The Qin Mausoleum

段清波China Democracy and Legal System Publishing House · ChinaMay 2019

Rating 4.0
Word count
114K words
Chapters
79
ISBN
9787516218082

Tags

History Books Historical MysteryUnderground PalaceImperial Rise and FallArchaeologyQin Shi Huang MausoleumArchaeological DiscoveryTomb ArchitectureEmperor LegendArchaeological ChronicleQin Dynasty

Summary

He was the first emperor in Chinese history. He swept across the six states and forged a wholly new centralized empire. He stamped one dynasty indelibly on the long course of history. He built for himself a vast underground mausoleum, giving rise to countless folk legends. A thousand years later, people still harbor boundless imaginings about this magnificent subterranean palace. Rivers of mercury, rare treasures, and an army standing at the ready—all of it captures the imagination. He built the Epang Palace, with winding corridors and soaring eaves. In the popular imagination, how magnificent a palace it must have been! For centuries, some have called him brutal, some greedy, and others extravagant. Was the First Emperor truly a man of cruelty and avarice? What kind of statesman was the real Qin Shi Huang? And do those endless legends conceal hidden truths unknown to most? Drawing on recent archaeological discoveries at the First Emperor's mausoleum, this book tells the story of a Qin Shi Huang utterly different from the one we think we know.

Editor's review

"Qin Mausoleum" is not a sensationalist exploration of mysteries but a serious work of scholarship by archaeologist Professor Duan Qingbo, based on decades of frontline excavation and research. Taking the First Emperor's mausoleum—that wonder of the ages—as its entry point, the book's core value lies in redirecting public attention from imagining the treasures of the underground palace toward a deeper reading of Qin dynasty state institutions, engineering and technology, social forms, and even the spiritual world. Duan Qingbo, former head of the Qin Mausoleum archaeological team, combines the fine-grained texture of fieldwork with a grand historical vision. The book analyzes in detail the mirror relationship between the mausoleum layout and the capital city, the military system and craftsmanship behind the terracotta warriors, and the entire operating system revealed by numerous accompanying pits—the Qin Empire's principle of "serving the dead as the living." What is especially valuable is that the author does not stop at describing phenomena but strives to explain how these material remains jointly constructed the Qin Empire's narrative of power and ideology. Reading this book is like following an authoritative guide, peeling back layer after layer of the earthen mound to see not only the First Emperor's personal views on life and death but also how an empire that first achieved great unification used the most extreme material forms to define and consolidate its ruling order. It is an exercise in historical thinking grounded in solid archaeological evidence.

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Reading tips

  1. Read through the whole book first to build an overall framework, then do a close reading with materials such as the mausoleum layout maps in the appendix; spatial imagination helps in understanding the significance of archaeological discoveries
  2. While reading, compare with historical records such as the Records of the Grand Historian to appreciate how archaeology verifies, supplements, and even corrects history
  3. For chapters on ancient institutions and technological craftsmanship, slow down appropriately—this content is key to understanding the height of Qin civilization

