Chapter 17 Whistle Coffin

The moment Uncle Three’s flashlight illuminated the “person” on top of the coffin, all of his hair stood on end, his scalp went numb, and he unconsciously took a step back, reaching for his knife.

It wasn’t that Uncle Three was a coward, it was just that the situation was really strange—in such a secret tomb, there was actually a “person” lying on top of the coffin. Anyone who saw it would suddenly feel shocked.

By this point, Xie Lianhuan had also retreated to Uncle Three’s side, moving so quickly that he ended up stepping on Uncle Three’s foot. Judging by how terrified he looked, this was probably the first time he had ever encountered something like this in a tomb.

Uncle Three almost fell down when Xie Lianhuan stepped on his foot, but at this time, he finally got a good look at the figure on top of the coffin and saw that it was a false alarm—the “person” lying on the black coffin was actually a bronze statue.

The bronze statue was very strange, with a cloud of hair at the temples, exaggerated facial features, and limbs that were short and thick, just like an insect. It kind of reminded him of those acrobatic terracotta figures from the Qin Dynasty.⁽¹⁾ But the strangest thing was the statue’s mouth—rather than turned up in a smile or twisted in an angry grimace, it was wide open, as if it were screaming.

When Uncle Three looked at it, he immediately felt that something was wrong. Most people focused on creating an atmosphere of peace and tranquility in their tombs, but this black coffin and bronze figure together gave off an indescribably sinister air. It was not only strange, but very wrong. Was this really the tomb owner’s coffin?

He swept his flashlight around the tomb chamber, but didn’t see any other coffins. If this was the main tomb chamber, then it had to the tomb owner’s coffin.

Uncle Three always trusted his intuition, and right now, he was feeling a little uneasy.

In order to take a closer look, he pushed Xie Lianhuan aside and walked over to it. As he approached, he was even more surprised to find that this huge black coffin was actually made of iron, and the bronze figure seemed to be a decoration that was added later. But what was even more strange was that the statue’s gaping mouth was hollowed out, creating a deep hole in the coffin lid. He didn’t know if it was a shallow hole or one that led straight into the coffin.

Wait, something’s not right here! As Uncle Three examined it, he put all the clues together and sucked in a sharp breath. This is bad, he thought to himself with a groan.

A tightly sealed crude iron coffin with a hole in it… was this a “whistle coffin” that the elders used to talk about?

A “whistle coffin” wasn’t some legendary object from ancient times, but more of concept that came around before liberation. Uncle Three had heard the old man talk about it before. It was said that during that time, there was a warlord in western Hunan who had a group of capable men under him who robbed tombs. They were led by Zhang Yancheng, a man who was said to be a descendant of Cao Cao, the grave-robbing general.⁽²⁾ The fingers on his left hand were extremely long and all the same length, and his grave-robbing skills were so amazing that some even believed he had magical powers. Supposedly, he could find a tomb just by tasting the soil and unearth ones that were buried under open fields.

The warlord decided to follow Sun Yat-sen on the Northern Expedition,⁽³⁾ so he ordered Zhang Yancheng to gather funds to pay the troops. In order to do so, Zhang Yancheng turned to the ancient method of robbing tombs. There was no telling know how many hidden ancient tombs he plundered as he made his way north, but he managed to make quite a name for himself. At that time, there was a saying in western Hunan that “when Yancheng arrives, the devils scatter and even King Yama changes his route”. On the one hand, it sounded like any old legend, but on the other hand, it showed just how rampant Zhang Yancheng’s grave robbing activities were.

This guy had a special technique when it came to robbing tombs. For example, if he encountered a coffin that was buried in a place where blood had been spilled and evil had gathered, he would pour cow’s blood over the coffin and see what happened. If strange sounds came from inside the coffin, he knew that the corpse inside had transformed into a zombie, so the soldiers would drag the coffin out of the tomb and leave it out in the sun before opening it. If there were no unusual sounds in the coffin, then he would examine the outer surface of the coffin. In most cases, the cow’s blood would flow along the surface and down the sides of the coffin , which meant that nothing was wrong and the coffin was safe to open. But there was a very special situation where the cow’s blood would seep into the body of the coffin, as if it had been poured over sand and stones. This was a sign more ominous than a corpse transforming into a zombie—it meant that what was inside the coffin may not be a human corpse.

