Yunmeng Zhengjiahu Cemetery M274 Wooden Yao (front).
Yangtze River Daily Wuhan client March 18 (reporter Wan Jianhui) on the morning of the 18th, sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Institute of Archaeology and archaeology magazine hosted by the "Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Archaeology Forum • 2021 Chinese Archaeological New Discoveries" was held in Beijing, the forum officially announced the 2021 Chinese archaeological discoveries finally selected 6 field archaeological excavation projects, unearthed "China's first long Wen Yao" in Hubei Yunmeng County Zhengjia Lake Warring States Qin Han Cemetery was selected.
Yunmeng Zhengjiahu Cemetery M225 door panel painting.
The other five new archaeological discoveries selected at the same time as the Yunmeng Zhengjiahu Cemetery in Hubei are: the Paleolithic Ruins of Piluo in Daocheng County, Sichuan, the Neolithic Ruins of Huangshan in Nanyang City, Henan, the Sanxingdui Shang Dynasty Ruins in Guanghan City, Sichuan, the Guozishan Warring States Tombs in Zhangshu City, Jiangxi Province, and the Tuguhun Royal Family Tomb Group in the Tang Dynasty in Wuwei City, Gansu Province.
The reporter learned that on February 26 this year, under the guidance of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, sponsored by the China Cultural Relics Newspaper and the Chinese Archaeological Society, the "2021 National Top Ten Archaeological New Discoveries Selection" activity, Hubei Yunmeng Zhengjiahu Cemetery was also successfully shortlisted for the final evaluation.
The historical scene of an important node in the process of the great unification of the Qin and Han Empires was activated
Yunmeng Zhengjiahu Cemetery M276 head box artifacts.
Fang Qin, president of the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and director of the Hubei Provincial Museum, told the Yangtze River Daily reporter that the Zhengjiahu cemetery is located in Chengguan Town, Yunmeng County, Hubei Province, distributed in the southeast suburbs of the Chuwangcheng ruins, about 1,000 meters away from the Longgang cemetery and about 3,000 meters from the Sleeping Tiger Cemetery.
Since September 2020, in order to cooperate with the municipal construction of Yunmeng County, with the approval of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology (upgraded to hubei provincial institute of cultural relics and archaeology in early 2022) and the Yunmeng County Museum jointly organized a team to excavate the cemetery. The excavation work strictly abided by the "Field Archaeological Work Regulations", timely work plans were made, fragile cultural relics such as lacquered wood and silk fabrics were effectively protected on site, and multidisciplinary testing and research were carried out simultaneously.
Yunmeng Zhengjiahu Cemetery Tiger Head Pillow.
The archaeological project of the Qin and Han Cemeteries of the Warring States of Zhengjiahu in Yunmeng County, Hubei Province, has yielded a lot of gains, the most important value of which is that it has revitalized the historical scenes of important nodes in the process of the great unification of the Qin and Han Empires, and provided a typical case for studying the formation of a multi-ethnic unified state from the late Warring States period to the middle of the Han Dynasty, the process of Chinese civilization from pluralism to great unification, and the national identity reflected behind it. Luo Yunbing, the person in charge of the project of "China's First Changwen Yao" and vice president of the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, introduced that according to the needs of excavation, the excavation of Zhengjiahu Cemetery was divided into three areas: A, B and C.
In 2021, 116 tombs in Area C will be excavated, including 14 well-preserved water-filled tombs. A total of more than 1,000 pieces/sets of burial items were unearthed in Area C, of which more than 400 pieces/sets of lacquered wood were unearthed, with ear cups as the bulk, among which the character flat pot, double-mouth flat pot, tiger head pillow, phoenix-shaped spoon, sun and moon pattern, horse pattern cup, ear cup box and so on are very distinctive. From the perspective of tomb shape system, coffin structure, combination of burial items, and martyrdom customs, it can be determined that Area C is a small and medium-sized tomb of Qin culture, and the overall appearance is highly consistent with the sleeping tiger cemetery, which can be roughly divided into three levels: the identity of the first and second level tomb owners should be slightly higher, mostly middle and lower nobles or lower officials. The main body of the tomb owner should be related to the Qin people and their descendants after the Qin army occupied Anlu in 278 BC, spanning from the late Warring States to the early Han Dynasty.
