Why does Ming Shenzong's body have a strange posture?

Zhu Yijun's "prone position" is extremely rare, and there is no written record. Why did he make the body like this after he died? Wang Xiuling boldly concluded that this was a "seven-star burial method", and the emperor's burial password was suddenly cracked! It turns out that from the skeleton, the body is lying on its side, and its legs are slightly bent like sleeping, much like the Big Dipper in the sky. On this basis, Wang analyzed the emergence of this burial style-

Zhu Yijun's burial style originated from astronomical phenomena.

In the past, the "Big Dipper" was considered as the North Star, pointing due north and located in the center of the sky. It belongs to Ziwei Garden among the stars. In Song Dynasty, Zheng Qiao called Wei Zi, Qiu and Shi Tian "Three Walls" in Tongzhi. Ternary refers to three star regions. Ziweiyuan is a star zone centered on the Big Dipper and surrounded by surrounding stars. In ancient times, astrological changes were often used to predict the good or bad of personnel, and three walls corresponded to the world. Wei Zi Wall is equivalent to the emperor on the earth, where the Emperor Star is located. Therefore, the North Star Beidou is also considered to be the place where the Emperor of Heaven lives. Lang Ying, a scholar and bibliophile in the Ming Dynasty, said in the Seven Drafts of Astronomy that "the residence of the son of heaven is called Chen Zi". Feudal emperors always thought that they were the masters sent from heaven to earth, so they used to call the emperor "the son of the real dragon", believed in the idea of "divine right of kings" and "the unity of man and nature", and regarded the throne as "heaven" When the emperor died, he ascended to heaven. Therefore, according to this concept, the mystery of Zhu Yijun's strange burial style was uncovered.

Weird burial posture may also be related to Feng Shui theory.

In the past, feng shui experts thought that the Big Dipper had the function of avoiding evil spirits, and its mystery was that its shape was just a huge S-shape that gathered gas. In ancient times, the study of gas field was based on stars, specifically linked with the Big Dipper, which represents seven fields. The core of ancient geomantic omen is called Qi and the movement form of Qi. According to the figures in the ancient river chart, it is clockwise left-handed gas field and S-shaped gas field. Combined with the emperor's choice of mausoleum site, we should choose a place where the gas reservoir wind can gather, and the selection standard is that the mountain is surrounded by water, because there must be gas around the mountain. In geomantic omen, "deep affection" is used to describe the auspiciousness of water and road. The ups and downs of mountains are S-shaped, while rivers are more obvious, always winding.

"Shuilong Jinglun Star Residence" said: "When the water meets three bends, you can live a long life, live a long life, and be prosperous and prosperous." It refers to three consecutive "S"-shaped water, which is a good gas field. The emperor was buried in the underground palace, and entered the underground palace from the tunnel door through the Ming building. The route was also S-shaped. According to the concept of "death is like life", after the death of the emperor, he also needs to be angry. This kind of S-shaped burial means that he can "gather gas". When he is angry, he will have everything, which indicates that future generations will prosper. If so, it makes sense that the strange burial patterns of Zhu Yijun and the Empress originated from the astronomical phenomena.

I also learned that there is another view in archaeology that Zhu Yijun's strange burial posture has nothing to do with astronomical phenomena and geomantic omen, but is due to Sakyamuni's "Nirvana" posture. The reason is that Zhu Yijun is a devout missionary. Wang Xiuling's paper also mentioned this point.

According to the eighth "Nirvana" posture of Sakyamuni's "Eight-phase Road" contained in Mahayana theory, Buddha Sakyamuni knew that he was dying when he was 80 years old, so he finally set off from King Snake City and made a tour. Accompanied by disciple Ananda, he went to a village near Pawa, not far from Kusner Galla, the capital of Moro. Under two salad trees on the west bank of Wadi River in Shengu, his head faces north and west, his right hand supports his head, his left hand is on his body, his feet are together, and he enters nirvana in a sideways posture.

Judging from the body posture of Zhu Yijun and the two Empresses, it is very similar to Sakyamuni's "Nirvana" posture. Because Zhu Yijun and his empress believed in Buddhism very much before their death, he thought that believing in Buddhism would help to "protect the country and defend the country". In the eighteenth year of Wanli (1590), it was pointed out in the instructions to the Buddhist scriptures of Wanfo Temple that "the teachings of Buddhism are combined with the classics to guide the good, awaken the masses, protect the country and benefit the people, and there is no alternative". He also asked the monks in the temple, "Er Temple must hold solemn chanting, respect and cherish it, and prohibit people of all colors from playing with it, so that they will be protected forever."

The artifacts unearthed in Dingling can also fully prove that he is a thorough Buddhist: there are many Buddhist decorations such as Buddhist scriptures on the costumes of the emperor and queen, and a bed of "scriptures" is spread on the top of the body after the Xiaojing; There are bamboo scriptures on it, and the handwriting is blurred. However, the words "South Ami" in the middle and "Hua Yan" in the lower right can still be seen. In Zhu Yijun's coffin, there is a "Red Eight Treasures Dragon Robe, Dark Flowers, Satin Silk and Panlong Buddha", in which there are dragon balls on the front and back chest, and the word "Buddha" on the top cover of the faucet.

In the coffin of filial piety, there are "yellow flowers with branches and vines, embroidered with dark satin formula to collar women's jackets", which complement the word "Buddha" in the interior, and the lower part of the word "Buddha" is decorated with lotus patterns; On the back, the word "Buddha" is embroidered with a phoenix. The so-called "Eight Auspiciouss" refers to eight patterns of wheels, snails, umbrellas, lids, flowers, cans, fish and dish lengths, also known as "Eight Buddhas". The most convincing thing is that Zhu Yijun still has a string of beads in his hand, from which you can imagine his belief in Buddhism. Not only do you believe it before you die, but you remember it after you die. Experts believe that his weird burial style is like Sakyamuni's nirvana posture.

Whether Zhu Yijun's peculiar burial style originated from celestial phenomena or Buddhism is still inconclusive in academic circles. However, according to the layout of the Big Dipper in his mausoleum, it is more sufficient to say that it originated from astronomical phenomena. In the 1990s, when investigating the Ming Tombs in Nanjing, the parties concerned were surprised to find that the layout of Zhu Yuanzhang's mausoleum, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, turned out to be the "Big Dipper" layout, which caused a great sensation. This may provide evidence for the strange burial method in the coffin of the Ming emperor.