What is the patio in Xue Shao's tomb for? Why were there so many patio tombs in the Tang Dynasty?

Xue Shao is the first husband of Princess Taiping. I believe many people know Xue Shao from the TV series "Poems in Daming Palace", in which Xue Shaofeng is handsome and captured the heart of Princess Taiping as soon as he appeared. Unlike TV series, Xue Shao had only one wife in his life, and that was Princess Taiping. Moreover, he had two sons and two daughters with Princess Taiping, and they spent a short life in Xue Shao. The discovery of Xue Shao's tomb can also prove his comfortable and luxurious life. There are many courtyards in his tomb, and the number of courtyards just symbolizes the identity of the tomb owner.

The patio in Xue Shao's tomb has three functions. First, it is convenient to borrow soil. The patio tomb consists of six parts. The patio is open and concave, and its main function is to store soil and facilitate the construction of surrounding tombs. Second, the number of patios symbolizes the identity of the tomb owner. Xue Shao's mother is Princess Chengyang and his wife is Princess Taiping. His position is naturally not low, so the number of patios in his tomb is naturally quite large. Third, the patio is used to store art funerary objects. As mentioned above, Xue Shao's status is not low. Even if he is sentenced to death for participating in the rebellion, his funerary objects will definitely be more than the average person. Another function of patio is to display works of art. ..

Tombs with patios first appeared in the Han Dynasty, and most of them were built in the northern plateau, because the plateau soil was dense and not easy to be eroded. In the economic and cultural development of the Tang Dynasty, the northern civilization developed well, and the land reclamation was also concentrated in the north, so the patio tombs were basically concentrated in the north. In the later period, the gentry of Guanlong became a big nation that held political power in the society at that time, and the development of Guanlong culture gradually occupied the mainstream of culture at that time. Gradually, the burial system changed to a certain extent, and the patio system became popular.

On the one hand, the excavation of patio tomb shows us the funeral customs of the Tang Dynasty, on the other hand, it can also give us a glimpse of the development characteristics of the Tang Dynasty. It can be said that the patio tomb is not only practical, but also has high archaeological value.