But if there wasn’t a human body in the coffin, then what was in there? The answer was too difficult to put in words, but in China, this kind of thing was generally called a demon.

In such a situation, Zhang Yancheng would order his men to dig a pit and then lower the demon coffin into it. They would then cover it with mud and seal it with molten iron, leaving a small hole in the lid that was wide enough for an arm to fit through. When the molten iron cooled and solidified, Zhang Yancheng would stick his hand through the hole and remove the contents of the coffin. According to legend, this was a unique skill known as the two-finger probing technique, which he had inherited from his Faqiu Zhonglang Jiang ancestors.

While his hand was inside the hole, a pair of meter-long pipa shears was clamped around his arm. The shears were tied to a horse’s tail, so as soon as there were signs of trouble, the person standing nearby could whip the horse into action. When the frightened horse rushed forward, the rope around its tail would pull taut, and the extremely sharp shears would cut his arm off, thus saving his life.

Since the hole left in the lid resembled a huge iron whistle, this kind of coffin eventually became known as a “whistle coffin”.

It was said that Zhang Yancheng used this two-finger probing technique only three times in his life, and his hand remained intact after each one. The best time was when he pulled twenty-four golden grapes out of the coffin, each the size of a molar. It was said that they had been hidden in the corpse’s mouth. Zhang Yancheng later went missing during the fight against the warlords. Some said that he switched sides to join the revolutionaries and eventually died in a camp during the Cultural Revolution. Others said that he died during the Huanggutun incident.⁽⁴⁾ In any case, he was a very mysterious figure.

When it came to the legend of Zhang Yancheng, the old people generally had two opinions: one was that he really had a gift for unearthing tombs and his reputation was well deserved; the other was that he was a liar who was taking advantage of ordinary soldiers’ superstitious fear of coffins by calling ordinary coffins demon coffins, and then putting on a show to elevate his status.

What the truth was, no one knew.

My grandpa believed that Zhang Yancheng really was a skilled expert, because there was some evidence that his manner of sealing the demon coffin with molten iron had been done before. It was said that before liberation, a bronze coffin similar to the ones mentioned in the rumors about Zhang Yancheng was found in the silt left behind after the Yellow River changed its course.⁽⁵⁾ There really was an arm-sized hole on the coffin lid, but no one dared to reach in. Instead, they used a pair of tongs to reach into the hole and found that there was a lot of yellow mud inside. Later, during the Great Leap Forward,⁽⁶⁾ this coffin was thrown into a steelmaking furnace.

The iron coffin in front of Uncle Three and Xie Lianhuan was very exquisite, and didn’t look anything like a coffin hastily covered in molten iron. But the deep hole on the coffin lid did look very similar to the legendary “whistle coffin”.

The whole thing was very strange. The tomb chamber Xie Lianhuan had led him to was supposed to be the final resting place of the tomb owner, so why was a strange coffin like this sitting on the coffin bed? Could it be that the tomb owner wasn’t a human, but a monster?

Uncle Three felt a chill as soon as the thought crossed his mind. Considering how this ancient tomb was buried deep in the abyss at the bottom of the sea and surrounded by so much mystery, maybe it wasn’t a tomb meant for humans, but for the Dragon King of the Sea? He thought of what Qiu Dekao had asked Xie Lianhuan to do and suddenly felt suspicious. Did Qiu Dekao know that the tomb owner wasn’t human, so that was why he asked Xie Lianhuan to come down here and take photos?

But Uncle Three was young at that time and decided not to take what the old man said too seriously. Although he felt a little flustered, he wasn’t afraid. Instead, he actually became curious about what could be inside.