About the publisher

China Democracy and Legal System Publishing House China · Founded in 1989

China Democracy and Legal System Publishing House focuses on professional legal publishing. Its output covers working materials for state organs of power, compilations of laws and regulations, legal popularization readers for the public, law textbooks and documentation on people's congress work, with law, politics and social sciences as common categories. Representative titles in the catalog include the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, the Constitution of the People's Republic of China and the Ecological Environment Code of the People's Republic of China, alongside practice- and research-oriented works such as Legislators Explaining the Law: Li Yuan's Reports on Legal Interpretation and On Record Review and Constitutional Review. Its authors include Li Yuan, Qin Qianhong, the General Office of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and editorial teams. The press emphasizes accuracy in legal texts and the organization of practical people's congress materials, while also serving public legal education.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 第一讲 九层之台：封土里的建筑
  3. 奇特的内部构造
  4. 消失的墓上建筑
  5. 九层高台的作用
  6. 第二讲 帝王威仪：封土高度之谜
  7. 释“五十余丈”
  8. 水土流失说
  9. 设计与实际高度
  10. 空前绝后的封土高度
  11. 千古一帝的情怀视野
  12. 第三讲 水银江河：帝国的版图
  13. 地宫水银之谜
  14. 水银的来源
  15. 水银象征的家国天下
  16. 第四讲 雄伟瑰丽：地宫的结构
  17. 地宫传说
  18. 地宫位置与规模
  19. 揭秘地宫结构
  20. 第五讲 奇器珍怪：地宫珍宝知多少
  21. 地宫珍宝传奇
  22. 墓道结构与始皇理想
  23. 第六讲 众说纷纭：秦陵地宫的防盗与被盗
  24. 地宫被盗的传说
  25. 地宫真的被盗了吗？
  26. 地宫的防盗措施
  27. 第七讲 独具匠心：秦陵的修陵人
  28. 修陵人的日常生活
  29. 秦陵的修建时长
  30. 修陵人去向
  31. 第八讲 主人迷雾：巍巍秦俑谁所属
  32. 宣太后非兵马俑主人
  33. 宣太后陵墓何所在
  34. 第九讲 虎狼之师：帝国的军队
  35. 活人制俑的无稽之谈
  36. 帝国军队的真实写照
  37. 秦的军功爵制
  38. 第十讲 戎马天下：秦陵的马厩坑
  39. 马厩坑的发现
  40. 马之于秦人的意义
  41. 秦的马政
  42. 第十一讲 逸致闲情：青铜水禽与曼妙音律
  43. 横空出世的青铜水禽坑
  44. 帝国的乐府机构
  45. 始皇的音乐情怀
  46. 第十二讲 引人入胜：秦始皇之宫廷百戏
  47. 奇特的俑
  48. 百戏定名始末
  49. 宫廷百戏
  50. 舶来的艺术
  51. 第十三讲 横贯东西：秦陵的物质文化交流
  52. 铜车马的制作工艺
  53. 陶俑雕塑艺术
  54. 修陵的外国人
  55. 第十四讲 金科玉律：帝国的法律机构
  56. 文官俑坑的发现
  57. 秦的中央官制
  58. 廷尉：法律的实施者
  59. 第十五讲 地下王朝：秦陵的外藏系统
  60. 外藏系统的发现
  61. 外藏系统的象征意义
  62. 帝国政权机构的再现
  63. 第十六讲 舞榭歌台：阿房宫的历史谜团
  64. 极尽奢华的阿房宫
  65. 阿房宫的考古发现
  66. 未成的阿房宫
  67. 第十七讲 心急如焚：始皇生命的最后五年
  68. 秦王为何捞鼎？
  69. 关乎帝国命运的四次危机
  70. 急于求成与忧国忧民
  71. 第十八讲 风雨飘摇：秦帝国之殇
  72. 累累白骨之谜
  73. 秦帝国陨落的真实原因
  74. 第十九讲 帝国残照：妖魔化的秦始皇与末代之王现象
  75. 细数始皇的妖魔化
  76. 秦律真的严苛吗？
  77. 被妖魔化的原因
  78. 末代之王的悲叹
  79. 后记

FAQ

How is this book fundamentally different from the Qin mausoleum mentioned in novels like "Daomu Biji" or films and TV dramas like "The Myth"? This book is a rigorous archaeological work; all its discussions are based on scientific excavation records and research aimed at reconstructing historical reality. Artistic works are largely fictional. The two differ completely in nature, purpose, and method.
Can ordinary readers without an archaeology background understand it? The author has fully considered the needs of general readers, striving for plain language and clearly explaining technical terms. As long as you have a basic interest in history and are willing to follow the author's logic, understanding the core content poses no obstacle.
Can this book answer the questions the public cares most about—whether the underground palace of the First Emperor's mausoleum has been looted, and what treasures it contains? The book focuses on interpreting Qin civilization through the scientifically excavated outer remains of the mausoleum. Regarding the unexcavated core of the underground palace, the author makes reasonable inferences based on archaeological evidence but clearly distinguishes the known from the unknown. It provides a logical framework for understanding why the underground palace was designed as it was, rather than a simple inventory of treasures inside.

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About the author

段清波 Author

Duan Qingbo is an author about whom limited public information is available. Two of his works are held in the library, both related to archaeological research on the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, including the representative titles Archaeological Research on the Mausoleum Precinct of Qin Shi Huang and The Qin Mausoleum. Judging from the titles and their common classification, his writing centers on the field of history books for general readers, dealing with archaeological discoveries at the Qin mausoleum precinct, its layout, and related historical questions. His approach draws on archaeological materials and compares sites and remains with textual records, helping readers understand the Qin funerary system and the archaeological profile of the mausoleum. Since details such as his dates of birth and death, nationality, education, and positions remain unconfirmed, no inferences are made here; only the direction of his writing is described based on the works in the library. Overall, Duan Qingbo's popular historical writing on the archaeology of the Qin mausoleum offers an introductory reference for readers interested in Qin and Han history and archaeology.