Chinese history buff uses feng shui knowledge to raid ancient tombs
Man and eight accomplices located ancient graves by day and plundered them by night
A man and eight accomplices have been arrested in northwest China after using his knowledge of history and feng shui to rob graves of nearly 20 cultural objects.
The man, a history buff surnamed Qiang, came up with an idea of stealing tomb relics after he found they could be sold at high prices, the Huashang Daily reported.
He told police that he knew since childhood there were many location of many historic sites and burial complexes around Fenggeling township in Shaanxi province, and used feng shui principles to find their exact location.
Qiang was quoted as saying that he learned how to locate and excavate ancient graves using principles of feng shui through popular online messaging apps including QQ and Wechat, then bought a specialist archaeological tool called a Luoyang shovel online.
He located the tombs by day and excavated them at night, using the special shovel, he said.
Qiang and his eight accomplices stole 18 cultural relics including bronze mirrors, bronze tripods and porcelain, according to the report.
Police became aware of the robbers after a villager in Fenggeling reported in December that someone had dug some pits in his orchard, including one containing a human skull.
The investigation showed that the pits were the work of grave robbers.
Police arrested the group in early March and found they had been involved in seven cases of excavating graves dating back to the Han dynasty (221-206BC) or even the Spring and Autumn period (770-476BC).
