外刊双语：Qinshihuang Mausoleum: Mercury Mystery Solved

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Global Times-The fourth national cultural relics census has uncovered three ancient sites from the Pre-Qin period (Prior to 221BC) and Han Dynasty (206BC-AD220) at the Xunyang ancient cinnabar site in Northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, providing crucial clues for studying the mining, processing, utilization, and transportation of cinnabar in ancient Xunyang. This discovery may solve the mystery of the source of mercury found in the mausoleum of Qinshihuang, China’s first emperor, in Shaanxi, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

第四次全国文物普查在西北中国陕西省旬阳古朱砂矿遗址发现三个先秦时期（公元前 221 年以前）和汉代（公元前 206 年-公元 220 年）的古代遗址，为研究古代旬阳的朱砂开采、加工、利用和运输提供了关键线索。据新华社报道，这一发现可能解开陕西秦始皇陵中发现的汞的来源之谜。

Chen Shibin, deputy director of the Xunyang Cultural Relics Administration, told the Global Times on Tuesday that during the on-site archaeological investigation of the ancient cinnabar site in Xunyang, three smaller sites were discovered: Shimiaogou, Chuantangping, and Guojiawan.

陈世斌，寻阳文物管理局副局长，周二在接受《环球时报》采访时表示，在寻阳古朱砂矿遗址的现场考古调查中，发现了三个较小的遗址：石庙沟、川堂坪和国界湾。

“These remains may be related to the transportation of cinnabar,” Chen noted. “Cinnabar is a natural ore primarily composed of mercury-containing compounds, and the chemical composition of mercury is mercury itself.”

这些遗骸可能与朱砂运输有关，陈指出。“朱砂是一种主要由含汞化合物组成的天然矿石，汞的化学成分就是汞本身。”

According to the information provided by Chen, mercury from the Xunyang Bronze Gully accounts for about 20 percent of the total mercury content within China’s borders, and Xunyang is located just over 100 kilometers from the Qinshihuang Mausoleum.

根据陈提供的信息，旬阳青铜沟的汞占中国境内总汞含量的约 20%，旬阳位于秦始皇陵 100 多公里处。

The Qinshihuang Mausoleum is notable not just for containing mercury but also the vast amount found at the location. It is estimated that several tons, or even as much as a hundred tons, of mercury could be in the tomb. Mercury has excellent insulation properties, forming a sealed thermal barrier within the tomb, while also having antibacterial effects. Therefore, scientists widely surmize that the mercury in the tomb was used for preservation and anti-theft purposes, as reported by China Youth Daily.

秦始皇陵不仅因其含有水银而闻名，而且该地点的水银数量极为庞大。据估计，墓中可能有几吨甚至多达百吨的水银。水银具有优异的绝缘性能，在墓内形成密封的热屏障，同时具有抗菌作用。因此，科学家普遍推测，墓中的水银被用于防腐和防盗目的，如《中国青年报》报道。

According to field investigation records and geological exploration reports conducted by the First Geological Team of the Shaanxi Provincial Geology and Mineral Bureau between 1958 and 1985, over 1,000 ancient mining tunnels have been identified in this region, according to the Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Heritage Administration.

根据陕西省地质矿产局第一地质队于 1958 年至 1985 年间进行的实地调查记录和地质勘探报告，陕西省文化厅称，该地区已确认有 1000 多个古代采矿隧道。

Before this discovery, many experts in the archaeological community had speculated that part of the mercury found in the mausoleum of Qinshihuang might have originated from Xunyang. A late renowned scholar in the field of Qin-Han archaeology, Duan Qingbo, explicitly suggested in his academic monograph on the archaeological research of the Qinshihuang Mausoleum that most of the mercury in the tomb could have come from Xunyang county.

在这次发现之前，许多考古学界的专家曾推测，在秦始皇陵中发现的汞可能部分源自旬阳。在秦汉考古领域的著名学者段庆波在其关于秦始皇陵考古研究的学术专著中明确指出，墓中的大部分汞可能来自旬阳县。