| Emperor Wen of Nanyue Triệu Văn Đế 南越文帝 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Zhao Mo'sjade burial suit with red silk displayed inNanyue King Museum in Guangzhou | |||||||||
| Emperor ofNanyue | |||||||||
| Reign | 137–124 BC | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Zhao Tuo | ||||||||
| Successor | Zhao Yingqi | ||||||||
| Born | 175 BC | ||||||||
| Died | 124 BC (aged 51) | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| House | Triệu | ||||||||
| Dynasty | Nanyue | ||||||||
| Father | Zhao Zhongshi | ||||||||
| Mother | Mei Zhu (Mỵ Châu) | ||||||||
Zhao Mo (Chinese:趙眜;pinyin:Zhào Mò;Vietnamese:Triệu Mạt) was the second ruler ofNanyue. He succeeded his grandfatherZhao Tuo (Emperor Wu) in 137 BC and reigned until his death in 124 BC.
Records from this period were written inclassical Chinese and aretransliterated, typically into eitherpinyin (romanized Chinese) or into alphabetical Vietnamese. The name趙眜 is transliterated as Zhào Mò in pinyin, but as Triệu Mạt in Vietnamese. Zhao/Triệu is a family name, so Zhao Mo's dynasty is referred to as theTriệu dynasty in Vietnam. Histemple name described him as the "literary emperor" (Chinese:趙文帝;pinyin:Zhào Wén Dì;Vietnamese:Triệu Văn Đế).
Zhao's name was recorded asZhao Hu (Chinese:趙胡;pinyin:Zhào Hú) in theRecords of the Grand Historian bySima Qian. The name of Zhao Mo did not arise until the discovery of two jade seals belonging to the emperor that bore the name of Zhao Mo but not Zhao Hu. "Zhao Hu" may have been an error made by Sima Qian when he was writing hisRecords. There is also a theory that Zhao Mo and Zhao Hu were two separate rulers and that Zhao Mo's reign was excluded from historical records because of its brief duration.[1][2]
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Upon Zhao Mo's accession in 137 BC, the neighboring king ofMinyue, Zou Ying sent his army to attack Nanyue. Zhao sent for help from theHan dynasty, his nominal vassal overlord. The Han responded by sending troops against Minyue, but before they could get there, Zou Ying was killed by his brother Zou Yushan, who surrendered to the Han. The Han army was recalled.[3]
Zhao considered visiting the Han court in order to show his gratitude. His high ministers argued against it, reminding him that his father kept his distance from the Han and merely avoided a breach of etiquette to keep the peace. Zhao therefore pleaded illness and never went through with the trip. Zhao did actually fall ill several years later and died in 124 BC. He was succeeded by his son,Zhao Yingqi.[3]
The tomb of Wen was discovered in 1983, 20 metres (66 ft) under Elephant Hill inGuangzhou on a construction site for a hotel, and has been excavated. The tomb measures 11 metres (36 ft) long and 12 metres (39 ft) wide. It is divided in seven parts, with a front chamber, east and west wing rooms, the main coffin chamber, east and west side rooms, and a back storage chamber. The tomb has yielded more than 1000 burial artifacts, and achariot, gold and silver vessels, musical instruments, and human sacrifices were found (15 courtiers were buried alive with him to serve him in death). It is also the only tomb of the early Western Han period that hasmurals on its walls.
The tomb also yielded one of the oldest imperialseals discovered in a Chinese tomb: the seal, with the name "Zhao Mo", declared the royal corpse to be "Emperor Wen", the name of a Han ruler.
Alongside Chinese artifacts, pieces from thesteppes andIranian andHellenistic Central Asian regions have been found. APersian silver box found in the tomb is the earliest imported product found to date in China. There were also artifacts found which belonged to theĐông Sơn culture ofnorthern Vietnam.
TheNanyue King Museum, located in Jiefang road in Guangzhou, stands on the site of the tomb of Zhao Mo.
Zhao Mo/ Triệu Văn Đế Died: 124 BC | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Zhao Tuo (Vũ Đế) | Emperor of Nanyue 137 BC – 124 BC | Succeeded by Zhao Yingqi (Minh Vương) |
