In a hot pot restaurant, the place was packed with diners. Steam rose from the bubbling pots, and the sounds of clinking glasses and lively chatter filled the air.
We found an empty table in a corner. The man known as Big Gold Tooth kept pouring drinks for me. I thought to myself that he must be trying to get me drunk to spill my secrets, so I quickly stopped him. “Old Jin(Jin is the pronounce of gold in chinese), this Erguotou is too strong for me. I prefer beer since I can’t handle it well.”
As we ate and talked, the conversation turned to treasure hunting. Big Gold Tooth grinned widely and tapped his gold tooth with his fingertip. “Gentlemen, take a look at this tooth. I got it from Panjiayuan. It’s made from gold taken from a Ming Dynasty tomb. I pulled it out from a Zong Zi(means the zombie). I didn’t want to sell it, so I had my own tooth removed to replace it.”
Honestly, this guy had a knack for bringing up the most disgusting topics while eating. It was hard to enjoy the meal with such talk. If he was reluctant to spend money, he could have just said so. I quickly changed the subject and started discussing other things with him.
We casually chatted about the art of Feng Shui and grave digging, and then shared stories from our days as soldiers in Kunlun Mountain. Big Gold Tooth listened with wide eyes, clearly impressed by my experiences.
Big Gold Tooth’s father had been drafted by the Nationalists before he learned from a master named Cai from Hunan, who was an expert in grave digging. He knew a lot about the trade but never learned the art of finding graves because his master, Mr. Cai, didn’t understand Feng Shui either. It wasn’t until the twelfth year of the Republic that a farmer named Li Yazi from Luoyang invented the Luoyang shovel. Before that, their group relied mainly on their sense of smell to locate graves. To keep their noses sharp, they avoided smoking, drinking, and spicy foods.
Using an iron rod to probe the ground, one can smell the various scents that come up with the soil. The feel of the soil when digging can indicate whether there are empty spaces, wood, or bricks underground, as each has a distinct texture.
This method is quite similar to using the Luoyang shovel; one relies on smell while the other relies on sight. The soil brought up by the Luoyang shovel can reveal its composition. If there are pieces of pottery, wood, cloth, or metals like gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, mercury, and lead, as well as rammed earth and bricks, these are all signs of a potential grave. Such clues can help estimate the age and layout of an ancient tomb.
However, the skill of smelling the soil has been lost with Big Gold Tooth. His father became disabled, and due to Big Gold Tooth’s asthma, he never pursued the trade of a tomb raider. Most people in this line of work have encountered real treasures, and with their keen eyes, they shifted to dealing in antiques.
I joked, “Your family’s skill seems a bit outdated. My elders have mentioned that the real experts don’t rely on iron rods or Luoyang shovels. Those are clumsy methods. A real master can just look at a place and tell if there’s an ancient tomb beneath, its location, and structure. In prime Feng Shui spots, there are bound to be grand tombs, and those buried there were not ordinary people; such tombs are filled with treasures. True experts scoff at tools like the Luoyang shovel because if the soil isn’t dry enough, the results are greatly diminished. This is especially true in the wealthy regions of Jiangnan, where heavy rainfall often floods ancient tombs, leaving the soil in disarray.”
Big Gold Tooth listened to my words with great admiration. “Master Hu, I must say, you’ve impressed me. After hearing your insights, I feel my life hasn’t been in vain. A talent like you, who understands feng shui, has been a soldier, and knows civil engineering, is truly rare. It would be a shame not to pursue the trade of a tomb raider with your skills.”
I shook my head. “I have no intention of doing such unethical things. What I just shared were stories from my grandfather. He was once a tomb raider himself but nearly lost his life when he encountered a dangerous situation.”
Big Gold Tooth acknowledged the risks involved. “But if you carry a few black donkey hooves, you won’t be so afraid. The bad reputation of tomb raiders comes from some lowly scoundrels who ruin it for everyone. They aren’t true practitioners and don’t understand the rules, causing chaos everywhere. How can they not be hated? The history of tomb raiding goes back at least three thousand years. During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao had a unit specifically for digging up treasures from ancient tombs to fund his army, which is how we got the term ‘tomb raider.’”
He continued, “Before the liberation, there were four main sects in this trade, divided by regions. But in modern times, the talent has dwindled, and very few remain. Those who are left have washed their hands of it. The younger generation consists of the country folks who band together to dig graves. They have no understanding of the rules, like the proper rituals and respect for the dead. So many valuable artifacts have been destroyed because of them.”