At this time, Xie Lianhuan also realized that it was a false alarm and walked back over to it. Fear lingered in his eyes as he looked at the iron coffin, but then he started trying to push the lid off.

Uncle Three, seeing how his legs were shaking, realized that he was still afraid but trying to put on a brave front—he must have wanted to save face after being so scared just now.

Finding the situation funny, Uncle Three pointed his flashlight right in Xie Lianhuan’s face and told him not to waste his energy. If this really was a whistle coffin, then someone belonging to the same school of grave robbers as Zhang Yancheng should be the one to deal with it. The iron coffin had been created with the intention of preventing others from opening it, so that meant that the contents definitely couldn’t be anything good. The only way to get something out of it was to put your hand in the hole like Zhang Yancheng did.

As he spoke, he climbed up and shined his flashlight into the hole in the coffin, trying to see if he could see anything.

The inside of the coffin was too dark so see anything clearly and the flashlight wasn’t helping much—the light only made it about halfway down before it became too diffused. He could, however, feel a sinister energy flowing in the bronze figure’s throat. His neck became stiff as he continued to look, but he still didn’t stick his hand in the hole. That wasn’t something an ordinary person would be willing to do.

Uncle Three suddenly remembered the information Xie Lianhuan had received from the foreigner and felt that his guess was correct: the foreigner was so familiar with the structure here because he must have sent someone in to check it out before them. But why didn’t the person who came in just complete the task themself? After thinking about it, he realized that they must have also been a veteran in this business. When they came in, they probably found this iron coffin, knew right away that the corpse sealed inside was bad news, and decided to temporarily give up. That was why the foreigner found an amateur like Xie Lianhuan.

So, they couldn’t touch the coffin. Otherwise, they’d just become cannon fodder for Qiu Dekao.

But it seemed like such a waste to come all this way and not even touch the coffin. It was fine if Xie Lianhuan left here empty-handed, but if he did, wouldn’t he lose face if Xie Lianhuan talked about it later? Besides, this coffin was just begging to be opened.

Uncle Three couldn’t make up his mind at first, but reason eventually prevailed—he decided to rely on his ancestors’ experience and leave the coffin alone for now. Instead, they could check out the rest of the tomb and see if they could find any treasure. It wasn’t like the tomb could run away, so they could come back tomorrow night with some long chopsticks and black donkey hooves. It would be much safer then, so this temporary retreat couldn’t be mistaken for an act of cowardice.

Uncle Three felt much calmer after coming to this decision, so he told Xie Lianhuan to stay where he was and take pictures of the outside of the coffin. The foreigner would understand why they couldn’t get any photos of the corpse. Then, he began searching the rest of the tomb chamber for any grave goods.

The layout was definitely very strange—it was a large open space without any ear chambers on the side. The ancients believed that death was the same as life, so tombs were generally constructed to imitate the layout of the tomb owner’s home before their death. In other words, the place where the tomb owner lived before his death must have also looked like this. But Uncle Three couldn’t imagine why that person’s home would have this kind of layout. And other than those huge priceless porcelain lamps, there weren’t any other grave goods here.

(The lamps were probably worth more than three billion yuan now.)

Uncle Three looked around the tomb chamber, but didn’t see anything that could be carried out, so he returned to the coffin. He then walked around the spirit screen behind the coffin bed and saw that there was a small space there, but nothing was sitting on the ground.

He couldn’t help but curse to himself. This person was so stingy. Why was there nothing here? But…considering how big that coffin was and the fact that it was made of iron, maybe the guy stuffed all the grave goods inside of it? Was this coffin used as a safe?

Realizing that it was actually possible, he suddenly felt a little depressed. But at this time, he suddenly noticed an intricately carved relief sculpture on the back of the spirit screen.

Murals in ancient tombs were worthless, but stone carvings were priceless. Although the spirit screen was huge and too difficult to take out of here, Uncle Three couldn’t help but stop and take a closer look at it.

