Emperor Qin Shi Huang prepared troops to raid the tomb in search of treasures, but was unsuccessful as he could not find the entrance and ultimately had to return home feeling “regretful.”
China has an ancient profession known as grave robbing. Throughout the history of various dynasties, emperors, feudal lords, and dignitaries often buried precious items with themselves, making grave robbing one of the quickest paths to wealth during that time.
In Jiangsu, there is an ancient underwater tomb built over 2,500 years ago, rumored to contain over 3,000 precious swords. However, both ancient grave robbers and modern experts have had to “throw in the towel.”
According to records, the tomb of Hạp Lư contains a total of 3,000 precious swords.
It is known that this ancient tomb was built for King Hạp Lư, the 24th king of the state of Wu, a vassal of the Zhou dynasty during China’s Spring and Autumn period.
Hạp Lư (514 BC – 496 BC) was also a well-known king in history, reigning for 18 years. He is most recognized for two significant actions:
- First, he sent assassin Zhuan Zhu to kill Wu Liao, after which he ascended to the throne;
- Second, he appointed Wu Zi Zi as chancellor and Sun Wu as general, defeating the state of Chu.
Hạp Lư’s son Phù Sai defeated Gou Jian but was later defeated by him as well. He inherited his father’s throne, but eventually died along with the demise of his state.
Phù Sai was very filial towards his father. After Hạp Lư passed away, Phù Sai built a magnificent tomb in Hổ Khẩu (Suzhou, Jiangsu), spending an enormous amount of manpower, money, and materials. It is said that Phù Sai recruited over 10 million laborers from across the country to construct this tomb.
Since Hạp Lư had a great passion for battle and martial skills, in addition to gold and jewels, Phù Sai also prepared many precious swords to accompany his father in the afterlife. This period was also the peak of sword-making in history. Thus, the tomb of Hạp Lư is believed to house countless legendary swords, to the extent that they cannot be counted.
In the “Records of the East,” it is noted that the tomb of Hạp Lư contains a total of 3,000 precious swords. However, this cannot be validated as the tomb has never been excavated.
The first person to attempt to “reach” the tomb of Hạp Lư was King Gou Jian, who caused the fall of Wu. From Shandong, he aimed to excavate the tomb of his lifelong rival, Phù Sai. However, for unknown reasons, Gou Jian could not locate the tomb of Hạp Lư and had to return.
By the late Warring States period, another famous emperor also intended to invade the tomb of Hạp Lư, namely Qin Shi Huang. It is said that he sent troops to Hổ Khẩu to prepare for a raid on the tomb for its treasures, but ultimately had to “return regretfully” as he could not find the entrance.
Later, Hạng Vũ also heard that the tomb of Hạp Lư contained vast treasures and wanted to raid it to achieve great success. However, like Qin Shi Huang, Hạng Vũ could not breach the tomb’s entrance. Thus, the tomb of Hạp Lư once again escaped the clutches of grave robbers.
It wasn’t until the years of Ming Emperor Wu Zong, Zhu Houjiao (1491 – 1521) that one of the “Four Great Talents of Jiangnan”, Tang Ba Hu, nearly brought the tomb of Hạp Lư “to light.”
At that time, Suzhou was suffering from a drought, causing the waters surrounding the tomb of Hạp Lư to recede, revealing signs of the tomb. Tang Ba Hu immediately called for preparations to excavate, but unexpectedly, at the crucial moment, he was obstructed by the local authorities.
To this day, the tomb of Hạp Lư remains intact, without any visits from the modern world.
In 1955, experts used machinery to drain the water from the lake and indeed discovered inscriptions left by Tang Ba Hu and many other historical figures. This proved that the tomb of Hạp Lư truly exists. However, the experts believed in the need to protect the artifacts and did not proceed with further excavation.
In 1978, a team of experts decided to excavate the tomb of Hạp Lư once again. But when they discovered a triangular-shaped entrance, an incident occurred. After breaking open the entrance, the experts found three massive stone slabs blocking the path. However, above these slabs was the Hổ Khẩu Tower—a symbol of Suzhou. After careful consideration, they decided that breaking these three slabs would damage the Hổ Khẩu Tower, and thus the experts halted their plans to excavate the tomb of Hạp Lư.
To this day, the tomb of Hạp Lư remains intact, without any visits from the modern world. Experts have yet to find a suitable way to access the tomb, which is a significant regret in the field of archaeology.