Big Gold Tooth sighed for a moment and then said, “I’ve been trading items in Panjiayuan for years. If you two ever come across something valuable, I can help you connect with buyers. You can handle the negotiations yourself, and if you make a deal, just give me a small commission.”
Fatty, who had been busy eating and drinking, suddenly remembered something. He took out a piece of jade from his pocket and asked Big Gold Tooth to appraise it.
Big Gold Tooth examined the jade closely, even bringing it to his nose to smell it. “Master Fat, this is a fine piece of jade! It’s at least a thousand years old, maybe even older—likely from before the Tang Dynasty. The inscriptions on it aren’t in Chinese, and I can’t tell what they are, but it should be worth quite a bit. However, until you determine its exact value, it’s best to hold onto it and not sell it, or you might end up losing a lot. Where did you get this jade?”
Fatty became animated as he shared the story of its origin. “Well, the backstory is quite long. Let me put it this way: this jade was given to my father by an old comrade from the Huangma Uprising. His comrade was a high-ranking officer in the army. When they were advancing into Xinjiang, his unit encountered a group of bandits. These bandits were asking for trouble. The guards around the commander of the People’s Liberation Army are no pushovers. In less than five or six minutes, they wiped out all the bandits. While cleaning up the battlefield, they found this piece of jade on the body of one of the bandit leaders. The commander kept it as a souvenir and gave it to my father. As for the jade’s history before that, I’m not sure.”
We kept drinking until after midnight before parting ways. As a farewell gift, Big Gold Tooth gave each of us a curved object, about an inch long, shiny and black, incredibly hard, with two carved characters that looked like “Mo Jin” (tomb raiding). This item seemed ancient, with a hole at one end threaded with red silk, allowing it to be worn as a necklace. Big Gold Tooth said, “We hit it off right away, brothers. These are talismans made from pangolin claws. Keep them as a memento, and feel free to visit me in Panjiayuan anytime. We will meet again.”
Mojin Tailsman
After returning to our small rented apartment near Chongwen Gate, Fatty and I drank so much that we slept until noon the next day, feeling groggy.
Lying in bed, staring at the low ceiling, I had a lot on my mind. The world of tomb raiding wasn’t unfamiliar to me; I was confident I could find some large tombs. Money wasn’t my main concern; I could honestly say I didn’t care much about having it. Yet, life is full of contradictions, and right now, I desperately needed money.
My parents has pension income, and I had no family burdens. I can do what I want to do. But what about my comrades who sacrificed their lives on the battlefield? Who would take care of their parents? The costs of medical care and the school fees for their younger siblings were far beyond what the meager compensation could cover.
On the battlefield, it seemed that everyone except me had a compelling reason not to die. In the end, I was the sole survivor, and my life was bought with the lives of many comrades. I felt I should do something for them now.
At that moment, Fatty woke up, rubbed his eyes, and saw me staring blankly at the ceiling. He said, “Old Hu, what are you thinking about? I can tell even without you saying it—Big Gold Tooth’s words got to you, didn’t they? I’m feeling the itch too. So, what are we going to do? I’ve been waiting for you to say something.”
I pulled out the talisman that Big Gold Tooth had given me. “Fatty, don’t think of that guy as a good person. He’s just in it for business; he wouldn’t do anything without profit. This claw is something that the tomb raiders under Cao Cao during the Three Kingdoms period wore. He wouldn’t just give us something so valuable for nothing. He sees our potential and wants to gain something from us.”
Fatty got agitated. “Damn it, I’ve thought he was no good from the start. I’ll go to Panjiayuan and throw that big gold tooth of his into the toilet.”
Despite saying that, we both agreed it was better to use each other for now and not to fall out with him just yet. My flaw was being too impulsive, often acting without considering the consequences. I felt that tomb raiding was a viable path. As Chairman Mao said, everything in the world has two sides; good things can turn bad, and bad things can turn good. That’s the essence of dialectics.
The tombs of emperors and nobles are filled with countless treasures, but can we really say that these valuable items belong to the deceased? They were all taken from the common people through plunder and exploitation. What is taken from the people should be returned to the people. How can these treasures be allowed to rest forever with the bones of the dead underground? If we’re going to do this, we should aim for the big one. The common graves are often uninteresting and hold little of value, and taking from the people only harms our moral standing.