When the beam of his flashlight hit it, he immediately froze in shock. The relief sculpture on the back of the spirit screen didn’t contain the usual carvings of auspicious beasts,⁽⁷⁾ Buddha seated on a cloud, or the ceremony of ascending to immortality. Instead, it contained several richly ornamented palaces, with phoenixes sitting atop flying eaves. The carvings were so detailed and meticulous that even the tiles looked like they had been carved one by one. Moreover, each palace looked different from the others—some were two-story, some were one-story, some looked near, and some looked far. Uncle Three counted them all and found that there was a total of seven. They were all arranged in the same way as the seven stars of the Big Dipper. Countless pavilions and kiosks were half-hidden between each palace, while other details were hidden by carved clouds. The seven palaces were located towards the lower part of the whole relief sculpture, with a huge rock in the background. This was obviously a big mountain, which meant that the palaces had been built in a huge mountain valley. Clouds and fog filled the valley, covering the things outside the palace in a mysterious haze.

Uncle Three stood there frozen in shock, wondering what the meaning of this relief sculpture was. Every mural in an ancient tomb had some significance, whether it was for a symbolic purpose or to praise the great achievements of the tomb owner during their lifetime. Was this relief sculpture supposed to represent the mythical abode of immortals, or was it praising the tomb owner?

At that time, Uncle Three didn’t know that the tomb owner was actually Wang Zanghai, so he couldn’t make any sort of connection. But this exquisite relief sculpture left a very deep impression on him. He told me that even though the spirit screen was priceless, if he could have taken it out, he would have put it in his bedroom to stare at every day.

But the spirit screen was so big that it would have been impossible to take out at that time. Although Uncle Three was itching to take it, there was nothing he could do. After carefully examining it for a few minutes, he decided to ask Xie Lianhuan to come over and take a picture of it so that he could brag about it to his colleagues later.

But just as he was about to speak, he suddenly smelled a strange odor, as if something was burning.

He froze, wondering what was going on. This was a tomb chamber, so how could there possibly be such a smell here? He quickly rushed out from behind the spirit screen and took a look, only to be met with a scene that left him dumbfounded.

Xie Lianhuan was standing on top of the iron coffin, looking panicked as a plume of black smoke billowed out of the bronze figure’s mouth.

<Chapter 16><Table of Contents><Chapter 18>

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TN Notes:

(1) Everyone knows about the terracotta army in Emperor Qinshihuang’s tomb, but there was also a pit of acrobatic terracotta figures. Acrobatics, or “Baixi” in Chinese, is the general name for ancient acrobatics and music, which includes different performances, such as pole climbing, wrestling dance, sword wallowing, and tripod lifting. Info here.

(2) Chinese Warlord Cao Cao took his subordinates around looting graves. In order to raise the efficiency of the tomb robbery, two posts were specially set up: Faqiu Zhonglang Jiang and Mojin Xiaowei. Cao Cao was the general, so he was in a position above those 2 posts.

(3) The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT) against the Republic of China (aka Beiyang) government and other regional warlords in 1926. It involved an alliance with the communists. The purpose of the campaign was to reunify China, which had become fragmented in the aftermath of the Revolution of 1911. Info on Sun Yat-sen’s involvement here.

(4) The Huanggutun incident, also known as the Zhang Zuolin Explosion Death Incident, was the assassination of the Fengtian warlord and Generalissimo of the Military Government of China Zhang Zuolin near Shenyang on June 4, 1928. They blew up his train at the Huanggutun station.

(5) The Yellow River has actually changed course more than 26 times throughout history, and often causes a lot of flooding. On June 9, 1938, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Nationalist troops under Chiang Kai-shek broke the levees holding back the river. The goal was to stop the advancing Japanese troops but it ended up taking some 500,000 to 900,000 Chinese lives, along with an unknown number of Japanese soldiers’ lives.

(6) The Great Leap Forward (1958-1960) was Mao Zedong’s attempt to modernize China’s economy, which resulted in economic devastation, and millions of deaths from famine caused by misguided policies.

(7) In traditional Chinese culture, there are 5 auspicious beasts: dragon, phoenix, tortoise, qilin, and pixiu.