Why didn't Qianlong dig the tomb of the former emperor and only took one thing with him?

Speaking of grave robbery, a thousand-year-old occupation, everyone must think that only local ruffians will do it. In fact, there are some important figures among the grave robbers, such as Emperor Qianlong, the protagonist of today's story.

▲ stills of Emperor Qianlong

Objectively speaking, the Qing dynasty's protection of the tombs of the former emperors was quite in place. Not only did it repair the Ming Tombs, but it also led a large group of people to worship in person every New Year's Day. Emperor Kangxi even set up a stone tablet in front of Ming Taizu's mausoleum, which read "Ruling the Tang and Song Dynasties". However, the good image painstakingly created by several generations of emperors was destroyed by Emperor Qianlong.

▲ Photography of the Ming Tombs

Emperor Qianlong is prosperous at first sight, and the world is rich, and there is really no motive for committing crimes. This statement is correct to some extent, because the Qing emperor really had no interest in the gold and silver jewelry in the tomb, and he only valued the golden nanmu.

This is a kind of precious wood with extremely slow growth and rare quantity, which is famous for its fine and straight texture, dense structure and golden thread appearing in the sun. Because it is still immortal after a hundred years, nanmu has become the best choice for the emperor's coffin.

▲ Precious golden nanmu

In the Ming dynasty, a large number of nanmu were used in palaces, temples and royal tombs, which became a scarce resource when the Qing emperor entered the customs. The problem is that the Qing emperor also felt that only golden nanmu could show his noble status, so he asked his men to find a way to get it. These officials focused on temples and palaces in the Ming Dynasty, and obtained enough gold nanmu for reuse by demolishing ground buildings.

▲ Golden nanmu gold dragon chair in the Forbidden City

This method is simple and effective, but it cannot be used for a long time. After emperor Qianlong ascended the throne, he also wanted to use gold nanmu in his mausoleum, but nanmu in many palaces has been basically demolished, so he set his sights on the tombs of emperors in previous dynasties. When he revealed this intention to the trusted minister, he was immediately opposed by Ji Xiaolan, and he even quoted the relevant provisions of the Qing law to protest.

▲ Yongling in the Ming Tombs

This can stir up a hornet's nest, and civil servants have played a role in demanding that the emperor set an example. Emperor Qianlong had to give up angrily when he saw this, but Xiao Shenyang found another way and wrote, "The Ming Tombs of the old Ming Dynasty need to be repaired." . Emperor Qianlong, who knew this, made a decision on the spot.

In this way, the massive "Ming Mausoleum Repair" project began. Twelve of the thirteen mausoleums were reduced, and almost all the golden nanmu in the underground palace was replaced by ordinary wood. Take the Yongling Mausoleum, which was built by Emperor Jiajing for more than ten years, as an example. Its main building, Xiangdian, used a lot of golden nanmu, but in the end it was a wedding dress for Qianlong.

▲ Qianlong Yuling underground palace that has been exhibited to the public.

As for the leader of this incident-Emperor Qianlong, he stole precious wood and won a good reputation for repairing the Ming Tombs. Unfortunately, the emperor who dug the grave of the former dynasty was robbed of his grave a hundred years later. This may be true.