the purity of the royal bloodline! These people have passed down their lineage through inbreeding. The probability of having mentally challenged children and transmitting familial genetic diseases is too high. It's hard to guarantee that some mentally challenged madman won't inherit the ruling position!"
Judging from the images, these ugly-looking people are no longer normal; they seem more like a group of mental patients. Their oppressive lifestyle and extravagant lifestyle will inevitably arouse public anger.
This reminds me of the Liu Song dynasty. The Liu Song dynasty only lasted seven or eight emperors before its demise. Most of those emperors were idiots, incompetent rulers, perverts, and cruel. Not only were they all bloodthirsty, but they were also incredibly promiscuous, leading one to suspect that the Liu Song royal family had a familial history of mental illness.
I paused for a moment: "This shows that these ugly faces have gradually gone from being on par with gods to being demons in the eyes of the people!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com