Poverty Alleviation in Qin: A Sky-High Review of "I Am the Female Prime Minister of All Time&qu

[This mausoleum actually covers a vast area; I won't go into its exact size. You can refer to the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of Qin.] Sweetie paused, turned around, and faced the camera: [The scale of the Song Dynasty Prime Minister's Mausoleum is almost the same as that of the First Emperor's Mausoleum.]

The camera slowly pans to behind her, revealing the entire park.

In the distance, rolling hills rise and fall, rows of neat trees line the path that leads to the horizon.

Even though the entire scene is difficult to see, its magnificent and grand atmosphere is already palpable through the image.

Beside Tiantian stood a simple stone tablet with several lines of explanatory text. The engravings were deep, but the stone itself was quite new, clearly indicating that it was an inscription added in later generations.

Although Prime Minister Song repeatedly advocated for simple funerals during his lifetime, even mentioning in numerous official documents and his will that a simple burial should be avoided and extravagant construction should be avoided.

But after she passed away, the people of the world refused to allow her a simple burial.

The imperial court originally intended to follow Prime Minister Song's last wishes and hold a simple funeral, but the people petitioned repeatedly, expressing their earnest pleas.

Finally, with no other option, and perhaps because everyone harbored their own selfish motives, the imperial court was "forced" to comply with the people's wishes and construct a mausoleum for him with almost the highest standards of the Qin Shi Huang Emperor.

As she spoke, Tian Tian pointed into the distance, saying, "The tomb of the legendary Song Dynasty prime minister is less than fifty li away from the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum, a distance between two adjacent towns."

[A founding emperor and a renowned prime minister, their tombs are less than fifty miles apart, and they have been neighbors for nearly two thousand years.]

Song Ye: "..."

Wait a minute, let's not even talk about the fact that he was Qin Shi Huang's neighbor for almost two thousand years after his death.

Will these things dig up my tomb?

Although Song didn't believe in ghosts or the afterlife, and thought that after death he was nothing more than a handful of dry earth and bones, and that it didn't matter where he was buried, it still couldn't be that his tomb was being displayed so brazenly in front of him!

It feels like someone is still alive, and their future coffin is opened and displayed to the public for all to see.

"......!"

This is really weird, okay?!

Similarly, she wasn't the only one feeling terrified; countless ordinary people across the country felt the same way.

"???"

"????"

"??!??!"

Are they hallucinating?

Otherwise, why would we hear words like "mausoleum" or "tomb"?

"..."

Ancient people believed that after a person dies, their soul does not disperse and lives in another world underground. The tomb is the dwelling place of the deceased in the underworld, and the coffin and burial materials are what the soul needs for food and clothing.

Not only can the spirits of ancestors protect their descendants, but they also firmly believe in the existence of ghosts and gods in the underworld and the judgment of the netherworld. They believe that digging up graves will disturb the spirits of the deceased, leaving them homeless and suffering endless loneliness.

Not only the nobility, but ordinary people also firmly believed in this idea; it was a consensus across society.

So when everyone realized what Tianmu was talking about, their first reaction was: Who exactly did Song Ye offend that his grave was dug up like this after his death?

Traditional ethics are based on filial piety. To dig up ancestral graves and damage coffins and corpses is the greatest humiliation to a clan.

They believed that the desecration of their ancestral graves had angered the spirits of their ancestors, who would then bring down calamities.

The laws from the pre-Qin period to the Qin and Han dynasties severely punished tomb raiding: in the Qin and Han dynasties, those who plundered tombs were punished with facial tattooing and imprisonment for minor offenses, and death for serious ones. Damaging imperial tombs or noble tombs resulted in the direct imposition of collective punishment on the entire clan!

Therefore, both the government and the people despise tomb raiders. If caught, they will be subjected to endless scorn and will not be allowed to be buried in their ancestral graves after death.

