Found it! The tomb of Zhang Zhao, an important official of the Three Kingdoms, is in Nanjing

Recently, the "Academic Symposium to Commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the Archaeological Excavation of Zhu Ran's Tomb and the Sixth Academic Workshop on Six Dynasties Archaeology" was held in Ma'anshan City, Anhui Province, and a number of new discoveries in Six Dynasties archaeology were disclosed at the meeting. In recent years, the Six Dynasties Eastern Wu tomb archaeology in Nanjing has made considerable achievements, and the tombs of Zhang Zhao, Xue Wei and many other important officials of the Eastern Wu have been discovered.

Zhu Zhongxiu, a scholar from the Nanjing Institute of Archaeology, introduced the archaeological findings of the Zhang Zhao family tombs of the Sun Wu Dynasty in Nanjing. In 2022, the Nanjing Institute of Archaeology discovered 576 tombs in the exploration of the oil depot park plot in the southern new city of Nanjing. In the archaeological excavation that began in November 2023, experts excavated 42 brick chamber tombs. Among them, the tomb numbered M171 is a vertical pit earth pit brick chamber tomb with a "convex" shape in the plane, consisting of a tomb passage, a tomb pit, a brick chamber, a drainage ditch, etc. Despite being robbed in the early years, this tomb still unearthed relics such as gold seals, gold bracelets, and bronze crossbows.

The two gold seals in Tomb M171 became the key to solving the mystery of the tomb owner's identity. The seals read "Assisting Wu General Seal" and "Lou Hou's Seal" respectively. Based on this, archaeological experts determined that the tomb owner of M171 was Zhang Zhao, an important official of the Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period. Near Zhang Zhao's tomb, archaeological experts also discovered seven other brick chamber tombs of the same period, unearthing celadon vessels such as celadon jars, celadon inkstones, etc. These tombs are centered on M171, distributed from west to east, with basically the same orientation, and equipped with a complex drainage system, together forming the Zhang Zhao family cemetery.

Zhu Zhongxiu believes that Zhang Zhao's tomb is another tomb of an important official of the Eastern Wu Dynasty discovered in Nanjing after the tomb of Ding Feng's family. Although the tomb was disturbed by robbers and the main body of the tomb was damaged, the basic structure is well preserved. It is of great value for studying the tombs of the Six Dynasties in Nanjing, especially the tombs of Sun Wu nobles.

According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms: The Book of Wu: Biography of Zhang Zhao, Zhang Zhao, courtesy name Zibu, was a native of Pengcheng. He fled across the Yangtze River in his early years and assisted Sun Ce in pacifying Jiangdong. Before his death, Sun Ce entrusted his younger brother Sun Quan to Zhang Zhao, hoping that he would assist him with all his strength. Zhang Zhao was an important minister of Sun Quan and played an extremely important role in the establishment and stability of the Eastern Wu regime. Every time Sun Quan went on an expedition, he would guard the rear and lead the government affairs. After Sun Quan became the acting General of Chariots and Cavalry, he valued Zhang Zhao and appointed him as a military advisor. Zhang Zhao had a straightforward character and dared to speak frankly to Sun Quan, so Sun Quan respected and feared him. After Sun Quan became emperor, he was ready to establish a prime minister. The ministers recommended Zhang Zhao, but Sun Quan was dissatisfied with Zhang Zhao in his heart and successively appointed Sun Shao and Gu Yong as prime ministers. In the fifth year of Jiahe (236), Zhang Zhao died at the age of 81 and was posthumously named "Wen".

Luo Guanzhong also wrote about Zhang Zhao many times in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. In the 29th chapter, Sun Ce told his brother Sun Quan before his death, "If you are undecided about domestic affairs, you can ask Zhang Zhao; if you are undecided about foreign affairs, you can ask Zhou Yu." Before the Battle of Chibi, Cao Cao went south, and the court of Eastern Wu was divided into two factions, those who advocated war and those who advocated peace. Zhang Zhao was described as the leader of the faction that advocated peace. In the "debate with scholars", Zhuge Liang refuted Zhang Zhao's words of surrender.

Zhang Zhao could be called the "chief civil official" of the Eastern Wu court, but strangely, the size of Zhang Zhao's tomb is relatively small, which seems inconsistent with his prominent status. Experts believe that this may be related to the fact that Zhang Zhao requested a "simple burial" before his death as recorded in the literature. It is reported that the place where Zhang Zhao's tomb is located used to have an old place name - "Louhu". Now it seems that this place name should be derived from the fact that "Lou Hou" Zhang Zhao was buried here.

According to the report made by Xu Changsheng and Zhai Guanghao from the Cultural Heritage Protection Center of Jiangning District, Nanjing at the meeting, the tomb of Xue Wei, a famous official in the late Eastern Wu Dynasty, was also discovered in Nanjing.