"The simultaneous multidisciplinary detection and research, including carbon-14 dating, human bone archaeology, animal archaeology, plant archaeology, paleomatry analysis, isotope analysis, etc., have progressed smoothly and have achieved many important results." Luo Yunbing introduced that the harvest of this excavation was first reflected in the excavation of a number of precious written materials. In addition to the M277 dispatch and tongding inscriptions, the late Warring States tomb M274 has a Changwen wooden yao (a multi-prismatic wooden mule). There are seven lines on each side of the wooden yao, each line is about 50 words, the full text is about 700 words, the font is typical of Qin Li, containing the words of the counselor who lobbied the King of Qin to sleep and stand up for righteousness, "vertical and horizontal" color is strong, and the style and style are similar to the "Warring States Policy" and the "Warring States Zongheng Family Book".
The Yao is the earliest "China's First Long Wen Yao" seen at present, its form is rare, rich in connotation, involving archaeology, paleography, paleography, ancient history and many other fields, and its academic value is great. The Yao wen is not found in the records of the generations, providing us with a new type of literature on strategy, enriching the political history materials of the late Warring States period, and is a precious text for studying the social thought of that time.
The events included in it, such as the "Battle of Wei Yue SuXu Zhiye", are the first to provide new materials for exploring important historical events during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States period, showing the gradual integration of Qin culture and Chu culture Luo Yunbing said, followed by the excavation of a number of rare funerary paintings. Dating from the end of the Warring States to the Qin Dynasty and the Qin and Han Dynasties, the themes are all the first to see, filling the historical gap in the materials and types of Qin and Han paintings, which is an important discovery in the history of Chinese art and of great significance for tracing the formation of Chinese tomb murals. The Qin cultural logos (such as leaf patterns and flat pot patterns) in the theme are distinct, which provides key materials for the study of Qin people's funeral customs, religious thoughts, costume culture and artistic modeling.
Yunmeng Zhengjiahu Cemetery Flat Pot.
The cemetery has also unearthed a large number of exquisite lacquered wood, which are extremely well preserved and complete, many of which are exquisite in shape, unique in pattern, and rich in cultural connotations, which provide important materials for the study of the production and circulation of Qin and Han lacquerware and arts and crafts in the Warring States.
The large number of lacquerware unearthed by Yunmeng, advanced technology and distinctive characteristics of the times can be called the epitome of the development of Chinese lacquerware from the end of the Warring States to the beginning of the Han Dynasty. Archaeologists have cleaned up a number of water-filled tombs of Qin culture, which has greatly enriched the integrity of Qin tomb data and provided valuable materials for studying the funeral customs, living conditions, and cultural interaction of the Qin and Chu people. The excavation of the Zhengjiahu Cemetery also provided important support for the overall layout and internal relationship between the site of the Mengchu King's City and the tomb group on the outskirts of the city, especially the historical scene that activated the important nodes in the process of the great unification of the Qin and Han Empires.
Yunmeng is a strategic point for the Qin people to unify the south, and the Zhengjiahu Cemetery and the Chu King City site and the surrounding cemeteries such as Sleeping Tiger Land, Longgang, Jiangguo, and Datutou are an organic whole, and these materials vividly show the historical process of the gradual integration of Qin culture and Chu culture, the unification of Han culture and the integration of Chinese civilization. It provides a typical case for studying the formation of a multi-ethnic unified state in China from the late Warring States period to the middle of the Han Dynasty, the process of Chinese civilization from pluralism to great unification, and the national identity reflected behind it.
Link: Our province has won 9 "China's Six New Archaeological Discoveries" in recent years
In recent years, archaeological projects in Hubei Province have repeatedly won awards, of which, since 2002, 9 projects in our province have been selected as the annual "Six New Archaeological Discoveries in China", namely-
Zaoyang Jiuliandun Cemetery (2002)
Suizhou Yejiashan West Zhou Cemetery (2011)
Suizhou Wenfeng Pagoda Eastern Zhou Zengguo Cemetery (2013)
Tianmen Shijiahe Neolithic Site (2016)
Jingshan Sujialang Zhou Dynasty Ruins (2017)
Shayangcheng River Neolithic Site (2018)
Suizhou Jujube Grove Spring and Autumn Zengguo Noble Cemetery (2019)
Huangpi Lutai Mountain Guo Yuanzui Ruins (2020)
Yunmeng County Zhengjiahu Warring States Qin Han Cemetery (2021)
【Editor: Ding Fei】
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