In other words, people believed that the souls of the dead resided in the tombs, and that digging up the tombs would disturb the souls of the deceased and disrupt the resting place of their ancestors.

It would invite divine punishment and be the ultimate humiliation of trampling on kinship and filial piety. From emperors to commoners, no one could accept their family tomb being dug up.

Now everyone has realized what's going on.

The so-called celestial canopy before us is not some immortal being, but rather a descendant from two thousand years in the future.

"Wait a minute, are they digging up the tombs of ancient sages?"

"My God! Is this like dissecting the tomb of the Song Dynasty chancellor for the world to see?"

"Who dares to be so audacious! Who would dare to do such a thing that defies all reason and morality!"

"What a despicable person! Our ancestors have been dead for two thousand years and should be laid to rest, yet they still have to have their graves dug up and displayed!"

Such behavior will surely be punished by Heaven!

"To desecrate someone's ancestral grave is an heinous crime that leads to the extinction of their lineage! Whoever's ancestral grave is desecrated will be forever disgraced! If Song Xiang was said to be benevolent throughout his life, how could his mausoleum be disturbed like this by later generations? It is simply a grave sin!"

Many people were heartbroken and couldn't bear to look at the scene: "Such a good official who wholeheartedly served the people, toiling for them in life, is not even allowed to rest in peace after his death; his grave has been dug up!"

Where is justice? Where is fairness?

Among the crowd, someone carefully examined the well-maintained walkways and neat trees within the canopy, and hesitantly argued in a low voice: "But look at the appearance of this canopy, it doesn't look like it was looted or damaged... The pavilions and walkways are well-maintained, and the vegetation is neatly trimmed, clearly someone has been taking care of it for many years."

Before he could finish speaking, he was immediately interrupted sharply by someone next to him: "What do you know! That woman from later generations clearly said she went in to visit!"

"What is meant by 'visiting'? It means digging up a tomb and letting outsiders barge in to pay their respects! What is this if not grave robbing and disturbing the spirit?"

"But she said this place is called a museum..."

"What is a museum? In the end, it's just digging up the tombs of our ancestors for idle people to admire and enjoy!"

"Having lived most of my life, I have never heard of such an absurd rule! How dare future generations be so presumptuous! Aren't they afraid of the wrath of Prime Minister Song's spirit and his punishment?"

The man became more and more excited as he spoke, and the surrounding people nodded in agreement.

Some people clasped their hands together and prayed softly to the sky, asking only for the peace of the spirits of the sages.

Some people had ashen faces, all of them filled with contempt and anger towards future generations.

"No matter how many treasures are buried with a person, once they die, they can't take anything with them. What's the point of wasting that effort?"

Lu Wan casually chimed in, "That's for the souls of the dead to enjoy."

"What do the dead need gold and silver for? They can't eat or use them." Liu Ji shook his head, his face unusually devoid of any playful smile. "It's enough for people to live a peaceful life while they're alive. It's a complete waste to put on such a grand show after they die."

He spoke casually, as if commenting on someone else's extravagant funeral.

But as the panoramic view of the cemetery unfolded under the canopy and the story was told, the relaxation on Liu Ji's face gradually faded away.

Lu Wan belatedly realized what she had just said: "What did she just say?"

"Open up someone's grave and let people in to look?" Liu Ji's expression was strange; he didn't quite understand.

"These descendants say that Song was a good official who wholeheartedly served the people when he was alive, so he should be buried peacefully after his death. Why are they now digging up his tomb for people to visit? What kind of behavior is this?"

He paused, his tone growing increasingly solemn: "Although I do not believe in ghosts or divine retribution, the resting place of the deceased should never be disturbed by the living."

Lu Wan, unusually, didn't tease her, and said softly, "You're unusually serious today."

"This isn't a serious matter; it's that when a person dies, everything ends."

The deceased are gone; peace is the greatest wish.

Even the most curious living person should not disturb a grave that has been buried for a long time.