The tomb was discovered during construction in Xuejiabian Village, Jiangning District, Nanjing City from 2017 to 2018. The Nanjing Jiangning District Cultural Heritage Protection Center then carried out rescue excavations on two brick chamber tombs, M1 and M2. Among them, only the front chamber of M1 remains, which is a vaulted dome with four corners. Unearthed cultural relics include celadon bowls, celadon cups and plates, celadon lion-shaped candlesticks, etc. One of the celadon soul bottle fragments has an inscription "Made on July 11, the third year of Fenghuang". "Fenghuang" was the reign title used by Sun Hao, the last emperor of Wu, from 272 to 274 AD. M2 is a brick chamber tomb with two chambers in front and back, with a vaulted dome in the front chamber and a vaulted dome in the back chamber. More than 40 cultural relics of various types, including gold, silver, copper, iron, and porcelain, were unearthed in the tomb. Among them, the one that can directly confirm the identity of the tomb owner is a celadon soul bottle with an inscription "Made on September 10, the third year of Fenghuang, Xue Yu, the former envoy of Wu, General Weinan, Duxiang Houpei County". According to the inscription, the owner of the tomb was Xue Wei, a famous official in the late Eastern Wu Dynasty and General Weiyuan.

Xue Yu was the son of Xue Zong, a famous official of the Eastern Wu. Xue Zong was a native of Zhuyi, Pei County (now the north of Suzhou, Anhui). He was recorded in Volume 53 of the Records of the Three Kingdoms (Book of Wu VIII). He fled to Jiaozhou with his clansmen when he was young. Later, he was summoned by Sun Quan to be the General of the Five Officials and the governor of Hepu and Jiaozhi. After Sun Quan became emperor, he appointed Xue Zong as the chief secretary, "in charge of all affairs outside and teaching books inside", and trusted him very much. When Lu Kai wrote a memorial to persuade Sun Hao at the end of the Eastern Wu Dynasty, he said, "The former emperor relied on Gu, Lu, Zhu, and Zhang outside, and was close to Hu Zong and Xue Zong inside", comparing Xue Zong's status in the inner court with Hu Zong, Sun Quan's companion in childhood, which shows his status.

Xue Yu served as the General of the Five Officials during the reign of Emperor Jing of Wu, and was once sent as an envoy to Shu Han. After returning to the court, Sun Xiu asked Xue Yu about the gains and losses of Shu Han's politics. Xue Yu replied: "The ruler is ignorant and does not know his mistakes. The ministers try to avoid punishment by hiding themselves from others. No honest words are heard in his court, and the people in the wild are all pale. I heard that swallows and sparrows live in the hall, and their children and mothers are happy together, thinking that they are safe. Suddenly, the roof of the house is broken and burned, but the sparrows are happy and do not know that disaster is coming. Is this what it means?" This oral record has become a precious historical material for observing the political ecology of Shu Han in the late period.

During the reign of Sun Hao, Xue Yu was the chief architect and was ordered to build a sleeping hall for Sun Hao's father, Sun He, the Prince of Nanyang, which was called "Qing Temple". In the first year of Jianheng (269), Sun Hao sent troops to the south to pacify Jiaozhi. Xue Yu was appointed as the General of Weinan, and he was accompanied by the military supervisor Yu Si (son of Yu Fan) and the prefect of Cangwu, Tao Huang. At that time, Xue Yu led the expedition to the south with a huge army. In the third year of Jianheng (271), Xue Yu, Tao Huang and others conquered Jiaozhi, and Xue Yu died of illness on his way back.

According to the custom of nobles in the Six Dynasties period to bury their dead together as a family, experts speculate that M1 in Xuejiabian Village should also be the tomb of a member of the Xue family.

The discovery of the Zhang Zhao family tomb and the Xue Wei family tomb are two more important Three Kingdoms archaeological findings in Nanjing after the Ding Feng family tomb in 2019. Nanjing was the capital of the Eastern Wu Kingdom, Jianye. The tombs of Zhang Zhao and Xue Wei both appeared near Nanjing, which is in line with the practice of famous officials being buried near the capital. The discovery of the Zhang Zhao family tomb and the Xue Wei family tomb, together with the Sun Quan Jiangling in Zhongshan, Nanjing, the Eastern Wu tomb in Shangfang, Jiangning District, Nanjing, the Ding Feng family tomb in Wubai Village, Nanjing, the Zhu Ran family tomb in Ma'anshan, and the Eastern Wu tomb in Dongyang, Ma'anshan, formed the Eastern Wu tomb group in Nanjing and the surrounding areas, making the pattern of the tombs of the Eastern Wu monarchs and ministers clearer.

Yu Feng