I had heard my grandfather talk about the rules of the tomb raiders, which were vastly different from those of common grave robbers. Grave robbers dig recklessly and take whatever they want, without regard for loyalty or status—be it officials or commoners. There are no rules; even if there are, they are merely the thoughts of farmers and not the true way of the trade.
The real tomb raiders had their own methods. Whenever they opened a grand tomb, they would light a candle and place it in the southeast corner of the burial chamber before opening the coffin to search for treasures. The most valuable items were often worn by the deceased. For nobles and kings, they might have pearls in their mouths, gold and jade covering their bodies, protective jade on their chests, and even treasures hidden in their anus. When handling the remains, they had to be gentle, starting from the head and moving down to the feet, always leaving one or two items behind for the deceased. If the candle in the southeast corner went out during this process, they had to return everything they had taken, bow three times in respect, and leave the way they came.
There are legends that some tombs contain souls. Why they don’t reincarnate and remain in their tombs for centuries is hard to say. It could be that they are reluctant to part with their former wealth and glory, keeping a watchful eye on their treasures even in death. In such cases, it’s best not to forcefully take their belongings.
In the end, Fatty and I decided, to hell with it—we would become tomb raiders! Who cares about feelings of guilt? We’d let our conscience be eaten by dogs. No, that’s not quite right. Let’s look at it from another angle: it’s the 1980s, and isn’t there a call for contribution? It’s time for those who exploited the working people—the nobles and aristocrats—to give back. But these dead souls have low awareness; don’t expect them to rise and contribute themselves. We’ll take it upon ourselves to reap the benefits from these feudal rulers, gathering treasures and dividing the land.
With our strategic direction set, we still needed to discuss the specific tactical goals and how to implement them in detail.
In the regions where tomb raiding is most rampant—Henan, Hunan, and Shaanxi—finding large tombs is becoming increasingly difficult. Plus, working in crowded areas is inconvenient. We would need to use activities like farming and building houses as cover. If we were going to do this, it would be best to head into the deep mountains and forests, where few people venture.
Speaking of large tombs in the deep mountains, the most notable one I’ve seen is definitely the one on Niuxin Mountain. When I was sent to the countryside, I was still too young and naive. Based on my current experience, I would estimate that tomb dates back to before the Northern Song Dynasty. During the height of the Tang Dynasty, it was common to use mountains as burial sites, a trend that continued into the early Song Dynasty. However, after the Southern Song Dynasty, the country’s power weakened, and no royal tombs dared to undertake such grand projects.
Fatty asked, “Didn’t you say there were ghosts on Niuxin Mountain? Can’t we find a place without ghosts to work on? Dealing with bears and wild people is one thing, but what do we do if we encounter a ghost?”
I replied, “First of all, there are no ghosts in this world. What I mentioned last time might have just been a hallucination from my fever. Secondly, since this is our first operation, we don’t necessarily have to start by digging into a mountain. Remember how many families in Yanzi’s village have antiques? We could go collect a few and sell them, which would save us the trouble of all that hard work.”
That day, we split up to prepare for our plans. Fatty went to dispose of the remaining tapes, while I headed to the old goods market to buy some essential tools: a flashlight, gloves, masks, candles, ropes, and a water bottle. To my delight, I managed to find two German-made entrenching tools. Holding the entrenching tool in my hands felt like reuniting with an old friend.
These entrenching tools were used by German mountain assault troops during World War II, and many were captured by the Soviets. During the Sino-Soviet friendship period, some of these tools made their way into China. The German entrenching tool is lightweight and foldable, making it easy to carry on a belt. Its steel blade is excellent; not only can it dig through soil and rock, but in dangerous situations, it can also be wielded as a weapon, capable of delivering a lethal blow.
The only regret was that I couldn’t find a gas mask. During the nationwide civil defense efforts, many Type 60 gas masks were distributed, and they occasionally pop up for sale in the old goods market. Unfortunately, I didn’t find one today, but I could look for it later. There were still a few other items I needed, but I could get those once we reached Ganggang camp.
I spent a total of over 1,500 yuan, mainly because those two shovels were quite expensive at 600 yuan each, and the price was non-negotiable. By the end, I only had six yuan left, which was a problem since I didn’t have enough money for a train ticket!
Fortunately, Fatty had sold off the recording tapes and returned our rented apartment, which helped cover our travel expenses. We bought our train tickets that night. I hadn’t been back there since I left at just under eighteen years old, and after more than a decade, the thought of seeing the familiar faces of my hometown made both of us a bit excited.