In previous issues, we introduced that a large number of gold cakes and gold plates were unearthed from the tomb of Haihunhou , as well as horseshoe gold and linzhi gold. Who is the owner of this tomb? These gold horseshoes and gold toes are obviously things only owned by princes and kings. The owner of the tomb must be a prince. Why was he buried with so many gold objects?
horseshoe gold
Archaeological excavations have proven that the owner of the tomb is the first generation Haihun HouLiu He. Liu He is indeed a legendary figure with ups and downs of destiny in Chinese history. In his life, he experienced the identity transformation of princes and kings, emperors , common people and then lords. Liu He was the grandson of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. He inherited his father's throne when he was five years old and became the second king of Changyi. The capital of Changyi was today's Juye, Shandong. After the death of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty, Liu He had no heirs. As the king of Changyi, Liu He was welcomed into Chang'an by the regent Huo Guang and became the new emperor. However, just 27 days later, Huo Guang ordered Liu He to be deposed from the throne and demoted to a commoner by the then Shangguan Empress Dowager, Huo Guang's granddaughter, in the name of "licentiousness and confusion, loss of imperial courtesy, and chaos in the Han system." , and was repatriated to Changyi . Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, who succeeded to the throne, later discovered that Liu He no longer posed a threat to his throne, so he "conferred the title of King He of Changyi as the Marquis of Haihun", and made Liu He a prince from a commoner. The abandoned Changyi Kingdom moved to the Haihun Hou Kingdom, that is, from today's Juye, Shandong Province, to the Xinjian District of Nanchang, Jiangxi Province.
麟智金
Liu He passed away in the third year of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty (59 BC). Although Liu He was only a prince during his lifetime, when he was deposed from the throne, the court did not confiscate his property when he was the king of Changyi. , a large part of these belongings were buried in the grave together with Liu He. Liu He's father was Liu Kun, the first king of Changyi, and the son of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty implemented a gentle policy towards the princes with the surname Liu, the rewards given to his son should be higher than those of other princes and kings. After Liu He was granted the title of Marquis of Haihun by Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, Liu He's rituals of worshiping his ancestors and making pilgrimages to the emperor were cancelled. Although there was no corresponding political treatment, it objectively saved Liu He a lot of expenses. In addition, his family felt aggrieved that Liu He was the emperor who was deposed during the political struggle. Therefore, I hope that in another world, he will not be embarrassed and can still live a life of good food and clothing. Therefore, he was buried with a large amount of property after his death. This should be the reason why a large amount of gold and copper coins were buried with him in Liu He's tomb .
Horseshoe gold
A large amount of gold was unearthed from the Haihunhou Tomb, which not only confirmed the shape of horseshoe gold and lin toe gold, but also served as physical evidence to witness the multi-faceted political struggle methods of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. In the past, the world only saw the tough measures taken by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in order to further strengthen the centralization of power and weaken the power of local princes, such as " gold to win titles" and "white deer skin coins" in disguised form of extortion. In fact, in addition to the hard hand, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also had a soft hand. He gave gold horseshoes and gold toes to the obedient princes and kings, which was his soft hand. It was by relying on both kindness and power, and the use of hard and soft hands, that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty achieved the goal of weakening the princes and kings, strengthening the imperial power, and finally established a unified, centralized and autocratic rule.
Through the analysis of the currency casting background of five baht coins, white deer skin coins, three-grade platinum , horseshoe gold and linto gold, we have introduced to you the monetary means in the political strategy of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. From this, we can see another side of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty who was flesh and blood, powerful, resourceful, and sometimes even a bit rogue and careful. This may be closer to the real Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and it is also in line with his unconventional behavior. Play cards and have a very innovative personality. This shows that in the eyes of rulers, currency has never been just a medium of transaction, but is often used as a tool in political struggles, and as a result, scenes of tragedies and comedies have been performed.
