Ma Weidu, as a big figure in the collection industry, also expressed his doubts about the statement that the mercury in Qin Shihuang’s mausoleum was used to form rivers and seas. Ma Weidu believes that mercury is particularly volatile and difficult to store even underground. Why do you say that? Mercury is particularly volatile and is unlikely to form into rivers, lakes or seas, but it will form extremely concentrated tribute steam, which is enough to deal with tomb robbers. Therefore, Ma Weidu came to the conclusion that it was difficult to realize the transformation of rivers into lakes and seas. Is Ma Weidu's statement reliable? In fact, the author does not dare to vouch for it. I can only say that Ma Weidu’s statement is open to question. But what is certain is that it is true that there is mercury in the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang.
There is indeed mercury in the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang. This is also an indisputable fact. According to the records in Sima Qian's "Historical Records", Qin Shihuang "used mercury to make rivers, lakes and seas". On the one hand, it was to leave a memory and bring his country underground; on the other hand, it was also for anti-corrosion and anti-theft considerations. This can be seen from the pomegranate tree on the tomb of Qin Shihuang. It is shriveled and lifeless. Archaeological experts have detected that the mercury content seriously exceeds the standard.
In addition, in 1981, Chinese archaeological experts used the tribute measurement method to measure the Mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin. The area covered by tribute was as high as 12,000 square kilometers. In 2003, Chinese archaeological experts used geophysical survey technology to preliminarily measure the mercury content in the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang, and conservatively estimated it to be around 100 tons.
As for the depth of mercury reaching 35 meters, it only relied on existing technology for detection, and did not dig into the Qin Shihuang Mausoleum for on-site survey. Therefore, this data is still watery. But judging from the records in Sima Qian's "Historical Records", the depth of mercury is still quite astonishing. However, whether it has reached a depth of 35 meters still requires further investigation. Presumably, with the continuous development of archaeological technology, the mystery of mercury in the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang will gradually be revealed.
The history of mercury development before the Qin Dynasty
According to archaeological data, "zhu" (sand) relics were found in the Yangshao Cultural Layer and Longshan Cultural Layer. It can be seen that the use and development of mercury can be traced back to more than 5,000 years ago. Starting from the Yin and Shang Dynasties, cinnabar began to be used as a pigment. After the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, it was widely used in alchemy and medicine, and began to be used to refine mercury, that is, mercury. From the perspective of modern people, mercury is harmful to the human body, but from the perspective of the ancients, it was an auspicious item that could prolong life and was a luxury item for princes and nobles.
A mercury pool was found in Qihuan Cemetery, one of the "Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period", which was mainly used for antisepsis and tomb robbery prevention. Judging from this archaeological object, it was not Qin Shihuang's first initiative to place mercury in the tomb. The prescription "Fifty-Two Prescriptions" dating from the Warring States Period was also found in the Mawangdui Han Tomb. This is also the earliest prescription in China. The medicinal value of mercury is recorded in the prescription. It can be seen that during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, our ancestors’ mercury development technology was very mature.
The source of mercury in Qin Shi Huang’s Mausoleum
The source of mercury in Qin Shi Huang’s Mausoleum may come from two places, namely Bashu and Xunyang, Shaanxi. "Historical Records: Biography of Huozhi" records that there was a widow named Qing in Bajun who monopolized the cinnabar mining business for several generations. It can be seen from this that during the Qin Shihuang period, cinnabar mining had already formed an industry, and it was still very profitable. In "The Qin Empire" written by Sun Haohui, the widow Qing has a close relationship with Qin Shihuang's unification war. From this perspective, it is not ruled out that Qin Shihuang obtained a large amount of mercury from the widow Qing.
However, mercury evaporates easily and is inconvenient to store. In addition, Bajun is far away from Xianyang. Obtaining mercury from Xunyang near Xianyang is also a great method. This is true. Xunyang is located in southern Shaanxi, the closest to Xianyang, and is rich in cinnabar. The most important thing is that mercury was a patent for the use of nobles during the Warring States Period. Qin State's foreign trade was very developed. It was a pragmatic move to purchase a large amount of cinnabar from the six countries in Shandong, provided that the construction process of Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum was kept highly confidential.
Taken together, my country already had mature mercury development technology thousands of years before Qin Shihuang. Even during the Qin Shihuang period, the mercury industry was also very developed. Therefore, the source of mercury in Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum is very rich, and it is not as complicated as everyone thinks. Therefore, we should not underestimate the wisdom of our ancestors. The rationality of Ma Weidu's statement cannot be denied, but his statement is also open to question. After all, there is no archaeological evidence to support it.