Grave Robbing

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**Grave Robbing (盗墓)** or tomb robbing, or tomb raiding is the act of uncovering a grave, tomb or crypt to steal commodities. It is usually perpetrated to take and profit from valuable artifacts or personal property. The Wu Family took part in grave robbing to survive the drought and famine in their hometown. In the Daomu Biji universe, grave robbing has its own rules.

## History

### Ancient Times

In ancient times, especially during the Warring States Period, when someone took part in the construction of a noble's tomb, it was an automatic death sentence. They would either be poisoned or buried alive. But many of them would build secret passages to escape.

Caves dug in modern times are rectangular as opposed to ancient ones which usually had a circular form. Cinnabar that has been lit, can be used in the mud around the grave, so that grass cannot grow. It is an ancient technique for preserving graves.

### Southern and Northern Factions

Somewhere around the 1950s-1970s, grave robbers were divided into two groups, the northern and southern factions. The southern faction used the Luoyang shovel to excavate soil. The northern faction would have certain rules in place, such as kowtowing to the dead. Such things were not practiced in the southern faction. The two factions have different names for grave robbing, the northern faction called the trade “tomb raiding¨” while the southern faction called it “digging up the soil”.

## Tools & Skills

### Luoyang Shovel

The Luoyang shovel is used to excavate soil and wasn't invented until the two factions split. The most talented of grave robbers could ascertain the depth and the age of the soil above a tomb simply through their sense of smell. The Luoyang shovel was only used by the southern faction.

### Script Mapping

Script mapping is when details of the location and the geography of the place are written down and described in words. The ability to read script mapping is an uncommon skill and only a handful of people possess it, including Wu Sanxing. Script mapping can include secret codes that need to be deciphered in order to understand the text. The text can be so detailed as to include the exact number bricks to be found in a specific area. The Warring States Silk Book contained such complex details in its script mapping.

## Creatures

Creatures like the Blood Corpse or the Forbidden Woman are rare when grave robbing. Until Wu Laogou recorded his encounter with a blood corpse, there were no written accounts with the creature. Moreover, despite being an experienced grave robber, Wu Sanxing had never encountered a blood corpse before exploring the Seven Star Palace tomb.

### Protection

#### **Donkey Hooves**

Donkey hooves can be used to take away the powers of zombies and vampires by jamming it in their mouth. The older the donkey hoof, the more powerful it is.

## Grave Preservation

### Coffins

Most coffins, over the years, either had rotten cotton wool or a pool of black water with fungus in them.

#### Whistle Coffin

A whistle coffin was a type of coffin grave robbers would create by sealing a coffin with molten iron and leaving a hole at the top of the coffin big enough for only one hand to pass through. If there was anything evil in the coffin, the grave robber would cut off his arm to save his own life. The rules on how to deal with whistle coffins were decided by the Zhang Family.

### Traps

#### **Seven Deceptive Coffins**

The seven deceptive coffins were seven actual coffins. However, out of the seven coffins, only one was real while the other six were traps which were triggered when the coffin was opened. The trap often contained a concealed crossbow or black magic and meant certain death to anyone who triggered it. and The trap was invented by grave robbers as a way to protect their own tombs. The grave robbers had to create a trap to make other grave robbers so apprehensive about what kind of death awaits them. It was not until after the Sung dynasty that the secret to the trap was figured out but even then it was still too dangerous to open.

Most grave robbers would kowtow a few times and respectfully make their way out so they wouldn't anger their ancestors.However, during times of war, where they were starving, they broke their own rules. There was an expert who found a way to get around the dangers by using two crowbars to tilt a coffin up from on corner, chiseling a small hole in its bottom, and then fishing inside it with a pothook to see what might become impaled on the point of the hook.

## Grave Robbers

Experienced grave robbers have "coffin callus" on their fingers. The calluses are made when coffin boards would grind against the fingers as the coffin was being lifted up.

### Notable Grave Robbers

* Wu Xie
* Zhang Qiling
* Wang Pangzi
* Wu Sanxing
* Wu Laogou
* Zhang Qishan
* Chen Pi Ah Si
* Qi Tiezui
* Er Yuehong

## References

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grave\_robbery
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Cavern of the Blood Zombies (Print), Chapter 2, Page 20
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Cavern of the Blood Zombies, Chapter 13
4. ↑ Cavern of the Blood Zombies, Chapter 11
5. ↑ Restart, Chapter 7
6. ↑ Cavern of the Blood Zombies (Print), Chapter 2, Page 24
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Cavern of the Blood Zombies (Print), Chapter 3, Page 25
8. ↑ Deadly Desert Winds, Chapter 3
9. ↑ Cavern of the Blood Zombies, Chapter 9
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Cavern of the Blood Zombies, Chapter 6, Page 61
11. ↑ Restart, Chapter 7
12. ↑ Cavern of the Blood Zombies, Chapter 14
13. ↑ Restart, Chapter 10
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Lao Jiu Men, Chapter 5
15. ↑ Lao Jiu Men, Chapter 6
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 16.6 16.7 Cavern of the Blood Zombies, Chapter 16
17. ↑ Volume 7, Chapter 4